Werner Baumann is a farmer through and through. The 50-year-old is the third generation of his family to run the small farm in Oberdiessbach in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. For him the Aebi Terratrac is not the first implement carrier for use on steep slopes from the machine factory in Burgdorf, but it is the best so far. In an interview, Werner Baumann reveals to us what he likes about the pioneer among the implement carriers and why he would not give it up for any money in the world.
“In our area, single-axle machines have been and still are used a great deal. Up until 1996, we also only used hand-guided machines until I decided for health reasons to switch to a two-axle vehicle. I was one of the first people in my area to set about mowing with a two-axle mower. I was bound to receive the odd surprised and curious look when I did this. For suddenly work out in the field was not only comfortable, but could of course also be accomplished much faster than on foot. I soon started receiving more and more requests from neighbours asking whether I could also do some mowing for them. This is how I inadvertently discovered a gap in the market. Admittedly, the first implement carrier was not an Aebi. However, because its reliability and performance repeatedly reached its limits as the workload increased, in 1999 I decided to opt for an Aebi TT50 and have remained loyal to the brand ever since. Every season I am contracted to mow around 300 hectares. After more than 3000 hours in the TT50, the switch to an Aebi TT240 in 2008 then became more than necessary. It was a giant leap in terms of performance capability and of course comfort as well. For a long time, I was convinced that it would not be possible to better the machine until in 2016 I was persuaded to change my mind. The Aebi TT281 won me over right from day one. When I was able last summer to sneak a few glimpses of the prototype on trial runs, it was clear to me that I had to have this vehicle, and specifically the very first one in the series. A pioneer for a pioneer as it were.”
Many advantages and plenty of driving fun
Werner Baumann’s wish came true. At the beginning of 2017, he received the first TT281 in the series. He still owns its predecessor, the Aebi TT240. The farmer would like to expand. “There are more contract jobs than I can currently handle on my own. In the last few weeks, on some days I was working in the fields until late at night. For me the customer comes first and I only take care of my own fields once all contract jobs have been completed. But with the new Terratrac even the overtime is a great deal of fun. The TT281 not only boasts more power, but the technology and safety is also a huge leap forward by comparison. I would never again wish to be without the joystick integrated in the armrest and the Smart Navigator which enables me, for example, also to operate the hand throttle. Thanks to the new proportional hydraulics, the control of the attachments is very sensitive and can be performed with millimetre precision. And even though I am not part of the iPad generation and no longer as young as I was, I was able to sit in the machine and start operating it straight away without having to spend a long time studying the manual. As the machine-specific saving now allows the settings and the calibration of the most frequently used attachments to be assigned to one-touch buttons, there is now no need for any time-consuming adjustments to be made when changing attachments. I am also much faster overall, so can cover more ground in the same time, which in turn pleases my customers. For assignments working late into the night, I chose the optional LED package and I am very happy with it. Particularly on long working days it is important for the lighting to be right and the level of concentration not to suffer. I have been pleasantly surprised by the lower level of fuel consumption. This definitely benefits my wallet. And because as a farmer the natural environment is also very close to my heart, not least the new, cleaner engine technology based on Euro 6 with Ad Blue really does clean up in the truest sense of the word. In short, the TT281 is a top machine for me.”
