Keeping old milking robots alive can be a challenge. But it is a challenge that farmer Thøger Larsen, Kværndrup, is happy to take on. Especially after he got in touch with Milcotec, who, with creative fitters and an extensive webshop, makes it easy for him to maintain them.

 

Stjernegård, Kværndrup

In the Funen town of Kværndrup, farmer Thøger Larsen runs his organic farm with 135 dairy cows and 100 hectares of land, 70 of which belong to the farm and the remaining 30 are leased. The cows are milked about 2.8 times a day with 3 Lely Astronaut A2 milking robots. Two of the robots have been in use in the barn since 2007, and the third he bought a few years later from Milcotec ApS.

 

What is it like to keep such old robots alive?

Thøger Larsen's 3 milking robots are all quite old, which could make some people doubt their efficiency and question their maintenance. But as Thøger Larsen himself says: "it actually runs reasonably". According to Thøger Larsen, any problems are solved by the regular service visits he receives from the Milcotec fitters, whom he also describes as being incredibly creative. In addition, he keeps a large stock of small items, wear parts and spare parts for his robots. And if he needs something specific, "I'll just have to drive to Aabenraa to get it".

 

 

The stockroom must continue to be stocked - The webshop has almost everything!

As Thøger Larsen takes parts from his stock, he makes sure to add corresponding products to the shopping cart at www.milcotec.com. Since the webshop has been added, it has become much easier for the farmer to keep his large stock of small items, wear and spare parts for his 3 old Lely Astronaut A2 milking robots, for which Lely no longer makes parts. According to Thøger Larsen, the webshop is good and a lot of products have been added.

"I think we can find pretty much everything and if we are in doubt, we can ask the fitters or Anne in the office".

Thøger Larsen goes on to describe that if he is missing a specific part, Anne can take care of it. If it's something more vague, he'll check with a fitter and then put the item in the basket.

 

 

Putting it in the basket - and waits

Thøger Larsen has found a way to remember to include his most used wear and spare parts in his orders from Milcotec's webshop:

"When you've taken something off the shelf, you can go in and put it in the basket, and it'll stay there until you've scraped together enough to place an order. Then we save a little on shipping. And we remember to get it all!".

Not only does Thøger Larsen put parts he has taken from his stock in the basket, he also looks at what he has put in and what he might be short of in the next 14 days - 3 weeks. Once all this is done, he dispatches the order, but not without first using Milcotec's discount code, which can only be used for online purchases.

 

 

It's quick and easy

For Thøger Larsen, it's easy to order the parts he needs or will need in the future. According to him, the delivery time is also fine, with a choice of different delivery times. The only negative thing Thøger Larsen has to say about the webshop and the delivery time is that it's a bit annoying if something breaks on a Friday and you have to wait until Monday or Tuesday to get the part home. But he has a solution for that too:

"We can often make a stopgap with some wire, twine or duct tape and then we're on our way."