Al-Ko ride-on with grass collection – 1970/80

[wristpin]

Back in that time AlKo made a domestic tractor shaped ride on with a unique grass collection system. I know that it existed as a customer had one, but I can’t find any literature showing it.
The machine had a fairly conventional twin bladed deck ejecting to the right but then it got interesting. The ejected grass fed into the base of a conveyor belt bucket conveyor that sloped up on the drivers right and dropped the grass into a rear mounted bin . If I remember correctly said bin had one or two hinged doors and the driver had to dismount to open the bin to empty it.
Does anyone remember that machine or have any literature – sales or workshop – showing that contrivance ?

[alan]

It was called the ALKOTRAC. There were two engine sizes, the 8hp just for mowing and the 10hp with the grass collection.

I’ve never seen one in the tinwork but I thought that it’d be a fun machine just for the novelty of the collector!

Yes, they were 1970s/80s but it looks like they were 1970s in mainland Europe before filtering through to the UK going into the 1980s.

I have a brochure and price list and will get those scanned and uploaded for you.

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[wristpin]

Amazing, thank you.
I remember seeing one in a customer’s shed but no recollection of seeing it in action or being exhibited at any annual show such as Motspur Park or Windsor.

[alan]

I have scanned the 1984 four-page brochure and the relevant bit of the price list which I’ve put at the top of the last page.

AL-KO had relocated from their Barnsley site to Consett in County Durham in 1984 – the new address is on the back page of the brochure. I found a trade report where they stated that the new premises were nearer to a port and thus reduced transport costs when importing their lawn mowers, trimmers, cement mixers, bench equipment etc from Germany and Austria. They seem to have imported a large and varied range of equipment.

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[Author]

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