The military stickers on this Ukrainian chaser bin made are fitting for something that looks as sturdy as a tank. Manufacturer Kobzarenko already makes a 50m³ quad-axle chaser. Now it also offers a rubber tracked version.

Both are called the PBN-50, and the length of the 900mm-wide tracks is 4.27m. The firm buys in the belts but makes the all the steel parts for the track frames. Company boss Dmitriy Kobzarenko recommends a 350-400hp to pull the trailer, which when fully loaded tips the scales at around 54.5t (empty weight 16.5t).

The four-axled PBN-50, which travels at a road legal 3.0m, costs around €80,000. The rubber-tracked model pushes this up to around €100,000. Five of the first six machines built are sold. Number six was at Agritechnica.

Kobzarenko has had a German importer since 2016, which behind Romanian and Poland is now the third largest export market. The outer width of the tracked model of 3.69m is too wide for German roads but it has supplied a number of 40m² chaser bins. Mr Kobzarenko says that if there are requests for a 3.0m-wide 50m³ capacity rubber tracked version for western Europe then he might consider making it.

The wheeled and rubber tracked models of the PBN-50 are made in the Ukraine, while smaller models from 9-40m³ are produced in Poland, at a facility the company acquired in 2020. The firm reckons to be the biggest manufacturer of chaser bins in Europe, in a good year producing around 800 units. The 30m³ PBN-30 is the most popular.

2022 was a difficult year in which the numbers dropped to around 600. “We will do 500 this year,” says Mr Kobzarenko, who adds that he is seeking a UK and Irish importer. “There is already interest from a potential dealer in Ireland.”

Dmitriy’s father founded the company 30 years ago, initially making wheelbarrows. He then branched into trailers and today Kobzarenko reckons to be the biggest manufacturer of farm trailers in Ukraine. The firm also makes a wide range of other equipment, including muck spreaders, slurry tankers, silage clamp compactors, self-loading bale trailers and fertiliser spreaders. All are described as not too simple but at the same time not containing too many electronics either.

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