Palatine Engineering, which is based in Askeaton, Co Limerick, took home this year’s National Ploughing Championships annual Machine of the Year Award.

The award-winning machine was the firm's PP-RIP which is a front-linkage-mounted ground-ripping device. The implement is designed to be used on a tractor's front linkage, thereby preparing soil for operations such as reseeding.

The machine came about after business director Ken Smyth was approached by a neighbour to manufacture a machine to prepare ground before stitching in seed with his one-pass unit. Ken then decided to design and build a simple but effective solution to prepare the ground.

Ken Smyth business director of Palatine Engineering.

The PP-RIP’s 2.9m working width has 13 tines, each having twin tips which are designed to rip/loosen soil. The machine can also be used for mainstream tillage operations by fitting levelling paddles to its tines in place of the standard ripper tips.

Overall weight of the PP-RIP is 530kg, removing the need for adding a front ballast to the tractor. The tine angle is adjustable through 70° for varying ground conditions, done using a ratchet-type design. For road transport, the ripper remains under 3m, supplied with reflectors and marker lighting as standard.

Working depth is adjustable by means of its front-mounted depth-control wheels (23/8.50 R12) which are mounted close to the centre for ease of turning into gateways. The ripper has a price tag of €4,000 plus VAT.