Move up to the next generation in harvest platform design with a Durus or Legacy series platform with unbeatable crop-to-ground control
Midwest Fabrication is an all-Australian manufacturer that is changing the harvest industry one platform at a time.
The first harvesting platform Midwest ever built was put together with the help of a young Amy Schutt bolting on the guards. That was in the late 1990s.
More than 28 years on, plenty of those original fronts are still out there working, cutting crops at every harvest. And the young woman who helped build them from the very start now runs the company.
For the Schutt family, that longevity is the whole point. In all the time the company has been running, their design philosophy has not shifted: keep it simple, make it strong, make it reliable.
The backbone of every Midwest platform is a single length of superform steel running through a truss-style frame.
Midwest engineers worked out from the very start that fewer joins and fewer parts mean fewer points of wear.
The Midwest build delivers nearly twice the strength per kilogram of industry-standard 350-grade steel, so even the widest 18.3m (60ft) platform tips the scales at just 5180kg without giving up the toughness Aussie paddocks demand.
There are no electronic sensors in the loop either. Midwest developed a much better system, the Hoverpoint air-ride adaptor that follows ground contours by gravity and ensures a cleaner cut across rolling country.
As CEO Amy Schutt puts it, “We’ve been doing 18.3m (60-foot) cutting widths for a long time now, while our competitors are just catching up to that. But even then, many do not have the strength that our products offer and can maintain at harvest.
“We make our platforms simple to operate but the strength, durability, ease of operation, service and maintenance are way more advanced than our competitors.”
It is this confidence in the product’s performance and longevity that carries through in every customer conversation.
“I love offering a product to my customers that I know they’re going to maintain a long-life cycle with, knowing they’ll have very little drama, and it’s going to do everything they need,” Amy adds.
The long life of Midwest platforms and transporters is supported for the long haul, with genuine parts available through the Midwest parts website without a long wait on overseas supply.
Support for Midwest Fabrication product lines stretches back more than 25 years, and a free service app carrying downloadable maintenance videos made by the maintenance team, is ready to use in any paddock, without mobile coverage required.
At the end of the day, what keeps Midwest platforms running, and what keeps operators coming back, is the quality of the product and the team who build them.
That’s all credited to the experience of Midwest trade staff who manufacture the bulk of each platform in-house at their Dalby QLD headquarters.
Amy’s father, Martin Schutt, who designed the original platform, continues his involvement in research and development, while his children and grandchildren have grown up on the factory floor.
“Some of the team around me have been here for 15 years or more and we’ve all grown up together,” Amy says. “It’s not just me as a CEO, but my dad, my brothers, and the team on the floor here are just so invested as well. It’s a special place to be.
“We are incredibly proud to create the only Australian-made harvest platform. As farmers ourselves, our main goal is to help farmers put more crop in the bin and make more profit from their harvest. This can happen through lower maintenance costs, less downtime, longer machine lifespan and less crop loss.” Amy confirmed.
The current Midwest harvest platform range spans the Durus platform, suited to all popular combine brands, in 9.1 to 18.3m (30 to 60ft) widths.
And the Legacy range, purpose-built for Class 10 and 11 high-capacity John Deere X Series combines. Available in widths of 12.5 to 18.3m (41 to 60ft)
Midwest will be out at field days around the country over the coming months, with a special offer for growers weighing up their next platform or platform trailer.
To talk through what Midwest model would suit your operation best, call the team on 07 4662 2137, or email direct to: sales@midwest.net.au or see more about the model range on this link.
Midwest transporters to suit any platform
