Welcome to Driving Sprayers Issue 6

In 1990 Peter Lemon shook hands with my father Richard Bateman at the Smithfield Show and placed an order for a Hi Lo sprayer, a drill and a fertiliser spreader. From that day, the business has relied on a single Bateman machine to cover three purposes. Currently, Lemon’s are running an RB55.

The ‘Bateman / Lemon farming system’ is driven by the close partnership between our two
companies. However, any design-engineering based decisions are only made possible because, as in 1990, the spray pack is demountable on a Bateman.

The concept of using a single machine to perform drilling, spraying and spreading duties is highly cost-effective and could well be of interest to other farming businesses. For the full Lemon story click here.

At the end of March 2025, Jonathan Hardy retired from Bateman after 25 years. We are incredibly grateful to Jonathan for his diligence and dedication to us and our customers. David Main, who is well known within the spraying industry, has now taken over as our Technical Sales Manager for Northern England, Scotland and Wales. We’ve known David for many years and knew he would make an excellent fit.

We are very fortunate to have a great team of people at Bateman, who step up every day to go above and beyond for our customers. Team Bateman Service Engineer Fraser Topping talks about life ‘In the Field’ in our latest column from Bycott Farm.

During Cereals 2000 we launched our Variable Geometry boom. Our VG boom is now in its third generation; however, the fundamental principles of the original design are just as relevant today. A unique feature of the boom is hydraulic breakback on every section. We often hear stories from customers where an incident between the boom and an obstruction has left them amazed that they’ve driven away without damaging the boom.

When I ask customers who visit the factory to pick up our boom, they are always surprised by the lightness of the third section. A Bateman design principle is to keep the machine as light as possible. The third generation of the VG boom is 30% lighter than the previous incarnation, the same can be said for the second section and the breakback.

For contractors who spray in a variety of terrains, where headlands and access points are tight, our RB26 represents the ideal cost-effective solution. Compact, with 50 / 50 weight distribution, the RB26 shares the same proven chassis and design continuity as our larger machines. Farmer and contractor Rupert Inkpen shares his experience of the RB26 here.

I am humbled by the number of customers who are always willing to represent Bateman publicly and talk about our shared values. Next year we will celebrate 50 years of R J Bateman Engineering. If you would like to share your Bateman story, we’d like to hear from you.

Best wishes for the remainder of the season.

Jason Bateman
CEO
R. J. Bateman Engineering