Plowing Championships?
Competitive plowing? Bernhard Esterbauer explains what it’s all about. It’s not just the tractor that has to be perfect…
Bernhard Esterbauer comes from Handenberg, a small community in the Innviertel region of Upper Austria. Having grown up on his family’s farm, Bernhard is familiar with heavy machinery of all types, and is right at home handling the farm equipment and driving his powerful tractor. But, ask Bernhard about plowing and his face lights up! What are the plowing world championships all about? It’s simple really – it’s about who can plow a field the best on competition day. Seems straightforward enough.
Bernhard is the level-headed, quiet type, and describes himself as determined and ambitious – a perfectionist even. In combination with the high aesthetic standards he sets for his work, this work ethic has taken him far in the world of competitive plowing: he is the current Austrian plowing champion. As a result, he has qualified for the 2019 World Ploughing Championship in Minnesota, USA. To get the best results, explains Bernhard, you need the plowshare to be perfectly calibrated for the type of ground. To achieve this, Bernhard adapts the shape and cutting action of the plowshare himself, not least to counteract wear on this solid farming implement.
The plowing champion not only strives for precision when he is behind the wheel, he also demands the best performance from his welding system. It undoubtedly helps that he had professional welding training at the age of 16 as part of his mechatronics apprenticeship. Is plowing his only passion? Not at all: “I really enjoy welding too!” A wide smile once again appears on Bernhard’s face. Welding is clearly a passion for him, and he also considers it a nice break from his day job.
The Fronius TransSteel 3500 brings him a great deal of enjoyment and satisfaction! Bernhard is very enthusiastic about the high quality welding results it produces. For him, the biggest advantage is the extremely straight forward handling. “The moment you switch the TransSteel on, everything is working straightaway. Being able to switch back and forth between the saved programs makes everything a lot simpler. This means that you get really good results first time round.”
