ORDERS are beginning to stack up for a Northallerton company and its revolutionary bale-stacking machine.

Walton Agriculture, which designs and develops agricultural equipment, has sold its first ECLIPSE bale stacker and transporter - the first machine in the world to allow the stacking of different sized bales of hay or straw.

The East Cowton company, between Northallerton and Thirsk, which received vital assistance from Business Link York and North Yorkshire in 1999 to win a Smart award to fund the development of the machine, is also set to tie up deals with five other UK farms and expects to sell up to 15 per year.

The first recipient of the ECLIPSE is Thirsk farmer and baling contractor George Peacock, who will be using the machine in fields around North Yorkshire when the baling season starts in mid-May.

Mr Peacock, whose farm is at Knayton, near Thirsk, says: "The beauty of the ECLIPSE is that, unlike existing stacking systems, you don't need to make a number of trips around the field to pick up the different-sized bales. This does it all in one go.

"We have estimated that it could halve both the time it takes to stack bales and also our labour requirements."

John Walton, managing director of Walton Agriculture, said: "This is the first of what we hope will be many orders, both in the UK and abroad for the machine. The signs are already very promising with negotiations already underway for the sale of five more and we are planning to take on more staff to deal with demand."

He added: "All of this would not have been possible without the Smart award and we owe Roger Benson at Business Link York and North Yorkshire a lot for his help in winning it. He guided us expertly through all the various stages of our application and I'm not sure if we would have been able to secure it without him."

Business Link York and North Yorkshire innovation and technology adviser Roger Benson has now helped 77 companies secure £3.1 million in Smart awards in the last four years. He said: "I am delighted to see JDW Design's efforts come to fruition and am sure their machine is going to make a valuable impact on the farming world."

Updated: 10:53 Tuesday, February 26, 2002