The VB 3155 baler from Bucher Industries AG - compact bales and quiet field manners

Reviewed: ad hoc news Classics & Longseller desk. Edited and checked on 2026-06-28, 07:27. Details in the imprint.

The VB 3155 baler rolls into a Swiss hay field with its chamber door closing in a dull, confident thud as the bale drops onto the stubble. Operators see a clean, evenly wrapped cylinder and feel the machine’s quiet, measured rhythm through the tractor seat.

What the VB 3155 does

The VB 3155 baler from Bucher Industries AG sits in the Kuhn Group portfolio as a variable chamber round baler for mixed arable and livestock farms. It is designed to handle silage, hay, and straw with adjustable bale diameters to match storage and feeding needs.

Instead of locking farmers into one size, the VB 3155 lets them dial in bale diameter within a defined range, typically from medium to large bales used in European livestock operations. That flexibility helps optimize transport loads, silage density, and barn logistics across the season.

Inside the chamber

At the heart of the VB 3155 is a belt-and-roller chamber concept that builds the bale from the core outwards, aiming for a firm, consistent density from center to edge. This design seeks to balance crop flow with reduced risk of belt slippage in softer silage conditions.

The net-wrapping system is built to deliver a tidy, tight finish that keeps the crop surface smooth for easier stacking and reduced moisture ingress. Standing next to a freshly wrapped bale, you can run a hand along the film and feel an even tension without loose tails flapping in the wind.

Operator comfort and control

From the cab, an operator like Kuhn test driver Marc Dubois reads the VB 3155’s bale density and diameter settings on a compact control terminal, adjusting parameters on the move as field conditions change. The aim is to keep bale shape consistent as moisture levels shift across a swath.

Noise levels at the rear of the machine are relatively quiet for a heavy piece of iron thanks to a closed chamber and controlled chain drive layout. Walking beside the baler, you mainly hear the crop flow and the steady click of the tying cycle instead of harsh metallic clatter.

How it fits into the range

Bucher Industries AG positions the VB 3155 within Kuhn’s variable chamber line between lighter-duty models for small farms and more heavily specified machines for contractors. It targets mixed farms that need versatility but do not run balers around the clock.

This middle position means the VB 3155 often shares components with other Kuhn balers, helping Bucher streamline manufacturing and parts logistics across markets. That commonality can make spare parts and dealer support easier to secure in the long life of the machine.

Strengths and trade-offs

One consistent strength of the VB 3155 is its bale density control, which gives farmers the ability to increase core firmness in silage for better fermentation while easing density in dry straw to control wear. That granularity helps tailor output to specific storage setups.

The flip side is that a variable chamber baler like the VB 3155 adds setup complexity compared with fixed-chamber machines. Less experienced operators may need more time with the manual and dealer training to avoid uneven bales or missed tying cycles when switching crops quickly.

Market and stock context

For Bucher, balers such as the VB 3155 are part of a broader agricultural machinery offering through Kuhn Group that complements municipal vehicles, hydraulics, and glass manufacturing equipment in the group portfolio. This diversified footprint tends to smooth cyclical swings across individual segments.

Bucher Industries AG shares (ISIN CH0002432174) are listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange, with investors tracking demand for Kuhn’s balers and other equipment as one indicator of the Swiss manufacturer’s capital goods cycle exposure.

This article was AI-assisted and editorially reviewed. Product information without guarantee; prices and availability may change at short notice. No investment advice, no buy or sell recommendation. Stock-market transactions involve risks up to total loss.