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NO WASTED MOTION AT POLE FACILITY hen the 830 M-T log handler W reached the end of its six-year lease term with 22,000 service hours,
Stella-Jones Inc. Plant Manager Darrin Vigue did his due diligence to choose its replacement. But in the end, Vigue returned to the machine that had served him so well for the previous six years. “We considered other makes, including two of the industry’s top OEMs,” Vigue says. “But there were really no other options for us. The Sennebogen is a good machine; everyone is happy with it.” The facility that Vigue manages at Galloway is one of several wood utility pole treatment plants that Stella-Jones operates in British Columbia. Western red cedar and Douglas fir poles are first trimmed and debarked at another facility, then distributed to various yards such as Galloway for further treatment. Reliable uptime is crucial to Vigue’s operation. He keeps the 830 M-T running 16 hours a day to handle the yard’s full range of loading, stacking and picking duties. This model was specially engineered by Sennebogen for log handling, with modifications to the under-
carriage for enhanced traction and trailer-pulling capacity. The new unit features a beefed-up stick with a live heel to handle poles up to 115 ft. (35 m). Such long poles are straight stacked but, more typically, the poles arriving by truck and rail are unloaded and square-piled in 25 ft. (7.6 m) blocks to allow maximum air flow for natural seasoning. Vigue explains, “Our only backup is an old Prentice log handler—just try to get an operator into one of those now! The accessibility of service and parts from Great West Equipment, located in Cranbrook, just down the road, was a critical factor in our decision to stick with Sennebogen. If there is a problem, we can count on Great West to be onsite within the hour.” The Galloway yard is a 36-acre gravel-based site, plus 10 acres of leased Crown land. Vigue describes it as a long narrow yard, so the wheeled 830 machine is well-suited to the long travel cycles that are sometimes needed to haul trailers carrying 20,000-30,000 lb. (9,070 - 13,600 kg) loads.
Great West fitted this 830 with a BC Forestry cab mated to Sennebogen controls. As Vigue notes, “Loading these poles is a delicate operation; we have to take care to avoid scarring or damaging the wood. Our operators are more than happy with the precision and responsiveness of the Sennebogen hydraulics. Pole butts and tops are usually mixed on the trucks coming in, so we usually take a maximum of five logs in a bite. The rotating head and live heel on the stick lets us alternate their orientation on each layer in the stack, without having to change position as we’re unloading.” The 91,300 lb. (41,413 kg) 830 M-T comes standard with a hydraulic elevating cab that can rise up to 20 ft. (6 m) above ground level, allowing the operator an unobstructed view for efficient high-stacking. Powered by a 225 HP (168 kW) Cummins diesel engine, the 4wheel-drive system features dual transmissions providing direct drive to each axle, achieving the highest drawbar pull TP in its weight class. Article and photo provided by Sennebogen: www.sennebogen-na.com
Stella-Jones relies on the 830 M-T log handler at the Galloway pole facility through two non-stop shifts every day. 42
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