NZ Logger February 2020

February 2020

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ISSN 1176-0397

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History of NZ logging truck

Top Spot champions of 2019

| $ $7.20

contents FEBRUARY 2020

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FOREST TALK First forest death as year begins; Gough Cat becomes Terra Cat; log exports to be hit with higher fuel costs; forestry warned of dangers from Cannabis legalisation; bigger grapple set to spark trend; NZ forestry earnings to lift in 2020; Porter introduces Hyundai purpose-built forestry models; first Weiler forestry machines arrive in NZ; Help for woodlot owners; Lance Duncan passes away; proximity alert keeps tree fallers safe; bolt-on winch-assist debuts in NZ; John Deere releases 959 steep slope harvester; Waratah introduces large FL100 felling head; women foresters raise the bar.

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SHAW’S WIRE ROPES IRON TEST Harvesting woodlots is hard work and it’s just as hard trying to make money from them, but a Bay of Plenty logger may have found the answer to reducing costs by using an agricultural-based tractor and powered trailer to extract logs.

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BREAKING OUT Contractors moan when log trucks don’t turn up to collect their logs on time, but have you wondered how this vital cog in the harvesting system evolved in New Zealand? Our forestry historian, Trevor Coker, delves into the past to trace the history of the Kiwi logging truck.

DEPARTMENTS 2 editorial 48 fica 50 top spot 54 new iron 57 classifieds

February 2020 | NZ LOGGER 1

from the editor

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ISSN 1176-0397

PHOTO: JOHN ELLEGARD

February 2020

Finding a better way forward

History of NZ logging truck

Top Spot champions of 2019

The Valtra T174 tractor and its powered trailer, operated by Seaview Logging, is tailored to woodlots, like this one in the Waikato.

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2 NZ LOGGER | February 2020

HEY SAY YOU CAN’T KNOW WHERE YOU ARE HEADING UNLESS you know where you’ve come from.

That old saying is true about many things in life, but very much so for forestry. We’re an industry that has a long history, but we have a tendency to repeat the same mistakes because we don’t always learn the lessons of the past.

That’s why we go through boom and bust cycles. When times are good we pump out as much wood as we can to take advantage of high prices, piling into markets until they become saturated and then...bang, it folds like a pack of cards, leaving us scratching our heads as to how we got into that situation.

It’s something I noted when I took over as editor of the magazine in early 2008. Speaking to numerous foresters about what makes the industry tick, the more learned ones warned me of the boom/bust cycles. The industry was going through a bust at that time.

As I got more familiar with New Zealand forestry I also became aware of another tendency; for everyone to work in silos, concentrating on their little patch and not looking around to see what others were doing and whether they could collaborate or learn from each other.

We are getting better at learning from our mistakes and collaborating a bit more. Albeit slowly.

I’m encouraged whenever I meet someone who breaks the mould and does things differently. Not just because they can. But because they’ve learned from the past that you need to try something new when the old model doesn’t work.

I got that feeling when visiting Graeme Savill and his Seaview Logging team in the Waikato recently. This farmer-turned-logger is not bound by the conventions of the past when it comes to tackling woodlots. It’s not an easy business and many small crews working in this part of the industry are hamstrung by the need to use old and unsuitable machinery because of monetary constraints and the lack of job certainty.

Graeme tried the used machinery route. It cost him plenty, so he looked around to see what other options were available and found a solution that suits woodlots. The use of more compact and more affordable equipment that can do an effective job more economically has been among the things I’ve advocated for many years. Woodlots make up a sizeable portion of our annual harvest, yet we don’t log them with anything like the efficiency they deserve. High costs are one reason why woodlot owners hit the stop button when log prices dive. They deserve better. The industry deserves better.

Graeme’s solution, covered in this month’s Iron Test, is not the only one – there are many more to be uncovered.

I hope to see more of them come to light, but it won’t be as editor of NZ Logger magazine. This is my last issue in the editor’s chair. I’m winding back a bit to be able to spend more time with my family, especially my grandchildren – here in NZ and in the UK – before they grow up and leave the nest. But I’ll still be writing articles for the magazine, especially Iron Tests. You can’t get rid of me that easily.

Please extend the same welcome to incoming editor, Hayley Leibowitz, that you did to me a dozen years back as she takes the reigns from the March 2020 issue.

Just don’t forget the lessons of the past and never stop innovating. This industry needs innovation more than ever. NZL

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forest talk

Log exports to be hit with higher fuel costs

A NEW RULE THAT FORCES SHIPS TO USE LOWER SULPHUR FUEL or install systems to clean their emissions will impose a higher cost on log and timber exports from New Zealand to the rest of the world.

The international rule came into force on January 1 and is aimed at reducing sulphur emissions from ships by 80% to help fight climate change.

And it will come at a cost. Forest owners will likely pay an additional $10 per tonne for export logs due to the more expensive low sulphur fuel or retrofitting of scrubbers to clean ship engine exhausts that continue to use higher sulphur fuel.

It is unlikely that customers will pay the extra, so the penalty will fall back onto the exporters of logs and timber, reducing their income.

Meanwhile, export prices for logs began the New Year on a positive note, continuing the slow recovery seen towards the end of 2019. Log prices are now about $2 higher than the five-year average, but still $5 below the 2-year average.

Industry experts say prices are unlikely to change much over the coming weeks, with the Chinese New Year celebrations in progress.

Logs in stock on the wharves in China are still high, exceeding 4 million cubic metres and the Lunar celebrations will prolong efforts to bring it down.

Also, the domestic uptake of pruned logs in the central North Island is now settling down after Claymark Group was tipped into receivership in December, which saw supplies to the company’s mills halted for a while.

The owners of Claymark had previously been in negotiations to sell the business to NZ Future Forest Products, but the deal failed to go through on time.

Claymark employs more than 500 people across six manufacturing sites in Bay of Plenty, Thames and Auckland, producing clear wood products for export.

Receiver, KordaMentha, says the intention is to continue to trade the business while working through the key issues, stating: “As a result of NZFFP not yet settling, the group came under increasing working capital pressure to stabilise the business and fund future growth.

“The Group has been unable to secure additional funding and, as a result, the board of Claymark has had to take the unfortunate step of requesting its senior debt provider to appoint receivers.”

The receivers say the contract with NZFFP remains in place and they will attempt to see that through. Failing this, they will look for an alternative buyer.

NZFFP itself came under scrutiny late last year over its links to NZ First leader Winston Peters and a plan to apply for $100 million from the Shane Jones-led One Billion Trees programme to buy land to convert to forests. The bid was unsuccessful but still caused a political spat.

Separately, NZFFP has announced it will fast-track a new sawmill and manufacturing capacity at Ruakaka in Northland following the completion of its strategic transaction with North Sawn Lumber (NSL).

NZFFP Managing Director, David Henry, says the expansion will create 30 new full-time equivalent jobs in Ruakaka, providing new high-quality and long-term employment opportunities in the Northland region.

The expansion will allow for additional premium wood products to be containerised and shipped from Northport. It will generate an additional $40 million in annual export receipts, mainly from NSL’s existing markets in South East Asia and also to new customers in Europe. This export growth strategy is in addition to continuing to service all of NSL’s existing domestic customers.

The expansion plans commence in the first quarter of 2020, with commissioning in the fourth quarter. NZL

Gough Cat becomes Terra Cat FOLLOWING ITS PURCHASE BY SIME Darby, the Gough Group has been given a new name – Terra Industrial New Zealand.

Chief Executive, Grant Whitelaw, says the name marks a new era for the company, adding: “We are building on a magnificent legacy of 90 years. The company has a great history in working with customers to help build New Zealand and we are taking this forward as we draw on new resources and expand our customer offering.”

He says the expertise and experience of Sime Darby, which owns some of the world’s leading Cat dealerships, will bring new strength to the company and includes plans to introduce some industry-firsts for customers.

Among these, Terra Cat is launching a new customer portal to give easy online access to vital information about things like

4 NZ LOGGER | February 2020

fuel efficiency, machine locations, hours on equipment and oil lab results. It will also be moving to a more solution-focused model of helping customers solve problems as well as providing machinery, says Mr Whitelaw.

The name Terra, coming from the Latin words terra firma, reflects the company’s connection to the land and to the grounded nature of its people and relationships.

“Caterpillar brings us the power of unparalleled world-class Cat products and systems and we are here delivering the power on the ground through our people, places, product and solutions,” adds Mr Whitelaw.

The new name and brand are already on Terra Industrial’s digital channels and will progressively appear on sites around New Zealand over 6-to-12 months. While the website and email addresses are

changing, messages to existing staff will be automatically redirected in the meantime, and phone numbers and branch locations remain the same. NZL

First forest death as year begins THE YEAR GOT OFF TO A SAD START with a logger dying in a forestry incident just days into 2020.

Walter Terence Collier, 56, died after a tree fell on him in the Raukumara Forest, 20 kilometres inland from Tokomaru Bay. Police and ambulance were called but he was unable to be resuscitated.

WorkSafe is now investigating. NZL

forest talk

Forestry warned of dangers from Cannabis legalisation THE POTENTIAL DECRIMINALISATION OF cannabis means that the logging industry must remain vigilant in maintaining strong workplace drug and alcohol policies and testing practices or risk tarnishing its reputation as a responsible employer that looks after its people.

That’s the warning from Kirk Hardy, CEO of The Drug Detection Agency, a drug and alcohol workplace testing leader with more than 65 locations throughout Australasia.

He says that legalised recreational use of cannabis, should it get the vote, means workers are likely to blur the lines on what is and isn’t acceptable behaviour in a workplace.

“Managers and employers need to remember that even if the drug is legalised for personal use, a worker operating heavy equipment, driving between worksites, or working 20 metres up a tree under the influence of cannabis is breaking the law – just as they would be right now if they were under the influence of alcohol,” says Mr Kirk.

“Legalisation simply provides an easier route to drug access, not the freedom to show up high to work.

“Access to cannabis will make it more imperative than ever for logging operations, regardless of their size, to have clear written drug and alcohol policies with regular drug testing procedures. Clear, known and understood policies are best, they’re no use if they’re not shared with your workers.”

Mr Kirk adds that forestry contractors should consult their current drug and alcohol testing suppliers about how to update their policies to address legalisation if it happens.

The Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 places workplace safety as the responsibility of both employers and employees, citing

that employers need to be proactive with safety legislation and incidents rather than reactive.

Mr Kirk says that after implementing strong policies, contractors who have not yet done so should consider starting preemployment drug testing. It is a proactive initiative that provides a risk assessment of the potential candidate and stops drug issues from entering the workplace. It’s important to note that pre-employment testing is focused on identifying persistent drug users that can harm people and the businesses’ bottom line.

“This form of testing is not about naming and shaming people who dabbled with drugs at a party or had a drink after work with mates,” says Mr Kirk. “It’s about identifying long-term consistent use, which is why hair testing is often used, it is great for identifying long-term drug use. New Zealand’s most prevalent drugs show up in hair tests and include cocaine, methamphetamines, ecstasy, cannabis and opiates.”

Hair testing collection is fast and avoids time issues that can occur with the collection of urine or oral fluid, such as when someone may be dehydrated. All an employee, or potential employee, must do is sit and have a tiny portion of hair cut off. It is also extremely difficult to cheat a hair test as accredited testers take samples directly from a head themselves.

By testing for drug use before entering into employment agreements, forestry contractors and managers can clearly communicate their expectations and stop issues from arising. It shows prospective employees that the business’ drug and alcohol policy is not just on paper. The policy is a set of guiding principles that outline the company’s commitment to a safe, productive

Kirk Hardy, CEO of The Drug Detection Agency. and healthy workforce.

Mr Kirk goes on to say: “For a full testing regime, get professional advice on drug screening employees. Ask an accredited company like TDDA about how to put a regular testing programme in place and discuss what form of testing – whether oral fluid testing, on-site or lab-based urine or hair testing – can be set up to best meet a company’s needs and avoid legal grievances.

“When it comes to hiring a service provider, I recommend two things. Check their track record and check their certifications and accreditations. While the first one is a no-brainer for most business decisionmakers, the second is often overlooked.

“Accredited professionals bring systems, processes and technologies to work that have been checked and vetted by independent, third party organisations, governing bodies and other experts in their fields.

“If your kid’s car needed new brakes would you prefer a mechanic or an MTA Certified mechanic? If your home needed rewiring would you prefer a handyman or a Certified Master Electrician?”

Using accredited professionals delivers long-term financial value as well as legally protecting a company from financial and legal repercussions, he says.

Forestry employers have done well in recent years to build and maintain the industry’s reputation as a clean, fair and respectable career choice and the legalisation of cannabis has the potential to upend that reputation overnight, Mr Kirk adds. Updating drug and alcohol policies and maintaining testing regimes are a key factor in keeping those safety gains – and most importantly, making sure everyone goes home after an honest day’s work. NZL

February 2020 | NZ LOGGER 5

forest talk

Bigger grapple set to spark trend THE NEW ENSIGN 2430C CONTINUOUS ROTATION LOG GRAPPLE recently launched in New Zealand could spark a move towards larger capacity grapples among high volume contractors.

Rotorua-based Ensign launched the new model in response to a request from a customer and has sold more off the back of the interest it caused.

One of the appealing aspects of the Ensign 2430C is that it not only provides greater capacity than the popular 1730 model – swallowing 75% more logs when fully extended – it can close to 225mm to allow it to grab single logs.

“Our big capacity grapples that are predominantly used in big log yards and at the wharves don’t do that, because they’re built to shift volume,” says David Cox, Managing Director of Engineering Services Rotorua, which develops and manufactures the Ensign brand of grapples.

“A move towards larger grapples on busier skid sites is something that is going to become more prominent in the future, definitely. But people still need to be able to handle one or two logs and with this design, it makes it easier for them to do that.”

Mr Cox says it is difficult to gauge the popularity of the new Ensign

The new Ensign 2430C grapple can accommodate 75% more logs than its smaller brother, the 1730.

2430 in the current market, which is still suffering from the flow-on effects of last year’s drop in log prices that saw equipment purchases fall back.

“I’m sure it will become more popular as people become aware of it.”

Being the largest grapple built to suit skid site loading operations, the Ensign 2430C requires an excavator with a minimum size of 25 tonnes – the grapple itself weighs in at 1,700kg, as a result of the additional size and heavy-duty components. It has a 0.83 square metre capacity when its arms are fully extended to 2434mm. That’s 700mm wider than an Ensign 1730.

Mr Cox points out that the 2430C uses longer cylinders to operate the clamping arms so it will be slightly slower than the 1700, but this is more-than compensated by the increased number of logs loaded at the end of the day. NZL

NZ forestry earnings to lift in 2020 RISING EXPORT LOG PRICES HAVE prompted the Ministry of Primary Industries to lift its forestry earnings prediction for the next 18 months.

The sudden price drop in the middle of 2019 had forced MPI to downgrade its earnings forecast, believing that as much as $1 billion could be wiped from the industry’s income as a result of continued lower prices and fewer trees being harvested by woodlot owners.

But in its latest Situation & Outlook Report, MPI now says prices have recovered more than anticipated and it is forecasting forestry exports to hit $6 billion by June 2020, compared to its earlier forecast of $5.8 billion.

MPI says: “This is $0.2 billion higher than the September forecast for year ending June 2020 as log prices are recovering more quickly than expected from their sharp fall over June and July (last) year. If prices continue their sharp recovery, export volumes may increase faster than currently forecast.”

Log export prices dropped 20% in July 2019, falling to NZ$138.0/m3 due to a buildup of softwood inventories in China, along with increased competition from Europe and Russia.

Prices recovered to NZ$143.5/m3 in

September and MPI says it expects them to continue rising to NZ$155-to-$165/ m3 by the middle of 2020.

MPI goes on to say the price recovery was driven by log inventories at China’s ports declining much quicker than expected, although the recovery will soften over the next few months as sales to China traditionally slow down in January and February due to the Chinese New Year holiday.

Also, high volumes of logs from drought and beetle-damaged forests are continuing to arrive in China from Europe and, as these have a similar use to New Zealand logs, they are slowing the export volume recovery.

However, MPI expects volumes to increase in subsequent years as both small and corporate growers respond to the log price recovery by increasing harvest volumes.

China’s construction market remains active and there is no sign of decreased demand and the recent signing of the first stage of the US/China trade pact has given hope to improving confidence in that market.

But MPI goes on to say that in the longerterm, the recent log price drop has underlined the importance of increasing domestic processing and diversifying export markets to reduce our reliance on China, which currently

Earnings from forestry exports are expected to lift in 2020. takes 75% of our forestry exports.

“Interestingly, the price of wood products has not followed the log price drop, and demand from other export markets such as Japan, South Korea, and India, has remained stable with potential to increase,” MPI points out. In fact, sawn timber export revenue for the year ended June 2019 increased 5.2% to $936 million.

Meanwhile, domestic demand for timber is expected to rise, due to an increase in new dwelling consents to fill the housing need.

The number of consents increased 20% in the September 2019 quarter compared to the same quarter in 2018 and the trend is for that to continue. NZL

6 NZ LOGGER | February 2020

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forest talk

Porter introduces Hyundai purpose-built forestry models The Hyundai FX3230G is one of the new purpose-built forestry machines being introduced by Porter Equipment.

THREE HYUNDAI SWING MACHINE MODELS that are purpose-built for forestry work by the factory in Korea are being launched in the New Zealand and Australian markets by Porter Equipment.

The three new forestry models will replace the High Chassis versions of the R250, R290 and R320 in the Hyundai excavator range, becoming the FX3026G, FX3230G and FX3632G respectively, all with standard boom/arm. The Log Loading models – FX3026LL, FX3230LL and FX3632LL – all come with straight booms and arms. They’ll land here virtually ready to go into the forest, requiring the fitting of just the implement on the arm and any non-factory options.

The introduction of these machines has been in the pipeline for some time, says Darren Ralph, General Manager Sales & Marketing for the Porter Group.

“The demand for purpose-built equipment has grown in recent years and has now reached the point where we deemed that the market was stable enough for the factory and ourselves to make this investment,” he says.

Being able to utilise the technologies at the factory will result in a better product,

with better structural integrity, which is essentially lighter but at the same time stronger due to the design and production experience of Hyundai, adds Mr Ralph.

The new FX-series Hyundais arrive with grapple piping already installed, but the grapples themselves are still sourced locally due to different buyer preferences. There is also an option of factory-installed plumbing for processors. The forestry specification includes high and wide chassis and ROPS/ FOPS/OPS cab, along with standard heavyduty doors and bump rails, under-slew guards, final drive guards and catwalks. All engines are carried over into the new models in Tier 3 spec and hydraulic performance is deemed suitable for forestry work without any need for upgrading.

The G model is suited to general duties and processing on the skid, while the LL log loader version not only has the benefit of the straight boom and arm, but also an underslung ram to provide more lift performance Having a machine that has all the structural integrity built in the factory and ready to go into the forest soon after arriving here is a major benefit for contractors and has led to a surge of interest among potential

customers.

“The response has been tremendous,” says Mr Ralph. “We’ve had huge uptake since we first talked to forestry customers, even over the holidays we had orders come in.”

Among the early customers is Horne Logging, which recently took delivery of a Hyundai FX3230G for its Masterton operation.

Matt Horne says it’s the first Hyundai owned by Horne Logging and he’s impressed: “We wanted a nippy digger that wasn’t too heavy that we could use on the skid and out shovelling, and be quite versatile and we couldn’t really find anything else on the market. Walk is really fast, way faster than anything we’ve ever owned.

“Being built for the bush and what we’re doing, it’s good for what we need to do.”

Although the G versions were the first to arrive, it’s the log loader that appears to be grabbing most attention, adds Mr Ralph: “The replacement for the 290 seems to be the most popular size in forestry, where the 30-tonner is becoming sought after, and there has been a lot of interest in the FX3230LL.” NZL

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forest talk

First Weiler forestry machines arrive in NZ THE FIRST EX-CATERPILLAR FORESTRY machine sold under the Weiler brand has been delivered to a customer in New Zealand.

A Weiler S250 skidder, formerly known as the Cat 525, has gone into a pine harvesting operation owned by Matt Jordan of MJ Logging in Geraldine, South Canterbury.

The S250 was one of three new machines that made up the first Weiler shipment to land here; the others being an S450 skidder (formerly the Cat 545) and a B758 feller buncher (previously known as a Cat 522).

“It’s good to have our first Weiler machines here so that contractors can actually see for themselves how they look,” says Wayne Baker, Forestry Product Manager for Terra Cat, which itself has been renamed from Gough Cat. “We’re looking forward to seeing some more arrive soon, so that we can go ahead with our customer demo days.”

Caterpillar decided to sell its Cat purpose-built forestry business to Weiler Inc in 2018, with the exception of forestry excavators, in order to focus on its core business.

The sale included wheel skidders, track feller bunchers, wheel feller bunchers, knuckleboom loaders and related operational facilities, including the manufacturing plant and warehouse

in LaGrange, Georgia, the demonstration and training centre in Auburn, Alabama and the legacy Prentice parts distribution centre in Smithfield, North Carolina.

Production of the forestry equipment lines under the Weiler banner started last September.

Caterpillar will continue to provide purpose-built forestry excavators designed for log loading, processing and other forestry applications, in addition to supplying core Caterpillar equipment to the forestry industry, such as bulldozers.

As part of the change-over, Terra Cat

(now owned by Sime Darby) has taken on the distribution of Weiler-made forestry products alongside its Caterpillar line-up, as part of its ongoing commitment to the forestry industry.

Mr Baker says he expects Weiler forestry products to continue unchanged from their Cat origins for a while before improvements and updates are introduced by the new owner.

“It’s been a smooth transition so far and we expect that to continue – customers will still get the same fantastic product and back-up support,” he adds. NZL

The first new product sold under the Weiler name is this S250 skidder, seen here on delivery with the MJ Logging crew in Geraldine.

Help for woodlot owners A NEW ON-LINE WOODLOT ANALYSIS TOOL (WATS) written by forestry academic, Dr Glen Murphy, is being made freely available on the Forest Growers Research website to help land owners get the best return for their trees.

Funded by FGR and the Forest Growers Levy Trust, WATS is also accompanied by an on-line booklet called ‘How to market and harvest your woodlot for profit’, which is also free.

With around one-third of all plantation forests in New Zealand made up of small forests and woodlots under 500 hectares,

10 NZ LOGGER | February 2020

FGR estimates there are more than 11,000 land holders around the country. Most are first-time forest growers and will have little experience of how to harvest and market their trees.

To help provide them with an idea of what their forests will be worth at harvest, the woodlot owners pinpoint where the forest is located on a digital map on the WATS online tool, provide a basic description of the woodlot, then enter representative log grades to be harvested, anticipated yields and the

log prices.

WATS then reports expected gross and net returns and costs associated with the harvesting and cartage of wood from the woodlot to the wood buyers.

The tool will help those new to harvesting to get to grips with the different elements of the harvesting process and the magnitude of the various financial flows. It is, however, recommended that woodlot owners engage a harvesting and marketing professional to get the harvesting done. NZL

forest talk

Lance Duncan passes away ONE OF THE MOST COLOURFUL characters in New Zealand forestry has passed away at age 75 after losing his fight with cancer.

Lance Duncan, appeared in the very first issue of NZ Logger magazine, back in 2002, talking about his life as a bushman and even wrote a book about it, called ‘Louie and the Hard Case Buggers’ which this magazine’s owner helped him to publish later in his life.

Louie was a nickname he picked up in his early days hunting and working in the bush.

The son of a sawmill worker, Lance got into forestry through his love of hunting pigs in the central North Island and went on to work with a timber business in the Mamaku area, helping to plant trees before getting into logging.

Much of his early days were spent cutting down native trees, before Lance grabbed an opportunity to work in Fiji, becoming

assistant logging manager. Back in New Zealand, Lance then joined with a friend to run their own crew in Radiata plantations and eventually took sole ownership of the operation.

Among his most interesting jobs was recovering wood from forests blown down

by Cyclone Bola in the late 1980s, also one of the most dangerous. That earned Lance a reputation as someone who could successfully tackle the tough jobs and do them safely, which saw him become chairperson of the Kinleith Logging Contractors Safety Scheme at its inception.

Lance departed from forestry prematurely, following changes implemented during the Key Supplier transition, after he was unsuccessful in tendering for a job. Instead, he got into training race horses and produced a number of winners.

But he never forgot his forestry roots and

Lance Duncan, a legend of the New Zealand bush. was instrumental in setting up the Putaruru Timber Museum just outside his adopted home town.

Good friend, Colin ‘Scania’ James describes Lance as a “genuine good bastard” and says he will be truly missed, adding: “The mighty Totara has fallen.” NZL

Proximity alert keeps tree fallers safe A DEVICE TO IMPROVE SAFETY FOR MANUAL TREE FALLERS AND ground crews working in thinnings has been launched in New Zealand.

It’s called Safetrek, a person-to-person proximity alert system designed with the assistance of a Northland silviculture business to avoid harm and enable forestry workers and visitors to react swiftly during high-risk tree cutting tasks.

The Safetrek proximity alert operates on Radio Frequency (RF) technology independently of GPS and radio, communicating tag-to-tag.

Developed by Rearsense, the company’s Joe Naus explains: “The device is simply a pair of tags per person, with each team member having a pair. So, if a tag is within 30-to-35m of another tag, both tags alert.

Therefore, both the feller and the person within 30-to-35m are alerted.

The tags are placed in the earmuffs so they are protected and the workers can hear them clearly.

“You can add as many to the team as you wish and they will all communicate with each other. The advantage is that it is a direct line communication as it is does not rely on GPS, cell phone or other radio communication.”

Mr Naus goes on to explain how and why the product was developed: “Four years ago , when presenting to an organisation that provides safety systems for the forestry industry, it was suggested the industry needed a solution around ensuring that when manually cutting and thinning, crew members are the mandatory two-tree-lengths away from each other.

“The challenge was to find a technology solution for this without relying on cellphone coverage – as many forestry areas do not have consistent coverage. This started the journey of trying to develop and tailor a technology solution that fitted this specific requirement.”

Already involved in safety systems for industry for the past decade with products providing tools to alert operators and pedestrians around mobile

plant of hazards when moving, Rearsense had some RF technology that it believed could work.

“However, we needed to work on understanding the forestry environment and what would work practically in this environment,” adds Mr Naus.

Enter Northland’s Kevin Ihaka and his team from Forest Protection Services (FPS) to help understand the requirements and tailor and test the product in their thinning operations.

A long development process eventually evolved into a product that has wide applications for the forestry industry. Key outcomes include: • Alert is incorporated in the earmuff and is protected by a waterproof cover • A unit is placed in each earmuff, so that regardless of where they face it receives signals • Extensive testing resulted in a consistent 30-to-35m range, or 100m in open ground • As teams normally came together before going into the bush and sometimes operate in pairs, the first 5m alert is excluded.

• A battery life of one week or more.

• Batteries can be recharged in the vehicle.

It took two years working with the FPS team for the final product to be signed off and Kevin Ihaka is impressed with the results.

“We see the Safetrek proximity alert as an extremely useful tool to ensure that our crews are not within two-tree-lengths of each other when undertaking thinning,” he says. “We have found the units consistent in a range of terrain and durable in the forestry environment. We see it is a logical safety device for thinning crews. NZL

February 2020 | NZ LOGGER 11

forest talk

Bolt-on winch-assist debuts in NZ A SOUTHLAND CONTRACTOR WAS THE CATALYST FOR THE LAUNCH of a unique winch-assist system in New Zealand for recovering wood from steep slopes.

The Timbermax, from Canada, is now represented here by AB Equipment after Andrew ‘Pratty’ Pratt facilitated the introduction a year ago.

The Timbermax differs from other winch-assist systems because it’s a self-contained unit that can either be fixed to the end of an excavator or attached directly to the machine that is on the hill to aid traction.

Andrew came across it when researching winch-assist alternatives to current systems and says the Timbermax appealed because it is a simple ‘bolt on’.

“You can change over from the Timbermax to a bucket or a grapple

12 NZ LOGGER | February 2020

in about 20 minutes and have a machine well set up for that work, without having the extra weight of winches on the back that may affect its normal operation,” says Andrew, who recently took delivery of the first Timbermax for his King 1 crew.

After making contact with Quebec-based Timbermax owner, Mathieu Lavoie, the discussion turned to selling them in New Zealand and Andrew decided it wasn’t for him so brought AB Equipment into the picture. Together they and another interested Southland contractor, Doug Anderson, visited a Prince George logging operation and the deal was inked.

“It’s an unusual way to sign up a distributorship, but I take my hat off to ‘Pratty’ for having the foresight to see the potential of the Timbermax and then realise it’s better for a business like ours to be the one to handle it,” says Mark Hill, Forestry Product Manager for

forest talk

Facing page: The King 1 crew with the Timbermax winch-assist unit on the end of the new Sumitomo SH300TL, plus their new Tigercat LS855E. Right: Timbermax owner, Mathieu Lavoie, talks about the T20HD during a recent demonstration.

Far right: The Timbermax T20 attached to the end of the Sumitomo excavator.

AB Equipment.

“It’s different from other winch-assist systems I’ve seen and the guy behind it is a very smart engineer and has made a great job of it.”

Timbermax created a special heavy-duty version of its top-of-therange T20HD model to suit the New Zealand market, equipped with 420 metres of 1-inch rope that delivers up to 56 tonnes breaking strain.

“But we prefer to run it conservatively, so it is set to 18 tonnes to give operators that extra margin of safety,” adds Mark.

The Timbermax T20HD comes with a spade attachment that digs into the ground to anchor it when deployed on the end of

an excavator. The rope is fed from a pivoting guide that swivels 45-degrees from centre and the winch has a spooling system to guide the rope onto the drum. The T20HD weighs approximately 6 tonnes fully roped, similar to a large processing head.

Andrew purchased a brand new Sumitomo SH300TL to take the Timbermax and during a demo for other contractors prior to Christmas he was so impressed with the Tigercat LS855E on the end of the tether he bought that, too.

In addition to tethering the harvester, Andrew also intends to put his Tigercat 632E Log skidder on the end of the rope in his next job to extract stems from the hill. NZL

forest talk

By Jim Childerstone

John Deere releases 959 steep slope harvester JOHN DEERE IS INTRODUCING A VERSION OF ITS 959 TRACKED machine specifically aimed at steep slope harvesting operations.

The new 959ML will be available in two configurations from the factory; as a shovel logger or a directional feller.

The US manufacturer says the 959ML has been developed as a direct result of the continued growth of the steep slope logging market, with the ability to tackle felling and log handling in very difficult terrain.

The first machine to arrive in this region was to be unveiled at April’s AUSTimber 2020, but with the show postponed, it will still be available for testing. Arrival date in New Zealand is yet to be confirmed New Zealand distributor, CablePrice, says that first machine will be the felling model, fitted with the new Waratah FL100 large directional felling head.

“The new 959ML Shovel Logger leverages the top features from our M- and MH-Series models, including the best-in-class levelling control system, to produce a new machine specifically designed for steep slope operations,” says Jim O’Halloran, Global Product Marketing Manager, John Deere Construction & Forestry.

One of the key features of the 959ML machine is the boom geometry, available with the 11-metre live heel shovel logger boom, and the 9.12-metre and 10.34-metre directional feller booms. All boom options have excellent downhill reach capability, ensuring that each boom configuration can reach the downhill side of the ground, even at a full leveller tilt.

Equipped with a strong, purpose-built live heel, the 11-metre shovel logger boom is designed to incorporate grapples up to 1.5-metre (60-

The new John Deere 959ML is designed for steep slope harvesting. inch) or mid-sized directional felling heads. There is also an option available to quickly switch between the two. While the directional feller booms can support any large directional felling head applications.

The patented levelling control system uses sensor technology, maximising the forward tilt angle (26 degrees), while electronically preventing any possible mechanical interference when tilting to the side. The levelling envelope boundaries are set automatically and the patented system provides a smooth transition when approaching the levelling limits.

The 959ML uses the same 9-litre John Deere engine, developing 330hp peak power as the 959MH models, along with the same roomy cab.

Design features include full opening enclosures and walkthrough access. Additionally, standard walkways allow access to all areas of the enclosure without climbing down, to make maintenance easier and faster, and there is no need to take the machine off the hill for service.

The 959ML can be equipped with a variety of optional add-ons specifically designed for steep slope applications, including a weldon, tether-ready hitch field kit, slope indicator and four-point seat harness. NZL

Waratah introduces large FL100 felling head WARATAH HAS RELEASED A NEW, TOPof-the-range directional felling head, the FL100 for 30+ tonne carriers, designed to improve productivity, increase durability and extend uptime for steep slope, shoveling and traditional felling applications.

Brent Fisher, Product Marketing Manager for Waratah, says: “It has high-capacity grapple arms engineered for improving operational picking and holding force of logs.

It also includes a valve-in-head design and our new TimberRiteTM X-20 control system.”

Featuring continuous rotation and dual rotate motors, this large class directional felling head has a 1,000mm cut capacity and is equipped with extra-long, continuously curved opposing arms for enhanced grapple capacity and picking capability, with a 1,470mm opening and 0.78 m2 payload capacity.

The FL100’s forward-placed saw unit allows for easier cutting of larger timber. For power in small or large capacity loads, it has one cylinder per arm plus a synchronising link for

14 NZ LOGGER | February 2020

maximum grapple holding force and control.

The TimberRite X-20 stand-alone controller provides configurable settings for improved head performance, productivity and measuring accuracy. Features include a stem counter, sawcut/home indication, production reports and individual operator settings.

Together, the new features allow enhanced flexibility in operation that improve overall productivity by allowing operators more capabilities to properly position timber.

The FL100 has a robust and sturdy design for increased durability. Its one-piece, welded, high-strength steel frame is coupled with large pin diameters and a grapple geometry with an arm profile designed to handle various sizes of timber. Its fixed saw box design also contributes toward increased durability.

As an added bonus, the FL100’s grapple force remains high even with its arms at capacity. For simplified integration, the FL100 has a valve in-head design.

The FL100 utilises proven Waratah

saw system components, some rotate components and electrical and oiler systems while providing extended uptime with a variety of new features. For improved serviceability, the chain oil capacity is 35L and a large chain oil reservoir minimises frequent top ups. NZL

The new top-of-the-range Waratah FL100 felling head.

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forest talk

Women foresters raise the bar IT’S A HAT TRICK FOR WOMEN FORESTERS as Elliot Logging’s Kere Elliot took Skilled Forestry Professional of the Year for 2019 at the Hawkes Bay Forestry Awards, announced late last year.

She joins Heather Arnold, of Nelson Forests, who took out the top award in the Top of the South Forestry Awards and Michelle Harrison, of Wise on Wood, winner of the top award in the Northland Forestry Awards earlier in 2019.

Kere has been involved in Pan Pac harvesting operations for many years, working her way through all aspects of harvesting operations, from running a harvesting crew with husband, Grant, to providing auditing and training services to the wider contracting workforce.

“The tree felling auditing and training that Kere carries out is a key component of ensuring that all our tree fallers are working at the safest and highest possible level in one of the most hazardous tasks to be completed,” says Tim Sandall, General Manager, Forests at Pan Pac. Kere’s colleagues credit her win to her vigilance, care and natural ability to relate to people on the ground.

“Kere is a humble recipient with a strong backbone and has a superb talent in communicating with bushmen, with an outstanding reputation,” adds Tim. “Showing commitment to the industry and to the development of her colleagues, she has likely saved lives under her direction and unwavering resolve to improve standards so

16 NZ LOGGER | February 2020

Kere Elliot proudly holds her Skilled Forestry Professional Award.

that the job is completed safely.”

James Powrie from Redaxe Forestry Intelligence, representing the judges, says he was impressed with the calibre across all fifteen categories, making it difficult in some instances to assign a clear winner.

Keith Dolman, Chief Executive of the Hawkes Bay Forestry Group says: “Our decision to implement these awards was on the back of the other regional campaigns being such a positive success for the regions and their people. Hawkes Bay is an area for growth in this sector and it’s important that we celebrate our own successes.”

The awards will be reviewed with a view to running them as an annual event to benefit the region’s forestry industry by attracting skilled employees, up-skilling and lifting standards.

2019 Hawkes Bay Forestry Awards • Hawkes Bay Forestry Skilled Professional of the Year - Kere Elliot, Elliot Logging Training Certificates • NZ Apprentice of the Year, sponsored by Competenz: Cameron Lamb, Tumu Timbers • Trainee of the Year, sponsored by Rayonier Matariki: Nick Hinks, Pan Pac Forest Products • Training Company/Contractor of the Year, sponsored by M W Lissette: Lew Prince, Lew Prince Logging 1995 Skilled Professional Certificates • Forestry Excellence, sponsored by

Forest Management (NI): Kevin Humphreys, General & Protection Forestry Services • Roading Excellence, sponsored by FMNZ: Nick Benge, Ngaio Contracting Crew & Management Team • Harvesting Excellence, sponsored by FMNZ: Martyn Powell, Powell Logging • Wood Processing Excellence, sponsored

by Lew Prince Logging: Nathan Rhodes, Lew Prince 1995 • Distribution Excellence, sponsored by Napier Port: Paul Dornan, Pan Pac Dispatch • Tree Faller Excellence, sponsored by Gair Contracting: Nathan Whaanga, ATS Logging • Woman in Forestry Excellence, sponsored by McFall Fuel: Kere Elliot, Elliot Logging Industry Development Trophies • Crew of the Year, sponsored by FICA: Crew 8 & Ralph Jordan, Lew Prince 1995 • Outstanding H & S Management Award, sponsored by C3: Eddie Te Kahika, M W Lissette • Outstanding Environmental Management Award, sponsored by H/Bay Regional Council: Mark Roper, Forest Management NZ • Outstanding Regional Service Performance Award, sponsored by ISO: Hemi Poutu, Hawkes Bay Training Special Award • Outstanding Contribution, sponsored

by Z Energy: Trevor Sialemisa, DG Glenn Logging. NZL

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Story: John Ellegard Photos: John Ellegard & supplied

Seaview Logging of Katikati is operating the first Valtra tractor from Finland working in forestry in New Zealand.

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February 2020 | NZ LOGGER 19

The powered trailer being pulled by Seaview Logging’s Valtra tractor can legally cart 15 tonnes of logs.

I

F SOMEONE SUGGESTED ADDING AN AGRICULTURAL tractor to your crew’s complement of machinery, you’d probably ask them how much they had to drink.

But after seeing how well a tractor performed in a harvesting operation in the northern Waikato, I have to say that it’s a low-cost option that woodlot contractors should seriously consider. Maybe other loggers, too.

The tractor is working with Seaview Logging, a three-man crew based out of the western Bay of Plenty, specialising in removing anything from shelter belts to substantial pine plantations from farms.

The machine they are using is no ordinary tractor, however.

It’s from Valtra of Finland, which used to be part of Valmet, the well-known harvesting equipment business that was absorbed into Komatsu Forest.

Valtra is a major manufacturer of tractors and while most of its products earn their keep undertaking a variety of agricultural tasks, such as ploughing fields, the company also builds specialised forestry models, putting its previous experience in the industry to good use.

And the Seaview machine is one of these.

Graeme Savill, who owns Seaview Logging, mostly uses the Valtra to recover logs from his woodlot operations, pulling a powered trailer that can cart up to 15 tonnes of wood.

Call it a budget forwarder if you like, but it does this job extraordinarily well. Plus, it can also act as a ‘poor man’s yarder’ with a winch pulling a rope up and over the extended arms that act like a mini tower; it can also skid whole trees attached to the rear winch; and when the harvesting is all done and dusted it’ll even do land-prep by mulching the slash and stumps to leave the site ready to go back into pasture.

Such a versatile piece of equipment should be on the radar of many other contractors working in woodlots. It makes a lot of sense.

“It’s really good – does everything I need it to do,” says Graeme.

“You can drive down the road in this but you can’t with a forestry forwarder and you’d struggle getting one through farmers gateways.

A forwarder would be double the price, too. And you can’t put a baler on it. Or a mulcher. I’ve also got a hydraulic grader to grade our tracks and sweep the paddocks.

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“That bucket on the front is used for carting fuel, chainsaws, metal...anything that’s too big and bulky to shift by hand or on the back of a ute.”

Only a farmer would think of using a farm-based piece of equipment in a forestry role and Graeme is, indeed, a farmer. His 258-hectare farm is just outside Katikati and was previously a dairy unit, which is now converting to run dry stock, managed by his daughters, Hayley and Amy, with her husband Peter.

That’s because Graeme is now far too busy being a logger to be a full-time farmer. And he likes his new lifestyle. It also pays better than farming, even taking into account the sharp hit to export log prices last winter.

Graeme fell into forestry by accident, rather than design. He wanted to cut down a block of 120-year-old pine trees on his farm to extend the pastures and thought he could handle the task himself with a chainsaw, bulldozer and a loader. Then OSH got involved.

“They said you need to have qualifications for that sort of work and I didn’t,” says Graeme.

Fortunately, he knew someone who did. Clinton Alley, who went to school with his daughters, lived nearby in Waihi and had been working as an arborist as well as in forestry woodlots. At the time, he was operating a loader inside the hold of log exporting ships at Mt Maunganui and wanted a break.

“He was getting his tickets to complete his forestry qualifications, so he came on board with me about five years ago. And that was the start of it,” adds Graeme.

“I had a bulldozer and that old Komatsu loader (gesturing towards a well-worn PC200) and we did all those pines at home – 300 of them.

We tried to export some of the big ones and the export guy said they were too big. We could only get one log on a truck. The biggest is still there, it’s three-and-a-half metres in diameter.

“We ended up milling that timber for beehives, because old man pine doesn’t need to be treated, it’s all heart wood. Really good wood.”

Graeme picked up an old log trailer to tow behind the farm tractor so he could deliver wood out to the road for trucks to collect. He’s still

SERIOUS POWER BIG TIME LOGGERS

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got that old trailer and they use it occasionally, but it was heavy and difficult – if not impossible – to pull fully laden with logs over a wet paddock that had any sort of incline.

The solution came from a lesson learned many years earlier by his father, who bought one of the first feed-out wagons in the country that he pulled behind an old six-wheel-drive army truck.

“It was just too heavy, so we hooked the diff up to the PTO and it was so much easier – that’s what we’ve done here,” explains Graeme, pointing to the drive system in their current trailer, which is actually the back end of an old International log truck. The cab, engine and front wheels of the truck have gone and a drive shaft connects from the tractor’s PTO into the transmission on the trailer and ‘hey-presto’, it’s got drive power. More on that shortly.

Graeme wasn’t intending to make logging a full-time occupation after dealing to the old pines on his farm, but when dairy prices crashed four years ago, he and Clinton decided it would make a good sideline to their existing work after they were offered a block at Waihi.

“We did that, so we said let’s continue and see if we can make some money,” says Graeme. “And then I went and spent it all on diggers and tractors and the like.”

One of their first purchases was an old Valmet 445 leveller with a Waratah 622B processing head, an ideal machine for small woodlots.

But when they took on a big job in Taumarunui that was mostly on 30-plus degree slopes, they splashed out on a 2014 model, 9,000hour Tigercat 855 with a SATCO felling head, which was more capable

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of handling the extra tonnage.

To get the logs out to the road, Graeme and Clinton were using an old bulldozer, which was effective but very slow. OSH prevented use of an ordinary agricultural tractor because the cabs are not built to FOPS standards.

During a trip to the National Fieldays at Mystery Creek, Graeme came across Valtra tractors on the Waikato Tractors stand and “basically signed up on the spot”.

Graeme says he was impressed with how the model he was shown is built to forestry standards, including full guarding around the cab to comply with FOPS, such as polycarbonate front and door screens and guarding to vital components on the underside.

“I talked to Ben (Ben Peters, Sales Manager at Waikato Tractors) and he put us onto the best model for what we were doing, the T174,” says Graeme.

Ben Peters, who has joined us for today’s Iron Test, says: “I knew he wanted a 6-cylinder engine and he needed a bit of weight. The horsepower wasn’t necessarily the be-all and end-all, the torque was the main thing. We specified the unique ground speed PTO to drive his trailer, and only Valtra can provide that along with the factory forestry guarding.”

A small number of these forestry-spec Valtra tractors have been sold to rural contractors with mulching attachments for land-prep SERIOUS POWER FOR BIG TIME LOGGERS SERIOUS POWER FOR BIG TIME LOGGERS work, mostly around the North Island.

The Seaview machine is the first Valtra to be used in a proper logging operation in New Zealand.

ALWAYS SWING A BIG STICK

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Facing page: Tractors are designed to fit through narrow gaps in fences and farm gates.

Above left: The powered trailer used to be the back end of an International log truck.

Above right: There are plans to fit a factory crane to the rear of the Valtra tractor so that it can load the trailer and unload at the roadside without the need for a separate excavator.

Below left: Power from all eight wheels and lower overall weight, compared to a traditional forwarder, helps minimise damage to farm paddocks.

Below right: The Valtra provides a low-cost option for woodlot operators to transport logs over long distances across farmland to roadside trucks.

The T174 isn’t the biggest tractor in the Valtra range – there are larger and more powerful models – but it does fit nicely into the needs of a woodlot crew. At 5.8 metres in overall length it has a wheelbase just shy of 3 metres. Width is dependent on the size of wheels/tyres fitted and whether they’re singles or duals. The Seaview tractor has single 650/65R42 Michelin radial tyres on the rear and smaller 540/65R30 on the front, all driven through the powershift transmission. Although Nokian forest tyres are available, the decision was made to stay with agricultural tyres as the tractor is used for farm work when it’s not on logging duties.

The powershift was another important tick on the list for Graeme.

He wasn’t keen on a variable transmission, like a hydrostatic, which a lot of tractors now come with.

“We figured that for simplicity and for holding you back on the hills and with different operators, this was the way to go – you stick it in a gear and it stays in that gear,” says Graeme.

Speaking of gears, there are 30 in total! That’s typical of agricultural tractors because of the diverse range of work they do. Ben explains that there are six boxes, or ranges, each with five gears. The two bottom ranges are for crawling and only used in specialised operations, such as seed planting.

“We do use the crawlers when mulching and occasionally if we’re in a tricky situation to get ourselves out,” adds Graeme. “But we mostly

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use the 20 working gears in the other four ranges.

“So going downhill here I’ll be in A range, on the track down over there going up to the milking shed I’ll go into B range. You’ve got to be very careful not to overdo it, as you can still blow a clutch or a gearbox if you aren’t in the right gear.”

Once Graeme gets out onto the road, where he’ll deliver the logs on the trailer to a yard nearly two kilometres away for the trucks to be loaded, he’ll put the transmission into automatic, disengage the power to the trailer and let the tractor choose the cogs. On the tar seal the Valtra will travel nicely at 50km/h. Graeme even drove it from the previous job in Taumarunui to this one at Te Aroha on the road, which took 3.5 hours. Try doing that in a normal forwarder.

Power is provided by a 6-cylinder AGCO unit, formerly known as Sisu, which went into a number of Scandinavian forestry machines in the past. AGCO is a US-based multi-national agricultural machinery company that now owns Valtra, along with famous British tractor brand, Massey Ferguson.

The 7.4-litre AGCO engine in the Valtra 174 is rated at 129kW (175hp) peak power output and torque tops out at 740Nm at 1,500rpm. There is a boost mechanism that the operator can bring into play if required, which takes power up to a maximum of 140kW (190hp) and torque to 190Nm for a brief time. Graeme’s tractor has a Tier 4 engine, but Tier 3 options are now available for countries like NZ with no agricultural

MADE IN CANADA FOR NZ CONDITIONS

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emissions regulations. Fuel use when pulling a full trailer is around 25L/hr but drops considerably when the bunk is empty – there’s an instant fuel use readout in the cab for the operator to monitor.

The Seaview Valtra is equipped with PTOs front and rear, which enables Graeme to run winches on either end, along with a range of other implements.

One innovative use that interested the NZ Logger Iron Test team was the ‘poor man’s yarder’ system for retrieving logs on steep sites.

Graeme explains that he’ll fit the larger of his two winches (he has a 50-tonne model and a 30-tonne model) to the rear PTO, run the wire rope down under the tractor and up through a pulley mounted high on the raised front arms.

“With the 200 metres on that winch we could pull all of those trees to here if we wanted to,” he says, pointing to some felled trees down a nearby gully. He won’t need to because the Tigercat and Komatsu tracked machines are shovelling them up the hill. Neat idea though, because the extra height provided by the front forks is very handy for keeping the logs from digging into the ground when scabbing.

Alternatively, Graeme can convert the Valtra into a skidder by using a higher mounting point on the rear of the tractor for the winch to keep the front of the stems off the ground when dragging them to the skid.

This option is only used rarely, as the Valtra 174’s gross weight of 13.5-tonne doesn’t provide sufficient mass for pulling heavy wood.

For that task, Graeme created his unique powered log trailer. It may not be a thing of beauty, but it certainly gets the job done. Being a typical Number 8 wired farmer, Graeme did much of the fabrication himself, but had to call on a mechanical engineer to make the drive

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system work.

“The PTO on the tractor runs opposite to the truck so we dropped the driveshaft into the bottom of the diff, not the top – it goes through the Roadranger transmission,” Graeme explains.

“The gearbox is running in reverse all the time and you’ve got to be aware of that because of the oil – the pumps don’t work when it’s running that way. But it doesn’t need a pump with the speeds we do.”

The rear axles from the old International truck didn’t need to be touched, but much wider wheels and tyres that won’t sink into the paddock when loaded up with logs were required. Mounted onto the headboard are a pair of air cylinders that run off a pump to operate the air brakes on the trailer’s wheels.

Graeme does admit that he could have saved himself a swag of money and sweat through buying a purpose-built powered log trailer and if he was to need another one in future, that’s the route he’d take, either a custom-made job from a local manufacturer or an off-the-shelf unit that’s freely available in Europe.

The one big drawback with this set-up, as most NZ Logger readers will point out, is that the Seaview Valtra-towed trailer requires a separate loader to fill the bunk and another to empty it. Easily fixed, says Graeme, “I’m looking at getting a crane that goes on the back of the tractor, maybe in a year or two.”

Valtra has several crane options available and they are designed to complement the hydraulics and operation of this tractor.

Which brings us neatly to the hydraulics, a key component in any forestry machine.

On this T174, the system is load-sensing and employs a powerful

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Facing page: Seaview Logging owner, Graeme Savill, secures chains to the bolster prior to logs being loaded.

Above left: Big, wide farm tyres on both the tractor and trailer provide good grip on muddy tracks.

Above right: Out at the roadside, another excavator is currently used for unloading the trailer and loading up the log trucks. pump to deliver oil around the system.

Crucially, when Graeme was eyeing up the Valtra T174 before purchasing, he noted that it has a radial piston pump operating the hydraulics, not the typical gear pump normally found on ag tractors.

“That means you can put up to a 200-litre pump on it, should you need one that big,” says Graeme. “This one has a 160LPM pump, which is plenty big enough for what we do.

“You can get trailers fitted with load-sensing hydraulic drives as well, which would provide us with another option.”

For his current loading requirements, Graeme relies on the old Komatsu on the skid to load up and an old Hitachi down the road to transfer logs to trucks. The venerable PC200 is being pensioned off soon, as is the equally tired Valmet leveller and its Waratah 622B. By the time you read this, Seaview Logging will have taken delivery of a brand new 25-tonne zero-swing Doosan that will switch between a bucket and a grapple via a quick change. This machine will help with earthworks, as well as loading. Meanwhile, the Tigercat will be getting a SATCO 325 harvesting head to handle some of the bigger trees often found in woodlots – Graeme says the choice of head was dictated by having existing SATCO plumbing and electronics for the felling head already in place. He’s also eyeing up a 32-tonne Hyundai to take another SATCO head that will alternate between processing and shovelling.

When that new head arrives, Seaview Logging will be a fullymechanised outfit and the boys can put the chainsaws to one side as they won’t be doing any more log making by hand.

While Clinton and the third member of the crew, faller/skiddy Stephen Kuizinas, cut down some more trees and shovel them to the skid to be de-limbed and made into logs with the chainsaw, we take the opportunity to check out the interior of the Valtra cab.

As you’d expect with a machine designed and made in Europe, the layout and quality of finish is impeccable, and it’s full of clever ideas.

Like the separate folding jockey seat positioned beside the main operator’s seat. It comes complete with a lap belt so a passenger or a trainer can sit in and be code safe. Brilliant. Why don’t other forestry equipment manufacturers do the same?

Nice to see the chilled compartment for food and beverages that we now associate with Komatsu forwarders built in Finland – an idea that obviously goes back to Valmet days.

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Like traditional forwarders, there are steering wheels fore and aft.

A large wheel for facing forward is matched in the rear of the cab by a smaller one when the operator wants to turn the seat around and drive backwards. What is great about this little wheel is that it can be slid from one side of the cab to the other, to suit the operator’s requirements.

The rest of the controls use latest technology ball grips, instead of joysticks and levers, and a variety of smart electronics, which I’ll let Iron Tester, Stan Barlow, describe in his column on page 34.

Before we leave the cab, I must mention the huge expanse of glass that delivers a true 360-degree view and there’s even a wiper on the right-hand side, as well as on the front, to remove rain for improved vision in the wet. And for early morning starts there’s a good set of halogen lights (LEDs are an option).

Back on the ground we note the ease of entry and exit, in addition to the quietness of the cab – it’s around 72 decibels, so you don’t need ear muffs, says Graeme. He also takes us around to the other side to show the storage pod built into the step, which includes a place for a spare driveshaft in case they break one. Clever.

But it’s now time for some serious stuff. There’s already one load of logs ready to be transported down the sloping paddock, out through the farmyard to the road, so Graeme invites Stan to accompany him in the cab for the next part of our test. And off they go, pulling a 15-tonne mixture of 4.9s and 5.2s earmarked for Mt Maunganui, just over halfan-hour away.

It’s a 4-kilometre round-trip to the truck loading area, with around 60% travel on-road, so the extra speed of the Valtra means it can cover the distance in good time.

After returning for another load, we’ve got some more questions, such as how it performs on wet grass, what gears/ratios are used, how stable is it, how does the air suspension in the tractor feel and so on.

“You definitely know you’ve got 15 or 20 tonnes behind when coming down a paddock like this – if you don’t have full control you’ll start to slide and you’ve got to know what you are doing. You could soon get into trouble,” says Graeme.

Interestingly, he doesn’t use the tractor’s 4WD system or the trailer power drive going down this paddock.

“You can only do about 15km/h with the trailer drive connected

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February 2020 | NZ LOGGER 25

A ‘poor man’s yarder’ set-up sees the wire rope from the front-mounted winch run through a pulley on the arms and a spar at the rear of the tractor to drag stems to the track (a larger winch fitted to the rear runs longer rope under the Valtra and up to the pulley).

otherwise you’ll exceed the speed of the PTO,” says Graeme. “So I’ll disconnect it going downhill and on the road.

“At the moment the back wheels are going slightly slower than the tractor wheels. All the pressure is going onto the disc, so that’s why, if I can get away with it, I won’t use the drive going downhill. Use the right gears and range and you’ll be OK. The airbrakes on the trailer are there to help, but I try not to use them.

“The reason we went with a trailer with drive was so that we had mechanical braking going downhill if we need it, compared to relying on normal brakes because you wear them out.

“It will hold back in gear, but you have to keep your revs up.

Sometimes you can’t get it to change gear quick enough. Like if I come down that hill and start sliding you need to chop those gears down or speed them up as fast as I can.

“The trailer is built to take 15 tonnes of logs. It could take more. We worked out that if you put a load of 6.1s to the top of the bolsters it would be 30 tonnes, plus the weight of the trailer. Obviously, we don’t carry that much. The hydraulic towbar is rated to 25 tonnes, so we can’t load it that much anyway.”

When driving uphill, all the drive components are brought into play on the tractor and trailer, in order to cause less damage to the farmer’s

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When harvesting is completed, Seaview Logging’s Graeme Savill fits a mulcher to the rear to turn slash and stumps into fine particles and then scatter grass seed from his drone.

ALWAYS SWING A BIG STICK

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Above left: Wide, roomy cab even has a small dickey seat, equipped with a lap belt, to the left of the operator, for a passenger or trainer.

Above centre: Expansive glass provides a great view for the operator.

Above right: Traditional opening bonnet reveals the AGCO 6-cylinder engine and cooling system – note the airbag suspension just visible under the chassis. paddock. Those big tyres on the trailer’s twin axles do spread the weight very nicely, so the grass doesn’t take too much of a beating.

This rig is built to work on rougher and much steeper sites, with full guarding protecting the undersides of both the tractor and trailer.

With all the mechanicals positioned further down in the chassis, it has a lower centre of gravity compared to a forwarder, although the ground clearance is not as good, due to the truck diffs on the trailer – the tractor itself sits around 500mm. That makes it very stable on lumpy ground and the ride is pretty damn good on the Valtra’s air-suspension bags, although Graeme still prefers the way normal suspension reacts.

And he’s surprised at just how well it tackles steep slopes, saying: “You don’t realise how steep until you notice the oil light come on.”

For really steep places, Graeme has devised his own winch-assist

system, especially useful for tidying up after harvesting: “We stick a winch on that thing and winch it over banks and we can mulch to our hearts content. With all those wheels driving, it’s amazing what you can do.”

Graeme is hoping to attract someone to join his crew who will take over in the cab of the Valtra, so he can spend time on other parts of the operation and also look for future work. Currently much of Seaview Logging’s jobs come from word of mouth – one farmer tells another, who tells another etc.

The fact that Graeme and his team really understand woodlots is a big help.

He says: “There is a lot more to woodlots than doing a commercial forest block, those are easy. Here, you’ve got a few trees here, some more over there. A hedgerow in between. Fencing. You’ve got a

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IFICATION

SPECIFICATIONS - VALTRA 174 FORESTRY TRACTOR ENGINE

FRONT LOADER

6-cylinder, 7.4-litre, AGCO common rail diesel, Tier III or IV Max Power 140kW (190hp) @ 1,900rpm Max Torque 900Nm @1,500rpm

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TRANSMISSION

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Type Powershift, 4 transfer ranges (plus 2 crawlers), 30 gears, 4-wheel drive.

Max speed 50km/h

Configuration Drive Gross load

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42-inch wheels, various forestry tyre options 30-inch wheels, various forestry tyre options

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DIMENSIONS – TRACTOR ONLY (MM) Fully hydraulic multi-disc, oil-cooled wet brakes on each wheel

HYDRAULICS Type Main pump PTO

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working farm that you have to go through, keeping gates shut so livestock doesn’t get out.

“And when farmers hear what commercial forest owners get for their trees, they have expectations of the same money, but it’s double the amount of work. They don’t realise what is involved.”

So Graeme needs more time to work on the business side and also to plan for a big job that’s coming up at Whitianga after this one is complete.

A new operator doesn’t need to have a lot of experience, because the Valtra is a very simple tractor to use, he reckons: “I can put an

Length Wheelbase Width (as tested) Height Ground clearance Gross vehicle weight

5,800 2,995 2.700 3,130 500-600 13,500kg

operator in there and within ten minutes they’re away.”

As a low-cost forwarding option, the Valtra and its powered trailer make an ideal companion set for operations like this and Graeme fully expects his tractor to provide great service for at least 10,000 hours, “maybe 20,000 if we are lucky”.

Tractors have a habit of lasting well beyond the expectations of their owners. You only have to look around any farm, or seaside location to see them still in service.

We wouldn’t be surprised if this Valtra is plugging away in woodlots within a full harvest rotation. NZL

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SERIOUS POWER BIG TIME LOGGERS

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Above: Graeme Savill shows off the clever hidden storage place for the tractor’s spare driveshaft in the bottom of the door to the toolbox.

Below left: A driveshaft connects from the tractor’s rear PTO to the trailer’s transmission to drive the rear axles.

Below centre: The drive from the tractor’s PTO goes into the lower housing of the trailer transmission.

Below right: The Seaview Logging crew, from left, are Stephen Kuizinas, Graeme Savill and Clinton Alley.

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iron test: Stan Barlow

Farm play THIS VALTRA IS A WORLD AWAY FROM the ancient Masset Ferguson I run on my small-holding in Northland – air conditioning, an air-suspended seat, quiet, a great ride and so much torque on tap.

That’s exactly what you need for pulling a heavy trailer loaded up with 15 tonnes of logs when the PTO drive is disengaged.

It’s a lot more advanced than any tractor I’ve driven and many forestry machines, too. And incredibly versatile. As Graeme was reeling off the jobs he can do, I was thinking “is there anything it can’t handle”?

For a woodlot crew, it’s ideal, because you can’t afford to have specialist machines for every job. This one can cover such a variety of tasks it would replace about four or five single machines. How useful is that!

But it was probably the most simple feature that really impressed. The dickey seat in the cab. I do a lot of training in the forest and this is the first time I’ve seen a seat specifically designed for a passenger in this way. Great for training. And particularly useful for me as I accompanied Graeme on his first trip to the roadside, all safely buckled up and able to see and question how he operates the Valtra.

That gave me a great start when I moved into the operator’s seat and it allowed Graeme to sit in and guide me through any issues.

Really good visibility from the main seat, as good as any forwarder.

It feels more like a forwarder than a tractor once you bring that tilting steering wheel back into position. A lever on the left of the steering column gives you forward and reverse, neutral and lock – you click it down and it puts the park brake on. Four pedals on the floor give you two for braking (one each side) plus clutch and accelerator.

On the right armrest is a control pad and a lever. The pad operates the loader and the lever is for selecting what transmission range you want to be in. I ignored the two crawler boxes and only used A and B ranges on the paddocks and race, going into C on the road. Flicking the plus and minus control on the joystick to select the

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boxes and pushing forward or back to go up or down with the gears. Move it right to go to full auto and left to go back to manual.

In the paddocks, where it was harder going, I kept it in manual but coming back empty I tried auto uphill and it was changing probably when you don’t want it to, inducing a bit of wheel spin. Manual does work best in those situations.

It didn’t feel too heavy going down the paddock with a full load. I had everything engaged so it was holding us back a bit.

The lever to engage drive to the trailer is down on your right. You need to be looking at the screen to make sure it is engaged.

And you need to make sure you are looking at the trailer to see that the ram is pushing in. A clutch for the trailer PTO allows you to suspend drive when you need to before letting it back in.

I disconnected the trailer drive for a while and it started skidding, so put it back into drive, chopped it down a gear and away she went. Makes a real difference.

You can use the hydraulic brake (operated by a control on the right-hand side), which works like a truck engine brake without all the added noise. Very effective, though.

Iron Tester, Stan Barlow.

On the road, driving at 50km/h, it felt like a million miles an hour compared to what I’m used to in the forest.

Back on the skid site it was nice to be able to spin the seat around to use the small steering wheel in the back of the cab to reverse the trailer into position.

You just have to remember that you are reversing a trailer not a forwarder, ie steer the opposite to the way you want to go and don’t turn too sharp because you’ll hit the wheels on the tractor.

A great all-round machine. Ride is very comfortable. It feels nice and secure, as well as stable. I was a little bit touchy on the brakes as I tried to get used to it, but the hydraulics on the loader are really smooth, very little effort required.

Changing the gears is just as smooth.

It’s very hard to fault. NZL

Driving down a slippery hill, fully laden, requires skill and concentration.

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Breaking Out

Story: Trevor Coker

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HEN YOU SEE ONE OF TODAY’S modern trucks laden with logs do you ever wonder, where did it all start from, these specialised trucks built just to carry logs?

To answer this question, it is necessary to travel back to the early 1900’s, barely two decades after the first motorised vehicles appeared. They were little more than horse buggies with engines but soon evolved, along with the first vehicles designed to carry goods.

The early trucks arriving in New Zealand landed as just a chassis, cowl and mechanicals. The cabs and flat decks were made mainly from wood by local body builders and were very rudimentary. Solid rubber tyres, no lights apart from kerosene types, with only a crank handle to start the engine and usually equipped with two-wheel external contracting mechanical brakes.

These trucks had low powered petrol engines and a three-speed crash gearbox was normal. Some models had worm drive differentials and, in some cases, the final drive was by chains.

Cabs had a wooden bench seat and no doors, leaving the driver exposed to the weather and experiencing a hard ride.

Some of these early makes were; Leyland, Republic, White, Federal, Fargo, Stewart, International, REO, Fargeol, Thornycroft, Albion and Dennis. There were also other makes by minor manufactures. Of these brands, International is the longest survivor.

The First Log Trucks The first known usage for these early trucks in the forestry industry was the cartage of single large Kauri log lengths, which were placed directly on the flat deck.

Wedge-shaped blocks of wood were jammed under the log and then secured by a chain, or chains. These were tightened by the insertion of a length of wood, which was

36 NZ LOGGER | February 2020

Left: An early open cab log truck on solid tyres pulling a Kauri log on a converted bullock trailer, possibly dating back to the first decade of the 20th century.

Below: This truck is pulling an old man pine on a single axle trailer and a wooden jinker pole around the 1940s or 1950s.

Right: A 1930s vintage log truck.

then wound around to tighten the chain and held in place by a length of rope.

The First Trailers Four-wheeled two-axle trailers had been in use well before trucks arrived, pulled by either bullocks, horses or a traction engine and were soon adapted to be pulled behind a truck.

They were mostly constructed from wood, including wooden wheels rimmed with steel tyres. They had no brakes fitted and the drawbar was attached to the rear of the truck chassis.

Initially these converted bullock wagons were used to cart logs to the mills or ports and sawn timber to end users. The identity of the first person in New Zealand who built a purpose-built trailer with a bolster and then fitted the truck with a bolster is unknown, but a Taumarunui man could well claim the honour.

Taumarunui’s Early Trailer Trail Blazer Bob Tidswell had a contract to cart sawn timber from a sawmill in Taringamotu Valley to the Taumarunui Railway yard.

He was carting 1,100 super feet on a single axle Ford truck fitted with single wheels equipped with 32 x 6 tyres and having trouble with blowouts.

Bob decided to make a trailer using the back end of a 30 cwt Chev 4. This was in 1929. It had wooden spoked wheels, which soon started to collapse, so another trailer was built using a heavier Ford rear end.

Using this trailer Bob found he could double his load to 2,200 super feet and had no more trouble with blowouts. [Information from Low Gear to Overdrive Vol 1 by Ron Cooke] In this period, trailers were only used to cart sawn timber, logs were to be carried later on.

After this initial trailer was completed, other contractors saw the advantage and started to build their own trailers using whatever axles were available.

These early trailers were of a single axle design and often didn’t have springs fitted.

Brakes were non-existent and a wooden trailer pole was the norm.

Later Trailer Designs As trucks became larger and able to carry bigger loads, the trailer design went through a series of modifications.

The first obvious step was to increase the load carrying capacity by the fitting of dual wheels and then add an extra axle.

Tyres had also improved over the years and now were more reliable and had an increased load carrying capacity. A method of fitting brakes to a trailer was still way into the future.

Wooden trailer poles were still in common use into the late 50’s. Apart from a steel tongue, which connected the trailer to the truck, this trailer pole was completely wood.

The use of Honey Suckle or Rewa Rewa was a common native timber used. Once a log was loaded on the trailer and truck the log took over the duty of the trailer pole.

February 2020 | NZ LOGGER 37

Breaking Out

Above: Remains of the first logging trailer in Taumarunui, built by Bob Tidswell in the 1930's.

Photo: Abundant Past Collection.

Right: Ford V/8 from 1947.

Photo: Abundant Past Collection.

Drivers had to be aware that the main cause of these wooden poles breaking was when a bulldozer pushed on them to get the truck started from a muddy skid site, care also had to be taken on tight corners.

The Log Truck To reach the stage of today’s modern log truck took a considerable time and several types of trucks with many improvements were pioneered.

Initially, any available truck was pressed into action, regardless of its suitability and in some cases, foresters found out the hard way that they were not really able to handle the load at all.

These early trucks had no power steering, very inefficient braking systems and were of a light construction. A modification used by some operators was the fitting of an extra gearbox to give a much lower gear ratio, which enabled a laden truck to start off or climb a steep hill.

38 NZ LOGGER | February 2020

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Breaking Out

Truck Brakes The first mechanical brakes were the external contracting band type, which worked by contracting a band lined with brake friction material around a brake drum.

Disadvantages of this system included being fitted only to the rear axle, and when the drum and band got wet they were inefficient, almost to the point of being useless until the operating surfaces had dried out.

Mechanical drum brakes, which worked

on the inside of the brake drums were the next step although still only fitted to the back axle in most cases. These could be either rod or cable operated.

The main faults with these early brake types were they were not efficient in offering much in the way of retarding and they quickly overheated with prolonged use.

Ford trucks were still using mechanical brakes as late as 1938, although these were much improved from earlier versions.

Some operators fitted drums of water

Above: Tama-I-Whana Timber’s Ford Thornton hauling a giant native log from the 1950’s.

Photo: Abundant Past Collection.

Below: Diagram of a truck and trailer braking system.

Opposite page: This truck was operated by the Anderson Brothers, Manunui, during the 1950’s.

Photo: Abundant Past Collection.

Pr

The w alert and h

40 NZ LOGGER | February 2020

For m Free

that dripped through a pipe set-up onto the brake drums to help cool them.

A driver had to be extremely careful descending hills driving trucks fitted with these poor, inefficient brake systems compared with today's truck brakes.

Normal procedure was to stop on top of a hill, select a low gear and creep your way down the hill using the engine’s compression to assist the brakes to control the speed.

Trailer Brakes While trucks had brakes from the beginning, it took a while for them to be fitted to trailers.

The first braking systems devised for trailers were the vacuum type. This was supplied using a vacuum created from the truck’s inlet manifold. From there the vacuum usually passed through a control valve assembly on the driver’s steering wheel column from the truck reserve vacuum tank,

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then through rubber hoses on the trailer pole to the trailer reserve tank and from there to the trailer vacuum cylinder, which worked by a push rod on the master cylinder unit that activated the trailer hydraulic brake wheel cylinders to apply the brakes.

It was a simple system that allowed a driver to adjust his trailer pole length by simply removing the pole pin, applying the trailer brakes and driving either forward or back, sliding the pole through the trailer

Breaking Out

axle assembly until the required length was found.

Engines Early engines were designed with a side valve layout, usually comprising four or six cylinders and with a very low compression ratio of 4- or 5-to-1. These engines had a large cubic capacity and average power output was around 50 horsepower.

Ignition was either through a magneto or a distributor. Splash-feed big-end bearings were common. These lubricated the bigends through the medium of the connecting rods dipping cups into the sump's oil and splashing the oil around.

The larger engines could be hard to start with a crank handle, more so on a cold frosty morning.

Some engines were fitted with priming cups on the cylinder head. These were shaped like an egg cup and could be filled with petrol. By opening a fitting in the bottom, petrol would run from the priming cups into the cylinders, giving a rich mixture to help start the engine when it was cranked over.

Sometimes spark plugs would even be removed and heated up by either soaking in petrol, which was then lit, or they were placed in a very warm oven. In some cases, the inlet manifold was wrapped in a rag which was then lit. Hopefully, the warmed manifold would aid in vaporising the petrol.

Parking on a hill was another trick employed by drivers to aid starting on a cold morning, or else a tow from another truck to jump start it.

E

B

o

The Ford V8 In 1932 Ford produced its first V8 engine.

Although it was designed with a side valve configuration it was to enjoy a long production run until 1952 in spite of the ageing technology and the later models produced as much as 100 horsepower.

While it was considered to be a successful engine it did, however, have one construction defect. The exhaust ports were on the sides of the block, below the cylinder heads. The middle two engine cylinders were siamesed, ie they both exhausted through the one exhaust port, which could cause the engine to suffer from overheating.

These engines continued to suffer from this in-built issue throughout their production life, more so when worked hard at low speeds, such as a laden truck would experience climbing a hill with low airflow through the radiator.

42 NZ LOGGER | February 2020

S

F o c C r

Top: This World War Two army surplus Davis Cambridge GMC logger was still carting export pine to Mount Manganui in the late 1960’s.

Middle: Early export pine being unloaded from Charlie Robertson’s truck. That’s driver, Alby Nicolson, perched precariously on the logs.

Bottom: An Odlins Wellington International logging truck from the 1950’s.

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Breaking Out

Regardless of this, operators at last had an engine that produced good horsepower and pulled well, was easy to work on and maintain, and had good parts back-up from nationwide Ford dealers.

Early Operating Conditions In the early days, many roads were little more than glorified dirt tracks. Dusty in summer, and muddy in winter.

Bridges, when they existed, were narrow and not suited for heavy loads. In some cases, laden trucks had to ford streams because of this.

Sawmills were usually situated as close as possible to their log supply bush and most of the sawn finished product not sold locally was carried by rail to its market.

There was also a mileage limit on how far a truck could cart a load in competition with the railways.

The World War Two Period The arrival of World War Two led to some

44 NZ LOGGER | February 2020

major upheavals in the forestry industry.

As many young men went off to fight, a number of bush men and sawmill workers continued in their jobs, since these were classified as reserved occupations. Yet, sawmills still needed logs and in some cases their requirements increased for defence purposes, such as army camp buildings, boat building etc.

A lot of trucks were diverted from forestry

into defence work by the government, too.

And what was left, were older and less suitable trucks that had to carry on during the war period carting logs and sawn timber.

Spare parts were almost non-existent, as were tyres, and petrol was rationed and only available for designated purposes.

With many parts difficult to obtain, maintenance of trucks was often neglected and only after a breakdown were repairs

Above: An International owned by Warkworth-based Bassett's Logging carting a large Kauri log.

Below left: A World War Two army surplus Mack pulling native stems from the late 1940’s or early 1950’s.

Below: Remains of an early spaced axle trailer.

Opposite page top: Thames Trader and trailer from the 1960’s with an early Timberjack log skidder. Photo: Ben Uncles.

undertaken, which usually boiled down to a rough patch-up job in an endeavour to keep the truck on the road.

The increased demand for mills to supply sawn timber for New zealand’s defence placed enormous pressure on all involved with the industry.

Some experienced bushmen were formed into Forestry Companies and served overseas with the army. This increased the work

pressure on those who were left behind.

Somehow, with all these factors combined, the industry stepped up its production and, in most cases, attained the required target.

After The War During WW2, the American army had sent a large number of GMC trucks to New Zealand that were beyond local repair in the Islands, so they could be rebuilt here. This

work was done by General Motors, Todd Motors and the Ford Motor Company.

At the end of the war, the US cancelled all rebuilding contracts and offered the trucks to the New Zealand Government.

These were sold by tender through the War Assets Realisation Board and GT Gillies of Oamaru was successful in a tender for 1,222 of these trucks, paying about $36 (in 2020 money about $950 for each truck).

Breaking Out

Above: By the time these big Pacifics hit the road in the 1970’s with the Kaingaroa Logging Company, the modern log truck era was beginning.

Below: There were still army surplus Ford and Mercury V8 engines available in the early 1950’s, as this advert shows.

These trucks were tandem drive and either 6X6 or 6X4 drive, and some were fitted with a Garwood 3-ton front-mounted winch.

Here at last was the answer to a modern truck, easily converted for logging purposes.

A tandem axle logging trailer was able to be developed by using the rear end of a GMC truck for the trailer axle set-up.

In war-time use these trucks were rated as being able to cart a 2-tonne load on unformed roads or tracks, and a 4.5-tonne load on a formed road. However, in logging use up to a 20-ton load was not unknown.

There were mechanical problems with the differentials failing and chassis cracking was also experienced but this was a direct result of gross overloading, far above manufacturers' recommendations.

Tyres of the usual size of 750 x 20 also gave problems. Most war surplus tyres had a lot of rayon in the manufacture. GMC rims would take an 825 x 20 tyre, which helped immensely on overloaded trucks.

Another bonus was the plentiful supply of spare parts available at a reasonable price, so it was often a case that if a part failed in service, just fit a new item and carry on.

46 NZ LOGGER | February 2020

Other Trucks In addition to the ex-US Army GMC truck, other trucks found their way into the forests in the post-war years, including the Albion 55, Leyland Hippo and Commer, Thorneycroft, Bedford, Guy and several different models of Internationals. In fact, most manufacturers’ products were tried at some stage or the other. Some were successful and others, after initial use, were discharged and disappeared.

One successful story would have to be New Zealand Forest Products with its largescale purchase of International 190 trucks, powered by 6/71 GM diesel engines. These replaced the company’s former war-time GMC trucks.

With a five-speed manual gearbox and a three-speed ancillary box, plus good air-assisted brakes, these trucks gained intermediate popularity with the drivers.

Some other operators who had 190’s with petrol engines changed over to diesel on seeing how successful they were with NZFP. This included Flemings, at Bennydale, which found that petrol-powered 190’s were just too uneconomical and expensive to run.

A popular engine swap was the unit from a World War Two surplus English Valentine tank when these were sold off by the New Zealand Government stores board after 1945.

This was a GM 6/71 diesel that produced 130 bhp at 1,850rpm – a very powerful motor in its day. The New Zealand Forest Service also made good use of the International 190 in its operations around the country.

From Native To Pine Logging When pine logging exports got under way in the 1950’s, the pole trailer used to cart native logs was first used with the chocks replaced by drop stanchions, to accommodate a number of pieces rather than just one large log.

Loading was usually done by a crane, one log at the time. It was a slow, dangerous method compared to today.

To unload the trailer on the wharf, prior to loading a ship, the stanchions were dropped and a forklift was used to push the logs off. This method was used until Bob Owens purchased the first Wagner log stacker that could grab a whole packet in one go and lift it off the bunk.

Later Developments Over a period of time methods were found to improve both the truck and trailer set-ups, but that’s probably a separate story for another time.

Today, we see 5-axle trailers capable of carting two bunks of shorts or one of longer logs. Trucks now have several things an early driver could never have imagined. The latest log trucks have plenty of horsepower and gears, in some cases an automatic transmission, along with very good brakes (including exhaust brakes), retarders, diff locks, air conditioning and air-suspension seats, on-board scales, the list goes on and on with new improvements appearing with each model update.

Most log trucks now are tandem steer, which allows the axle load to be spread out. The years since the 1950’s have seen a quantum leap in trucks engaged in log cartage. But they all owe their heritage to those crude first examples that hardly had the power to pull the skin off a rice pudding, let alone cart a 5-tonne log on the back. NZL

Grooved Drums and Sleeves

DIAGNOSE • DESIGN • DELIVER

www.fica.org.nz

Prue Younger, CEO Message

We know a lot about what could generate stress within communities, families and workplaces. However, we don't know what may be specifica y driving stress within the forestry ind stry and its vario s gro ps of wor ers beca se the nat re of the wor is di erent eg e pos re to physica ris can be a significant driver of stress b t within the forestry ind stry that e pos re is ite di erent for fa ers and brea er o ts vs machine operators imi ar y repetitive action can be a driver of stress and that wi be di erent for each of those two gro ps of wor ers t might be that not nowing what circ mstances generate the sense of threat or challenge gets in the way of changing those circumstances or explaining stress within the forestry industry, so we need those doing the work to tell us what drives stress in their world. These comments and this article have been put together by Trevor Best, a student researcher at the School of Forestry, and FICA is standing alongside him to support his research in this area. This is a space we at FICA want to explore further so I encourage you to read this and put your hand up if you can help Trevor to help other forestry mates.

Let’s talk Mental Health

Work can be one of the pillars of health and wellbeing for ourselves, our whanau and our communities. Or, it can get in the way of those things. Our work can contribute to our sense of where we belong in this world, it can provide us with the means of providing food, shelter and other needs for ourselves and our whanau and it can be the source of a supportive social network. Anyone who reads NZ Logger or spends time on the logging Facebook pages knows that loggers are rightly proud of what they do and the skills they have and that they value their logging whanau. However, we also know that it’s a hard game to play and when we are emotionally and physically committed to something that can be tough going then that sense of wellbeing and contentment can be threatened. Chronic stress reduces that feeling that I’m doing OK. Becoming emotionally and physically fatigued can erode that sense that I’m good at this and that I’m doing a good job. It can make engaging with whanau (at home and on the job) diffic t timate y it can increase the ris of poor hea th and s ering in ry f we want to thrive thro gh o r work rather than just survive, we must understand the risk of stress in our logging workplaces and respond accordingly.

Fortunately, the industry is responding. Alongside the contractors and forest managers implementing their own wellbeing programmes, both FICA and FISC have committed to programmes aimed at improving logger and forest worker mental health. These programs are largely aimed at helping people who are feeling stressed to respond to those feelings and increase their ability to cope with stressful situations.

However, there are two parts to stress and that approach is only working on one of those parts. Stress occurs as the result of an interaction between threatening or challenging events, situations or ways of doing things and a person’s assessment of how well they can meet that challenge or overcome that threat. That means that reducing the risk of stress also means thinking about the happening that creates a sense of threat and considering the things that a ect the person s assessment of how we they can deal with it. As a rule, loggers are practical, action-oriented peop e

Given the time and power to deal with things they will overcome most problems. However, organising the industry to consider thinking about changing the way it does things so that events, situations or the ways of doing things are ess threatening is diffic t when we do not act a y know which of those things drive whatever chronic stress is being experienced by loggers. Not knowing what circumstances generate a sense of threat or gets in the way of workers tackling those situations prevents us from changing them. You can’t act on things you are not aware of.

Finding out more about the happenings within logging and for loggers that lead to stress is the objective of my PhD research. We need to be able to explain how someone working in logging ends up feeling unmanageable stress to the extent that it gets in the way of their sense of wellbeing and their work and family life. By doing that we as an ind stry can dea with stress di erent y y foc sing on what is happening in the process of someone reaching an unhealthy level of stress we can start to recognise that a person’s experience of stress could be a perfectly normal response to an unhelpful situation. That makes it more likely they will seek help because they are not the problem and it gives us the opportunity to use stress as an indicator that something may need to change in the workplace or community. In this way of looking at stress the person is OK. he st they are dea ing with is not so et s set abo t changing that.

To explain stress that impacts on work and life, we need those doing the work to tell us what happenings in their world lead to that situation. As the work itself could be part of those happenings we need to start by focusing on one group of workers within the industry. In this case, I’ve chosen to focus on machine operators working on logging sites. So, I’m inviting machine operators working within the logging industry to tell me what events, situations or ways things get done have contributed, now or in the past, to their sense of being stressed.

If you are a machine operator and would be willing to commit an hour of your time to have a conversation with me about your experiences please text me on 027 432 3155 or email me at trevor.best@pg.canterbury.ac.nz. articipation wi be comp ete y confidentia and anonymous. After all, what goes on tour stays on tour.

I look forward to hearing from you. Keep well.

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www.fica.org.nz

top spot

Safety/performance/quality

Top Spot winners crown re IT WAS GREAT TO SEE THAT THE improvements made in the 2018 Top Spot competition continued through 2019 in all areas, which showed up in the closeness of the results…in some cases you couldn’t put a slip of paper between the winners and those champing at their heels.

We saw a reversal of the 2018 top crew result for harvesting, with top honors returning to the North Island after Moehau 99 regained the crown it lost to Bluewood Thinning in 2018. And to underline the great work from ‘Blu’ Balle and Donna, their other crew Hauraki 91, was placed third in the overall crew competition – two crews in the top three, that’s not bad.

Waste thinning was incredibly close, too, as the mantle stayed in the North Island for 2019 by the slimmest of margins, going to Inta-Wood Forestry.

In fact, the results couldn’t get much closer with a 2% spread over the top 11 harvesting crews and a 3% spread over the top six thin-to-waste crews. It shows that the smallest improvement can end up making all the difference at year’s end.

Our congratulations to all our participants and those who have won top honours.

Keep up the great work for the coming year.

their ongoing support and feedback.

Our ongoing thanks to Rayonier/ Matariki Forests, Wenita Forest Products, Port Blakely, Crown Forestry, Brand Logging, CMH Logging, Hauraki and Moehau Logging, Thomassen Logging, Te Waa Logging, Lakeland Cable Logging, Logged on Logging, Pakiri Logging, IntaWood Forestry, Otautau Contractors, Heslip Forest Contracting, Waikato Forestry Services, Hodgson Silviculture, Makerikeri Silviculture, NJ Simns Forestry Services, SAS Forestry, XMen Forestry, Central Forestry Services, Mangoihe Logging, Kohurau Contracting, Tohaia

Forestry Harvesting, Kuru Contracting, Dennis E Hayes Logging, Swain Logging, Lumberjack Logging, Ernslaw One, Blue Wood Logging, Mike Hurring Logging, McCallum Logging, Whisker Logging, Kaha Logging, Lahar Logging, Dempsey Logging, Moutere Logging, JBD Harvesting, McDougall Logging, Forest View Logging, Kimberley Logging, Dewes Logging, X Men Harvesting, Pakiri Logging, Storm Logging, Lumberjack Logging, Eastside Logging, Veal Forestry, McHoull Forestry, Pride Forestry, Halley Forestry, Penetito Forestry, FM Silviculture, Forest View Forestry, Wayne Cummings, Rodco Forestry, Johnson Forestry, Pro Forest Services, Eastside Logging and Norwest Logging.

Into safety?

Into performance?

Into quality?

Contact Shane Perrett on 0274 781 908, 07 3483037 or at primefm@xtra.co.nz. NZL

Sponsors – They don’t have to do this but they choose to!

Awesome companies, awesome people and awesome support!

They back you and your workmates to succeed as professionals, so why wouldn’t you support them.

They believe in what we do and what you do.

So a big ongoing thank you to our Strategic Partners – STIHL and NZ Logger and sponsor SWAZI. The best way to keep our industry working is to get out and support those businesses that support New Zealand.

Participating Companies This competition wouldn’t be what it is without our participating companies.

We understand the commitment it takes from them to be part of Top Spot and value

50 NZ LOGGER | February 2020

The team from Coromandel-based Moehau 99 grabbed the top harvesting crew honours they last held two years ago, from left Quintin Kew, Charlie Balle, Hayden Diskin, Tristan Armstrong, Braydon Miller, Lance Balle, Soloman Walker, Eliah Savage and Anthony Tipene.

top spot

Safety/performance/quality

n returns to the North Island HARVESTING TOP CREW 2019 ESTATE MATARIKI FORESTS ERNSLAW ONE

THIN-TO-WASTE TOP CREW 2019

CREW

ESTATE

PLACING

CREW

PLACING

MOEHAU 99

1ST

PORT BLAKELY

INTA-WOOD FORESTRY

1ST

BLUEWOOD THINNING

2ND

ERNSLAW ONE

X MEN

2ND

THIN-TO-WASTE INDIVIDUAL PERIOD 2 2019 ESTATE

CREW

PLACING

PORT BLAKELY

INTA-WOOD FORESTRY

AARON MOTUTERE

1ST

PORT BLAKELY

INTA-WOOD FORESTRY

DION KAHI

2ND =

PORT BLAKELY

INTA-WOOD FORESTRY

PAETAWA TOKO

2ND =

MATARIKI FORESTS

HESLIP FOREST CONTRACTING

TRENT SOPER

4TH

ESTATE

CREW

PARTICIPANT

PLACING

PORT BLAKELY

INTA-WOOD FORESTRY

PAETAWA TOKO

1ST

ERNSLAW ONE

XMEN FORESTRY

JR TE NGAHUE

2ND=

ERNSLAW ONE

XMEN

RUSSELL TE NGAHUE

2ND=

PORT BLAKELY

INTA-WOOD FORESTRY

DION KAHI

4TH

ESTATE

CREW

PARTICIPANT

PLACING

WENITA FOREST PRODUCTS

JOHNSON FOREST CONTRACTING

NICK MORGAN

1ST

WENITA FOREST PRODUCTS

MCHOULL CONTRACTING

DEAN BARRETT

2ND=

WENITA FOREST PRODUCTS

MCHOULL CONTRACTING

NICK ALLEN

2ND=

THIN-TO-WASTE INDIVIDUAL FULL YEAR 2019

PRUNING FULL YEAR 2019

Inta-Wood Forestry won the Waste-to-Thin section of the competition for the second year running, pictured from left are Aaron Motutere, Dion Kahi, Paetawa Toko and Adrian Watson.

Peter Lloyd (left), of Lloyd logging, who was placed third in Machine Operation on the Landing for the second period of 2019, finally receives his certificate from Top Spot assessor, Stan Barlow.

February 2020 | NZ LOGGER 51

top spot

Safety/performance/quality Winners in the previous year, Bluewood Thinning were the runners-up in the 2019 Top Harvesting Crew competition, with Devon Stewart, left, and Nigel Hutchinson, right.

HARVESTING PERIOD 4 2019 FUNCTION

BREAKING OUT CABLE

ESTATE

CREW

ERNSLAW ONE

MCDOUGALL 95 MCDOUGALL 95 MANAIA LOG 9 MIKE HURRING PRIVATE KAHA 15 MCDOUGALL 95 MCDOUGALL 95 BLUEWOOD LOGGING BRAND 101 BLUEWOOD THINNING MIKE HURRING THINNING BRAND 107 WHISKER GB BRAND 107 LLOYD LOGGING BLUEWOOD LOGGING SWAIN LOGGING 10 DEMPSEY 8 GAVIN 106 MCCALLUM LOG 30 BRAND 101 MIKE HURRING THINNING MIKE HURRING THINNING BLUEWOOD THINNING MOUTERE 2 KAHA 15 BRAND 101 GAVIN 106 MCCALLUM LOG 30 BRAND 102 LAHAR 4 LAHAR 4 HAURAKI 91 LAHAR 4 MOUTERE 2 BLUEWOOD LOGGING THOMASSEN 13 MANGOIHE 5 MIKE HURRING PRIVATE LAHAR 4

ERNSLAW ONE ERNSLAW ONE ERNSLAW ONE ERNSLAW ONE

MANUAL TREE FELLING

FORWARDER

ERNSLAW ONE ERNSLAW ONE ERNSLAW ONE MATARIKI FORESTS ERNSLAW ONE ERNSLAW ONE MATARIKI FORESTS

GROUND-BASED EXTRACTION

ERNSLAW ONE MATARIKI FORESTS SUMMIT FORESTS

SHOVEL LOGGING

ERNSLAW ONE MATARIKI FORESTS ERNSLAW ONE

MECHANISED FELLING

MATARIKI FORESTS MATARIKI FORESTS MATARIKI FORESTS

MECHANISED FELLING/PROCESSING

ERNSLAW ONE ERNSLAW ONE ERNSLAW ONE

MECHANISED PROCESSING

ERNSLAW ONE ERNSLAW ONE MATARIKI FORESTS

MACHINE OPERATION ON THE LANDING

MATARIKI FORESTS MATARIKI FORESTS MATARIKI FORESTS ERNSLAW ONE

POLEMAN/SPOTTER

ERNSLAW ONE MATARIKI FORESTS ERNSLAW ONE

SKIDDER/QC

ERNSLAW ONE ERNSLAW ONE CROWN FORESTRY TURKINGTON

YARDER

ERNSLAW ONE ERNSLAW ONE

52 NZ LOGGER | February 2020

PARTICIPANT TUI ADAMS

PLACING 1=

RINGIA MAKIAKAMA

1=

TENE HICKS

3RD

REEF ASTON

4TH

CHRIS WINTER

1=

LUKE KIRK

1=

TYLER LODGE SHANNON TODD ALLEN DALZIEL

3RD 4TH 1=

DEVON STEWART

1=

MARTY BLYTHE

3RD

LEE TOMLINSON

1=

ROSS BERTRAM

1=

PERRY EYLES

3RD

CHANNING GREEN

1ST

CLINT MCIVOR

2ND

DAVID DIACK

3RD

ANTON DEMPSEY

1ST

TONY MCKENZIE

2ND

DAVID MCCALLUM

3RD

MATTHEW BALDWIN

1=

JIMMY WHITE

1=

LOGAN BENNETT

3RD

NIGEL HUTCHINSON

1=

POU ANDERSON

1=

PHILLIP HANSEN

3RD

ADRIAN VAN’T WOUT

1=

KERRY GAVIN

1=

JACKSON MCCALLUM

1=

MARK ALLEN

4TH

AVRIL PEHI

1ST

SIMON KATENE

2ND

MICHAEL ALLEN

3RD

MOHI PAUL

1=

CHARLES WIPAKI

1=

CHRISTOPHER MASON

3RD

BRETT WATT

4TH

MITCH SKELTON

1=

DAVID MCKENZIE

1=

SMILER KATENE

3RD

top spot

Safety/performance/quality XMen, who were runners-up in the Thin-to-Waste competition for 2019, from left, Kalib Te Ngahue, Kuki Wickliffe, Russell Te Ngahue and J R Te Ngahue.

HARVESTING FULL YEAR 2019 FUNCTION

BREAKING OUT CABLE

ESTATE

CREW

MATARIKI FORESTS

MOEHAU 99 MOEHAU 99 PAKIRI 24 PAKIRI 26 MCDOUGALL LOGGING KAHA LOGGING BLUEWOOD LOGGING HAURAKI 91 BLUEWOOD THINNING BRAND 101 MIKE HURRING THINNING BRAND 107 BRAND 103/107 WHISKER HARVESTING PAKIRI 24 SWAIN LOGGING HURRING WOODLOT MCCALLUM LOGGING GAVIN 106 MOUTERE 8 BRAND 101 MIKE HURRING THINNING MANGOIHE 5 MOEHAU 99 HAURAKI 91 MOEHAU 99 BRAND 102 BRAND 101/103 HAURAKI 91 HAURAKI 91 LAHAR LOGGING LAHAR LOGGING MOUTERE 7 HAURAKI 91 MOEHAU 99 KAHA 15 MANGOIHE 5 LAHAR LOGGING HAURAKI 91

MATARIKI FORESTS ERNSLAW ONE ERNSLAW ONE ERNSLAW ONE

MANUAL TREE FELLING

ERNSLAW ONE ERNSLAW ONE MATARIKI FORESTS ERNSLAW ONE

FORWARDER

MATARIKI FORESTS ERNSLAW ONE MATARIKI FORESTS

GROUND-BASED EXTRACTION

MATARIKI FORESTS ERNSLAW ONE ERNSLAW ONE

SHOVEL LOGGING

MATARIKI FORESTS MATARIKI FORESTS MATARIKI FORESTS

MECHANISED FELLING

MATARIKI FORESTS ERNSLAW ONE

MECHANISED FELLING/PROCESSING

MATARIKI FORESTS ERNSLAW ONE TURKINGTON

MECHANISED PROCESSING

MATARIKI FORESTS MATARIKI FORESTS MATARIKI FORESTS

MACHINE OPERATION ON THE LANDING

MATARIKI FORESTS MATARIKI FORESTS MATARIKI FORESTS MATARIKI FORESTS

POLEMAN/SPOTTER

ERNSLAW ONE ERNSLAW ONE ERNSLAW ONE

SKIDDER/QC

MATARIKI FORESTS MATARIKI FORESTS ERNSLAW ONE TURKINGTON

YARDER

ERNSLAW ONE MATARIKI FORESTS

PLACING

PARTICIPANT HAYDEN DISKIN

1ST

QUINTE KEW

2ND

MOANA KENWORTHY

3RD

DALLAS FRENCH

4TH

LUKE KIRK

1ST

CHRIS WINTER

2ND

SHANNON TODD

3RD

BRIAN KENNY

4TH

DEVON STEWART

1ST

ALLEN DALZIEL

2ND

MARTY BLYTHE

3RD

LEE TOMLINSON

1ST

PERRY EYLES

2ND

ROSS BERTRAM

3RD

JULIAN NGATAI

1ST

DAVID DIACK

2ND

JORDAN MAMANU

3RD

DAVID NCCALLUM

1ST

TONY MCKENZIE

2ND

MATE NGAROTATA

3RD

MATTHEW BALDWIN

1ST

LOGAN BENNETT

2ND

BRAD ATKINS

1=

TRISTAN ARMSTRONG

1=

ZAC PINNINGTON

3RD

SOLOMON WALKER

1ST

MARK ALLEN

2ND

SHAUN GRAHAM

3RD

LANCE STEVENS

4TH

MICHAEL ALLEN

1ST

AVRIL PEHI

2ND

SIMON KATENE

3RD

CHARLES WIPAKI

1ST

GEORGIA BALLE

2ND

ELIA SAVAGE

3RD

RICHARD CARMICHAEL

4TH

MITCH SKELTON

1ST

SMILER KATENE

2ND

ADAM DIAMOND

3RD

February 2020 | NZ LOGGER 53

new iron

HARDCASTLE KOMATSU

TIGERCAT 880D FOR BUNN

Viv, Deb and Wayne are the proud owners of this new Komatsu PC270LC that has gone to work for Hardcastle Logging, Taupo.

Engineering Services completed the forest guarding, which included the grapple and bucket combo. Viv is impressed with the climbing ability of the Komatsu, due in part to the PC270LC having the slew and other components from the PC300, making it very nimble and powerful in the cutover. The machine was sold by Paul Roche, of Komatsu Forest.

Even the new Tigercat 880D was nervous about showing up at NAB skid site, given the high expectations of Nick Bunn, but it’s certainly living up to them. The Tigercat 880D was an easy decision for Nick to make, as he wanted to future-proof himself for the growth ahead. The high cab, reach, operator comfort and ability to produce the wood have been stand-outs for this machine. Nick and his fine-looking crew are pictured with the machine, which was sold by Mardi Pritchard, AB Equipment, Lower North Island.

GIBBS VOLVO Holden and Maddy Gibbs have put a new Volvo EC380DL forestry carrier, fitted with a Woodsman Pro850 processor, to work in their Bay of Plenty crew. The EC380DL is the largest factory-built Volvo forestry carrier in the range and sits on a Volvo 50-tonne LC high and wide undercarriage, but still only weighs in at 47 tonnes (less head). That puts it in a perfect position to swing large processing heads. Holden reckons the big D13 Volvo engine makes the machine feel smooth and powerful, even at mid-rev range. The new Volvo EC380DL was sold by Ewen Satherley of TransDiesel.

54 NZ LOGGER | February 2020

CAT FOR LEW PRINCE This new Cat 330D2L is a recent arrival for Lew Prince Logging and has been put to work in an operation in the Willowflat Forest.

Featuring a 1730 Ensign grapple, the Cat unit is impressing with its overall machine performance, reach, fuel economy, speed and power. The machine was delivered by Heath Stewart from Terra Cat.

new iron

TAIERI PLAINS BOAPOD Taieri Plains Mechanical, based in South Otago, has taken delivery of its new BOApod unit, offering the team a one-stop shop for complete mechanical and hydraulic repair, and maintenance for their machinery hoses. BOA Hydraulics delivered the unit, completed training and highlighted features, such as German-made precision crimping and cutting low voltage machinery, remote controlled motorised hose handling system, Yokohama hose, contamination free hose assembly, lockable compartments etc. Richard, from Taieri Plains Mechanical, is pictured with the new unit.

COMPLETE KOMATSU

JOHN DEERE FOR K&J LOGGING

CAT FOR DG GLENN

Kieran and Maria, from K&J Logging, have put to work a new John Deere 2454G processor with side-entry cab for harvesting blue gum in Southland. Heavy equipment repairers, Tapanui, fitted the first Waratah 623C to go into this Eucalyptus work. Kieran (Mouse) is impressed with the increased production with this purpose-built machine.

DG Glenn Logging has received a new Cat 558LL Forest Machine for its Hawke's Bay operations. Featuring a 750 Woodsman Pro head and a roomy comfortable rear entry cab, with great visibility that maximises the operator experience, this purpose-built Cat forestry machine is hard at work in the Mohaka Forest. The machine was sold by Heath Stewart, Territory Sales Manager for Terra Cat.

Major and Te Atawhai Nelson, of Rotorua-based Complete Logging, have taken delivery of a new Komatsu PC 270LC-8 for their gum operation in Kinleith Forest. The new PC 270LC-8 has an Active heavy-duty forestry guarding package and is fitted with a Waratah HTH 616. Major is impressed and says “the combination of the Komatsu PC 270LC-8 and Waratah HTH 616 is very fast”. Pictured, from left, are Nelia Teranti, ‘Chop’, Ryan Du-Tout (Komatsu Forest NZ), Major Nelson, John Kosar (Komatsu Forest NZ) and Andy Bedford (Total Hydraulic Solutions). Photo: Mark Amos (Komatsu Forest NZ).

February 2020 | NZ LOGGER 55

new iron

LOG CHAMP FOR HAVARD Mike snr, Mike jnr, Gavin and the crew at Havard Logging have taken delivery of their new Log Champ LC650 swing yarder. This beast has the tough Wairarapa in its sights and is excited about the challenge. Factory spec’d with ropes, camera and grapple it was ready for the challenge straight off the boat. Mardi Pritchard, of AB Equipment, Lower North Island, made the sale.

FALCON FOR MANGOIHE Mangoihe Logging has taken delivery of a brand new Falcon Winch Assist, based on a purpose-built Volvo EC250DL forestry model, tethering a Cat 324DL. The combo is working in the Manawatu.

Pictured on the left is operator, Kris Trevena, with owner, Brian Mcarthy, to the right.

MECHANISED TIMBERPRO

OPTIMAL BOAPOD

Mechanised Cable Harvesting has taken delivery of its second new Timberpro, this time the latest TL 775D, which is working in the crew’s Nelson operation on the end of a tether with a KF 800 fixed felling Head. Dave Strong (operator) is very impressed with the pairing. Pictured, from left, are Andrew Gillispie, Cayden Goodall, Clinton Hannah, Hamish Matthews, Nathan Taylor, Dave Strong, John Kosar (Komatsu Forest NZ), Nippy Ching and Scott Marks.

Photo: Kieran Lyon.

Northern Waikato logging contractor, Optimal Forest Harvesting, has a growing fleet that is now supported by the addition of a BOApod hydraulic hose repair and maintenance unit. This single crew, led by Grant, invested in the BOApod to minimise downtime following a blown hose and to increase efficiency by keeping machines up and running. Whilst distance is not a major issue for this crew, every minute counts and the crew is enjoying having the tools when and where required. BOA Regional Representative, Albert Boakes, delivered the unit to site, training the crew on all features and processes.

56 NZ LOGGER | February 2020

ABE_Us

2012 John Deere 748H Log Skidder

2014 Caterpillar 336D Processor

8,500 Hours, Box Section Grapple, Winch & Front Band Tracks.

Ex Hastings.

Base with Woodsman Pro800 Processing Head, 7,500hrs, EMS Purpose Built Forestry Cabin & Hydraulic Clamshell Bonnet, Straightened Forestry Boom, High & Wide X-Frame Chassis, Greasing System & New undercarriage, Ex Whangarei.

$168,000 + GST

$475,000 + GST Tigercat 635C Log Skidder

2015 Tigercat 635D Log Skidder With 8881 Hours, 25 ft Grapple, Large fuel Tank, Good Rubber & Rear Band Tracks, Ex Gisborne.

$280,000 + GST 2014 Tigercat LS855C Feller Buncher

Log Skidder with 16,827 Hours, Large Fuel Tank, 25 Sqft Grapple, 30.5 Tyres on the Rear. Recently had new Engine & front Diff fitted.

Ex Invercargill.

$152,000 + GST 2014 Caterpillar 545C Log Skidder

9,000 Hours, Tigercat 5195 Felling Head, tethering Hitch.

Ex Dunedin.

$378,000 + GST

2014 Tigercat 630D Log Skidder 9,000 hours, One owner machine with Winch, 19ft Grapple & good rear rubber, Ex Christchurch.

$206,000 + GST 2014 Hyundai R250LC-9 HW Feller Buncher

With Satco 630 Felling head, 7200 hours, 600 mm single Grouser shoes, One Piece bonnet, Full length track guards, heavy duty corner post, Brightwater Engineering ROPs, hydraulic door, Ex Nelson.

$280,000 + GST 2014 Caterpillar 545C Log Skidder

8,000 Hours, Grapple, Winch, 2 new rear Tyres, centralised grease blocks Ex Nelson.

$190,000 + GST

7,200 hours, Grapple, Winch & good Rubber, Ex Nelson.

$225,000 + GST

Contact your Forestry Specialist Today: WHANGAREI Marcus Bourke 027 241 6126 NORTH HARBOUR Charles Dryden 021 751 158 AUCKLAND Colin Saunders 027 593 2661 Byren Ware 027 287 8902

ABE_UsedFE_NZL_JAN_2020.indd 1

HAMILTON Tony Hennessy 027 839 8153 TAUPO Steve Mellar 027 565 3956 MT MAUNGANUI André Muller 027 550 1729 HASTINGS Ben Kendrick 021 658 554

LOWER NORTH ISLAND Mardi Pritchard 021 335 873 NELSON Chris Jones 027 574 1712 CHRISTCHURCH Nic McLennan 027 275 6252 Steven Varcoe 021 969 323

DUNEDIN Cory Hellyer 027 288 1952 INVERCARGILL Dean Cousins 021 932 246

24/01/2020 7:05:46 am

NZ LOGGER classified

KOMATSU PC 400LC-8

BLACK DUCK SEAT COVERS

INTRODUCING THE NEW & Revolutionary

MUD GRABBA 4ELEMENTS SEAT COVERS

FLoOR MATS

• 6 5 0 gsm/ 1 9 .2 oz C otton T will C omposite • Heavy P system rotection • U niq ueDuty locking keeps them in place for C leaning • 1 • 0 E 0 asy % to W remove aterproof Fabric • Moulded to fit your vehicle perfectly • C otton Soft to T ouch • B oth front & rear available • Machine W q ashable • Made from uality P V C • U • V FullR replacement esistant W arranty • T ailored Fit for C omfort and Style • A vailable in B lack or G rey • P rotect Y our V ehicle I nvestment

This harvester has a full EMS build, boom and arm, tilt bonnet, cab etc.

The factory radiator and oil cooler have been replaced by an high flow 5% radiator and oil cooler. Plus an auxiliary oil cooler in the counter-weight.

Shareholder Rebate Base has done 3,985 hours. Base still has 2000 hours power train warranty.

INTRODUCING THE NEW & Revolutionary Just had it’s 4,000 hours service. sales@ blackduck.co.nz www.blackduck.co.nz The head has done 1700 hours and still has 2300 hours left on chassis warranty.

U V R e s is ta n t 0g s m 1 / 199 .2 . 2 ozo z C otton T will C • omposite • • 6 5 6 05 gsm/ Has the latest optimisation timberite H16 • T a ilo r e d F it fo r C o m fo C o t t o n Duty T w i l l P C rotection o m p o s ite • Heavy computer system. a n d S ty le u t y P r o t e Fabric c tio n • • 1 0 H 0 e % a v Wy D aterproof • A v a ila b le in B la c k o r W a t e to r p Tr o ouch o f F a b r ic • • C 100% otton Soft New colour marking which is not fitted.

• • Machine • P r o te c t Y o u r V e h ic le C o t t o n S W o f ashable t to T o u c h Currently being used and will be available • • U M V a R c esistant In v e s tm e n t h in e W a s h a b le • T ailored Fit for C omfort and Style end of April early May so the hours will • A vailable in B lack or G rey climb a little.

• P rotect Y our V ehicle I nvestment

Ph: 0800 158 479

LG30188

Ph: 0800 158 479

Price $665,000 + GST Phone 0272 379 160

4ELEMENTS SEAT COVERS rt Gr e y

Ph: 0800 158 479

sales@blackduck.co.nz www.blackduck.co.nz

Ph: 0800 158 479

5% Shareholder Rebate

IN FORESTRY,

Ph: 0800 158 479

IT’S THE SIMPLE THINGS

sales@ blackduck.co.nz

www.blackduck.co.nz

DONE WELL THAT REALLY WORK

NO R TH IS LA ND S A LE S : Ben Addenbrooke 027 359 2360 S O UTH IS LA ND S A LE S Nick Andrews 027 548 7761

dcforestryequipment.com

58 NZ LOGGER | February 2020

FALCON C L AW SAFE . SIMPLE . PRODUCTIVE

NZ LOGGER classified

Built to banish downtime.

STAYS ON THE JOB. Tyres that mean business.

For heavy tyres, there’s no such thing as an easy job. That’s why the entire Nokian foresty tyre range is built to stand up to the harshest of conditions and heaviest of applications.

To get the best from your gear, choose Nokian.

Call in and see us at the upcoming field day events: Southern Fieldays

Site 301.1

12-14 Feb

Northland

Site 178

5-7 March

Central Districts

S33-34

19-21 March

Phone us on 0800 NOKIAN (0800 665 426) or email info@nokian.co.nz to find a dealer.

February 2020 | NZ LOGGER 59

W www.chains.co.nz

Get the right exposure through NZ Logger magazine and capture the Forest industry buyers directly.

Clark Grouzer Super Grip with 28mm links for 30.5x32 Firestone tyres is the single wheel track that delivers maximum climbing capability for 6-wheeled machines.

GSG’s give exceptional traction and require less maintenance than tyre chains. $10150.00 + GST per pair while stock lasts.

LG18594

Chain Protection have been Clark Tracks NZ agent for 20 + Years.

CONTACT TRISH TO ADVERTISE

mobile. 021 925 600 phone. 09 571 3544

N

N LG28236

EXPOSE YOUR PRODUCT OR SERVICE

ENGINEERED WITH EXPERIENCE....

Chain Protection Services Ph: 03 338 1552 • E: chainpro@xtra. co.nz • www.chains.co.nz

Bra 100 hea

N

HARD-WORKING Maxam LogXtra Extra hard working for extra value.

Extra robust. Extra reliable. We know what it takes to keep going in the toughest of environments.

He cyl circ

U

New to NZ: Check out our forestry range at the field days!

Southern Fieldays

Site 301.1

12-14 Feb

Northland

Site 178

5-7 March

Central Districts

S33-34

19-21 March

Or find a dealer:

60 NZ LOGGER | February 2020

0800 275 897

|

Re hyd aut

info@maxamtyres.co.nz

Jas ww

s e c i v r e S y r t s e r Waratah Fo

Floor Stock on Hand Recently traded low hour HTH624C head only. Never fallen a tree.

Available now, balance of new warranty applies.

Call Jason for more information.

0274 864 227 Price $200,000 + GST

Waratah 624C

NEW STOCK NEW

NEW

FL95 Series II Brand new floor stock, Fixed saw box felling head with 1000mm log cut. Ready to replace any existing felling head plug and play. Auto tension main saw $80,000

NEW

NEW

FL85 Series II Brand new Floor stock, small felling head ideal for small 20 ton carrier, auto tension saw $59,000

Extra heavily reinforced model for the toughest jobs in the forest and excavator applications, Strong cushioned cylinder reduces shock loads, ž Saw unit SC300 Integrated mounting of saw motor, No hoses in the saw box, Simple installation Introductory Pricing $38,500

NEW

NEW

Waratah 852 Log Grapple

Waratah 864 Log Grapple

Heavy duty fleet and stack grapple. High pressure cylinders allow mains pressure to be used in grapple circuit.

Price $27,750

Heavy duty fleet and stack grapple. High pressure cylinders allow mains pressure to be used in grapple circuit.

Price $29,550

USED

New Waratah SG360RS Grapple with Supersaw 650S

USED

Waratah 618C Upper and lower delimb knives along with topping saw are standard features on the HTH618C.Short, robust chassis that can easily be positioned in tight spots while thinning or taking on the bent and ugly timber for which this model is famous for.

Price $130,000.00 + GST excluding automation

USED

Rebuilt 626 Bigwood

Waratah 622B

Waratah 625C

Rebuilt 626 Bigwood - New motors, line bore, new pins, hydraulic valve bank reseal, repaint. New TimberRite automation system.

TimberRite Head only. Softwood spec. Ready to go

Refurbished and ready to go. 625C with TimberRite optimising computer, Auto tension main saw and 3/4 top saw.

Price $185,000 + GST

As is price $42,500.00

*prices exclude GST and are valid for a limited period.

Jason Huitema - Customer Support +64274864227 www.waratah.com

NZ LOGGER classified

STRONG & RELIABLE GRAPPLES STRONG && RELIABLE RELIABLE GRAPPLES GRAPPLES STRONG Made in NZ

• M SERIES 852 AND 864 – STRONG & RELIABLE GRAPPLES

Grapplesand andall allspares sparesinin Grapples stockwith withovernight overnightdelivery delivery stock

• GRAPPLES AND ALL SPARES IN STOCK WITH OVERNIGHT DELIVERY PROVEN852 AFTER SERIES and864 864 MM•SERIES 852 and SALES SERVICE STRONG&&RELIABLE RELIABLE STRONG GRAPPLES GRAPPLES

ProvenAfter AfterSales Sales Proven Service Service

LG29717

ContactMarty MartyororBruce Bruce Contact Ph027 027324 3249091 9091 Ph 79Chambers ChambersStreet, Street,Tokoroa Tokoroa 79 enquiries@cdlloggrapples.co.nz enquiries@cdlloggrapples.co.nz

A DIVISION OF

NOW AVAILABLE FOR HIRE

www.facebook.com/RWFSfieldservice

Ph: 07 348 0501 Email: Info@rwfs.co.nz Mob: 027 817 9448 Workshop 41 Riri Street, Rotorua 62 NZ LOGGER | February 2020

LG26859

visit us on

NZ LOGGER classified

Hauler Engineering Ltd Darren Hall (Field) 021 365 812 service@hauler.co.nz 65 Whitby Road, Wakefield 7025 Brightwater yarder parts + servicing all engineered parts available Brightwater yarder grapples + parts be70 shafts instock $6250 each ,genuine Witchita 19kk pucks $1880 per disc, genuine 19kk bag $2495, genuine coppers $820

Engine + trans setups with chaincases

tmy70 for sale 5 guy ropes , 855 cummins, bfg main clutch new cab with twin joystick controls, air conditioning comes with 1850 falcon carriage, available march 2020

Yarder clutch convertions with BFG clutches thunderbird 155, 255, 355, TTy70, TMY70-50

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LG30134

SPECIALISING IN BRIGHTWATER YARDERS

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February 2020 | NZ LOGGER 63

NZ LOGGER classified

Heavy Diesel Imports Ltd CONTACT HEAVY DIESEL IMPORTS LTD

Kelvin Johnson

Ph: 078847942 Mob: 027 307 7701 Email: heavydiesel@xtra.co.nz Te Aroha Waikato

CUMMINS • CATERPILLAR • DETROIT DIESEL SPECIALISING IN REBUILT EXCHANGE ENGINES TO SUIT LOG HAULERS • LOG YARDERS • MADILL THUNDERBIRD • BRIGHTWATER BULLDOZERS • EXCAVATORS 35 years experience building diesel engines. Cummins QSK19 only 1713 hours since new. We have the correct make up Cummins 855 STC and Caterpillar 3406C and Detroit diesel 60 series engines used in Madill-Brightwater-Thunderbird haulers rebuilt - run up and tested - ready to go. We travel anywhere in New Zealand to fit engines if required. We have Caterpillar 3406C built as log hauler spec, but can be changed to suit other Caterpillar applications such as Caterpillar D8N Dozer and others.

We also travel to do jobs such as tune ups - oil leaks or what ever problems you may have on above engines.

LG29740

FOR FAST TURN AROUND AND PROFESSIONAL SERVICE 12 MONTHS WARRANTY ON REBUILT ENGINES Photos of engines and jobs done around New Zealand.

Forestry Insurance Solutions LG23616

0800 55 54 53 info@stal.co.nz

Forestry Insurance Solutions

64 NZ LOGGER | February 2020

LG25750

www.sweeneytownsend.co.nz

FOR SALE: Clark F665, 666, F667, Cat 525B Grapple Skidder, JD648G, TJACK 460, 560.

DOZERS: Caterpillar, D4H, D6C, D6H, Komatsu D65 + D85, tie back dozers, D85/21.

Excavators: Caterpillar 320, 322, 325, 330, B,C & D. Hyundai 250/9 Volvo 240C log rigged.

Teebar manufactured and sold. Wheeled loader WA470/3.

Lakeland Heavy Machinery Ltd

Branches now in the NZ LARGEST RANGE OF SKIDDER FORAND SALE:BETTER Clark 664, 666C, 666B, F67 Grapple Skidders North & South Island CHAINS, HEA HEAVIER Komatsu D65/6 and D85/21 log rigged, CAT 936, 950B and Komatsu WA470/ wheeled loaders, buckets or forks.

Forestry Tyre Chains NZ LARGEST RANGE OF SKIDDER

Branches noNZ w in LARGEST the North & South IslSTOCKS and

Super Heavy DutyHEAVIER AND BETTER CHAINS, 35.5x32 - Weight 10000kg 30.5x32 - Weight 950kg 29.5x32 28L Super Heavy Duty 23.5x26 30.5x32 - Weight 950kg

Forestry Tyre Chains

OF DOZER

NZ LARGEST + DIGGER STOCKS CHAINS, OFROLLERS DOZER + DIGGER IDLERS, CHAINS, SPROCKETS ROLLER available Roller rebuilding/reshells Track press service IDLERS, Mini Excavator tracks SPROCKETS

35.5x32

Heavy 29.5x32 Duty

30.5x32 -23.5x26 Weight 650kg Heavy Duty Machines

30.5x32 - Weight 650kg

Zaxis 270Standard with teebar. Teebars in stock.

D7H with30.5x32 winch - Weight 365kg Machines

Roller rebuilding/reshells available Track press service available Mini excavator tracks also available

PC350/6 with teebar or grapple DYH with winch

Cat and Komatsu Pumps Komatsu Pumps

WE QUOTE HEAVY TRACK CHAINS WE DUTY QUOTE HEAVY DUTY TRACK CHAINS BONING OUT DISMANTLING 525 CAT 518,CAT 525A B & C, Clark, WRECKING, SKIDDERS, John Deere TJack.

BULLDOZERS, LOADERS, Excavators all makes, CAT EXCAVATORS All Models, 3x 33OD Cat, FOR SALE: Dozer parts

NYLON / FIBRE DRIVE GEARS NYLON / FIBRE DRIVE GEARS

CAT D5B, D6D, D7H D65 & D85 KOMATSU POA TRY US WE ARE FOR WORTH IT! SALE: More Machines On Our Website NEWParts PARTS, CAT, KOMATSU, New Clark off the shelf MACHINES $2476-$6884 + gst.

Grouser Bar From $36 per 3 EXCAVATORS metres HITACHI & SUMI ADJUSTERS DOZERS + DIGGERS Scrap Handling units also 32.5x32 FIRESTONE available Used Tyres RECOIL SPRINGS AVAILABLE 126-136 View Road, PO Box 1976, Rotorua Email: info@heavy-machinery.co.nz • Phone: 07 347 0765 • Fax: 07 349 2325 • Mob 0274 945 886 ROTATING GRAPPLES TO FIT 1 TO 40 TONNES ROTATING GRAPPLES MACHINES $2476 to 30K + gst.

TO FIT 1 TONNE TO 15 TONNE Shears, dredge buckets

126-136 View Road, PO Box 1976, Rotorua Email: info@heavy-machinery.co.nz

• Phone: 07 347 0765 • Fax: 07 349 2325 • Mob 0274 945 886 Check our website for more info www.heavy-machinery.co.nz

Check our website for more info www.heavy-machinery.co.nz

EXCAVATOR WORLD

Hokitika South Island BULLDOZERS EXCAVATORS SKIDDERS

ALL NEW STOCK

ORS EXCAVAT FOR SALE

er in 0/3 30 tonn Hitachi EX30 et or grapple. ck bu r de or nice + GST $39,000

LG25750

• • • •

Buckets Cabins Final Drive Parts Grapples

• • • •

Pump Parts Ram Seal Kits ROPS Slew Drives

ALL MAKES, NEW WINDOWS, NEW DOORS + PANELS, NEW RADIATORS AND COOLERS, ENGINE KITS + GASKETS, COMPUTERS, FINAL DRIVES AND PUMPS

Are your ropes failing earl.pdf 1 23-Jan-20 1:05:53 PM

Are your ropes failing early?

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CM

MY

CY

CMY

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TALK TO US TODAY ABOUT

S-6x31.0 PROVEN PERFORMANCE, DESIGNED TO LAST