ONE SIZE FITS ALL As one of the earliest – and happiest – users of an EcoLog harvester in Ireland, Peter Sheeran Timber Harvesting Ltd has since created an exclusive fleet of machines from the Swedish manufacturer, as Eoghan Daly reports
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he purchase of Peter Sheeran Timber Harvesting Ltd’s first EcoLog 688 harvester was inspired by its ability to conduct all stages of thinning and clear felling, unlike most other machines on the market. A positive experience with the 688 led to the company’s most recent acquisition of Ireland’s first EcoLog 564D Blue forwarder. Entering service with a second 688 in ‘E’ spec, the duo have subsequently proven their working capabilities in a wide range of stand types and on varying ground conditions across the midlands of Ireland, as well as on a particularly challenging clear fell assignment in the north-east since going into operation. Initially, the company considered buying another Gremo forwarder based on the success of the existing 1050F, but with long delivery times and a strong combined deal for a two-machine purchase through local dealer
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AUTUMN 2020 FORESTRY MACHINERY
LB Gremo, the EcoLog won through and has since proven itself on a number of fronts for this Mountrath, County Laois-based contractor. Peter Sheeran needs Seen as a forwarder with machines that can cover a range of tasks. much undiscovered potential among Irish users, the 564D has a range of advantages often overlooked by manufacturers when it comes to creating the ultimate all-round machine. Striking the right balance between a machine with sensitive operational characteristics for thinning and at the same time infusing raw power with impressive load capacity and build substance is a difficult design brief, however EcoLog managed it, as Peter Sheeran
confirmed: “I’ve run forwarders from a range of manufacturers over the years, having started out like so many others with a Bruunett 678 and then moving up to a series of Timberjacks before running machines from Valmet and more recently Gremo. “The Gremo 1050F is a great little forwarder and is ideal in thinnings and premature clearfell, but for our second forwarder needed a higher capacity for clear fell and the ability to work in thinnings equally well,” he continued. “After looking at the 564D Blue from EcoLog, I believed it was exactly what I had been looking for, and now that it’s in service for the past two years have
