11 minute read
OPERATOR FEEDBACK
The 2,760kg Sany makes easy work of moving cut sections.
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SMALL BUT MIGHTY
David Wylie travels west to see Argyll Forestry Services’ new Sany SY26U excavator complete with rotating grapple at a large estate in Dunoon, Scotland
Below right: The Sany’s lifting performance is impressive handling these big logs over the side of the tracks and at full reach.
Dunoon-based Argyll Forestry Services Ltd is owned and managed by second generation forestry professional Ross Petro. Joining the family business in 2001, Ross later took charge of the business under a new name of Argyll Forestry Services Ltd (AFS) in 2017 and employed his highly skilled team within his new company. AFS is experienced in all aspects of forestry landscaping and other various tree work and works hard to ensure it delivers a safe, competitive, and highly professional service to meet its customers’ needs.
Argyll Forestry Services covers a full range of arboricultural and forestry services to both commercial and domestic clients throughout Scotland and the rest of the UK, such as domestic and commercial tree surgery, forest and garden maintenance, site clearance, Japanese knotweed removal, stump grinding, consultancy and tree surveys and project management.
The skilled team are certificated to a high standard and accredited under the SafeContractor accreditation scheme, which indicates a well-managed and professional service that conforms to health and safety and the latest environmental guidelines.
The company’s list of clients includes organisations such as Scottish Woodlands (clearing affected larch trees), Tillhill Forestry, a number of local authorities, and Jim Wilmer & Sons Timber Harvesting Ltd (featured on pages 16 to 22) to name but a few.
THE PERFECT MATCH
I met up with Lyle Sibbald from Sany UK & Ireland, and Ross Petro and his team at a large 600-acre estate in Ross’s home town of picturesque Dunoon, which overlooks the beautiful River Clyde estuary. At the time of my visit, AFS was contracted to clearfell 22 spruce trees that had become over grown and posing a possible risk of
becoming windblown, which would result in the damage and possible destruction of a large walled garden and adjacent glass conservatory. This forestry work is part of the larger renovation project at the magnificent Castle Toward – a former Argyll and Bute council building – previously used as an outdoor education facility. AFS’s client is Keith Punler and Denice Purdie, who now own the estate, and after a multi-million-pound investment will soon be opening as an upmarket wedding hotel, with shop and cafe and exclusive location for films, TV productions and other events. The location is close to Dunoon centre and a short journey and car ferry ride from “THIS FORESTRY Glasgow. WORK IS PART OF THE Since the trees were LARGER RENOVATION PROJECT AT THE nearly 30m tall and so close to the adjacent structures, Ross and MAGNIFICENT CASTLE his team of hand TOWARD” cutters decided to
This picture: Wood chips will be used for biomass power by Castle Toward’s new boiler.
Left inset: Ross Petro, owner of Argyll Forestry service Ltd, is delighted with his new Sany SY26.
safely to remove the top half of the tree, known as topping. Supporting this operation is Argyll Forestry Services’ new, six-week old Sany SY26U fitted with a high-performance rotating grapple manufactured by Intermercato. The 2.7-tonne Sany was sold by Sany dealer Capel Machinery and is now being supported directly by Sany UK & Ireland, from the new central Scotland head office (see separate box on page 41 for more details).
WEIGHING UP THE COMPETITION
Ross considered a range of mini excavators from various brands to cover a multitude of roles for his business, considering machine performance, price, availability, and service backup from the dealer. Ross’s machine operator recommended a Sany machine, based on his contacts with another existing delighted Sany operator. Having looked at the SY26U, including the auxiliary hoses fitted to run the various front end attachments, Ross liked the high specification, and he liked the package price of the SY26U even better. The machine price is confidential but suffice to say, Ross was happy to report the Sany was significantly less money than the next competitive quote for a mini digger and his operator was keen to have it!
Tom Brown at Field and Forest Machinery in Broxburn, Scotland supplied the powerful rotating grapple and powerful shear attachment which is working well in this application.
Field and Forest Machinery supplied the rotating grapple.
Ross commented, “Our experienced machine operator, Tommy McCuaig suggested I look at a Sany mini digger and I have to say it was a good call, as both Tommy and I are delighted with the machine. We have only had it six weeks, but it’s proven a cracking little machine for our type of work.”
The 2.7-tonne excavator also helps with new build projects, where AFS is called in by the large housing development companies to carry out tree surgery or to help with the landscaping phase of new housing estates schedule of works. “Over the last few weeks, we have completed a number of landscaping jobs with the SY26U and it has proven to be a versatile machine, as it’s compact enough that it can get in and out of gardens and up driveways, and yet powerful enough to dig out tree stumps all day long.”
Below and right inset: Mercedes Unimog U 90 turbo drives the high-performance TP200 Disc chipper.
SO FAR SO GREAT
As for this application, whilst there was no wind to contend with when felling the tall trees, Ross explained that the SY26U has such good reach they sometimes use it to steady the trees and provide a slight nudge to fell the timber in the right direction for a safer operation. Once felled, the hand-cutters move back in to both delimber the brash and then cut the timber into sections with their powerful chainsaws. The SY26U, with its powerful rotating grapple, is kept busy removing the trimmed branches to the side and then picks up and tracks a short distance to neatly stockpile the timber. Considering the SY26U
only weighs 2,760kg and is powered by a 20hp Yanmar 3TNV80F diesel engine, it is a very stable machine and boasts powerful front end equipment. Hydraulic fl ow to the attachment is also good, and its 4.5km/h travel speed makes short work of stacking the big timber logs. It’s also equipped with a dozer blade, which comes in handy to push the smaller piles of accumulated brash into a neat pile too.
A STURDY COMPANION
AFS also runs a short-wheelbase Mercedes Benz Unimog U 90 turbo, equipped with a three-point linkage and rear PTO, to drive the high-performance TP200 disc chipper equipped with hydraulic infeed. The threebladed chipper unit can effi ciently process wood chipping of branches and trees up to 200mm in diameter and at a rate of 40 cubic metres per hour. If the chipped wood is required to be transported offsite, it is then blown into the back of the Unimog body holding about six cubic metres of material. The company also has a Timberwolf TW280 tracked wood chipper at its disposal.
Ross explained that to make the operation safer, he also uses the SY26U to lift and feed the high-speed chipper with big grapplefuls of brash and branches. On this jobsite, the timber will remain on site and be
Left: The SY26U has proven very simple to use; wide rear and side panels offer good access for daily checks and regular greasing.
Above right and right: Surprising amount of room in the cabin; thumb operated attachment switches set up to Tom’s liking.
SANY UK & IRELAND DEALERSHIP
Following initial entry into the UK & Ireland market in 2015 with former UK distributor, TDL Equipment, Sany is stepping up its own operations. The company is in the process of setting up a direct sales route in Scotland and building a new dealer network across England and Wales. Sany will continue to sell and support excavators in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland with partner Sleator Plant. Sany will continue to work closely with TDL to ensure customers are supported during this transition period.
“The United Kingdom and Ireland is one of the key focus areas of growth for Sany, therefore the company has taken the decision to build a larger presence within the market,” said Simon Zhu, Managing Director Sany UK & Ireland. “We are taking many steps to ensure we can maximise our potential which include the establishment of a UK business, recruitment of local industry experts, investment in premises, support infrastructure and marketing, as well as, basing a full team from China within the country.”
Tony Thorpe, Sales Director Sany UK & Ireland, has been working for the company for over fi ve years and is heading the process of dealer recruitment and development. “We are really excited to take this next step in the UK and Ireland as Sany ramps up its focus and investment,” Tony commented. “To help us grow, we are keen to fi nd new partners in England and Wales to sell and support the product line which we believe has huge potential.”
Lyle Sibbald, General Manager for Sany Scotland and a former sales manager for Sany excavators, is tasked with building and managing a direct approach for the Scottish market. From new premises outside Glasgow, Scottish customers will be sold machines directly, and the region’s excavator range fully supported. The new base will also support the rest of the UK dealer network. “I am delighted to join this team and very much look forward to working with the Scottish excavator customer base once again,” Lyle said.
In order to provide a greater level of support for the UK and Irish customer base, Sany has recruited a dedicated Service Manager, Neil Tilley, who has over 20 years of experience in the construction equipment sector.
processed into wood chips for biomass to power a new boiler system for Castle Toward.
Machine operator Tommy said, “I’m really pleased with the Sany mini digger, as it has a comfortable cab and, unlike other machines I’ve driven, the seat back on this SY26U is nice and high and offers plenty of support, and considering it’s a zero-tailswing machine the cab has got plenty of elbow room. The hydraulics are smooth and powerful, and it has very good reach for a relatively small machine and its extremely well built and has good stability, particularly when working over the side of the tracks with a heavy log to stack on the stockpile,” he continued.
“The SY26U is simple to use, and the wide panels offer good access for daily checks and regular greasing. It’s also easy to live with as the machine is designed to be easily cleaned out with floor mats that extend to the cab door. Overall, this is a very good mini digger – I can’t fault it. Out of all the many mini diggers I’ve driven, I’d go as far as saying the SY26U is the best one I’ve operated. It’s a smart looking bit of kit, too.”
Sany digging bucket and Ross’ brand new shear attachment.
ABOUT SANY
Sany Group started in 1989 as a small welding supply company founded by four young men who wanted to offer better products to the world. Over the last three decades, Sany Group has grown and evolved into a global brand with a sales turnover of £12.5 billion, manufacturing and supplying a diversified range of products. Sany’s hydraulic excavators are among its most popular machines, finding 250,000 homes across the world during the past 17 years, including a new sales record of 60,000 units sold in 2019.
MINI MARVEL
Tommy also explained that he used the large LCD screen to set up the speed of the thumb operated attachment switches on the joystick to suit his personal preferences. With five years’ experience in a forestry forwarder, he had to physically swap the hoses around on the grapple to sync with his muscle memory to open and close the attachment.
Ross is also delighted with the technical backup from Sany UK & Ireland, as AFS received good advice on the current hose connections between the SY26U and the rotating head/grapple. In fact, Ross is so happy with his Sany experience that he will be looking to purchase another machine in the next few months. “Buying the SY26U has been a good experience, and technical support from Lyle and his colleagues at Sany UK has been exceptional,” he said.
