BOX CLEVER

David Wylie visits Agriforest Ltd at a large windblow clear-up operation in the Scottish Borders to see the company’s recent investment in a newly developed Powerhand eX36 grapple and sawbox unit in action

Headquartered in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, Agriforest Ltd specialises in timber harvesting and forest management. The company was started by Douglas Mathison in 2016. Douglas and his skilled team specialise in providing the best possible returns for owners of small to medium-sized woodlands, primarily on farms and estates. Agriforest brings its experience of effective woodland management and delivers results through a combination of its own skilled staff and local and trusted contractors who are known to provide ef cient and reliable service.

A unique aspect of Agriforest’s service is that it doesn’t charge any upfront fees, from initial appraisal to obtaining relevant consents, and organising and implementing everything from start to nish. As the business has grown, it has invested in its own Komatsu 901XC harvester and two John Deere 1210G forwarders, and has recently ordered a new Ponsse Scorpion King harvester for additional large clearfell and thinning contracts.

POWERHAND EX B 36 GRAPPLE

CAPACITY 0.36M 2

WEIGHT (EXCLUDING

ROTATOR) 695KG

I met up with Douglas and his skilled machine operator, Dominik (Dom) Raton, along with freelance agricultural contractor Graeme Louden, to see the company’s recent investment in a newly developed Powerhand grapple, rotator and saw unit package working on a large farm hilltop clear-up after Storm Arwen.

JAW OPENING 1,760MM

OVERALL OPENING (TO TOP PLATE) 1,905MM

OPEN HEIGHT (TO TOP PLATE) 920MM

TIP TO TIP HEIGHT 985MM

MINIMUM GRIPPING

DIAMETER Ø135MM

OVERALL WIDTH 860MM FOR EXCAVATORS FROM 16 TO 25 TONNES

Douglas explained that safety is their number one priority, and since windblown trees are often lying on the ground under some extreme tension, the risks to hand cutters using chainsaws are therefore increased. Douglas and Dom estimated that there were over 2,500 beech and other hardwood trees were damaged or attened by the 110mph peak wind speeds and snow generated during Storm Arwen in December 2021.

“IT’S ESTIMATED OVER 2,500 BEECH AND OTHER HARDWOOD TREES WERE DAMAGED BY THE 110MPH WINDS”