SHOW REPORT | SCOTTISH FORESTRY EXPO
NEW WORKING DEMO ATTRACTS THOUSANDS David Wylie reports from the inaugural Scottish Forestry Expo event
Komatsu introduced its 2020-spec 931XC harvester at the show. It features 200kN of tractive force, a new control system that includes a mini steering wheel, a stronger front chassis and updated drive shafts and articulation joints
O
rganised by Rural Projects with the support of other industry partners, the Scottish Forestry Expo event attracted some 3000 visitors. The site at Little Clyde in South Lanarkshire had 60 trade stands, on which there were several working demonstrations. In addition, a shuttle bus made the short run to the adjacent commercial forestry site, where visitors could see harvesting demonstrations taking place. Organiser Martin Dare said, “It was brilliant to see everything come together and I am grateful to the forestry community of Scotland and further afield, including international visitors, who turned out to
support the event. Our aim is to grow on the success of Forestry Expo 2019 and to repeat the event in future years.” An estimated £40m-worth of harvesters and forwarders were at work on the forestry site, from the likes of John Deere, Komatsu, Ponsse and Tigercat. These demonstrations harvested around 6000 cubic metres of timber during the two-day event. Such live working demonstrations are rare: it is believed that this event is one of only four held in the world, at which a wide range of forestry kit can be seen in operation in its natural environment. One bit of
news at the event was from Jim Wilmer, owner of one of the largest forestry contractors in the UK, who is now also the UK dealer for Rottne machinery. At the time of the event, Jim had taken ownership of an F18 forwarder for his own operation, and another F18 model had been sold to a large Scottish harvesting contractor. Stef Kaiser representing Confor, the forestry industry trade body, said, “These are really exciting times for the industry and events like Forestry Expo are a good way to attract more people to our sector. That could be farmers looking to plant productive woodlands or young people looking for employment. Forestry Expo helps to demonstrate that modern forestry is supported by investment and underpinned by innovation.”
Left: Komatsu’s new cloud-based harvesting management system enables an operator to digitally see other machines working on the jobsite, together with their production rates and routes FORESTRY MACHINERY SPRING 2020
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