“DONNIE MCKERRAL IS A PARTNER IN THE FAMILY BUSINESS AND HAS VERY SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS FOR HIS TIMBER LOADER”
INSPIRED ENGINEERING
IMAGES DAVID WYLIE
David Wylie revisits a truck-mounted JCB excavator log loader run by Peter McKerral & Co Ltd to find out how the bespoke machine has performed over the last six years
P
eter McKerral & Co Ltd is a long-established haulage company based in Campbeltown on the west coast of Scotland, operating a large fleet of articulated heavy goods vehicles hauling livestock, animal feeds, fish and timber products. A substantial proportion of the fleet are involved in transporting timber in the Argyll area to ports such as Ardrishaig, Sandbank and Campbeltown. Due to the vast quantities of commercial timber the company handles, McKerral has long-favoured the use of a dedicated timber loader to load its 44-tonne trucks quickly and efficiently. That said, for self-loading applications, a small number of its timber
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SPRING 2021 FORESTRY MACHINERY
trailers are also equipped with a standard vehicle-mounted crane. With timber extraction business continuing to expand (Scottish forests are forecast to produce 10.5 million cubic metres of the UK’s 16.5 million cubic metres of softwood per annum forecast over the next 20 years), McKerral continues to require a highly productive machine to cope with demand. The firm’s previous timber loader, which provided eight years of good service, was a 2006 MAN 6x6 TGA chassis and Epsilon 250L 13.5m reach crane.
SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS Donnie McKerral is a partner in the family business and a hands-on operator and
manager. He has very specific requirements for his timber loader. Working from their home base in Campbeltown and covering an extensive area around Argyll, the machine must be self-propelled, offer superb off-road capability and be able to load a steady stream of 44-tonne vehicles as quickly and as safely as possible. As the timber is often being loaded straight from the trucks onto waiting boats heading for both domestic and international markets, quick cycle times are important too. With no such equipment available from any original equipment manufacturer, Donnie decided to build his own machine by mounting a big excavator onto an
