English - Komatsu Forest

Transcription

I N T E R N AT I O N A L M A G A Z IMAGAZINE
NE
No 3 • 2 0 0 5
INTERNATIONAL
Successful
circus
Komatsu Forest proved a success
at Elmia Wood. IT tent and circus ring with machines attracted
many interested visitors.
Page 18
Buck hunt
Join a different kind of hunting adventure in a Polish
buck hunter’s paradise.
Page 14
Forwarder
operator with
the travel bug
Read more
WoodPac – European model .... 4
Lower fuel consumption ......... 10
First EX10 in Europe ............... 26
Major deal in Russia ................ 33
Q UALITY LEAVES A L A S T I N G I M P R E S S I O N
We know the forest.
We also know the challenges facing
modern-day wood harvesting.
We know that quality machinery demands
tyres that live up to the task.
We have developed and manufactured
forestry tyres for several decades.
We strongly believe that investing in quality
is the sensible choice.
Nordic Tyres ( UK ) Ltd
Unit 24A
Brampton Road
Longtown, Cumbria CA65TR
United Kingdom
tel +44 (0)1228 792677
Nokian Tyres Inc.
339 Mason Rd. La Vergne
TN 37086 Nashville USA
Tel. 1 615 287 0600
Fax 1 615 287 0610
www.nokiantires.com
Nokian Forest King F
Nokian Tyres plc, P.O.Box 20
FIN-37101 Nokia
Tel. +358 3 340 7111, fax +358 3 342 0101
Sucess gives
volumes
T
he most important fair for the
forestry industry, Elmia Wood,
has past and some 50.000 visitors from all over the forest world came
to Sweden. We felt a great success for
both the Scandinavian technology and
also our world-wide products on display.
Of course we are very pleased for the
customers positive response to Komatsu
Forest machines and program. After listening to our customers and Sales organisation I am convinced to continue the
Just Forest focus. I can also notice the
customers expectations to broaden our
product range and to grow bigger on
existing and upcoming markets.
Komatsu Corporation has presented the 2004 fiscal year result, with history high result and Komatsu Forest has
contributeed for it with all time high
result. We can see with this improvement, that we can become an important part of the Komatsu family and play
an important role on the market from
now on.
To fulfil the customers demand we
will improve the factory facilities in
Umeå and Shawano to be able to meet
the increasing volumes. Komatsu Forest
will increase capacity by changing the
production set up. An important focus
for our customers are that we are f lexible, by eg sub assembling and can be
able to catch up with increase of demand
in a growing market. When the customers need machines for their positive
market situation, we shall be prepared to
support with machines.
Komatsu Forest can see an increasing
demand of volumes on world market
due to increasing mechanisation. This
is what we want to prepare for. Komatsu
Forest also realise the customers expectations to increased diversity of options
on the machines. With a new production
set up we can be f lexible, to fulfil more
expectations. Parallel to this we are continuing our quality improvement program and as a customer you will see the
results in the future. r
Hideki Yamada
Chief Executive
Officer,
Komatsu Forest AB
Contents
WoodPac – modified
for Central Europe
4
From idea to head
6
Active trials in Finland
8
Mike invests ardently
11
Lower fuel consumption
12
Forwarder operator
with the travel bug
14
Everything depends
on tuning
16
Valmet’s circus
attracted visitors
20
Head upgrades
21
Buck Paradise in Poland
22
First in Europe
26
Markets with potential
28
Brazilian forestry with strict
machine requirements
30
Major Russian order
31
Investing in training
32
INTERNATIONAL MAGAZINE
Publisher: Roland Lundqvist
roland.lunqvist@komatsuforest.com
Editor: Anders Pauser
anders.p@nordreportern.se
Address: Just Forest, Komatsu Forest AB,
Box 7124, SE-907 04 Umeå, Sweden
Contact: Telephone +46 90 70 93 00,
fax +46 90 19 16 52
Internet: www.komatsuforest.com
Production: AB Nordreportern
Writers: Gunnar Andersson, Anders Pauser,
Roger C Åström
Photographers: Gunnar Andersson, Anders Pauser,
Nate Burton, Roger C Åström, Marcus Gustafsson
Layout and design: Fredrik Lundell
Printing: Tryckeri City, Umeå, Sweden
Paper: Gotic Silk 130 gram
Circulation: 33,000
Languages: Swedish, Finnish, English, German,
French, and Portuguese
Contents may be quoted if source is stated
JUST FOREST NO 3 • 2005
3
4
WoodPac
– modified for central Europe
The bundling of brushwood has an interesting future in Europe. This is shown by
successful trials in Germany with Komatsu Forest’s forwarder-based WoodPac system.
With modifications, it’s been possible to bundle brushwood from deciduous trees.
V
almet WoodPac can
be used mounted on
a forwarder, stationary with an engine added, or
truck-mounted. Its purpose
is to bundle harvesting waste
into oblong bales. When WoodPac is used on a forwarder, it
takes only 15 minutes to attach
or detach the system out in the
forest. The system has been on
the market for some time and
is used successfully in Finland,
for example, where the biofuel
demand is increasing.
THE SAME development in the
biofuel market is taking place
in Germany, a result of nuclear power plant decommissioning. It’s estimated that 20 percent of the fuel to be used in
biofuel plants currently under
construction will stem from
the forest, with the remainder
provided by agriculture. With
this in mind, Komatsu Forest
continues to develop and test
the WoodPac system in central European conditions. When
Just Forest visited Germany,
final trials were underway of
the prototype fitted with modified rollers developed to bundle
brushwood from both coniferous and deciduous trees.
“We’ve conducted successful trials with deciduous trees,
which place greater demands
Andreas Lockert, sales manager at
Komatsu Forest Gmbh
in Vöhringen.
on the bundling system
because the leaves are smoother and the twigs and branches
finer,” explains Andreas Lockert, sales manager at Komatsu Forest Gmbh in Vöhringen.
“Deciduous trees place greater demands, for example, on
the bands used to bind the bundles.”
According to Andreas, a
great deal of development has
been required to successfully
bundle deciduous brushwood
and evenly distribute the brushwood in the drums.
“We’ve tried using nets, and
they may provide an interesting solution in the future,” says
Andreas, who believes it will
be profitable for contractors to
invest in WoodPac and biofuel
production.
In support of his optimism,
Anders has a three-year study
conducted by the vocational college in Hildesheim. Calcula-
WoodPac works really well, according to test operator Siegfried Döring.
tions in this study indicate that
biofuel demand will increase
so much that a system such as
WoodPac will prove very profitable within just a few years.
When Just Forest takes a
look at the test machine in the
forests just a few dozen miles
from Vöhringen, we meet a
very happy test operator named
Siegfried Döring.
“The system works very
well,” he says. “With conifers
there are really no problems,
but minor difficulties can arise
with deciduous trees when it’s
really cold and frozen branches
snap easily.”
THE BOOM ON the test
machine is fitted with a grapple
saw to cut large branches and to
facilitate packing material into
the drum. The production rate
is high throughout the demonstration, showing the good
opportunities offered by this
system to profitably produce
bundled biofuel for the growing
German biofuel market. r
5
From idea...
Producing a new
harvester head
or a completely new forestry
machine is nothing you do overnight. It’s a process
that demands close
attention and the
efforts of many.
I
n January 2005, Valmet’s
latest addition, the
Valmet 350, was launched
and serial production begun.
But a new product is not made
overnight. Behind the launch
of the Valmet 350 lies extensive, painstaking work performed
by project managers, designers,
buyers, technicians, test operators, marketing staff, and others.
There can be many reasons
why one decides to invest in the
development of a new product.
One maybe needs a new addition to the product range, or
wants to find a new market segment. Most common, however,
and the case in the development
of the Valmet 350, is to replace
an existing product with the
1
PRODUCT STRATEGY
MEETING
Possibility of a new head discussed. Decision made to initiate
a preliminary study and draw up a
requirement specification.
2 MEETING WITH
4
CONCERNED MARKETS
On this occasion representatives from Sweden, Finland,
and Germany.
3NEW PRODUCT
STRATEGY MEETING
Presentation of preliminary study and requirement
specification to the steering
committee.
STEERING COMMITTEE
MEETING
The steering committee, with some
company management members, decides to start a development project
for a new head.
next generation.
”We hold regular product
strategy meetings at which staff
members from both marketing
and development participate,”
explains Tommy Englund, chief
designer for harvester heads.
AT SUCH a product strategy
meeting it was decided to conduct a preliminary study and
produce Product Capability
requirement specifications for
how the product (Valmet 350)
should be
designed.
“The requirement specifications are based on a number of
things, including an extensive
market survey of current customer requirements in the segment,” explains Tommy.
Customer requirements are
most important in this, even
if customer requirements vary
enormously.
“However, we have to find
a balanced solution, weighing
up the different requirements
against each other,” says Tommy
Englund.
ANOTHER ASPECT that must
be considered at this stage
is the fact that the harvester
This is what it happened
All in all, it took almost two years to develop the Valmet 350 from idea to
serial production. The product development of the Valmet 350 is just one
example. All development projects take different lengths of time, depending on the product type.
START OF DESIGN WORK
The designers make blueprints for the head
based on the requirement specification.
5
6
PROTOTYPE ASSEMBLY
Assembly of the first prototype head begins.
...to head
head is to work together with a
machine.
“We are ultimately responsible to our customers to ensure
that the head and machine
work well together,” says Lars
Stefansson, project manager.
The preliminary study and
requirement specification are
presented to a steering committee, which includes members of company management.
The steering committee then
decides whether to initiate a
development project.
NOW IT’S TIME for the design-
ers to start work on the new
head. In the case of the Valmet 350, they began with an
essentially clean slate, using a
completely new platform with,
among other things, four roller motors. This meant that the
time to the first prototype being
put together was somewhat longer than usual. The design of
a prototype head usually takes
about ten months.
With the Valmet 350, five prototype heads were constructed.
The primary purpose of the prototype is to test functionality.
“Once the first prototype
head is assembled, it’s the
beginning of a long period of
testing that provides incredibly
important information,” says
Tommy. “A large number of
functionality modifications are
normally made after this testing.”
TEST OF FIRST PROTOTYPE
Internal functionality tests begin followed by
field tests by trial hosts.
Of the other four prototype
heads, two were tested in Finland and two in Sweden.
Once most of the main functionality tests have been conducted, work on a pre-production series can begin. This usually involves the production of
two to five heads, although in
the case of the Valmet 350 more
heads were made.
“This was because there was
such great demand from customers in both Finland and
Sweden,” explains Lars.
The launch of the pre-production series should provide
additional answers and information.
“Now it’s mostly about verifying that the head fulfils the
established productivity and
reliability requirements. Of
course, there’s still room for
modifications to the head. We
have to find a good balance
between reliability, functionality, and performance,” explains
Tommy.
ONCE THE tests on the pre-pro-
duction series are completed,
it’s time to start true serial production.
“Development of the head
isn’t really finished just because
serial production starts. It continues in the shape of systematic work that results in continual improvements, for as long
as the head remains in production,” says Lars. r
7 8 PRE-PRODUCTION
SERIES
10
SERIAL PRODUCTION
First head in serial production.
9 DELIVERY TO
CUSTOMERS
Pre-production series heads
delivered to customers.
Jarkko Tuominen is one of the
contractors who participated in
the 350 harvester head trials in
Finland.
A 350 head tested in Finnish forests. Gunnar Nilsson, John Pääkkönen, and Ebbe Lindahl from the Valmet 350
follow-up team watch while Jussi Järvinen, Esko Havimäki, and Jarkko Tuominen take a look at the head.
Active trials
in Finland
Finnish contractors have played a very
active role in the development of the
Valmet 350. Jarkko Tuominen is one of the
contractors who worked in close collaboration with the follow-up team in evaluating the head’s performance.
T
o the Finnish marketing company
Komatsu Forest Oy,
the Valmet 350 is of
special importance, because in
the Finnish forestry industry
has been waiting for the next
generation of thinning heads
Finnish contractors have
8
participated very actively in trials with the 350 head, often in
combination with the Valmet
911 harvester. One of these contractors is Jarkko Tuominen,
who Just Forest met one spring
day, between Tammerfors and
Orivesi, when he was also visited by the Valmet 350 follow-
up team. Esko Havimäki voluntarily represents the interests
of Finnish service providers.
Participants from the factory
include Ebbe Lindahl, focused
on fabrication quality issues,
and John Pääkkönen, responsible for head design planning
work.
Jarkko, who owns the
machine and carries out the
practical trials and follow-ups,
applauds the 911-350 combination.
“It makes for a very universal machine; stable with an
effective 36-foot reach,” he says.
“The tests we’ve carried out
show that the distance between
thinning roads has increased
considerably since we started
using the Valmet 911.”
As regards the head itself,
Jarkko seems to have nothing
but praise:
“A light, universal head with
good measurement accuracy for
length and diameter measurements, even in difficult conditions, and a feed that doesn’t
damage the bark.”
THE INFORMATION from Fin-
land is compiled together with
other information, such as from
test operations outside Vimmerby in Southern Sweden, where
a wet early summer led to difficult conditions and much tree
sap. Esko was also there and can
compare his experiences with
those from Finland.
“There we tested different
feed wheels, both proprietary
and third-party,” he says. ”We
looked at how the measuring
wheel and the upper delimbing knife functioned in extreme
conditions. We also looked at
the recommended pressures for
different functions when the
bark is soft. Oddly enough, in
Sweden higher pressures are
used than those I’d recommend
at home in Finland.” r
Easier to send
production files
Simpler and more
secure. Those
are the two major
advantages of the
new data transmission program for
production files to
be incorporated
in Valmet harvesters on the Swedish
market.
I
n Sweden, most forestry
companies and large private forest owner associations employ SDC (a
company providing the Swedish
forestry industry with, among
other things, IT services) to follow up on harvester production in the forest. Consequently, Komatsu Forest is offering
SDC’s software for the transmission of production files in
all Valmet harvesters produced
for the Swedish market from
now on.
SDC’s new transmission
program will be used primarily to send production files, also
known as prd files, although
pri files are also easily sent. In
theory, as all data files follow a
standard specifying how information is stored, it’s possible
to send other file types as well.
The information sent to SDC’s
database can be used, for example, in production reports.
“The ability to send production files has existed for
four or five years, but with this
new software we’ve made several improvements,” explains Lars
Henriksson at SDC.
ONE IMPROVEMENT is
increased security. When the
file is sent, the software checks
that the location identity information required by SDC is
included. If this information is
missing, the operator can add it
manually before transmission.
Additional information is added
to prd files, such as the harvester and head types used.
ANOTHER major improvement
is a simpler user interface. In
effect, the operator need only
use a single screen and a single
click to send prd files.
“We’ve also increased the
file compression level, which
shortens transmission time,”
continues Lars. ”This is of
most importance with pri files,
which are considerably larger.”
If poor GSM coverage prevents immediate data transmission, the files can be saved to
diskette and sent from a regular PC.
Valmet harvesters also make
it easy to send production files
via Komatsu Forest’s own program portal, MaxiManager. r
News
Illegal logging
in Russia
A Russian stateowned oil company,
Transneft, is accused
by the Russian authorities of illegal logging in protected forests around Lake Baikal. The
logging takes place in conjunction with the laying of new oil
pipelines between the oil fields
in Eastern Siberia and Russia’s
Pacific Coast. Now, however,
the authorities are considering
pressing charges against the oil
company.
Reduced forest area
in New Zealand
The ratification of the
Kyoto Accord has had
a negative effect on
forestry in New Zealand. Before
its introduction, much forestland has been transformed into
pastureland and new plantations have decreased drastically. The explanation is that forest
owners are afraid of being burdened with fines for deforestation when the first commitment
period begins.
Action against
deforestation
SDC, SKOGSBRUKETS
DATACENTRAL, IN
SUNDSVALL.
The World Bank, together with the WWF,
has launched an initiative to reduce deforestation by
ten percent over the next five
years. The initiative will support
the establishment of new protected forest areas and help
optimize their management,
as well as that of unprotected areas.
9
Valmet 890.2 gets a lot
of commends in a test as
been implemented of the
newspaper New Zeeland
Logger Magazine.
Successful tests of
Valmet in New Zealand
A machine in definitely tip bunch
there the powerful
boom and the excellent cab give extra
plus. That´s how
the test that New
Zeeland Logger
Magazine implemented on a Valmet
890.2 is summarized.
T
he newspaper implements regularlily so
called “Iron Tests”
where the visits successful
entrepreneurs as bought new
machines and both test the
machines and discusses with
the entrepreneurs’ personnel.
10
Recently, they tested a new Valmet 890.2 which Jensen Logging bought and that is driven in end logging of Douglasspruce in Kaingaroa, New
Zealand.
RESULTS FROM the test are
exuberant positive in the newspaper. Tester Colin James point
out the fact that the whole
machine is well thought-out
and has a formulation that facilitates rapid access for service,
where all is indicated clearlily
and most of it is easy to reach.
That lubrication of the boom is
done with a central system be
seen as a big advantage. Like
that fact that all suspensions
and gaskets has tef lon and rubber.
New Zeeland Logger Magazine, establishes also as so
many other, that the cab of
890.2 is an of the market’s most
driver friendly. Here exists
according to the newspaper all,
except possibly a fridge for the
beers. Air conditioning and the
heating may add an additional plus, which is understandebly in those tough relations the
machine is driven in with big
temperature crossings.
The tailgate that can be
increased all since the load
becomes higher, is pointed out,
although there is easy to forget
to lower the in order to avoid
that one gets catch with logs.
Colin James is also a lot of
delighted in Maxi-systems possibilities to adaptation after
each driver, some as also the
driver Mike Porter showed
itself to last. General was established that buttons and levers
functioned a lot of good and
that their location each well
thought-out.
ALSO THE BOOM , that is the
biggest as goes that few to a
forwarder, got good grade like
grabbed. Also with a reach
on 8,5 metres each the loading ability good. He estimated moreover freightcover and
that the electronic control of the
crane that gives good fuel economy.
Finally, the New Zeeland
Logger Magazine gives the vacuum function that is built in the
hydraulic system that prevents
oil spill commends. The newspaper’s conclusion is that similar system near will last standard on all forest machines that
are used in New Zealand. r
Mike invests
ardently
Few people are
granted the privilege of running such
a dominant enterprise as Komatsu
Forest Pty Ltd in
Australia. For CEO
Mike Jones, it’s all
about perseverance
and staying ahead
of the competition.
No doubt his experiences as a triathlete help keep the
lead.
M
ike has many years’
experience from the
forestry machine industry in
Australia and Asia. When he
stepped into the role of CEO for
Komatsu Forest’s newly established sales company in 1990,
he’d already been working for
the former Valmet dealer since
1982. This year we celebrate our
fifteenth year of operations and
Mike can look back on a long
success story.
“Overall, we have more than
fifty percent of the purposebuilt market,” says Mike.
Operations in Komatsu Forest Pty Ltd began with seven
employees; today there are 48
people working for the company, mostly out in the field.
This is also one of the reasons behind the company’s success - a focus on service and
spare part supply when distances are so great. Today there
are four local offices in strate-
gic locations. Most all machines
are used on plantations where
trunk sizes in natural forests
are too large for mechanized
harvesting with rubber-tired
machines.
“The older plantations are
pine-based, but most new
investments are in Eucalyptus, which will dramatically increase future machine
demand,” predicts Mike.
Mike has successively followed a strategy of developing proprietary harvester heads
able to meet the demands of
tough local conditions. Personal contact is also important, and
Mike understands the advantages of following developments
at many different contractors.
Companies that were small
some 15–20 years ago have
grown into major operations
with as many as 20 machines.
“Even the machines date
back 20 years, and operations
are run like small family businesses,” Mike explains. “We
often have very close relationships.”
MIKE IS VERY HAPPY in his
work, even if he’d like to be able
to leave his desk a little more
often and meet customers out
in the field. Unfortunately, in
recent times he’s only been out
in the wilds during his triathlon training. He’s currently taking things a little easier, due
to his age, and instead faces
future challenges in the shape
of technical developments and
new markets.
“We need to be at the forefront of technical development,
and in this respect we’ve succeeded well,” says Mike. “But
the biggest challenge on the
horizon is growth in Asia.
Within ten years, China will be
one of our major markets – just
as Indonesia already is today.” r
THREE QUICK
QUESTIONS
1. Favorite Valmet
machine?
The new Valmet 475 EX/EXL, a great
machine for larger timber.
2. What does the forest represent for you?
I like being outdoors; originally from
the country, love the fresh air and the
tranquility.
3. What does Komatsu represent for you?
Komatsu provides Komatsu Forest
with stability and a promising future.
Since they took over, our growth opportunities have improved greatly.
About Mike
Jones
POSITION: CEO, Komatsu Forest
Pty Ltd in Australia
EMPLOYED SINCE: 1990
AGE: 53 years
LIVES: Sydney
FAMILY: Wife, two children, 33
and 4 years old.
BEST PART OF THE JOB: The
continual challenges and activities on all levels of operations.
LEISURE: Swimming and bicycling. Previously triathlon.
11
In the past 20 years, fuel
consumption per cubic
meter of timber harvested has dropped considerably. As fuel prices increase,
it becomes increasingly profitable for contractors to learn
how to operate their forestry
machines in the right manner
to reduce fuel consumption.
LOWER
fuel consumption
A
t SCA Skog, they have
long worked to measure forestry machine
fuel consumption. Sören
Bergek, head of machine technology at SCA Skog, emphasizes the positive developments of
the past 20 years.
“Development of machine
systems and the transition to
the harvester system has led to
consumption dropping from
more than four liters per cubic
meter of timber harvested to
1.8 liters today,” he says. “The
12
machines and the hydraulic systems have also been made more
efficient.”
SÖREN BERGEK is, howev-
er, convinced that even greater fuel savings can be made,
something which is becoming increasingly important to
contractors as fuel costs comprise ten percent of overall running costs. He says that just as
in the construction and transportation industries, one ought
to invest in training operators
in so-called eco-driving and
ensure that machines are properly tuned. According to Sören,
it’s already possible to reduce
fuel consumption by more than
ten percent with a number of
simple measures.
“This may involve things as
simple as more careful planning
so that forwarders always run to
the landing with full loads, and
minimizing the time engines
are run at a standstill,” explains
Sören. “But perhaps most
important is to keep engine rpm
down and machines well maintained, in particular hydraulic
systems which can easily begin
guzzling fuel if not kept in top
condition.”
IN THE LONG TERM, no doubt
we’ll see other fuel types with
less environmental impact and
perhaps lower consumption.
“We’re in continual contact with machine manufacturers,” says Sören. “I’m convinced
that in the future we’ll even see
more efficient engines.” r
Information in MaxiForwarder related
to fuel consumption:
• Fuel consumption per running hour
• Transport distance
• Number of loads and forwarded volume
• Running time
• Information stored for each assignment
and operator
Better fuel management
with MaxiForwarder
I
t’s possible to measure
fuel consumption in all
new Valmet forwarders.
All that is required is the purchase of the production and
operation follow-up option for
MaxiForwarder.
GAINING CONTROL of fuel
consumption is becoming
increasingly important to forestry contractors. This is why
Komatsu Forest offers a system
for monitoring forwarder fuel
consumption in the production
and operation follow-up option
for MaxiForwarder. With this
feature, the operator can continually see, via a graphic gauge,
current fuel consumption. It’s
also possible to see consumption per running hour.
“Fuel consumption data can
be saved in a file and provide
important information about
operating efficiency,” explains
Per Annemalm, product manager for control systems. “The
system helps find a good balance between, for example,
power output and fuel consumption.”
AS EVERY operator logs in
to the system, information is
stored about each operator’s
consumption, which is inf luenced in part by operating style
and in part by terrain. Simply put, operating styles can be
compared and changes made
so as to attain more economic
operation.
“The system even provides
more detailed data about fuel
consumption in relation to terrain, which simplifies assignment pricing,” explains Per. r
New fuel declaration for forestry machines
I
t will soon be possible to compare fuel consumption between different types of forestry machine. This is shown in a
new research report from Skogforsk, a Swedish research institute, in which a standardized
measuring method has been
developed for fuel consumption.
Forestry machines in Sweden consume about 115 million
liters of diesel a year. Consequently, relatively small changes in consumption can result in
large benefits to the economy
and the environment. The new
fuel declaration is devised such
that the results are independent
of terrain, load, and operator.
This provides a good basis for
fair comparisons between different machine types.
The measurements are first
made on unloaded machines.
The observed data is then translated, with the aid of experience from operating follow-up
reports, to the equivalent diesel consumption during actual
operation. r
13
Forwarder
operator with
the travel bug
A dream job with
much freedom and
the chance to be
out in the forest.
Mariette Olsson
is happy with her
work as a forwarder operator, a
profession that has
already provided
work experience in
several countries.
W
hen we contacted
Mariette Olsson for
the first time and
explained that Just Forest magazine wanted to interview her
about being a female forwarder operator and having worked
abroad, among the first things
she said was that Valmet forwarders are her favorite. It’s
soon clear we’re dealing with
a spontaneous and cheerful
girl soon to be 23. That being
female in this industry should
be anything special Mariette
soon discounted.
“I haven’t noticed anything
particular, and if older people
are a little wary, they’re probably like that towards guys new
to the industry as well. You just
have to prove you can do the
job.”
MARIETTE’S NEVER regret-
ted working in the forest. It
all began when she joined her
father in the forest when he
14
News
Sweden
Denmark
Storm-thrown timber
a tourist magnet
France
Austria
Switzerland
A Valmet forwarder is Mariette Olsson’s favorite
machine.
was operating his Valmet 860.
When it was time to choose
a high school study program,
Mariette got the chance to test
drive a forestry machine. This
made her choice to study the
machine operator program at
Naturbruksgymnasiet in Osby,
relatively close to her home in
Markaryd, a given.
DURING THE program Mari-
ette got the opportunity to do
internships first in Denmark
and then France.
“It was mostly work with
chainsaws, but in France I had
the chance to operate different
machines,” recalls Mariette.
The stays abroad gave Mariette a taste for travel and two
years ago, when through contacts she received an offer to
work in Austria, she accepted
immediately. There she operated a Valmet 840 forwarder for
three months without any mishaps in the steep terrain.
“I gained a great deal of
experience in Austria, where
they sometimes use funicular
railways between rock faces, for
example,” she reports. “It was
also fun to find out how it is to
Mariette Olsson has worked as a forwarder operator
in five countries.
work abroad. I had some problems with the language in the
beginning, but gradually learnt
the local dialect.”
The way they harvest isn’t so
different in Austria, despite the
steep terrain. There were possibly more people out in the forest around the logging areas,
keeping an eye on things.
“Things don’t go quite as
fast as at home in Sweden,”
Mariette admits.
Last year, Mariette could
add another country to her list
when she spent a month working in Switzerland, a rather different experience as she took
part in logging a town forest in
Zurich. Here the proportion of
deciduous trees was considerably greater and you had to keep
track of the different species.
TODAY Mariette is back
in Sweden, working outside Västervik in Småland
for contracting firm Klingstedt & Karlsson. Here she has
to switch between forwarder
brands, but hopes to soon get to
operate the company’s Valmet
forwarder again.
“I’ve always liked Valmet
machines. Perhaps because my
dad used one,” says Mariette.
“You always have a good view
and the cab is so comfortable.”
SHE’S VERY happy with her
work; the freedom it offers and
the chance to be in the forest.
She’s also in the forest for leisure, with her dog and her horse.
So she has no plans to leave the
forestry industry, but would like
to have her own firm.
“My first goal was to operate
forwarders for five years, even
if I enjoy operating harvesters.
Now I’m considering becoming self-employed to learn more
about the financial side.”
For Mariette, being selfemployed is more about personal development than earning
more money. She’s already satisfied with her salary and, cynically, notes that she earns considerably more than her girl
friends working in healthcare.
“I have a great deal of freedom and can take vacation time
if I need to and then start working again afterwards. And my
job has given me many interesting experiences, not least those
abroad.r
Byholma airport in
Småland, Sweden, has
become an unexpected tourist attraction. The attraction is two percent of the timber that the January storms
felled in Sweden. The landing strip is covered with 40foot high stacks of timber. In total, the timber is enough to fill
logging trucks stretching 250
miles. The plan is to stack a total of between 800,000 and
900,000 cubic meters of timber
at the airport.
During the summer water,
has been sprayed on the timber from nearby Lake Bolmen.
Two pumps move 200 liters a
second.
Poor cab environment due to lack of
overpressure
Many forestry machines and agricultural tractors have poor
cab environments due to low
or no overpressure in the cabs.
Health-oriented Landsbygdshälsan i Norr in Sweden has measured the pressure in 77 vehicles, finding that most had insufficient overpressure to sufficiently circulate air in the
cab. Blocked filters combined
with recycled air were often
the cause of the overpressure
dropping to zero. The survey
emphasizes the importance of
filter replacement.
Forum on Forests
without results
The UN Forum on Forests, held recently in
New York, failed to
produce any outcome. The idea
of the meeting was to reach
some kind of decision about
whether to start negotiations
on a global forest convention.
15
Everything
depends on tuning
Tuning your harvester just right
provides the key to success. So says
Tomas Persson, World and European
Champion in competitive harvesting.
T
To consider
There are a few simple basic settings that can provide a good starting point
for those wanting to optimize the boom and head. Getting help from someone that doesn’t normally operate the machine can be beneficial. Service personnel familiar with Valmet machines can be useful in this respect.
As regards the head, for example, the valve flow on both the front and
rear feed can be worth looking at. Inching speed should be reasonable. Braking speed and braking distance are two other functions worth fine tuning.
On the boom, check the minimum flow to all boom functions. The start
ramp, stop ramp, and lever curve settings are other important boom functions to tune.
16
omas Persson works as
a demo operator and
methodology developer at Swedish sales company SweLog, which sells Valmet
machines. Tomas has a long
career behind him as a harvester operator for different contracting companies. When the
World Harvesting Championship was held for the first time
at this year’s Elmia Wood trade
fair, it was taken for granted
that Tomas would be competing.
“I was in the European
Championship in 2002 and
things went so well that I won,
so I thought it would be fun to
compete in the World Championship as well,” says Tomas.
And things went just as well
this time. Tomas won after a
quarter final operating both
Valmet and John Deere simulators and a final operating a Valmet harvester.
In his day job, Tomas spends
a great deal of time helping
harvester operators to properly
tune their machines.
“Of course you can work
with the default settings as a
base, but with the right individual tuning of the head and
boom, you can easily make the
head more efficient to work
with,” says Tomas.
Most settings are easily
made via the Maxi system, and
you can store five separate operator profiles with individual
operating settings.
“I usually ask operators
whether the machine runs
as they’d like or whether they
operate it as the machine likes,”
he explains.
Tomas says there are great
productivity gains to be made
by checking and optimizing
harvester settings.
“I’d like to think it’s possible
to increase productivity by ten
percent,” Tomas adds.
“Although it’s not possible to provide general advice
about which settings to use
for different functions. On the
other hand, it is true that all
machines can be optimized
with individual tuning. The settings to be used depend on the
operator and the type of stand
to be harvested.” r
Tomas Persson

TRELLEBORG TWIN FORESTRY IS FOR REAL. EFFICIENT. COMFORTABLE. STRONG.
With Trelleborg Twin Forestry on your machine you can carry
out the job even more efficiently and smoothly and – at the
same time – preserve the woodland. We test and develop tires
in your working environment: snow and ice, stones and tree
stumps, day and night. Whether you opt for complete wheels or
new tires, you will obtain increased pulling power and lower
operating costs as part of the bargain.
Trelleborg Industri AB
Business Unit Agri & Forest Tires Europe
SE-231 81
JUST FOREST
NOTrelleborg,
3 • 2005 Sweden
17
Tel: +46 (0)410 510 00, Fax: +46 (0)410 139 96
www.trelleborg.com/wheelsystems
Elmia Wood 2005
Valmet’s circus a
The decision to go with a circus tent and machine reviews in a circus ring proved a
great success at Elmia Wood 2005, held June 4-7. The question is whether any other
exhibit at the fair attracted as many visitors, whose numbers totaled more than
50,000.
Y
Jugglers mesmerized the public in Komatsu Forest’s circus tent at Elmia Wood 2005.
18
et another successful
Elmia Wood has taken
place. With more than
50,000 visitors, the fair was one
of the largest ever. Komatsu
Forest was among almost 500
exhibitors and was located in
an area normally used for largescale forestry, to which shuttle busses ran in an extremely
well-organized venture.
Komatsu Forest’s participation, with a circus tent and
machine reviews in a circus
ring every hour, was a great
success, as was the decision to
focus on service and after-sales
operations. The main focus
inside the tent was machine
information systems and the
Valmet Maxi Control system.
Already on the first day, Ulrica
Messing, the Swedish Secretary
for Infrastructure, visited the
fair together with Lars Enqvist,
Kronoberg County Governor.
Ulrica Messing was able to test
drive a Valmet simulator and
watch jugglers with f laming
torches, among other things.
AS ALWAYS, Komatsu Forest
and its sales companies received
important customers at the
Elmia exhibition. From North
America we met a group traveling under the name ’You’re In
Good Company Tour’, who vis-
Komatsu Forest’s stand was perhaps the most well attended at Elmia Wood 2005.
attracted visitors
Swedish Secretary for Infrastructure Ulrica Messing in between
Komatsu Forest’s management group, represented by CEO Hideki
Yamada (right) and marketing head Akira Yamakawa (left).
ited Austria as well as Sweden
during their trip. There were
just as many people from Brazil
and a large number of our largest customers.
VISITORS TO Komatsu Forest’s
exhibit could, for the first time
in Sweden, see machines made
in the US, such as the new
Valmet EX10 tracked harvest-
er and a Komatsu PC 228 with
a Valmet 370E harvester head.
The impressive demonstrations
in the circus ring included just
about all machines in our product range, performing like circus
horses, then rolling into the adjacent forest to prove their skills in
fast and effective harvesting. The
circus ring attracted thousands
of visitors each day. r
The EX10 was one of the new machines exhibited in the circus ring.
19
Elmia Wood 2005
What did you find most interesting
about Komatsu Forest’s participation?
Bruno Blackburn
CONTRACTOR
Quebec, Canada
“The new technology, with the new Maxi system features, and the harvester head improvements.”
Manfred Serschoen
CONTRACTOR
Graz, Austria
“I’ve never seen the EX10 before and it looks interesting.
I think it’d be suitable for use in Austria.”
The seating stands around the large circus ring
were packed.
Marjatta Rasi
SECRETARY FOR THE SWEDISH FORESTRY CONTRACTORS ASSOCIATION AND CONTRACTOR
Kuru, Finland
”I’d like a closer look at the Valmet 941
and the EX10 – which I’ve never seen before.”
Åke Karlsson
OPERATOR FOR THE FORESTRY COMPANY SVEASKOG
Hok, Sweden
“I’ve only just arrived, but Maxi 3.7 looks interesting.”
A large gathering of Komatsu Forest salespeople
and customers who’d come all the way from Brazil
to attend the fair.
20
TIPS AND ADVICE
Just Forest plans to use this space to publish practical tips and advice for users of Valmet foresting machines.
The editors are happy to publish any ideas you may have. Please submit any tips or questions to info.se@komatsuforest.com.
Head upgrades
The new Valmet 360.2, Valmet 370.2, and Valmet 370E heads
have all been improved in several respects, such as hose routing. Now it’s possible to upgrade earlier versions of these
heads, model numbers 360.1, 370.1, and 370E.
Hose routing
THE FIRST IMPROVEMENT concerns the hose routing to the feed roller motors.
The new routing means that the hoses are routed through holes in the
frame rather than joined with adapters. This also requires new swivels under the rear hood.
The other improvement is in the hose routing between the head suspension link and the head valve. This includes new hoods, new P and T
pipes and fixtures, and new hoses, among other things.
Diameter sensor
ANOTHER IMPROVEMENT is the
new diameter sensor mounted on
the new heads. An upgrade kit is
available for older heads, resulting
in fewer moving parts, improved
sealing, easier maintenance, and a
sensor with a contact to facilitate
troubleshooting.
Feed roller motors
IN ORDER TO ENSURE feed roller motor
functionality, we also recommend improvement of motor refilling on the return side.
An upgrade kit is also available for this
purpose.
Contact your nearest Valmet service provider for further information.
21
Buck Paradise in
When winter has passed and spring has arrived, the time between
hunts gets all the longer. A colorful brochure and a few hunt-hungry
friends managed to change the order of things. A hunting trip to Poland.
Expectations were high and reality proved even better.
Our guide scouts for buck in the morning mist.
22
Poland
W
ith the last snow
f lakes still in memory, it felt almost
unreal sneaking into a field
with two-foot high corn. The
summer heat came through
and the mercury reached 82 F.
Perfect weather for a beach holiday, but a little less suitable
when you’re to hunt spring
buck.
The afternoon hunt of the
first day was a sweaty experience among roe deer and hares
A simple rifle support proved necessary due to the high grass.
in seemingly endless fertile
lands. Our guide, the friendly
German-speaking Viktor, was
carrying a few extra pounds,
but despite this had room for
two beers bought on the way
to the hunting grounds. This
act saved us. Seldom has a pilsner tasted as good as when we
returned from the hunt. Four
different bucks out in the corn
fields tempted us to creep up
on them, but with no success.
FOR SEVERAL members of
the hunting party this was
their first spring buck hunt in
Poland. The hunting area was
just a couple of dozen miles
from the port town of Swinoujscie. Our hunts were carried
out in the surrounds near the
villages of Dargobadz, Wohlin,
and Kodrabeck, in the mornings and evenings and entailed
a couple of hours sneaking and
scouting with binoculars. The
morning hunts began at about
four, continuing until nine
on successful days. After this
we took a well deserved siesta
until the afternoon hunt, beginning about five. The parade of
game after the first morning
was impressive- twelve roe deer
and a wild boar lined up in the
summery grass in front of the
grand hunting lodge.
In order to pay for hunting
rights and to compensate farmers for game losses, a hunting
area was established for tourist hunts in spring and fall.
The area encompasses 40,000
acres (16,000 hectares) with a
good mix of cultivated land, forests, and wetlands. The hunters
told that among other things
they manage 40 acres (16 hectares) of wild lands to feed game
through winter. The local Polish hunters are required to contribute with work in order to
participate in the hunting party. The guides with whom we
hunted during the week made
money in this way for the hunting rights and clocked up work
time in the hunting territory
journal.
For a hunter from Northern
Sweden with limited experience
of Southern Sweden’s gamepacked lands this was something out of the ordinary. It
wasn’t enough that there were
plenty of buck. Fox, wild boar,
and infinite numbers of exotic birds made our hunting days
an orgy of experience in hunting and nature. Everyone in the
hunting party got the chance to
shoot their six allocated buck,
and a couple of wild boar were
also shot.
HUNTING IS charged accord-
ing to a fee system based on
the size of the trophy and a
fixed basic charge. It can prove
expensive to shoot the largest
trophy buck or a heavy-weight
23
The three best sets of antlers for
the day, one cleaned set and two
really nice un-cleaned sets.
boar. However, with a good eye
for game size, you can avoid
any unexpected surprises. Maybe one should avoid shooting
the buck that causes the guide
to exclaim ’O mamma mia’ if
you want to save on your travel
expenses.
One afternoon, one of the
hunters arrived with a guide,
and they both seemed somewhat secretive. My friend
explained after a while that they
had been sneaking up on a couple of roe deer in a field when
they spotted two dogs chasing
fawn in the knee-high crops.
The guide, who was
unarmed, quickly grabbed the
weapon and felled the two wild
dogs with two shots. Wild dogs
are a major problem in some
parts of Poland. For a Swedish
hunter this is definitely not a
common problem.
ALL HUNTS WERE with a
guide and on foot. We slipped
slowly through the landscape,
using binoculars to scan hot
areas for roe buck and wild
boar. As regards wild boar, you
are left to rely completely on the
guide. On one occasion, we saw
two wild boar in an overgrown
field. Slowly but surely we
approached the wild boar and
I prepared myself. Viktor carefully tapped me on the shoulder and made it clear that these
24
A satisfied hunter after a morning spent on Polish hunting grounds.
animals were not to be shot.
With my camera at the ready,
instead I took the opportunity
to catch the closest animal on
film when it passed. The shutter click made the sow grunt
and speed off. Soon thereafter
a pack of striped piglets came
running. Learning is a lifelong
process.
The best equipment for buck
hunting, aside from a sharpshooting sporting rif le, is a
good support and a pair of binoculars. Without the binoculars it would have been impossible to detect the animals in
the high undergrowth. When it
was time to shoot, it was almost
always impossible to lie down.
A camera monopod made a
practical rif le support.
Moreover, a little shooting practice before the hunt
won’t hurt. On a couple of occasions we came across bucks that
sprinted 50–75 yards before stopping. A well-trained rifleman
can take advantage of the pause
without any major problems. r
ANECDOTAL
Under this heading, Just Forest will print anecdotes and stories from then and now. The editor will be happy to receive
ideas for publication. Send your tips or stories to info.se@komatsuforest.com.
In the neighbor’s yard
IT’S NOT EVERY DAY a red colleague is seen in front of Timberjack’s (now John Deere’s) factory in Joensuu, Finland. And perhaps
one or two of the factory’s employ-
ees were inquisitive enough to go
out front to see the latest addition
when newly started Forest Karelia
displayed - for the first time in Finland – a Valmet 941. Forest Karel-
Change of address
Is your magazine delivered
to the wrong address? Has
your magazine failed to turn
up? Or do you simply know
more people who wish to
receive Just Forest? Please
contact your nearest sales
office.
ia is a fusion of the company Motometsa, which has serviced Valmet
machines for almost 15 years, and
well-renowned Jouni Porokkola’s
operations.
Best
in the
world
The world’s best harvester operator is Tomas Person. This
was determined when the unofficial Harvester World Championship was held at Elmia
Wood.
An expected victory as Tomas usually works as a Valmet instructor. More unexpected was third-place winner, Carl Mortimer, aged 20.
A self-taught Irishman who’s
never competed before.
”I was born in a machine
and grew up in the forest,” is
Carl’s explanation.
Second place was taken by Patrik Brynmark from
Sweden.
Finland
Antero Siuro
antero.siuro@komatsuforest.com
Fax +358 32658324
Australia
France
Spain
Marina Kirpichnikov
marina.kirpichnikov@komatsuforest.com
Fax +61 2 9647 2540
Martine Thuriault
mthuriault@komatsu.fr
Fax +00 33 130 905 144
Cesar Sanchez
cesar.hitraf@retemail.es
Fax +34 986 58 23 89
Brazil
Italy
Sweden
Marilia dos Santos
marilia.lucia.santos@komatsuforest.com
Fax +55 41 6673100
Fabrizio da Fré
fabriziodafre@imai.it
Fax +39 0438 430115
Veronica Kjellen
veronica.kjellen@sweloghb.com
Fax +46 171 41 67 80
Chile
Norway
Germany
Alfonso Solar
alfonso.solar@komatsu.cl
Fax +56 41 92 53 55
Mona Andersson
mona.andersson@komatsuforest.com
Fax +47 62572954
Silke Brückner
silke.bruckner@komatsuforest.com
Fax +49 7454 960218
England
Portugal
USA
Stewart MacGregor
stewart.macgregor@komatsuforest.com
Fax +44 1228 792388
Antonio Ramalho
sefoeste@mail.telepac.pt
Fax +351 244 685959
Nate Burton
nate.burton@komatsuforest.com
Fax +1 715 524 7833
25
First in
Europe
Scottish contractor John McLaughlin
has bought the
first Valmet EX10
in Europe. The
machine is planned
for use in extremely
steep and demanding terrain.
26
H
arvesting forests in
Scotland is becoming increasingly difficult for contractors as more and
more harvesting is conducted
in steep terrain. This demands
a machine with good reach and
the ability to maneuver in steep
terrain without sliding or causing ground damage. The relatively light, tracked Valmet EX10,
which was recently introduced
on the American market, is an
obvious choice with its 35-foot
MAY WE
ASK....
...ALEXANDER N.
GERASEV, who runs Komatsu
Forest Oy’s operations in
Northwest Russia from his
office in Moscow.
Things have gone well
for your operations
this year?
John McLaughlin, left, and Colin Robertson, head of Komatsu Forest Ltd in the UK.
Yes, among other things, Mondi
Business Paper, one of the world’s
largest paper and pulp manufacturers, favored us with the largest machine order we’ve ever received from Russia, 20 machines.
This deal is one of the reasons our
market share has increased.
Can you explain this
success?
reach. This is a path that John
McLaughlin, who runs the family business W McLaughlin &
Sons, has followed.
When Just Forest met John
for a chat at the Elmia Wood
fair, he’d just watched a demonstration of the Valmet EX10 and
it wasn’t difficult to tell he was
very pleased when he stood talking with Colin Robertson, Komatsu Forest’s UK market head.
“Previously we’ve had another brand of tracked machine,
but now we want a more modern and lighter machine,”
explained John, who runs the
company together with his two
brothers. “The terrain we log is
very steep and soft, so we wanted to invest in a fast, purposebuilt harvester. It only weighs
25 tons, which will work well.
We also get an extremely good
reach with the CRH 24 boom.”
John’s impressed with what
he’s seen of the machine so far,
and judges it to be at least as
good as a rubber-tired machine
in steep terrain. John also
points out the Valmet EX10’s
self-leveling cab as an advantage over the features of the
company’s current machine.
THE CHOICE OF a Valmet
machine was also influenced
by the fact that W McLaughlin & Sons have operated many
Valmet machines over the years.
In addition to the owners the
company has six employees, and
the machine park includes a
Valmet 860 and a Valmet 921.1.
The first Valmet machine was a
Valmet 828, bought in 1992 by
the company founded by John’s
father 50 years ago. John was
accompanied to the Elmia fair by
one of his employees set to oper-
ate the EX10. According to John,
the operator is very pleased with
the cab, which is perfectly tailored to operator needs.
“We’re also convinced that
we’ll increase our productivity
with such a modern machine,”
says John. “Another advantage
of the machine is that it has a
370.1 harvester head, enabling
it to handle the broad trees we
have in Scotland. A tree that’s
been growing under good conditions for 40 years can contain
2.5–3 cubic meters of timber.
Then you need a sturdy head.”
In conclusion, John highlights the fact that despite its
power the Valmet EX10 is a
nimble machine to maneuver,
which is important as the company, like so many others in
Scotland, works with a large
number of smaller logging
assignments. r
Our strategy emphasizes major investments in service and spare
parts support. For example, we’ve
built up a network of local collaborative partners in strategic locations. Another explanation is that
we offer more advanced technology with a focus on the cut-tolength system, as compared to
Russian-made machines.
What does the future
hold for the Russian
forestry machine
market?
A number of Western European
forestry, paper, and pulp companies are establishing operations in
Russia and this will increase demand for machines. There’s also
a growing number of smaller contractors that will broaden our customer base.
Is it correct that
issues concerning forest ownership are of
some importance in
this context?
Yes, there is an ongoing debate
about forest ownership issues. The
trend is toward increased private
ownership, which in the long term
will benefit our machine sales.
27
Two markets to capture for Jiri Doskocil.
Markets with potential
The Czech Republic and Slovakia
are two exciting new countries for
Komatsu Forest.
Future investment in international
paper pulp groups bodes well. The
Czech Republic’s second largest
forest company Less is already the
largest customer.
28
S
ales of forest machines in
the Czech Republic are
increasing, but from a
modest level.
According to Jiri Doskocil,
manager for the Czech and Slovak markets at Komatsu Forest
GmbH, more rapid mechanization is under way in these markets, especially in the Czech
Republic. It also has a larger
cutting yield of 15 million cubic
meters, compared with 6–7 million cubic meters in Slovakia.
“But clearing is traditionally based on full-trunk felling using older machines. In
the Czech Republic, only ten
percent is felled using the cutto-length method,” explains
Jiri Doskocil. But this share
has increased over the last few
years.
There are a number of factors that limit the scope for the
cut-to-length method in the
Czech Republic. Among other
things, the steep terrain makes
it difficult for forwarders in
particular and the presence of
a high proportion of deciduous
trees with much thicker trunks
also makes clearing more difficult. However, according to esti-
MEETING
PLACE
Coming events 2005–2006
Europe
Bois Energie 2005
October 6–9
Lons Le Saunier, France
Rossiiskij Les 2005
December 9
Vologda, Russia
Jiri Doskocil, manager for the Czech and Slovak markets at Komatsu Forest GmbH together with Jan Michanek,
CEO and owner of forest company Less.
mates, it should be possible to
achieve a clearing share of 50
percent using the cut-to-length
method.
THE SITUATION in Slovakia is
even tougher due to the steep
terrain. In addition, the proportion of deciduous woodland
is even greater and the potential yield using the cut-to-length
method is therefore estimated
to be only 20 percent of the total
clearing volume. In addition to
these difficulties, there is also
the fact that forest legislation
is extremely tough with many
detailed requirements. Huge
areas of forest are also still
owned by the state and therefore market-economic forms of
operation need to be developed
further.
Despite these difficulties,
Jiri Doskocil views the future
for Komatsu Forest optimistically, as they are currently one
of the major players in the markets of the Czech Republic and
Slovakia. There are currently three people, including a service engineer, working in the
Czech Republic.
“The market is changing and new investors have
emerged in the form of large
groups that want to build sawmills and pulp industries. They
will need short-trunk timber
and within 10–15 years there
will be many short-length
machines on the market.
“For us, the total volume is
currently not the most important thing – but rather the market share is, which I believe
we can increase to 40–50 percent. But in that case we must
invest a lot in training and service. By being close to the warehouse in Vöhringen, Germany,
we can obtain spare parts within one day.”
ONE OF THE customers that
has seen the benefits of Komatsu Forest machines is the
Czech Republic’s second largest forest company Less, which
has 1,200 employees. When we
meet the company’s CEO and
owner Jan Michanek, he is very
positive about the partnership
with Komatsu Forest and about
Valmet machines.
“ But we primarily chose the
machines due to their red color,” he initially says, jokingly.
He then confirms how well the
company’s 16 Valmet machines
have worked.
“At the moment we have
three harvesters in Slovakia,
which was hit by a storm before
Christmas that destroyed five
million cubic meters of forest. Over one weekend, the
machines, two Valmet 941s
and a 921, cleared 2,500 cubic
meters of timber.”
Jan Michanek focuses particularly on the Valmet 941, which
he feels is a machine perfect for
the forests of Central Europe,
with their thick stands. The
fact that the cab and the level
of safety are so good are things
that he views as extra positive points for the machines.
Jan Michanek has a long background in forestry and he is
also convinced that the degree
of mechanization in the Czech
Republic and Slovakia will
increase.
“It is the same process as in
other countries, and in the long
term we will reach a degree of
mechanization equivalent to
that in Western Europe,” says
Michanek. “We also believe that
consumption of forest-related
products will increase per person, which will drive the development.” r
Week 17
April 25–29
Umeå, Sweden
SkogsNolia
June 15–17
Umeå, Sweden
Metko
August 31 –September 2
Jämsänkoski, Finland
www.metko.ﬁ
SMF-stämman
November 11–12
Sweden
www.skogsentreprenad.nu
WEEK 17
April 25–29
Umeå, Sweden
Skov & Teknik 2006
May 4–5
Hørsholm, Denmark
www.sl.kvl.dk
SkogsNolia
June 15–17
Umeå, Sweden
www.nolia.se/skogs/
Euroforest
June 16–18
Dijon Cedex, France
www.euroforest2006.com
INTERFORST
July 12–16
Müchen, Germany
www.interforst.de
North America
67th Annual Oregon Logging
Conference
February 24–26
Oregon, USA
www.oregonloggingconference.com
Forest Expo
June 1–3
British Columbia, Canada
www.forestexpo.bc.ca
South America
Expocorma
November 10–14
Conception, Chile
www.expocorma.cl
Read more at
www.komatsuforest.com
29
Brazilian forestry with strict
machine requirements
VCP is one of the fastest growing Brazilian
paper and pulp manufacturers. The
company’s increasingly large Eucalyptus
plantations constantly require additional,
more productive machines.
“Komatsu Forest is one of Brazil’s two most
important machine manufacturers,” says
José Maria de Arruda Mendes Filho, the
company’s forestry director.
J
VCP uses Valmet 890 forwarders on its Eucalyptus plantations.
VPC´s Forestry director, osé Maria de Arruda Mendes Filho likes the
Valmet machines.
30
ust Forest met José Maria
when he was visiting Elmia
Wood 2005 as part of a large
Brazilian party. He’d just seen a
demonstration including, much
to his satisfaction, a new Valmet 890.2 forwarder, a machine
that works extremely well in
the company’s large Eucalyptus
plantations, which are primarily located in the Brazilian state
of São Paulo.
VCP, Votorantim Celulose e
Papel, is the third largest Brazilian paper and pulp manufacturer with an annual production of 844,400 tons of pulp and
614,600 tons of paper. The company has 114,000 hectares of
Eucalyptus plantations to provide its mills with raw material.
“In total, we harvest five million cubic meters of timber a
year to supply our mills,” says
José Maria. “We’re also the largest tree planter in the state of
São Paulo.”
José Maria highlights the
modernization that VCP has
implemented since 1992 in
mechanizing an increasingly large share of its forestry. In
1992 the company even bought
its first forwarder, a Valmet
636. Today the company has
some 80 machines, including
a number of Valmet forwarders and Valmet harvester heads.
So far, more than 300 operators
have been trained at VCP.
José Maria is reluctant
to rank the various forestry
machine manufacturers, but
says that Komatsu Forest is one
of the two major players that
receive much admiration in Brazil for machine performance.
“Komatsu Forest harvester heads are very productive
and provide many hours of
work for low annual maintenance costs,” says José Maria.
“Our machines are often run
4,000–5,000 hours a year and
produce between 60,000 and
80,000 cubic meters a year.
José Maria believes it very
likely that he’ll buy more
machines from Komatsu Forest in the future, especially as
the need for new machines will
increase as new plantations cultivated in the Rio Grande do
Sul state mature and harvesting begins. He expects to harvest 4.5 million cubic meters of
timber from these plantations
in 2012. r
Komi
MAJOR
MOSCOW
Russian order
Komatsu Forest Oy in Finland has sold
20 forestry machines to the Russian
company Mondi Business Paper, one
of the world’s largest paper manufacturers. This deal is the largest ever for
Komatsu Forest in Russia.
T
he purchase
includes a similar
number of machines
for cut-to-length
clearing as for full-trunk work.
Machinery supplied for cut-tolength work includes, among
other things, the harvester
model Valmet 911.3 with a 350head and forwarder models Valmet 860 and Valmet 890.2.
Full-trunk clearing required a
supply of the Valmet 445 EX
tracked feller-loader manufactured in America and Komatsu’s excavator PC 210 with a
Valmet 370E head. Delivery will
begin immediately to Mondi
Paper’s felling facilities in Komi
HABAROVSK
Kalevi Kyyrönen, deputy CEO of
Wood Division, is pleased with
carried out purchases of Komatsu
Forests machines.
Our know-how offers excellent
opportunities for increasing interest in cut-to-length work in the
long term,” says Jari Alahuhtala,
the Managing Director of Komatsu
Forest Oy.
sian market at Komatsu Forest Oy. We will be building up
a large stock of spare parts in
Komi.
“A wide product range featuring slightly different technology to the machines manufactured in Russia is an important factor in our success. Moreover, our know-how offers excellent opportunities for increasing interest in cut-to-length
work in the long term,” says
Jari Alahuhtala, the Managing
Director of Komatsu Forest Oy.
deal. Kalevi Kyyrönen, deputy CEO of Wood Division, stresses the importance of training
foremen in order to develop the
logistics for cut-to-length work.
“Cut-to-length work is cheaper and more efficient and,
in the long term, we will be
increasing the volume of clearing using this method from its
current low share of the total
clearing volume in Russia. The
fact that we are cooperating
with Komatsu Forest and have
access to their advanced technology and extensive knowledge
is extremely positive,” says Kalevi Kyyrönen. r
in northwest Russia.
AN IMPORTANT element of
the deal is the training program that Komatsu Forest will
run for Mondi Business Paper’s
personnel. A total of 72 Russian drivers will receive training.
Ten or so Russian engineers
will also receive training on the
various types of machinery in
Finland and Sweden and, finally, foremen will also be trained.
“This is a long-term deal
based on Komatsu Forest’s ability to offer excellent servicing and access to spare parts,”
explains Alexander N. Gerasev,
who is responsible for the Rus-
MONDI BUSINESS Paper is
also extremely pleased with the
31
New graduates - Russian operators, mechanics, and team leaders trained at Komatsu Forest in Finland.
Investing in training
Komatsu Forest in Finland is investing heavily in
training operators, mechanics, and team leaders
in Russia.“We’re conducting an extensive training
program among our Russian customers and I think
training programs like this will only increase in
popularity,” says Altti Laiho at Komatsu Forest in
Finland.
R
Two weeks of theory and using simulators.
32
ussia is a fastgrowing forestry machine market. Komatsu Forest recently clinched its largest
deal in the Russian market so
far. Twenty machines were sold
to paper manufacturer Mondi
Business Paper. Included in the
sale is training for 80 Russian
operators, a dozen technicians,
and a number of team leaders.
The investment in offering customers training is based on a
concrete strategy.
“This year we expect to train
about 200 Russian forestry operators, mechanics, and team leaders,” says Altti Laiho.
The training takes place in
both Finland and Russia. Komatsu Forest in Finland collabo-
TREETALK
The author is
not employed by
Komatsu Forest
and the views expressed are those
of the author, not
of Komatsu Forest.
The contents herein
have no connection
to Komatsu Forest.
Wolf-Dietrich Ringwald
In Russia they collaborate with local vocational colleges and instructors
as knowledge of the Russian language is extremely important to overall
training quality.
rates with local vocational colleges in Finland, such as the one in
Valtimo. In Russia they collaborate with local vocational colleges and instructors, as instructor
knowledge of the Russian language is extremely important to
overall training quality.
THE OPERATORS are trained
for four weeks solely in Russia.
Two weeks are spent on theory in the classroom and using
simulators, and two weeks on
practical operation.
“It’s important to conduct
some of the training in Russia. It’s cheaper for the customer and makes it easier to take
into consideration the sometimes special conditions found
in Russia, such as considerably
longer work shifts. Machines
are run 24 hours a day, and
operators often work 12-hour
shifts,” explains Altti.
The mechanics, however,
travel to Finland. Two weeks
of theoretical training and two
weeks of practical experience
accompanying Finnish service
technicians out in the field.
Team leaders are given three
weeks training in Finland.
So far the courses in Russian have mostly been held in
areas around St. Petersburg, but
the customer base also stretches to other parts of the country.
“We believe, however, that
the extent of our training program will broaden and spread
to other parts of Russia,” says
Altti. “Of course, there is some
resistance to the cut-to-length
system in Russia, but it’s a big
market and demands from
Russian customers are moving more and more towards the
CTL system.”
Altti believes that training
included in machine sales can
provide an effective method to
bring the cut-to-length system
to new markets.
“But one must understand
the local culture and speak the
language well,” he says. r
Head of bioenergy at Stora Enso in
Germany.
Copy or
adapt?
I
n Central Europe, Scandinavia is considered a technological
leader in the forestry industry, especially within bioenergy. Developments over the past decades have led to the establishment of bioenergy within Scandinavian forestry.
This opportunity hasn’t been taken advantage of in Central Europe until more recent years (some forestry companies, primarily in Austria, do make promising exceptions). The lack of experience
within bioenergy has resulted in considerably higher acquisition
costs than in Scandinavia.
If others have already developed good methods, one would think
it would be possible to simply copy them - but this is not the case!
There are many reasons for this, including topography, ownership
structures, and growth conditions. Even population density enters
into the equation. All of Scandinavia, spread over a very large land
area, has but about as many inhabitants as the German federal state
of Nordrheim-Westfalen alone. Population pressure in Central Europe is far greater than in Scandinavia.
While forestry in Scandinavia is most often a combination of forest management and careful interaction with nature in economically viable areas, forestry in Central Europe often involves very small
areas. Combining small forest plots into larger administrative units
is difficult - forest ownership is seldom something that leads to
wealth.
There’s nothing to be done about this. Instead it is better to accept that the situation is different and try to handle it more offensively.
As the differences are so great, I doubt that all Scandinavian
knowledge, whether it concerns processing methods or machines,
can be transferred directly to Central European conditions. Within,
for example, bioenergy, one ought to investigate whether Scandinavian work methods are applicable in Central Europe and to what extent they can be adapted.
This also applies to forestry techniques. Good Scandinavian forestry techniques must be adapted to Central European conditions.
For me this is an important consideration! r
33
Wheeled product line
Not all products are available in all markets
901
901
801 Combi
330DUO
Production units
Komatsu Forest AB
Phone: +46 90 70 93 00
Komatsu Forest LLC
North America
Phone: +1 715 524 2820
Sales companies
and dealers
EUROPE
AUSTRIA
Karner und Berger GmbH
Phone: +43 2769 84571
www.valmet.at
BELGIUM
Komatsu Forest GmbH
Phone:+49 74549 6020
www.komatsuforest.de
CROATIA
Iverak d.o.o.
Phone: +385 1 291 0399
www.iverak.hr
CZECH REPUBLIC
Komatsu Forest
Phone: +420 272 701 621
www.komatsuforest.cz
34
350
840
830
860
330
911
890
860
360
370
370E
380
385
DENMARK
NETHERLANDS
UNITED KINGDOM
IDAHO
Valtra Denmark A/S
Phone: +45 76 343 2000
www.valtra.com
W. van den Brink
Phone: +31 3184 56 228
www.lmbbrink.nl
Komatsu Forest Ltd
Phone: +44 1228 792 018
ESTONIA
NORWAY
UNITED STATES
Modern Machinery
– Pocatello
Phone: +1 208 233 5345
www.modernmachinery.com
Ami Logging OU
Phone: +372 562 41192
www.komatsuforest.ﬁ
FINLAND
Komatsu Forest Oy AB
Phone: +358 3265 8311
FRANCE
Komatsu Forest A/S
Phone: +47 62 57 8800
www.komatsuforest.no
POLAND
Agrex Arcon Sp. z o.o.
Phone: +48 226 410 505
www.agrex-arcon.pl
Komatsu Forest, Devision of
Komatsu France s.a.
Phone: +33 1 30 90 51 00
PORTUGAL
GERMANY
RUSSIA
Komatsu Forest GmbH
Phone: +49 74549 6020
www.komatsuforest.de
Komatsu Forest Oy Ab
Phone: +7 095 258 1428
HUNGARY
SLOVAKIA
Kuhn
Phone: +36 128 980 80
www.kuhn.hu
ITALY
Imai
Phone: +39 04 38 43 0171
www.imai.it
Sefoeste Lda
Phone: +351 244 68 91 00
Komatsu Forest GmbH
Phone: +49 7454 960 20
SPAIN
Hitraf S.A.
Phone: +34 986 582 520
www.hitraf.com
SWEDEN
ALABAMA
Cotton-Hutcheson, Inc.
Phone: +1 251 578 1812
www.cotton-hutcheson.com
G&S Equipment
Phone: +1 334 365 5192
Warrior Tractor Equipment
Phone: +1 255 233 1914
ARIZONA
Dodd Diesel
Phone: +1 800 821 5921
ARKANSAS
Warrior Tractor Co.
Phone: +1 870 367 3497
CALIFORNIA
Sierra Machinery
Services Inc.
Phone: +1 916 655 3077
www.sierramachinery.com
COLORADO
Dodd Diesel
Phone: +1 800 821 5921
Modern Machinery – Boise
Phone: +1 800 221 5211
KENTUCKY
Lyons Sawmill & Logging
Equip Inc – Circleville OH
Phone: +1 740 474 6028
LOUISIANA
Warrior Tractor Co.
Phone: +1 870 367 3497
MAINE
The Oliver Stores
Phone: +1 207 778 6595
www.theoliverstores.com
MASSACHUSETTS
Barry Equipment Co.
Phone: +1 508 949 0005
MICHIGAN
Roland Machinery
Company
Phone: +1 906 786 6920
www.rolandmachinery.com
MINNESOTA
Silva Serviss Ltd.
Phone: +371 50 21754
SweLog Skogsmaskiner HB
Phone: +46 171 41 67 70
www.sweloghb.com
CONNECTICUT
Barry Equipment Co., Inc.
Phone: +1 508 949 0005
Road Machinery and
Supplies
Phone: +1 218 741 9011
www.rmsequipment.com
LITHUANIA
SWITZERLAND
FLORIDA
MISSISSIPPI
W Mahler AG
Phone: +41 1 763 5090
www.wmahler.ch
Cotton-Hutcheson, Inc.
Phone: +1 334 578 1812
www.cotton-hutcheson.com
Power Equipment – Saltillo
Phone: +1 662 869 0283
www.powerequipco.com
LATVIA
Lifore Ltd
Phone: +370 5 2602 061
395
Waters
Truck & Tractor-Meridian
Phone: +1 601 693 4807
www.waterstruck.com
MONTANA
Modern Machinery
– Billings
Phone: +1 406 252 2158
Modern Machinery
– Missoula
Phone: +1 406 523 1100
NEBRASKA
Black Hills Timber
Equipment
Phone: +1 605 578 2003
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Phone: +1 508 949 0005
The Oliver Stores
Phone: +1 800 339 6595
www.theoliverstores.com
NEW MEXICO
Dodd Diesel
Phone: +1 800 821 5921
NEW YORK
CJ Logging Equipment Inc.
– Boonville
Phone: +1 315 942 4756
Equipment Inc. – Little
Valley
Phone: +1 716 938 9175
Tracked Product line
911 X3M
603
941
425
425
EX10
Harvester
415 EX
Harvester or Feller
840
425 EX
Harvester or Feller
425 EXL
Harvester or Feller
890
445 EX
Harvester or Feller
445 EXL
Harvester or Feller
475 EX
Harvester or Feller
945
960
OHIO
Equipment Inc. – Circleville
Phone: +1 740 474 6028
OREGON
Modern Machinery
– Eugene
Phone: +1 541 688 7321
Modern Machinery
– Portland
Phone: +1 503 255 7841
PENNSYLVANIA
Lyons Sawmill &
Logging Equipment Inc.
– Brookwood
Phone: +1 814 849 4073
Equipment Inc. – Allenwood
Phone: +1 570 538 2504
RHODE ISLAND
Phone: +1 508 949 0005
SOUTH DAKOTA
Black Hills Timber Eqpt
Phone: +1 604 291 6021
TENNESSEE
Power Equipment
– Knoxville
Phone: +1 865 577 5563
475 EXL
Harvester or Feller
Model 233
Power Equipment
– Nashville
Phone: +1 615 213 0900
Power Equipment
– Memphis
Phone: +1 901 346 9800
Modern Machinery – Kent
Phone: +1 253 872 3530
Coneco Equip
– Fort McMurray
Phone: +1 780 791 0616
Modern Machinery
– Spokane
Phone: +1 509 535 1654
Coneco Equip – Red Deer
Phone: +1 403 340 8343
WEST VIRGINIA
BRITISH COLUMBIA
Terratech Equip – Langley
Phone: +1 604 532 8324
www.terratech.ca
Power Equipment
– Chattanooga
Phone: +1 423 894 1870
Equipment Inc. – Sutton
Phone: +1 304 765 3810
Power Equipment
– Kingsport
Phone: +1 423 349 6111
Roland Machinery
Company
Phone: +1 906 786 6920
www.rolandmachinery.com
Terratech – Cranbrook
Phone: +1 250 489 1715
UTAH
WYOMING
Dodd Diesel
Phone: +1 800 821 5921
Black Hills Timber
Equipment
Phone: +1 605 578 2003
Terratech – Prince George
Phone: +1 250 564 8841
VERMONT
WISCONSIN
Phone: +1 508 949 0005
CANADA
The Oliver Stores
Phone: +1 800 339 6595
Coneco Equip – Edmonton
Phone: +1 780 451 2630
www.coneco.ca
VIRGINIA
Equipment Inc.
Phone: +1 304 765 3810
WASHINGTON
Modern Machinery
– Chehalis
Phone: +1 360 748 4421
ALBERTA
Coneco Equip – Calgary
Phone: +1 403 569 1109
Coneco Equip
– Grande Prairie
Phone: +1 780 532 9410
Coneco Equip – High Level
Phone: +1 780 926 2501
Terratech – Campbell River
Phone: +1 250 286 0694
Terratech – Kamloops
Phone: +1 250 374 6961
Coneco Equip – Fort St. John
Phone: +1 250 785 8161
www.coneco.ca
Coneco Equip – Fort Nelson
Phone: +1 250 774 3215
MANITOBA
Terratech Equip – Winnipeg
Phone: +1 204 487 1050
www.terratech.ca
NEW BRUNSWICK, PRINCE
EDW. ISLAND & NOVA SCOTIA
Equipement Fédéral
– Fredericton
Phone: +1 506 457 5544
www.federal-equip.com
NEWFOUNDLAND
& LABRADOR
YUKON
– Paradise
Phone: +1 709 782 2151
Coneco Equip – Whitehorse
Phone: +1 867 667 7368
www.coneco.ca
SOUTH AMERICA
ONTARIO
BRAZIL
– Timmins
Phone: +1 705 264 4300
CHILE
Terratech Equip
– Thunder Bay
Phone: +1 807 939 2262
www.terratech.ca
Komatsu Forest Ltda.
Phone: +55 41 667 2828
Komatsu Chile S.A.
Phone: +56 419 253 01
www.kch.cl
OTHER MARKETS
AUSTRALIA
QUEBEC
– Quebec
Phone: +1 418 654 0245
SASKATCHEWAN
Terratech Equip – Saskatoon
Phone: +1 306 931 0044
www.terratech.ca
Terratech Equip – Estevan
Phone: +1 306 634 3108
Komatsu Forest Pty Ltd
Phone: +61 2 9647 3600
NEW ZEALAND
Komatsu NZ
+(64)-9-277-8300
www.komatsu.com.au
SOUTH AFRICA
Barlows Equipment Co.
Phone: +27 8332 74 17
SOUTHEAST ASIA
Terratech Equip – Regina
Phone: +1 306 359 3121
Komatsu Forest Pty Ltd
Phone: +61 2 9647 3600
NORTH WEST TERRITORIES
INDONESIA
Coneco Equip – Yellowknife
Phone: +1 867 669 0738
www.coneco.ca
PT United Tractors Tbk
Phone: +62 21 460 5959
www.unitedtractors.com
35

English - Komatsu Forest

Transcription

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