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ELMIA WOOD 2001 REVIEW

Official attendance figures from the Elmia Wood 2001 International Forestry Trade Fair-pegged at close to 55,000 attendees-confirm the demo-fair as the world's foremost event of its kind. The size of the stand area was nearly double what it was for the 1997 show, presenting an organizational challenge that was met handily by show organizers, making the event even better than last time. Held in Elmia, Sweden from June 6 to 9, 2001, the forestry trade fair was termed an international breakthrough for the Nordic cut-to-length (CTL) harvesting method-a method organizers predict will dominate world forestry practices in the next decade or more. As expected, many forest equipment manufacturers chose Elmia Wood as the venue to unveil new machines and technology.

Savcor Forest, a manufacturer of customized forest data management systems, offered a suite of timber measurement solutions incorporating computer calipers and including inventory, log measurement and harvester head measurement control. Inventory software provides information for felling decisions, forest valuation and harvest planning. The log measurement software can measure up to 1,000 logs per hour, in ports, at sawmills or at roadside.

Timberjack also showed off an integrated suite of software solutions , TimberOffice, specifically designed to enable contractors and forest companies to manage the information produced by the harvester for cost-effective performance. With a mobile or fixed Internet c o n n e c t i o n , TimberOffice also facilitates data transfer to and from mobile e-mail enabled harvesters for real-time production management. The TimberNavi program is a geographic information system (GIS) that uses global positioning (GPS) so machine operators can see their position displayed in real time.

The Tree King felling head features damage-free processing, exact length measuring and a delimbing force of 9,800 kg at 250 bar and a feed speed of 9'/sec at 320 l/m with a 100 mm feed cylinder. Made of high quality steel, the delimbing knives have low pressure for less friction when handling crooked trees and a straight line measuring system over a sprocket wheel, integrated with the feed chain.

A line of log forwarders for CTL harvesting operations was introduced by Caterpillar and its development partner, Tiger Engineering of Western Australia. The new machines, to be marketed as Timberking branded products, will be sold and supported by selected Caterpillar dealers worldwide. Included in the line is the Timberking LF 14 log forwarder displayed at Elmia. Expected to be available within a year, the LF 14 has a 14- metric-ton payload and features a 174-hp Cat 3056TAsix-cylinder diesel engine. As well, Cat had a prototype forwarder in action at the show, utilizing its 574 forwarder configuration but with the new mobile track system used on Cat's Challenger tractors instead of the standard 574 rear bogies. The mobile tracks system reduces ground pressure by as much as 77 percent depending on site conditions and type of wood.

The extremely efficient firewood processor from Bilke utilizes a rotary shear instead of a saw to split as well as quickly cut firewood to length from small whole trees at a rate of one cubic metre per minute.

The MiniPell mini pellet mill for value-added manufacturers produces high volume 8 mm pellets from wood waste. The company is looking for North American distributors.

Ponsse introduced Opticontrol, a digital forest machine control system for harvesters and forwarders that integrates the diesel engine, measuring device and crane control systems. All functions can be controlled on a single display. The OptiComm data transfer system for forwarders includes OptiGIS mapping and GPS equipment, as well as the Opticontrol system.

The COM 90 log load securing system from ExTe offers automatic load lashing with remote-control-activated throwovers that latch over the logs in the trailer bunk, thus reducing the load on the stakes by about 50 per cent. The system is monitored and posttensioned automatically for faster handling and more loads per shift.

The new 4.1-hp, 60-cc 2159 Turbo chain saw from Jonsered offers an exceptional power-to-weight ratio of 0.54kW/kg and has a side-mounted chain tensioner, a unique automatic fuel compensation system, a magnesium alloy crank case and a SoftStart decompression valve.

The HUET Performa cutting and handling unit is designed to optimize the economic and logistic management of log yards. Attached to 15- to 30-ton hydraulic excavators, the HUET processor grapple can double or triple productivity. Strong tongs fitted with hydraulic motors firmly grip and move logs for loading, unloading and sorting. Fitted with a high-speed chain saw, it allows easy, optimized cutting of logs up to 32" in diameter.

The Valmet EcoPlanter offers scarification and planting at the end of a single grip harvester. With two individually operated rotors powered by the hydraulic motor, two planting positions are made simultaneously and plants contained in the planting pipe are blown into the prepared holes. Plants are transported on the host equipment and manually loaded into the EcoPlanter's revolving magazine.

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