Excited. That was the word Dale Ewers chose to describe how Madill equipment owners responded to the news the company was returning to British Columbia with a new manufacturing outlet.

Ewers has wasted little time reuniting the familiar name to its provincial birthplace. Ewers is owner and managing director of DC Equipment Canada which assumed ownership of the historic brand in 2023 and presided over the official opening of Madill’s new outlet in Prince George in September 2024.

Madill equipment fits well in Prince George.

“About 30 to 40 per cent of Madill’s sales are to customers in the B.C. Interior,” points out Ewers. Geography plays an additional role: Prince George is near the centre of the province and at the heart of a well-established transportation network. It means serving Madill customers is faster and more efficient. That is complemented by DC’s partnership with the Prince George branch of equipment dealer Nors, formerly Great West Equipment Co.

“This is more than just a strategic move for us—it’s about preserving and continuing the legacy of Madill which has been a cornerstone of the logging industry for more than a century,” explained Ewers.

Madill has a long history and has maintained an enduring reputation for manufacturing reliable log harvesting machines. But forestry gear was not Sam Madill’s primary focus when he went to work in a blacksmith’s shop in Nanaimo on Vancouver Island around 1911. But that had all changed by the 1950s. Madill was astute enough to recognize and help develop the first wave of mechananization in the Vancouver Island forest industry. Gradually, the company designed and built equipment like swing yarders, later tower versions and log loaders. The Madill nameplate then, as now, became synonymous with producing purpose-built technologically designed machines to work and continue working under B.C.’s log harvesting conditions.

DC Equipment began operation in 2010 but has and still maintains a log harvesting pedigree in its native New Zealand. The company is based in Bridgewater, near the northern tip of New Zealand’s South Island. Just like Sam Madill, the company has diversified with the changing times.

Progress has been swift but the focus for Madill remains clearly focused. “We’re not aiming to be the largest equipment manufacturer or anything like that. We’ll probably be building 20 to 40 machines a year in Prince George,” forecasts Ewers.

DC Equipment planned to have a couple of new log loaders on display for the Prince George outlet’s September opening. One of them, a Madill 3000B log loader, is well suited to fit the typical wood profile harvested in the region. Ewers has other new products in the pipeline.

For example, a remote controlled felling machine is undergoing prototype testing in New Zealand.

“We want to have increasing productivity over the next three years,” he continued. “We are looking at bringing back the 2250 leveller or similar. We are also upgrading the Madill 124 with running skyline and standing skyline capabilities and the 172 with integrated, computerized automatic control system. We are also looking at the reintroduction of the Madill 120 with electrification.”

DC Equipment began its business journey with the stated intention of making steep slope logging safer and more operationally efficient. The drive to improve safety is reflected through DC Equipment’s Falcon Forestry Equipment’s product lines. These include motorized grapple carriages, winch assist machines and camera system attachments.

There are plans to reduce emissions during the next five years and integrating some of Falcon’s product lines into specific Madill machines. Its seems there is much yet to come.

For more information, consult
www.dcforestryequipment.com