English - Komatsu Forest
English - Komatsu Forest
English - Komatsu Forest
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INTERNATIONAL MAGAZINE<br />
18<br />
READ MORE<br />
4<br />
No 4 • 2007<br />
SUCCESS<br />
for French family<br />
Future forests<br />
Where will forests be harvested?<br />
A look at current forestry trends.<br />
VALMET 350.1<br />
Now even better<br />
• 445 FXL with new undercarriage • Success for Valmet in important timber test 16<br />
• Vibrations in forest machines 22 • Customers are the key 29 • Broadband onboard 31<br />
komatsuforest.com
QUALITY LEAVES A LASTING IMPRESSION<br />
We know the forest.<br />
We also know the challenges facing<br />
modern-day wood harvesting.<br />
We know that quality machinery<br />
demands tyres that live up to the task.<br />
We have developed and manufactured<br />
forestry tyres for several decades.<br />
We strongly believe that investing<br />
in quality is the sensible choice.<br />
Nordic Tyres (UK) Ltd<br />
Unit 2<br />
Sydney Place<br />
Lockerbie, Dumfries & Galloway<br />
DG 11 2JA<br />
tel +44 (0)1576 203 020<br />
fax +44 (0)1576 203 029<br />
Nokian Tyres Inc.<br />
339 Mason Rd. La Vergne<br />
TN 37086 Nashville USA<br />
Tel. 1 615 287 0600<br />
Fax 1 615 287 0610<br />
www.nokiantires.com<br />
Nokian <strong>Forest</strong> King F Nokian <strong>Forest</strong> Rider Nokian <strong>Forest</strong> King TRS L-2<br />
Tyres 4 U<br />
165 -171 Milton St.<br />
PO BOX 233<br />
N.S.W. 2131 Ashfield<br />
Tel: 61 (02) 9799 9133<br />
Fax: 61 (02) 9799 3211<br />
Nokian Heavy Tyres Ltd<br />
P.O.Box 20, FI-37101 Nokia<br />
Tel. +358 10 401 7000, fax +358 10 401 7318<br />
www.tyres4u.com.au www.nokiantyres.com/heavytyres
A Great Year<br />
The year 2007 has been positive<br />
in many ways, for me<br />
as the new CEO of <strong>Komatsu</strong><br />
<strong>Forest</strong> and for the company.We’re<br />
experiencing an economic boom<br />
in all markets except North America.The<br />
challenge for us, as well as for our colleagues<br />
in the industry, has not been to<br />
sell enough machines, but rather to meet<br />
the enormous demand.We’ve used every<br />
means available to meet customers’ needs<br />
for new machines and we’re well on the<br />
way to increasing production capacity.<br />
Greater production capacity is a prerequisite<br />
for long-term growth, as all analyses<br />
indicate that demand for raw materials<br />
in the forest industry will remain<br />
high.From our position as one of the leading<br />
forest machine manufacturers, we<br />
can look forward to at least another four<br />
or five good years.Other industries reliant<br />
on raw materials will enjoy an economic<br />
boom until 2015, although there may be<br />
small downturns.<br />
Consequently, <strong>Komatsu</strong> <strong>Forest</strong> will<br />
continue its intensive product development<br />
efforts.In terms of volume, Europe<br />
and North America are currently important<br />
markets for our business, though<br />
Russia, South America, Asia and China<br />
will make strong headway over the coming<br />
years. Our ambition is to meet the<br />
needs of each market.<br />
Throughout 2008, we’ll implement a<br />
number of targeted initiatives.These will<br />
INTERNATIONAL MAGAZINE<br />
Publisher: Roland Lundqvist<br />
roland.lundqvist@komatsuforest.com<br />
Editor: Anders Pauser<br />
anders.p@nordreportern.se<br />
Address: Just <strong>Forest</strong>, <strong>Komatsu</strong> <strong>Forest</strong> AB,<br />
Box 7124, SE-907 04 Umeå, Sweden<br />
Contact: Telephone +46 90 70 93 00,<br />
fax +46 90 12 04 60<br />
include the continuation of our quality<br />
assurance work, further improvements to<br />
product support services, and as already<br />
mentioned, increased production capacity.<br />
We’ll also continue our environmental<br />
program to produce fuel-efficient<br />
machines with reduced environmental<br />
impact.The environment is one of <strong>Komatsu</strong><br />
<strong>Forest</strong>’s core values, and we hope that<br />
by refining harvesting methods we can<br />
contribute to more environmentally aware<br />
logging.<br />
With the resources we’re now investing,<br />
I’m convinced that 2008 has the right<br />
criteria to be as successful as 2007 – if not<br />
more so. r<br />
Toshio Miyake<br />
Chief Executive Officer,<br />
<strong>Komatsu</strong> <strong>Forest</strong><br />
Internet: www.komatsuforest.com<br />
Production: AB Nordreportern<br />
Writers: Gunnar Andersson, Anders Pauser, Erik<br />
Säfvenberg Photographers: Anders Pauser , Erik<br />
Säfvenberg, Gunnar Andersson<br />
Layout and original: Fredrik Lundell<br />
CONTENTS<br />
Even better 350.1 4<br />
France – Europe’s third<br />
largest timber producer 6<br />
New proactive organization 7<br />
Control at every stage<br />
The Dubuis Family<br />
8<br />
chooses Valmet<br />
445FXL features new<br />
10<br />
undercarriage 12<br />
Market news 14<br />
Five forestry trends 18<br />
Increased logging in the future 20<br />
New MaxiL<br />
ProSelect – new saw bars and saw<br />
21<br />
chains to choose from 25<br />
Thinning a hot topic 26<br />
Customers are the key 29<br />
Optimized transport saves<br />
money and the environment 30<br />
<strong>Forest</strong> machines need broadband 31<br />
Popular website 32<br />
Printed by: Ågrens Tryckeri, Örnsköldsvik, Sweden<br />
Paper: Gotic Silk 130 gram<br />
Circulation: 47,000<br />
Languages: Swedish, Finnish, <strong>English</strong>, German,<br />
French, Portuguese, Spanish, and Russian<br />
The content may be quoted if the source is cited.<br />
komatsuforest.com<br />
JUST FOREST NO 4 • 2007 3
VALMET 350.1<br />
Even better 350.1<br />
The best-selling Valmet 350.1 has been upgraded yet again, with<br />
new features that include refined length measurement, a new feed<br />
roller type, and an improved delimbing knife design.<br />
Continual improvements<br />
are an<br />
important part<br />
of quality assurance<br />
at <strong>Komatsu</strong> <strong>Forest</strong>. The pursuit<br />
of further refinements and<br />
improvements to the company’s<br />
products is central to customer<br />
satisfaction. In the case<br />
of the Valmet 350.1 harvesting<br />
head, this has meant a series of<br />
upgrades. The most recent were<br />
implemented at the beginning<br />
of 2007, and now it’s time again.<br />
Extensive improvements make<br />
Valmet’s 350.1, used on the Valmet<br />
901 and 911 harvesters,<br />
even stronger, more reliable, and<br />
more effective<br />
“The new features and<br />
improvements are the natural<br />
outcome of the continual, systematic<br />
quality assurance and<br />
product development work,”<br />
says Gunnar Nilsson, product<br />
manager for harvesting heads at<br />
New rotator design<br />
4 JUST FOREST NO 4 • 2007<br />
<strong>Komatsu</strong> <strong>Forest</strong>.<br />
All Valmet harvesting heads<br />
are based on a proven basic<br />
design, which has been repeatedly<br />
refined over the years. The Valmet<br />
350.1 is well established and<br />
popular in many markets, but<br />
is most popular in Scandinavia,<br />
where it’s mainly used for thinning<br />
and lighter final logging.<br />
This harvesting head’s compact<br />
short frame makes it nimble yet<br />
provides the optimum strengthto-weight<br />
ratio.<br />
The upgraded Valmet 350.1<br />
has an improved rotator, a new<br />
tilt link design, relocated tilt cylinders,<br />
a redesigned valve block<br />
mount, and improved hose routing.<br />
The delimbing knives have<br />
a modified shape and the head is<br />
available with a new, extra delimbing<br />
knife mounted in the frame.<br />
What’s more, the saw motor<br />
hood and saw box are altered for<br />
improved performance. r<br />
VALMET 350.1<br />
New feature overview:<br />
New rotator design<br />
Newly developed tilt link<br />
New measuring wheel type<br />
Improved roller motor hose routing<br />
New saw unit<br />
Extras strong valve block mount<br />
Modified saw motor hood seal<br />
New feed roller option<br />
New knife design<br />
Extra frame-mounted delimbing knife option<br />
Repositioned tilt cylinders<br />
Altered saw box design, more space for trunk<br />
New tilt link New measuring wheel type
New feed roller hose routing<br />
New, stronger saw unit (360.2) New delimbing<br />
knife design<br />
JUST FOREST NO 4 • 2007 5
France<br />
Europe’s third largest <strong>Forest</strong><br />
In total, France has 37 million<br />
acres (15 million<br />
hectares) of forest. Of this<br />
land, 25 million acres (10<br />
million hectares) are owned by<br />
about ten million people while<br />
the remainder is state-owned forest.<br />
France has three major forest<br />
regions, in the northeast, the<br />
central highlands, and the southwest.<br />
Deciduous forest accounts<br />
for 60 percent and coniferous<br />
6 JUST FOREST NO 4 • 2007<br />
forest for the other 40 percent. Of<br />
all harvesting, 70 percent is thinning<br />
and the other 30 percent<br />
final logging, with the work conducted<br />
by the 1,400 forwarders,<br />
600 harvesters, and 1,450 skidders<br />
currently operating in the<br />
French forests.<br />
FOREST MACHINE sales volumes<br />
have remained relatively constant<br />
in recent years, with about 100<br />
With an annual timber harvest<br />
of some 45 million cubic meters<br />
France has the third largest<br />
forest industry in Europe. The<br />
past decade has seen widespread<br />
mechanization.<br />
harvesters, 150 forwarders, and<br />
60 skidders sold each year. <strong>Komatsu</strong><br />
<strong>Forest</strong> is currently the one of<br />
the largest forest machine supplier<br />
in the French market.<br />
FRANCE IS A relatively mature<br />
forest machine market, even if<br />
mechanization is not yet on a par<br />
with Scandinavia. Mechanization<br />
is currently at about 55 percent.<br />
The highest degree of mechaniza-<br />
tion, at 80 percent, is seen in the<br />
coniferous forests of southwest<br />
France. Due to the large amount<br />
of deciduous forest, mechanization<br />
will never reach as high a<br />
level as in Scandinavia and there<br />
are still almost 10,000 handcutters<br />
at work in France. There is,<br />
however, potential for increased<br />
mechanization, primarily in the<br />
coniferous forests of central and<br />
northeastern France. r
New proactive organization<br />
On July 1, <strong>Komatsu</strong><br />
<strong>Forest</strong> introduced a new<br />
forest machine sales<br />
organization in the<br />
French market. With<br />
the help of two dealers,<br />
sales are expected to<br />
increase.<br />
<strong>Komatsu</strong> <strong>Forest</strong>’s<br />
marketing manager in<br />
France, Régis Jutier, is<br />
chairman of ASCODIF,<br />
the French trade association<br />
for forest machine<br />
Manufacturers and<br />
distributors. In this role,<br />
he is involved in many<br />
issues important to the<br />
industry and acts as an<br />
intermediary to state<br />
agencies.<br />
ASCODIF currently has<br />
27 members, including<br />
the major forest machine<br />
manufacturers and distributors<br />
active in the French market. Juti-<br />
French sales fall under<br />
<strong>Komatsu</strong> <strong>Forest</strong>’s European<br />
distribution center<br />
and the French sales organization<br />
is headed by Marketing<br />
Manager Régis Jutier. All in all,<br />
four people work at <strong>Komatsu</strong> <strong>Forest</strong>’s<br />
office in France, located in<br />
Aubergenville just outside Paris.<br />
Aside from the marketing manager,<br />
the organization also has a<br />
service and spare parts manager<br />
Primo Fasolo.<br />
Sales in the field, along with<br />
service and spare parts supply,<br />
are managed by two dealerships,<br />
Matfor Service in northern<br />
France and Cema in the southern<br />
part of the country.<br />
Matfor Service is owned by<br />
major dealer Payen and is headquartered<br />
in Molsheim, near<br />
Strasbourg. The company serves<br />
its Valmet customers with three<br />
service workshops and three traveling<br />
sales staff.<br />
IN THE SOUTH, Cema has five<br />
workshops and, if we include<br />
owner Jean-Pierre Carrère, three<br />
sales staff. Cema is headquartered<br />
in Egleton, some 60 miles<br />
(100 km) southwest of Clermont-<br />
Ferrand. Cema has previous<br />
extensive experience of Valmet<br />
machines. r<br />
Valmet man in powerful position<br />
er was elected president of the<br />
association in 2005 with a threeyear<br />
mandate period.<br />
“We act as a link between the<br />
members and the two ministries<br />
responsible for our industry,”<br />
says Jutier. “We lobby for<br />
improvements in forestry education<br />
and even work with labor<br />
market issues and legislation.”<br />
AN IMPORTANT AREA with<br />
which ASCODIF works is the<br />
pricing of used machines, mainly<br />
by trying to create universal<br />
pricelists. Next year the association<br />
intends to review the education<br />
system, as there are many<br />
forestry schools with programs<br />
Jean-Pierre Carrère, the ownes of Cema.<br />
of too low quality.<br />
ASCODIF is also involved<br />
in discussions on subsidies<br />
for machine purchases fund-<br />
ed by the EU, an issue that Jutier<br />
believes very important.<br />
Finally, ASCODIF arranges<br />
forest machine trade shows. r<br />
JUST FOREST NO 4 • 2007 7
Ent. Chadelat is the largest forestry contractor in France.Owner Gilles Chadelat’s<br />
successful business model is based on retaining control over every stage of the<br />
harvesting process. And 15 Valmet forest machines are the most important part of<br />
this process.<br />
Control over every stage<br />
Gilles’ career in the<br />
forest machine<br />
industry has gone<br />
well ever since he<br />
first sat behind the controls of a<br />
skidder more than 30 years ago.<br />
Today he heads the largest forest<br />
machine company in France,<br />
with 65 employees and five fields<br />
of operation. The largest division<br />
is forest machine contracting,<br />
which represents 70 percent<br />
of operations and has 15 Valmet<br />
machines (including a Timbco<br />
425) and three skidders in its<br />
lineup. The company harvests<br />
150,000 cubic meters a year.<br />
In addition to this, Gilles’<br />
company has 14 trucks, a workshop,<br />
a sawmill, and road construction<br />
machines for the 15-<br />
16 miles (about 25 km) of road it<br />
lays each year. He even buys forestland<br />
to harvest.<br />
“Retaining control over every<br />
stage of the harvesting process<br />
makes customer negotiations<br />
much easier. Put simply, size is<br />
an advantage and makes it easier<br />
to keep prices up,” says Gilles.<br />
WE MET Gilles in a clearing<br />
in the densely forested central<br />
mountain area of France<br />
near Claviéres. The company<br />
has bought a large plot of state-<br />
Gilles Chadelat, one of France’s<br />
most successful forest machine<br />
contractors.<br />
8 JUST FOREST NO 4 • 2007<br />
owned forest here that is currently<br />
being thinned by one of<br />
the company’s two new Valmet<br />
911.3s. This is the initial thinning<br />
of 17 year-old forest with<br />
tree diameters of 8-10 inches (20-<br />
25 cm), with the timber going<br />
straight to the sawmill. In total,<br />
operator Jerome Amouroux harvests<br />
about 1,750-1,800 trees, or<br />
100 cubic meters of timber, each<br />
day in single shifts, which is the<br />
only shift system used in France.<br />
“I’ve been operating the<br />
machine for three months and<br />
the Valmet 911.3 is a pleasure to<br />
use with good comfort. I like the<br />
auto-leveling, especially onhilly<br />
ground where inclines often<br />
exceed 20 degrees,” he says.“<br />
Considering the steep terrain,<br />
fuel consumption is good at 2-<br />
2/3 US gallons (ten liters) an<br />
hour. And I like the Maxi system,<br />
which increases efficiency.”<br />
Owner Gilles appreciates the<br />
30-35 percent increase in produc-
tivity that the new Valmet 911.3<br />
delivers compared to the older<br />
Valmet 911.1 in the company’s<br />
lineup. He now has another Valmet<br />
911.3 on order for delivery<br />
this fall.<br />
ENT. CHADELAT’S strategy is<br />
to replace a couple of machines<br />
a year, and in the future Gilles<br />
Chadelat believes he’ll be able to<br />
do the same work with fewer har-<br />
vesters as productivity increases<br />
continually.<br />
His company, which has<br />
grown gradually, has had Valmet<br />
machines since he bought<br />
his first Valmet 901 in 1990. His<br />
decision to continue to invest in<br />
Valmet machines is based on the<br />
strong relations he’s established<br />
with the dealers and the well<br />
functioning service. Moreover,<br />
Chadelat and the operators like<br />
the good visibility and productivity<br />
offered by Valmet machines.<br />
“Everyone here is aware of the<br />
strengths of each machine,” says<br />
Gilles. “It’s important to know<br />
your machines and our technicians<br />
and our operators really<br />
like Valmet.”<br />
Gilles himself enjoys his<br />
work, even if the French market<br />
is a tough environment and<br />
the industry offers small margins.<br />
He’s evidently pleased that<br />
Jerome Amouroux has been operating his new Valmet 911.3 for<br />
three months and is very pleased with the comfort, the visibility, and<br />
the Maxi system.<br />
his business concept has worked<br />
so well,and he’s particularly satisfied<br />
with his effective organization<br />
for transporting machines<br />
in the relatively limited region in<br />
which the company works. Having<br />
reliable machines that can<br />
always be moved to where the<br />
work is encourages Gilles to face<br />
the future with confidence. r<br />
FACTS Chadelat’s lineup<br />
Among the harvesters are three Valmet 911.1s, three Valmet 921s,<br />
and two Valmet 911.3s. The forwarders include a Valmet 890.1, a Valmet<br />
860.1, a Valmet 840, and two Valmet 860s. A new Valmet 911.3<br />
and a new Valmet 860.3 are on order.<br />
JUST FOREST NO 4 • 2007 9
From the 1960s to the present day. The forest machine of yesteryear was a ’fardier’, today it’s a Valmet 941. Jean Pierre Dubuis, who founded<br />
the company, is seen here together with his son Didier, who runs operations today.<br />
The Dubuis family<br />
choose Valmet<br />
An investment in the market’s most powerful harvester, the Valmet 941,<br />
has given Didier Dubuis’ company Dubuis new possibilities in thick<br />
deciduous stands. The company is one of France’s oldest forest machine<br />
companies and has been partially mechanized since the 1960s.<br />
10 JUST FOREST NO 4 • 2007
We met Didier<br />
Dubuis in the<br />
middle of a poplar<br />
plantation<br />
west of Brives where the company’s<br />
Valmet is effectively harvesting<br />
the huge trees. At the edge of<br />
the stand, just by chance, is an<br />
old ’fardier’, a type of winched<br />
lifting truck. Such devices were<br />
coupled to farm tractors and<br />
used to load and transport logs.<br />
Didier’s father Jean Pierre had<br />
such a machine when he founded<br />
the company in 1962. Today<br />
his father is retired, but still<br />
helps out on occasion and turned<br />
up when Just <strong>Forest</strong> visited.<br />
“I started working for the<br />
company in 1987,” Didier told<br />
us. “We bought out first Valmet<br />
machine in 1998, a Valmet 860,<br />
and since then we’ve stuck with<br />
Valmet.”<br />
Today the company harvests<br />
60,000 cubic meters and forwards<br />
75,000 cubic meters of<br />
timber a year, some of this on<br />
assignment for other contrac-<br />
A Valmet 941 is a very effective machine on poplar plantations.<br />
tors. In total, Didier has nine<br />
employees operating three Valmet<br />
harvesters - a 911, a 921.1,<br />
and a 941. Dubuis also has four<br />
Valmet forwarders, two 840.2s,<br />
an 860.1, and an 860.3.A very<br />
pleased Didier has another Valmet<br />
860.3 on order.<br />
When we discussed the lineup,<br />
Didier couldn’t help but mention<br />
the advantages of the Valmet<br />
941, a powerhouse than can harvest<br />
effectively even in steep terrain.<br />
The machine is used to harvest<br />
hardwood too, even if such<br />
harvesting pays less and places<br />
great demands on the machine.<br />
In the poplar stand being harvested<br />
when we visited, the trees<br />
had diameters of 16-18 inches<br />
(40-45 cm), though this posed no<br />
problems.<br />
“In a poplar stand like this,<br />
the thick branches are always<br />
tough, but the machine does a<br />
good job,” commented operator<br />
Laurent Plaisse. “It’s a truly powerful<br />
machine that copes with<br />
all types of tree. I like to use the<br />
machine on slopes and the way<br />
the rotating cab always keeps the<br />
head in front is a real advantage.”<br />
Didier is a strong supporter of<br />
the Valmet machines with which<br />
his personnel are so happy. He<br />
said that service has been excellent<br />
since the company invested<br />
in the first Valmet 860 machine.<br />
“I bought it because it read so<br />
good on paper,” Didier explained.<br />
“And the Valmet 941 proved to<br />
be just in good in reality, and so<br />
it’s continued. The Valmet 941<br />
is a good example of a machine<br />
that really lives up to its specifications.”<br />
r<br />
Laurent Plaisse appreciates the Valmet 941 for its power and efficiency<br />
even in steep terrain.<br />
JUST FOREST NO 4 • 2007 11
445 FXL with<br />
new chassis<br />
The new Valmet 445 FXL offers <strong>Komatsu</strong> <strong>Forest</strong>’s customers a machine well<br />
equipped for demanding forest conditions. The 445 FXL has a <strong>Komatsu</strong><br />
designed and built forestry track system and final drives, with longer tracks<br />
and a redesigned car body.<br />
The new Valmet<br />
445FXL is fitted with<br />
brand new track units<br />
from <strong>Komatsu</strong>.<br />
12 JUST FOREST NO 4 • 2007
The new tracks are designed and developed<br />
solely for the forest, with very sturdy<br />
and thoroughly tested components.<br />
The Valmet 445 FXL is<br />
the second feller-buncher<br />
model supplied with<br />
a <strong>Komatsu</strong> designed and built<br />
forestry track system. Previously,<br />
the larger Valmet 475 FXL<br />
received a thorough upgrade,<br />
including a new track system.<br />
The new Valmet 445 FXL<br />
features a number of improvements<br />
to increase productivity<br />
and reliability. Most important is<br />
the specially designed track system<br />
and increased track chain<br />
pitch, increased to 9 inches (228<br />
mm). Machine mobility and stability<br />
have been improved by fitting<br />
sturdier tracks and track<br />
shoes. Further, the 445 FXL<br />
incorporates <strong>Komatsu</strong> designed<br />
and built forestry final drives.<br />
Each track has its own independent<br />
closed loop track drive, separate<br />
from the boom circuit,<br />
allowing for simultaneous operation<br />
of the tracks and boom<br />
functions. The closed loop track<br />
drives also provide hydrostatic<br />
braking on slopes and allow for<br />
energy recovery when stopping.<br />
This system is standard on most<br />
Valmet tracked machines and<br />
ensures maximum productivity.<br />
“The track unit has been<br />
designed and developed solely<br />
for the forest, with very sturdy<br />
and well tested components,”<br />
explains product manager Yasu<br />
Tanaka. “Among other things,<br />
we’ve seen increased reliability<br />
with the new <strong>Komatsu</strong> forestry<br />
final drive.”<br />
THE 445 FXL car body has been<br />
redesigned to improve reliability<br />
with today’s heavy felling<br />
demands. Four-way cab leveling<br />
is achieved using two cylinders,<br />
with a maximum forward<br />
tilt of 27 degrees increasing the<br />
machine’s stability on steep slopes<br />
while reducing operator fatigue.<br />
The 445 FXL booms have<br />
also been upgraded to meet the<br />
demands of today’s harvesting<br />
attachments.<br />
The Valmet 445 FXL is a very<br />
fuel efficient machine and is<br />
equipped with a Cummins Tier<br />
3-compliant 8.3-liter QSC engine<br />
that produces 300 horsepower.<br />
The engine control system<br />
and calibration provide rapid yet<br />
smooth response.<br />
THE COOLING system has<br />
been improved with larger fin<br />
spacing, which reduces debris<br />
buildup and simplifies cleaning.<br />
Together with the reversing fan,<br />
this keeps the machine running<br />
cool day after day.<br />
The 445 FXL has a new<br />
optional pump gear box oil cooler<br />
available. This new option cools<br />
the pump gear box oil increasing<br />
seal life for both the gear box and<br />
the hydraulic pumps.<br />
The Valmet 445 FXL is service<br />
friendly with centralized grease<br />
points and easily accessible daily<br />
service points. A roomy, quiet<br />
and comfortable cab with excellent<br />
visibility and ergonomically<br />
positioned controls maximizes<br />
operator efficiency. “With the<br />
new Valmet 445 FXL, we can<br />
offer the market a highly productive<br />
machine with the market’s<br />
best undercarriage,” comments<br />
Yasu. “This is a machine that will<br />
provide the reliability and performance<br />
our customers have come<br />
to expect from <strong>Komatsu</strong>.” r<br />
INFO Valmet 445 FXL<br />
WEIGHT WITHOUT HEAD: 67,000 lb (30,390 kg)<br />
ENGINE: Cummins QSC Tier 3, 8.3 liters<br />
POWER: 300 HP at 2,000 rpm<br />
TORQUE: 1,000 lb-ft (1,356 Nm) @ 1,500 RPM<br />
FUEL TANK CAPACITY: 185 gallons (700 liters)<br />
MACHINE WIDTH: 10’ 4” (3,140 mm), 600 mm single grouser shoes<br />
MAX. SPEED: 3.3 mph (5.3 km/h)<br />
TRACTIVE EFFORT: 74,315 lb (33,710 kg)<br />
TRACK length 15’8” ft (4,871 mm), 600 mm or 700 mm track shoes<br />
GROUND PRESSURE: 8.74 psi with 600 mm, 7.62 psi with 700 mm<br />
MAX. REACH: 21’ 5” (6,530 mm), 4-Bar Power Link Stick Boom<br />
CAB LEVELING: Front 27°, back 5°, side ±20°<br />
JUST FOREST NO 4 • 2007 13
The 32,000 square feet (3,000 square meters) of the<br />
forest machine center in Finland are now in full use.<br />
<strong>Forest</strong> machine center inauguration<br />
THE 32,000 SQUARE feet (3,000 square<br />
meters) of the forest machine center in Pirkkala<br />
outside Tampere, Finland are now in<br />
full use. More than 650 guests from Finland,<br />
Timo Ylänen, new CEO of<br />
<strong>Komatsu</strong> <strong>Forest</strong> Oy.<br />
THE ANNUAL meeting of the<br />
European distributors of Valmet<br />
machines was held in the Latvian<br />
capital Riga. Representatives<br />
from 19 dealers gathered in Riga<br />
to discuss market issues, strategies,<br />
and activities in the European<br />
market. The meeting also saw<br />
Berndt Rauser bestow an award<br />
on the European dealer of the<br />
14 JUST FOREST NO 4 • 2007<br />
the rest of Scandinavia, the Baltic States, and<br />
Russia attended the inauguration, listening<br />
to speakers that included Toshio Miyake,<br />
CEO of <strong>Komatsu</strong> <strong>Forest</strong>, and Timo Ylänen,<br />
year. This year’s Golden Bogie<br />
went to Cesar Sanchez of Spanish<br />
importer HITRAF. r<br />
CEO of <strong>Komatsu</strong> <strong>Forest</strong> Oy, as well as music<br />
from Finnish pop singer Laura Voutilainen.<br />
The forest machine center is an operations<br />
hub for <strong>Komatsu</strong> <strong>Forest</strong> in Finland. r<br />
New CEO in Finland<br />
Distributors meeting in Riga<br />
The European distributors meeting<br />
in Riga attracted no fewer<br />
than 19 distributors from around<br />
Europe.<br />
No less than 650 people from various countries<br />
attended the Grand Opening Ceremony of the new<br />
forest machine center.<br />
TIMO YLÄNEN is the new CEO of <strong>Komatsu</strong> <strong>Forest</strong> Oy from October<br />
1. He is 44 years old, has broad international experience of the forest<br />
machine industry, and joins <strong>Komatsu</strong> <strong>Forest</strong> from John Deere, where<br />
he headed the company’s forest machine sales to European dealers.<br />
“The opportunity to work with Valmet and its high quality, high<br />
potential forest machines is an exciting challenge,” says Timo. r
Key customers<br />
choose Valmet<br />
THIRTY FOREST machines have now been<br />
delivered under the three major contracts<br />
<strong>Komatsu</strong> <strong>Forest</strong>’s German sales company<br />
<strong>Komatsu</strong> <strong>Forest</strong> GmbH won in Germany<br />
and Austria. A customer buying almost<br />
a dozen machines is not an everyday occurrence<br />
in the German market, and in these<br />
cases <strong>Komatsu</strong> <strong>Forest</strong> GmbH’s high-quality<br />
service helped tip the balance in Komat-<br />
Valmet in focus at Spanish forestry<br />
convention<br />
The Valmet 941 with a 370E head proved its productivity to curious<br />
onlookers at Asturforesta in Spain.<br />
su’s favor when the deals were made. The<br />
three customers are the Austrian forestry<br />
company ÖBf AG, which is partly stateowed,<br />
the Bavarian state forestry company<br />
BaySF, and a large sawmill in eastern Germany.<br />
ÖBf AG, for example, bought seven<br />
forwarders and four harvesters while<br />
the sawmill in eastern Germany bought a<br />
number of Valmet 941 harvesters. r<br />
FOR THE SEVENTH time, the<br />
Spanish Asturforesta forestry<br />
convention was held near the<br />
town of Tineo in northern Spain,<br />
near the border with France and<br />
Portugal. Valmet was in focus<br />
at the convention, which is held<br />
every second year, with its well<br />
attended demos held under realistic<br />
conditions. The demos<br />
“I’m convinced key customers<br />
see the advantages of<br />
our all-inclusive concept,<br />
which combines productive<br />
machines and quality service,”<br />
says Jürgen Munz, CEO<br />
of <strong>Komatsu</strong> <strong>Forest</strong> Gmbh.<br />
“So we’ll most probably see<br />
similarly large deals in the<br />
future.”<br />
attracted large crowds wanting<br />
to see, among other machines,<br />
the Valmet 840.3, the Valmet 941,<br />
and the Valmet 911.3 X3M. Many<br />
visitors were also drawn to the<br />
exhibition tent, where attractions<br />
included the Valmet Oryx simulator.<br />
The convention had 15,000<br />
professional visitors and more<br />
than 120 exhibitors. r<br />
JUST FOREST NO 4 • 2007 15
Valmet to the fore<br />
Figur Best 1. Resultat length measurement av längdmätning. and Ljusgrön best crosscutting. stapel anger andel Valmet stockar left inom ± 2 cm. Mörkgrön<br />
the del competition är den nivå maskinen behind in skulle an important ha nått vid timber perfekt kalibrering value test.<br />
(teoretisk maxnivå). Röd<br />
linje anger medelnivå 2006 för de fem produktionsmaskinerna, grön linje skogsbrukets mål.<br />
Machine system 1<br />
Machine system 2<br />
Machine system 3<br />
Machine system 4<br />
Valmet 941/370.2<br />
Every five years, the<br />
Swedish forestry<br />
research foundation<br />
Skogforsk conducts<br />
an extensive timber value<br />
test. This time, seven different<br />
machine systems were compared<br />
in areas such as length and diameter<br />
measurement, value crosscutting,<br />
and fixed length crosscutting.<br />
This is the third test conducted<br />
and Skogforsk concludes<br />
that harvesters in general show<br />
continual improvements in cap-<br />
16 JUST FOREST NO 4 • 2007<br />
0<br />
10<br />
20<br />
30<br />
Length measurement results. The bars represent the percentage of logs within ±0.78 inch (2 cm). The red<br />
line shows the average level of the five machine systems in 2006. The green line is the Swedish forestry<br />
industry’s goal.<br />
40<br />
turing timber value.<br />
Good length and diameter<br />
measurements are a prerequisite<br />
for getting the most value out<br />
of the timber. If machines measure<br />
correctly, crosscutting efficiency<br />
is higher. <strong>Komatsu</strong> <strong>Forest</strong><br />
was represented by a Valmet<br />
941 equipped with a Valmet<br />
370.2 harvesting head and a<br />
Valmet Maxi harvester computer.<br />
This proved to be a winning<br />
combination in both measuring<br />
and crosscutting. The Valmet<br />
50<br />
60<br />
70<br />
80<br />
90<br />
machine system was the best in<br />
its class at length measurement.<br />
In the second test round, 93 percent<br />
of all logs fell within the correct<br />
length interval.<br />
“Once we’d adjusted the inching<br />
speed, we performed much<br />
better than our main competitors<br />
in length measurement accuracy,”<br />
says Per Annemalm, Product<br />
Manager at <strong>Komatsu</strong> <strong>Forest</strong>.<br />
The researchers at Skogforsk<br />
concluded with current measuring<br />
system designs. More exact<br />
100<br />
measurement will require new<br />
techniques that use remote or<br />
“touch-less” sensing.<br />
According to the test, Valmet’s<br />
current diameter measuring<br />
is reliable and has been<br />
refined and improved since the<br />
previous test. The improvement<br />
is due to factors that include better<br />
control, improved technology<br />
components, the new “regression<br />
analysis” calibration, and<br />
stronger machines. Crosscutting<br />
efficiency indicates how
much value the harvester manages<br />
to generate from each tree<br />
in relation to the optimal value<br />
if you knew the tree length and<br />
diameter in advance. The tests<br />
show that crosscutting efficiency<br />
is generally good, and Valmet<br />
was among the best machine<br />
systems. The researchers also<br />
reported that Valmet provided<br />
very high crosscutting efficiency,<br />
99.1 percent, and was once again<br />
best of the bunch.<br />
“It’s difficult to progress<br />
much further with value crosscutting<br />
and it’s perhaps not even<br />
profitable for forest owners as<br />
the computer is forced to calculate<br />
even more alternatives,<br />
which can limit machine productivity<br />
and thereby increase<br />
harvesting costs,” Per explains.<br />
What’s more, extracting<br />
maximum value is not the only<br />
aim. Delivering what sawmills<br />
and industry need is important<br />
too. With fixed length crosscutting,<br />
the harvester meets saw-<br />
mill needs and the level of efficiency<br />
here indicates how well<br />
the crosscut timber matches the<br />
desired lengths. Each machine<br />
system was tested with 800 logs<br />
and the Valmet machine system<br />
crosscut more than 90 percent of<br />
the logs in the optimal manner,<br />
as per the crosscutting instructions.<br />
“We quickly achieved the<br />
desired fixed length crosscutting<br />
and remained at that level<br />
throughout the test,” says Per. r<br />
NEWS<br />
New major plywood<br />
factory in Siberia<br />
The largest plywood<br />
factory in Siberia and<br />
the Far East is being<br />
built in Krasnoyarsk in 2007.<br />
The goal is to produce enough<br />
plywood to consume 250,000<br />
cubic meters from conifers<br />
and 100,000 cubic meters from<br />
birch annually. About 800 people<br />
will work at the production<br />
plant.<br />
Only large tree harvesting<br />
permitted<br />
Mozambique’s government<br />
has passed legislation<br />
that only permits<br />
certain tree species to be<br />
logged and then only those<br />
above a certain trunk diameter.<br />
Prime Minister Luisa Diogo<br />
told Agencia de Informacao de<br />
Mocambique that the law guarantees<br />
new growth and sustainability<br />
while securing the<br />
industry’s needs.<br />
<strong>Forest</strong> protection<br />
new source<br />
of income<br />
<strong>Forest</strong> owners in Finland<br />
are being offered<br />
new opportunities<br />
to earn from their forests.<br />
METSO, the program for biodiversity<br />
in the forests of southern<br />
Finland, has succeeded in<br />
getting many forest owners to<br />
consider alternatives to traditional<br />
timber production. Voluntary<br />
forest protection yields<br />
economic benefits equally as<br />
large as forestry while preserving<br />
the landscape in an undisturbed<br />
state for future generations.<br />
It takes about fifty years<br />
before thinning provides any<br />
real economic returns, and for<br />
many forest owners leaving<br />
things as they are is an alternative<br />
that provides a good conscience.<br />
JUST FOREST NO 4 • 2007 17
FIVE FORESTR<br />
FIVE<br />
Where will forests be harvested in the future? International<br />
forestry consultant Jonas Jacobsson lists five trends determining<br />
where the industry will source its raw materials in the future.<br />
About a third of the earth’s<br />
surface is forestland and the<br />
northern evergreen belt has<br />
made the USA, Canada, and Scandinavia<br />
important raw material producers<br />
for the forest industry. But change<br />
could be in the cards. Jacobsson is<br />
of the opinion that changes in forest<br />
ownership will influence where<br />
in the world forests are harvested. He<br />
lists five clear trends that influence<br />
development in various ways.<br />
According to Jacobsson, about<br />
85 percent of the world’s forests are<br />
state-owned. The most important and<br />
influential trend today is increased<br />
privatization of forest ownership.<br />
This mostly entails sovereign states<br />
selling off forestland, but also confiscated<br />
forest being returned to private<br />
owners.<br />
Jacobsson believes that the accelerated<br />
privatization trend will influence<br />
where forests are harvested in<br />
the future.<br />
“In the long term, an altered ownership<br />
structure will make new harvestable<br />
areas much more attractive<br />
prospects. When Russia and China<br />
open their borders more, they’ll<br />
become major forestry countries,”<br />
says Jacobsson.<br />
Russia’s enormous forest resources<br />
are extremely important to the<br />
future, and even if Russia’s timber<br />
stock is low in terms of volume per<br />
acre, there are a great many acres of<br />
Russian forestland.<br />
“If the legal position is cleared up<br />
and new rules of the game are established,<br />
players may be willing to start<br />
making the necessary investments<br />
in infrastructure to gain access to<br />
the sizeable timber resources,” says<br />
Jacobsson. r<br />
18 JUST FOREST NO 4 • 2007<br />
Conservationists<br />
buying forests<br />
While still quite uncommon,<br />
some conservation organizations<br />
buy forests to protect them from<br />
harvesting. In the USA, for example,<br />
Nature Conservancy buys<br />
land both at home and abroad.<br />
Sale of corporate forests<br />
It is increasingly common for major private forest<br />
companies to sell off forests to institutional investors.<br />
The trend began in the USA about ten years<br />
ago, mostly because forest is considered a safe<br />
investment with a value that often swings contrary<br />
to stock market fluctuations.<br />
This trend has even spread to Canada and<br />
Scandinavia and, according to Jacobsson, will<br />
most probably become increasingly common<br />
throughout the world.
Y TRENDS<br />
Y<br />
Return of confiscated forests<br />
Another privatization trend now seen in several former<br />
Eastern Bloc countries is the return of confiscated forest<br />
properties to their former owners.<br />
Privatization of state-owned forests<br />
One of the trends is for states to sell off forests to private interests. These may be plantations, such<br />
as in Australia, or forest holdings, such as in Sweden. More important though, according to Jacobsson,<br />
are the privatization trends in Russia and China.<br />
Russia is drawing up new contractual forms for long-term collaboration between the state and<br />
private enterprise, which in the long run could lead to private ownership. Long-term contracts with<br />
private enterprise are also up for discussion in Canada, and the authorities in China are assessing different<br />
privatization models.<br />
Planting of new forests<br />
China already has large areas of newly planted forests,<br />
though these can be protected as well as harvestable<br />
forests. South America has large plantations and the<br />
right conditions to plant even more new forests. There<br />
is sufficient precipitation and plenty of areas that were<br />
deforested long ago.<br />
However, there are factors that can check such development.<br />
Competition for land is increasing, which<br />
will cause prices to rise. This has already been seen in<br />
Chile while in Brazil, for example, interest in sugar cane<br />
plantations for ethanol production may lead to rising<br />
land prices. In several parts of the world, it may be increasingly<br />
difficult to plant larger new forests. The east<br />
coast of southern Africa is home to an area with sufficient<br />
rainfall, but there is no land left available, and in<br />
Australia large parts of the continent are too dry.<br />
JUST FOREST NO 4 • 2007 19
Increased future logging<br />
Logging volumes will<br />
increase in the future,<br />
mostly in Russia, Latin<br />
America, and China.<br />
<strong>Forest</strong> growth currently<br />
exceeds increases in<br />
logging in all non-tropical<br />
regions. This is the<br />
conclusion of a report<br />
from Finnish analysts<br />
Pöyry.<br />
The report on trends<br />
in the forest industry<br />
begins in 2004 and provides<br />
a clear picture of global forest<br />
resources and trends. Global<br />
harvests total 3.45 billion cubic<br />
meters and of this 51 percent is<br />
used for combustion and heating<br />
while 49 percent goes to industry.<br />
Of the timber used by industry,<br />
995 million cubic meters go to<br />
sawmills and 545 million cubic<br />
meters to the paper industry.<br />
Despite high logging volumes,<br />
absolute forest growth is<br />
positive in all non-tropical areas.<br />
This is especially true in Russia<br />
where the potential harvest<br />
increase is very large. The worst<br />
situation is seen in Oceania and<br />
Africa, where very large timber<br />
harvests for fuel needs cause a<br />
collective drop in forest resources.<br />
An interesting observation is<br />
that logging volumes in Canada<br />
are on a par with growth, while in<br />
the USA growth exceeds harvest.<br />
The report from Pöyry concludes<br />
that timber needs in all<br />
areas for industrial refinement<br />
will increase until 2015. The<br />
larger part of this increase is for<br />
paper pulp and paneling. The<br />
increase is estimated at 300 mil-<br />
20 JUST FOREST NO 4 • 2007<br />
lion cubic meters, counting from<br />
2000.<br />
Global logging volumes too<br />
are expected to keep increasing<br />
until 2020. Logging will mostly<br />
increase in Latin America and<br />
Russia. In order to meet this<br />
demand, the total area of fastgrowing<br />
plantations must almost<br />
600000<br />
500000<br />
400000<br />
300000<br />
200000<br />
100000<br />
Increased mechanization<br />
600000<br />
• As logging volumes increase so does mechanization.<br />
• The degree of mechanization is increasing most in Latin America, Eastern Europe, and Southeast Asia.<br />
500000•<br />
The degree of mechanization depends on local traditions, trees species, and terrain conditions.<br />
• The degree of mechanization is already very high in Scandinavia and can only be increased if the authorities<br />
take initiatives to increase logging volumes.<br />
400000•<br />
Variations in mechanization between countries are great. For example, in Spain, Portugal, and Italy forest<br />
machines are only used on plantations while private forest owners use handcutters.<br />
• Many markets exhibit a great need for simple, low-priced forest machines. Operator training is an impor-<br />
300000 tant issue.<br />
200000<br />
100000<br />
0<br />
Scandinavian<br />
countries<br />
Western<br />
Europe<br />
Nordic countries<br />
Russia<br />
Western Europe excl. Nordic<br />
double between 2005 and 2020.<br />
Plantation forests are expected<br />
to represent about 60 percent<br />
of the increase in logging volume.<br />
In Latin America, almost<br />
all increases in logging stem<br />
from plantations. As logging volumes<br />
increase so does forestry<br />
mechanization. Mechaniza-<br />
Russia Eastern<br />
Europe<br />
North<br />
America<br />
tion has most momentum in Latin<br />
America, Eastern Europe, and<br />
Southeast Asia. The degree of<br />
mechanization will also be affected<br />
by local traditions, trees species,<br />
and terrain conditions.<br />
The report was compiled by Dr.<br />
Hubert Röder of Pöyry <strong>Forest</strong><br />
Industry Consulting. r<br />
South<br />
America<br />
Increase until 2020<br />
Logging volume 2004<br />
North America Latin America<br />
Eastern Europe excl. Russia Oceania<br />
Oceania China<br />
China
New forwarder control<br />
system integrates complete<br />
supply chain<br />
Production reporting for<br />
the wood fiber supply<br />
chain is now complete.<br />
MaxiL is a new forwarder<br />
software application<br />
that even shows where<br />
log piles are located.<br />
The forest industry’s supply<br />
chain of harvesters,<br />
forwarders, timber<br />
trucks, and sawmills needs<br />
a detailed and uninterrupted<br />
chain of production reports from<br />
felling to sawing. Until recently,<br />
there was a gap in the production<br />
report chain, as forwarders<br />
have only been able to register<br />
and report the volume of each<br />
assortment. That gap has now<br />
been closed.<br />
A NEW standard has pushed the<br />
development of forwarder production<br />
reports. With the new<br />
Valmet MaxiL application, forwarded<br />
volumes and assortments<br />
can be associated with a particular<br />
landing, a selected destination<br />
MaxiL is a stand-alone application. All information about forwarded<br />
timber is entered by the user. This includes details of landing coordinates<br />
together with forwarded volume, species, and assortment.<br />
mill, or a geographic position.<br />
“The user describes and registers<br />
the forwarded timber<br />
according to species, assortment,<br />
and location,” explains Per<br />
Annemalm, Product Manager at<br />
<strong>Komatsu</strong> <strong>Forest</strong>.<br />
With MaxiL, the forward-<br />
er can use its .prl files to report<br />
exact positions using the coordinates<br />
of each roadside landing.<br />
This means more efficient handling<br />
every step of the way. Valmet<br />
MaxiL is an option that is<br />
currently only available for the<br />
Swedish market. r<br />
MAY WE ASK…<br />
…TIMO KORHONEN,<br />
Head of Sales, <strong>Komatsu</strong><br />
<strong>Forest</strong> Oy, Finland.<br />
How are sales<br />
in Finland?<br />
We’ve strengthened our market<br />
position in Finland the<br />
past few years and expect<br />
to continue to do so this<br />
year and next year. In absolute<br />
terms, the Finnish market<br />
has grown the past two<br />
and a half years, and due to<br />
altered market conditions<br />
we expect to see continued<br />
growth next year as well.<br />
How has the market<br />
changed?<br />
Finland will import less Russian<br />
timber due to new import<br />
duties. This means a<br />
need to increase logging in<br />
Finland, which means an increased<br />
need for new machines.<br />
However, the additional<br />
harvest in Finland will<br />
not only comprise final logging<br />
but even a great deal of<br />
thinning. As a result, we’re<br />
expecting further increases<br />
in demand for smaller machines<br />
such as the Valmet<br />
830.3, the Valmet 840.3, the<br />
Valmet 911.3, and the Valmet<br />
901.3.<br />
You’re also<br />
reorganizing?<br />
We’ve opened a new <strong>Forest</strong><br />
Machine Center that will be<br />
an important hub for our operations<br />
in Finland. This will<br />
even enable us to concentrate<br />
all our efforts on the<br />
Finnish market, which is a<br />
plus for all our Finnish customers.<br />
And they’ll notice<br />
the difference!<br />
JUST FOREST NO 4 • 2007 21
DRIVING TECHNIQUE<br />
AND MACHINE<br />
are important for low vibrations<br />
Being tossed around in the seat is one of the most important work environment issues<br />
for many forest machine operators. Moreover, an operator can play a decisive role in<br />
minimizing the effects on the body by maintaining good working posture. We explain<br />
what vibrations are and show how a machine with low full body vibrations makes operators<br />
more effective.<br />
The operator’s driving technique<br />
greatly influences the<br />
size of jarring movements.<br />
This is why it’s important to<br />
drive sensibly.<br />
22 JUST FOREST NO 4 • 2007
If a forest machine operator<br />
is to work effectively<br />
without tiring during<br />
a shift, the work environment<br />
must enable good posture<br />
and counter vibrations.<br />
Good working posture has been<br />
shown to be of great importance<br />
to how vibrations affect an<br />
operator. Consequently, a well<br />
designed cab that can be adjusted<br />
to ensure good working posture<br />
is important.<br />
OPERATOR MOST<br />
INFLUENTIAL<br />
One of the single most influential<br />
factors in determining the<br />
size of the vibrations generated<br />
by a machine is the operator. A<br />
smooth driving technique, cor-<br />
C<br />
A<br />
rectly adjusted driver’s seat, and<br />
good general health keep vibrations<br />
and their effects to a minimum.<br />
A fit and healthy operator<br />
can cope with vibrations better<br />
than an unfit individual, and a<br />
person weighing 265 lbs (120 kg)<br />
is more susceptible to vibrations<br />
than an operator weighing 155<br />
lbs (70 kg).<br />
Minimizing full body vibrations<br />
and shaking improves the<br />
work environment. Very little<br />
engine vibrations are transferred<br />
to the cab – shaking caused by<br />
driving and loading has most<br />
impact. Vertical vibrations have<br />
little effect on the operator. Sideto-side<br />
and forward-back shakes<br />
have the greatest impact and the<br />
most important jars to avoid are<br />
B<br />
those under 10 Hz. Hz is a unit<br />
for measuring vibrations per second.<br />
Very slow vibrations of frequencies<br />
less than 1 Hz can<br />
cause motion sickness, which is<br />
just like sea sickness or car sickness.<br />
STABLE MACHINES<br />
VIBRATE LESS<br />
A generally stable machine helps<br />
reduce vibrations. In the previous<br />
issue of Just <strong>Forest</strong>, we<br />
looked at the principles behind<br />
stability, and Valmet’s machines<br />
are renowned for their stability.<br />
Valmet harvesters are fitted<br />
with a stabilizer, which means<br />
the entire machine, including the<br />
rear carriage and its weight, work<br />
to maintain stability. Shakes and<br />
Vibrations can be described as movement from a resting position<br />
(A) across a certain distance to an endpoint (B), followed by movement<br />
in the opposite direction, passing the original resting position.<br />
The movement continues to a second endpoint (C), where it stops<br />
and reverses toward the resting position. The period of time (T)<br />
is the time it takes for the swinging action to complete this entire<br />
movement while the amplitude is the distance from A to C.<br />
a<br />
C<br />
A<br />
T<br />
jars are generally smaller on a<br />
harvester as the machine is often<br />
stationary while working, though<br />
harvester systems also ensure<br />
stability when driving shorter<br />
distances. Forwarders are built to<br />
be driven with large loads and so<br />
driving speed and driving technique<br />
greatly affect the size, or<br />
amplitude, of vibrations. The<br />
articulated design of Valmet’s<br />
forwarders, with a hydraulically<br />
dampened steering swivel joint,<br />
makes them stable and reduces<br />
full body shakes by producing<br />
smaller amplitudes. When a<br />
harvester is processing logs and<br />
when a forwarder is loading, the<br />
machines are kept stable. Stable<br />
machines are one of the key factors<br />
in keeping full body vibra-<br />
B<br />
JUST FOREST NO 4 • 2007 23<br />
t
An ergonomically designed cab with a correctly adjusted seat reduces<br />
the effects of vibrations.<br />
tions low, and stable support for<br />
the driver’s seat also helps reduce<br />
vibrations. A seat with unstable<br />
support can reinforce full body<br />
vibrations.<br />
ABOUT VIBRATIONS<br />
Vibrations are usually divided<br />
into two main types, full body<br />
vibrations (shakes and jars) and<br />
local vibrations, though here<br />
we’ll focus on the full body type,<br />
the main type of forest machine<br />
vibration. Full body vibrations<br />
occur when the structure on<br />
which we sit or stand moves or<br />
swings back and forward like a<br />
pendulum, and this motion can<br />
be described using physical measures.<br />
The first measure is ampli-<br />
INFO<br />
24 JUST FOREST NO 4 • 2007<br />
tude, the size of the vibration.<br />
Amplitude is expressed in millimeters,<br />
though in a forest<br />
machine the amplitude can be up<br />
to one meter (almost 40 inches).<br />
The other measure is frequency,<br />
which describes how often the<br />
vibration occurs in a unit of time.<br />
Frequency is expressed in Hz,<br />
or vibrations per second. Other<br />
characteristics contributing to<br />
the effect are the total time the<br />
vibrations continue, the direction<br />
of the vibrations, and the type of<br />
vibration. Vibration types are<br />
divided into different groups. On<br />
the one hand we have predictable<br />
vibrations, and on the other<br />
we have random vibrations,<br />
which are most common in forest<br />
machines. r<br />
The effects of full body vibrations<br />
Reducing vibrations<br />
Drive sensibly<br />
• Match your driving speed to the terrain.<br />
• Drive carefully on sloping terrain as your driving<br />
body posture can be adversely affected. Driving<br />
on flat ground has less impact on body position.<br />
• Drive smoothly and evenly. This also reduces fuel<br />
consumption and machine wear.<br />
• Work with smooth and fluid boom/crane movements.<br />
Personal health and work environment<br />
• Vary your working posture to avoid straining<br />
joints and muscles.<br />
• Adjust the seat and controls to match your height<br />
and weight.<br />
• Keep in good shape. This enables you to better<br />
reduce the effects on your body.<br />
• Take regular breaks.<br />
Help from the machine<br />
• Lower RPMs mean less vibration.<br />
• Replace the seat if it’s old. A worn driver’s seat<br />
and weak support actually reinforce vibrations<br />
and make it difficult to correctly adjust the seat.<br />
• Larger machines generally shake the body less<br />
than small machines.<br />
When someone is subjected to full body vibrations, muscles contract. This affects everything from heart rate to<br />
blood pressure and balance. It’s impossible to predict who will be more seriously affected by vibrations. Everyone<br />
reacts differently to them.
ProSelect – new saw bars and<br />
saw chains to choose from<br />
Valmet’s ProSelect<br />
product range is ever<br />
widening. Several<br />
different saw bars and<br />
chains suitable for a<br />
large variety of harvesting<br />
heads now join the<br />
lineup.<br />
Valmet’s ProSelect brand<br />
now offers an even wider<br />
range of high-performance<br />
saw bars and saw chains.<br />
The items specially designed<br />
for Valmet machines have been<br />
joined by new offerings. With its<br />
solid experience as a head manufacturer,<br />
Valmet has a good<br />
understanding of designing saw<br />
bars and saw chains that perform<br />
well and safely.<br />
Valmet ProSelect saw bars<br />
have a number of features to<br />
ensure long, safe use and performance.<br />
The bars are optimized<br />
for maximum stability, while a<br />
special steel alloy ensures great<br />
flexibility. A unique heat treatment<br />
makes the saw bar rigid<br />
and robust and the mount has<br />
holes instead of slots for a more<br />
stable fitting and longer service<br />
life. The optimized chain grooves<br />
increase oil flow and ensure that<br />
What you need, when you need it.<br />
the chain runs steadily through<br />
the grooves. Hardened metal<br />
shims on the nose sprocket protect<br />
bearings and provide longer<br />
service life than regular nose<br />
sprockets. The saw bar is available<br />
with three mount sizes, 10<br />
mm, 15 mm, and 3/4 inches.<br />
ProSelect saw chains are made<br />
to match the saw bar to provide<br />
optimal saw performance. The<br />
saw chains are durable and easy<br />
to maintain, designed to pro-<br />
Expertise and experience. These are the most important building blocks of ProSelect, our unique<br />
assortment of accessories and consumables for forestry machines. The chief purpose of ProSelect<br />
is to provide you with the prerequisites for increased profi tability. We do this through high quality,<br />
availability and a complete assortment of products and services. Concrete benefi ts for our customers<br />
range from minimized downtime to optimized performance and service life for your forestry machines.<br />
vide long service life with long<br />
intervals between sharpening,<br />
achieved in part by sharpening<br />
after fitting. The chains are made<br />
from a special nickel-steel alloy<br />
with hard chromium plating to<br />
provide additional durability and<br />
improved saw characteristics.<br />
What’s more, the factory-fitted<br />
and pre-lubricated rivets further<br />
extend service life. The chains<br />
are available in 1.6 and 2 gauge<br />
and for 3/4 inch saw bars. r
<strong>Forest</strong>s in the USA and Canada run a high risk of wildfire. To reduce the risk of wildfire, some 190 million acres (77 million hectares)<br />
of forest have been identified as in need of thinning or clearing.<br />
THINNING<br />
– a hot topic<br />
Interest in thinning and biomass fuels is increasing in North America and Europe, but<br />
for somewhat different reasons. In the USA, wildfire risk reduction is high on the agenda,<br />
while in Canada the aim is to stop the spread of the mountain pine beetle. In Europe,<br />
as well as in North America, demand for biomass fuel has increased the interest in<br />
clearing and harvesting small diameter trees.<br />
26 JUST FOREST NO 4 • 2007
Interest in thinning is<br />
increasing in much of<br />
the world, but for different<br />
reasons. In Europe,<br />
market demand for biomass fuel<br />
is driving development while in<br />
North America widespread forest<br />
fires and the spread of the mountain<br />
pine beetle were early drivers<br />
of the trend.<br />
In order to reduce the risk of<br />
major wildfires, mostly in western<br />
USA, biomass harvesting is<br />
to increase. The Healthy <strong>Forest</strong>s<br />
Initiative, signed by President<br />
Thinning is usually conducted as a silvicultural measure, as well as to increase forest product harvests (primarily<br />
pulpwood).<br />
Bush in 2004, emphasizes the<br />
need to reduce the proportion of<br />
combustible material in the forest.<br />
President Bush has said, for<br />
instance, that “By thinning out<br />
our forests, we reduce the risk of<br />
catastrophic fire” and “We need<br />
to thin our forests in America”. A<br />
full 190 million acres (77 million<br />
hectares) of forestland have been<br />
identified as at risk from wildfire<br />
due to insufficient thinning.<br />
ONE TECHNIQUE used to quickly<br />
reduce risk is to make shaded<br />
fuel breaks. These are areas where<br />
smaller trees, deadwood, undergrowth,<br />
and brushwood are cleared<br />
while mature, healthy trees<br />
that take longer to catch fire are<br />
left standing. These areas give<br />
firefighters more time to combat a<br />
fire by slowing its progress. Much<br />
thinning is currently conducted<br />
by handcutters with chainsaws.<br />
On the West Coast, west of the<br />
Cascade Mountain Range, forestlands<br />
contain copious amounts<br />
of combustible material, some<br />
50 tons of biomass per acre (120<br />
tons per hectare) and east of the<br />
range, where the climate is drier,<br />
about 30 tons of biomass per acre<br />
(70 tons per hectare). Most of the<br />
material from areas thinned and<br />
cleared of undergrowth is currently<br />
piled high and burned during<br />
winter, when there’s less risk<br />
of wildfire. Controlled fires are<br />
also used to reduce the amount<br />
of combustible material.<br />
WHILE WILDFIRES ARE a main<br />
reason for increased interest in<br />
thinning in the USA, mountain<br />
JUST FOREST NO 4 • 2007 27
There’s a great deal of combustible material in the forests of<br />
America, with as much as 50 tons of biomass per acre (120 tons<br />
per hectare).<br />
pine beetle infestation is the reason<br />
in Canada. Thinning damaged<br />
trees and rapidly removing<br />
infested timber is important<br />
in the fight to stop the beetle’s<br />
spread.<br />
THINNING IS EVEN increasing<br />
in Europe, though mostly due to<br />
increased demand for biomass<br />
fuel and new harvesting methods<br />
are on the horizon. Antti<br />
Asikainen, a professor at Finnish<br />
forestry research institute Metla,<br />
believes interest in small diameter<br />
timber harvested using multi-tree<br />
accumulators, as well as<br />
the clearing of older stands, will<br />
increase. Asikainen has a theory<br />
as to why the demand for biomass<br />
fuel has not been the driving<br />
force in North America.<br />
“North America, and even<br />
Russia, have much forest and get<br />
as much bioenergy as they need<br />
from sawmills without the need<br />
to specifically harvest the forest<br />
for biomass fuel,” he explains.<br />
Don Gosnell at the Ministry<br />
of <strong>Forest</strong> and Range in British<br />
Columbia, Canada confirms<br />
this idea and explains that most<br />
sawmills use the waste from<br />
sawing, such as sawdust, wood<br />
28 JUST FOREST NO 4 • 2007<br />
chips, and even bark, to produce<br />
heat and electricity as the material<br />
needs to be dealt with in some<br />
way or other. However, according<br />
to Gosnell, electricity is so<br />
cheap (about 3.5 cents per kilowatt<br />
hour) that it’s unprofitable<br />
to produce electricity from waste<br />
if it has to be transported to the<br />
generating facility.<br />
Asikainen, on the other<br />
hand, sees development gathering<br />
momentum in Europe, with<br />
more and more countries in Central<br />
Europe, including Italy and<br />
Austria, and even Poland, harvesting<br />
round timber and forest<br />
residues simultaneously. Wood<br />
chips are generally produced at<br />
landings, before transportation.<br />
Asikainen also sees greater interest<br />
in Europe for stumps, which<br />
have greater energy value than<br />
other forest residues.<br />
ROLF BJÖRHEDEN heads a biomass<br />
fuel project at Swedish<br />
research institute Skogforsk and<br />
believes development must be<br />
toward increased optimization<br />
and increased integration of biomass<br />
fuel management with<br />
other forestry. Björheden believes<br />
biomass harvesting will be<br />
Canada produces enormous amounts of sawmill waste. So much<br />
that it’s currently unprofitable to harvest biomass from the forests.<br />
New assortments will be handled by existing machines parallel to<br />
conventional harvesting.<br />
integrated with other harvesting<br />
using existing machines, a<br />
matter on which Asikainen also<br />
agrees, adding that conventional<br />
forest machines, with necessary<br />
adaptations for handling biomass,<br />
are the route to take for the<br />
foreseeable future. r
Customers are the key<br />
She has worked for the<br />
company for 30 years<br />
and knows operations<br />
inside out. Christin<br />
Davidsson is head of<br />
quality assurance at<br />
the factory in Umeå,<br />
Sweden.<br />
“Working with quality<br />
issues with <strong>Komatsu</strong> as<br />
our owner is very inspiring,”<br />
she says.<br />
Christin Davidsson<br />
has been head of<br />
quality assurance<br />
at the Umeå factory<br />
for about a year. She joined the<br />
company 30 years ago and has<br />
worked in many departments.<br />
“It’s very exciting to work with<br />
quality as <strong>Komatsu</strong> has extensive<br />
experience and a proud tradition<br />
of systematic quality assurance<br />
stretching back to the 1960s,”<br />
says Christin.<br />
One of the driving forces in<br />
About Christin<br />
Davidsson<br />
POSITION: Head of Quality Assurance<br />
EMPLOYED SINCE: 1977<br />
AGE: 47 years<br />
LIVES: Umeå, Sweden<br />
FAMILY: Two teenage daughters<br />
BEST PART OF THE JOB: Teamwork in a global<br />
company with experiences and focus that<br />
allow me to continually develop in my role.<br />
LEISURE INTERESTS: Reading, traveling, walking,<br />
and different forms of exercise.<br />
Christin’s work is to make customers<br />
proud to own a Valmet<br />
product. She has 27 department<br />
colleagues to help achieve this.<br />
“Our quality assurance work<br />
gets support and commitment<br />
from top management, and that<br />
lends great importance to our<br />
work.”<br />
Christin’s position plays an<br />
active role, very much in the here<br />
and now.<br />
“It’s important to create commitment<br />
and increase quality<br />
awareness throughout the organization,”<br />
explains Christin. “I<br />
want <strong>Komatsu</strong> <strong>Forest</strong> to be a worthy<br />
member of the <strong>Komatsu</strong> family<br />
in terms of quality assurance.”<br />
Quality assurance demands<br />
patience and perseverance. Christin<br />
possesses both qualities.<br />
“It takes time to see the<br />
results of our work, and in order<br />
to succeed we must work at it<br />
every day and never forget that<br />
the customer’s product experience<br />
is our guide.” r<br />
Christin Davidsson<br />
Three quick questions<br />
1. What does the forest represent for you?<br />
For me the forest is both a long-term work project and leisure<br />
time, something we must nurture for the future.<br />
2. What does <strong>Komatsu</strong> represent for you?<br />
A long-term perspective and quality with the customer in<br />
mind.<br />
3. Which is your favorite machine?<br />
I’d probably have to say the Valmet 901, because it’s a<br />
product that’s been around for a long time but that’s still<br />
developing along with customer expectations.<br />
JUST FOREST NO 4 • 2007 29
Optimized transport saves<br />
money and the environment<br />
A logistics management<br />
system for forest product<br />
transport developed<br />
in Sweden can save up to<br />
a fifth on transport costs.<br />
This saving is achieved<br />
by optimizing routes<br />
so that trucks make the<br />
shortest possible journey<br />
and with as little distance<br />
empty as possible.<br />
Transport costs the forest<br />
industry a great deal of<br />
money. In Sweden alone,<br />
each year transport costs the forest<br />
industry about SEK 4 billion<br />
(USD 625 million), representing<br />
some 25 percent of the industry’s<br />
total costs. The forest industry<br />
is also Sweden’s largest shipper,<br />
and of the 340,000 miles<br />
(550,000 km) of roads in Sweden,<br />
more than half, some 190,000<br />
miles (310,000 km), comprise<br />
forest roads. These forest roads<br />
are often in poor condition and<br />
during spring, when the ground<br />
thaws, restrictions can be placed<br />
on their use for transport. Consequently,<br />
it is important that forest<br />
companies know which roads<br />
can be used.<br />
A few years back, a national<br />
forest road database was established,<br />
containing all forest roads<br />
with information on everything<br />
from gross weights and accessibility<br />
to speed limits. Using the<br />
forest road database, the Swedish<br />
forestry research institute Skogforsk<br />
has developed a method to<br />
optimize forest transport routes<br />
that has proven to make forest<br />
transport up to 20 percent more<br />
efficient. What’s more, the environment<br />
is also saved through<br />
30 JUST FOREST NO 4 • 2007<br />
Bertil Liden, a logistics researcher<br />
at Skogforsk, explains that<br />
a logistics manager cannot possibly<br />
memorize all the necessary<br />
information. That’s why tools<br />
are needed.<br />
lower emissions.<br />
The tool is called RuttOpt and<br />
is an aid for planning the daily<br />
routes of a vehicle fleet, covering<br />
periods of up to seven days.<br />
Using the road database and<br />
advanced algorithms, it is possible<br />
to calculate the most efficient<br />
route for each vehicle.<br />
“Achieving this demands<br />
knowledge of sawmill timber<br />
needs, timber stocks, road conditions,<br />
and available vehicles. It’s<br />
impossible for a logistics manager<br />
to memorize all this information,”<br />
says Bertil Lidén, a logistics<br />
researcher at Skogforsk.<br />
IF THE PROGRAM is to help<br />
make the right decisions, the<br />
input data must be correct. For<br />
example, the reporting system<br />
used by forwarders must function<br />
properly. Optimization<br />
requires an accurate inventory<br />
of the volumes and assortments<br />
available at roadside landings.<br />
Other input data processed by the<br />
program includes sawmill needs<br />
Optimizing transport in various ways enables greater savings.<br />
Swedish Skogforsk has shown savings of up to 20 percent.<br />
broken down into daily quotas<br />
and every vehicle’s running costs<br />
per hour and mile. If the system<br />
is to function in an optimal man-<br />
Transport trucks<br />
run empty more<br />
often in the USA<br />
TRANSPORT HAS been receiving<br />
attention in the USA, too. Preliminary<br />
results of a study conducted<br />
by WSRI, the Wood Supply<br />
Research Institute, in the<br />
south of the USA shows that<br />
timber trucks average about 40<br />
miles (60 km) travel to a mill,<br />
and average 45 percent of daily<br />
miles loaded. Moreover, early<br />
results indicate timber trucks<br />
were only moving fully loaded<br />
25 percent of the time that the<br />
ner, the vehicles must cover large<br />
areas to create a greater number<br />
of alternatives that cut empty<br />
loads and increase efficiency. r<br />
engine was running. The survey<br />
data is being collected by equipping<br />
the trucks with GPS systems<br />
and scales with remote data<br />
recording, and data on machine<br />
movement is also being collected.<br />
Early study results show that<br />
transport planning can increase<br />
the proportion of fully loaded<br />
miles for better utilization of<br />
resources. Other WSRI studies<br />
address turnaround time at the<br />
mill. www.wsri.org. r
001001010101<br />
001001010101<br />
01011011000101001001001<br />
01011011000101001001001<br />
<strong>Forest</strong> machines<br />
need broadband<br />
The need to exchange<br />
information between<br />
the links of the forest<br />
industry production<br />
chain is increasing<br />
rapidly. With integrated<br />
mobile broadband,<br />
forest machines<br />
can play an even bigger<br />
role.<br />
Increasingly more of the<br />
world’s forestry is being<br />
mechanized, and mostly<br />
with machines employing<br />
the cut-to-length system. Mechanization<br />
with modern forest<br />
machines also increases communication<br />
possibilities in the forest<br />
industry fiber supply chain.<br />
“<strong>Forest</strong> machines are really<br />
mobile production units in the<br />
fiber supply chain, and there’s<br />
an increasing need to send and<br />
receive information within that<br />
chain,” says Per Annemalm,<br />
Product Manager at <strong>Komatsu</strong><br />
<strong>Forest</strong>.<br />
SUCH INFORMATION includes,<br />
for example, production data<br />
files, crosscutting instructions,<br />
and GIS/GPS map files. Another<br />
opportunity is real time communication<br />
with client business systems<br />
to report, for example, stock<br />
levels, work remaining, hours<br />
for payroll, or machine status. In<br />
much of the world, however, poor<br />
IT infrastructure prevents this<br />
communication of which <strong>Komatsu</strong><br />
<strong>Forest</strong> is a driving force.<br />
The global forest industry has<br />
varying mobile communication<br />
10110001010010010010001 01010101<br />
needs. One prerequisite is access<br />
to telephones at all workplaces.<br />
Access to e-mail and a reasonably<br />
fast mobile Internet connection<br />
are also necessary.<br />
“There’s already a need for<br />
voice communication throughout<br />
the world, important for such<br />
things as increased safety in the<br />
forest. But if the forest industry is<br />
to take full advantage of information<br />
technology potential, access<br />
to data transmission in mobile<br />
environments is equally important,”<br />
says Per.<br />
There are two major IT problems<br />
that must be resolved to<br />
meet the needs of the global forest<br />
industry. The first is full coverage<br />
to make mobile broadband<br />
possible and the second is sufficient<br />
transmission capacity.<br />
There are several possible<br />
technical solutions for mobile<br />
broadband. The European GSM<br />
technique is well established in<br />
many countries, but has insufficient<br />
transmission capacity. The<br />
3G UMTS technique offers high<br />
capacity, but poorer coverage in<br />
rural areas. In Finland, the forest<br />
industry is focused on WIMAX,<br />
which is a wireless network standard<br />
with broadband capacity,<br />
while in Sweden a mobile broadband<br />
network is being established<br />
based on a development of<br />
the American CDMA 2000 technology<br />
called CDMA 450. Satellite<br />
techniques provide great coverage,<br />
but limited transmission<br />
capacity and a high price, and at<br />
present there’s little to indicate<br />
this will change. r<br />
JUST FOREST NO 4 • 2007 31
Popular website<br />
Visitors seem to appreciate<br />
<strong>Komatsu</strong> <strong>Forest</strong>’s<br />
website. Information<br />
about <strong>Komatsu</strong> <strong>Forest</strong><br />
products and, above all<br />
else, the product videos<br />
are the most popular<br />
content. This is seen in<br />
a sneak preview of the<br />
web survey conducted<br />
this fall.<br />
32 JUST FOREST NO 4 • 2007<br />
Throughout the fall, <strong>Komatsu</strong><br />
<strong>Forest</strong> has conducted<br />
a web survey to see<br />
what visitors think about the<br />
website. What’s good and what<br />
could be made better. To help us<br />
make the website as good and as<br />
interesting as possible for all our<br />
visitors.<br />
The survey was conducted<br />
over the Internet and all visitors<br />
were invited to participate.<br />
At the time of writing, the survey<br />
results were not fully analyzed,<br />
though some clear trends could<br />
already be seen in the prelimi-<br />
nary results. One is that many<br />
visitors are involved in the forest<br />
industry and visit the website in<br />
their work. Many visitors return<br />
to the site several times a week<br />
and most seem to find the<br />
information they seek. The most<br />
popular information is general<br />
information about <strong>Komatsu</strong> <strong>Forest</strong><br />
and our products, while the<br />
product videos are of particular<br />
interest. The overall rating of the<br />
website would seem to be good<br />
or possibly even very good.<br />
More than half of the visitors<br />
also visit the campaign site. r<br />
Videos about Happy Loggers<br />
Videos showing machines at work and satisfied customers explaining why they chose Valmet. There’s<br />
something for everyone at <strong>Komatsu</strong> <strong>Forest</strong>’s Internet campaign site.<br />
Wedding photo<br />
W hen<br />
you get married, you<br />
want to have a wonderful<br />
day and a beautiful photo album to<br />
treasure.<br />
If you work for a Valmet dealer,<br />
there’s no doubt about how you<br />
want to remember the day. When<br />
Dutch mechanic Hendrie van Ee<br />
tied the knot on September 28, he<br />
wanted a shiny red Valmet 830.3<br />
in the picture.<br />
“Quality comes in red” bodes<br />
well for a happy marriage r<br />
The campaign site has<br />
information of great<br />
interest to customers<br />
and other interested parties. Video<br />
interviews with thirteen customers<br />
from around the world in<br />
which they tell us what they think<br />
about their machines, covering<br />
productivity, safety, ergonomics,<br />
quality, and much more.<br />
You can even watch videos of<br />
machines at work to get an idea<br />
of how they operate. Then there’s<br />
information about <strong>Komatsu</strong> <strong>Forest</strong><br />
the company, explaining what<br />
is important to us and presenting<br />
our corporate values.<br />
You can download images and<br />
ringtones or try your hand at different<br />
games.<br />
The campaign site is accessed<br />
from the homepage of <strong>Komatsu</strong><br />
<strong>Forest</strong>’s international website,<br />
www.komatsuforest.com. r
ANECDOTAL<br />
Under this heading, Just <strong>Forest</strong> will print anecdotes and stories from then and now. The editor will be happy<br />
to receive ideas for publication. Send your tips or stories to info.se@komatsuforest.com.<br />
ProTec for trucks<br />
THERE ARE COUNTLESS applications for Valmet’s ProTec hose protection system. The Swedish<br />
company Nora Buss has bought ProTec for one of its trucks used to transport forest residues<br />
and Jan Pettersson is more than satisfied with his investment.<br />
“This will soon pay for itself,” says Jan. “Before, we were averaging one hose breakage a<br />
week. Since fitting ProTec, we haven’t had a single breakage. What’s more, both the link and the<br />
rotator will last much longer as there’s no bending when we press down on the residue load.”<br />
An enjoyable day at work<br />
IN ALL JOBS lunch is something to look forward to. Most-<br />
ly because it gives you a chance to take a break, recharge<br />
your batteries, and perhaps enjoy a good conversation. In<br />
Scandinavia, it often involves a box lunch in a forest hut,<br />
the cab of your machine, or – in the summer – in the open<br />
air. In Germany, people often visit the nearest “Gasthaus”.<br />
In France, they’ve more than mastered the art of making<br />
the most of lunch, as Just <strong>Forest</strong> can report after an<br />
assignment there. The forest workers all meet in a local<br />
restaurant. There’s often a set menu – with as many as five<br />
courses and wine to enjoy. It’s not unusual to be served<br />
delicious duck and a cheeseboard that takes some beating.<br />
After such a meal, productivity simply has to improve. r<br />
JUST FOREST NO 4 • 2007 33
Forwarders<br />
830<br />
Harvesters<br />
941<br />
901<br />
911<br />
Harvester heads<br />
34 JUST FOREST NO 4 • 2007<br />
840<br />
840<br />
901<br />
911 X3M<br />
415 EX<br />
860<br />
860<br />
425<br />
425<br />
890<br />
890<br />
EX10<br />
Not all products are available in all markets<br />
425 EX/425 EXL<br />
Non-leveling/Leveling<br />
445 FXL<br />
Leveling<br />
475 EX/475 FXL<br />
Non-leveling/Leveling<br />
330 350 360 370 370E<br />
378<br />
380 385
More<br />
information<br />
about the<br />
product line<br />
Maxi<br />
Fellers<br />
Felling head<br />
Model 233<br />
415 EX<br />
425 EX/425 EXL<br />
Non-leveling/Leveling<br />
445 FXL<br />
Leveling<br />
475 EX/475 FXL<br />
Non-leveling/Leveling<br />
komatsuforest.com<br />
603<br />
PC-attachment<br />
CONTACT US<br />
PRODUCTION UNITS<br />
<strong>Komatsu</strong> <strong>Forest</strong> AB<br />
Phone: +46 90 70 93 00<br />
www.komatsuforest.com<br />
DISTRIBUTION CENTERS, SALES CENTERS<br />
AND DEALERS<br />
EUROPE<br />
AUSTRIA<br />
Karner und Berger GmbH<br />
www.valmet.at<br />
Phone: +43 2769 84571<br />
BELGIUM<br />
BIA n.v./s.a.<br />
Phone +32 (0)2 689 28 11<br />
E-mail: info@bia.be<br />
CROATIA<br />
Iverak d.o.o.<br />
www.iverak.hr<br />
Phone: +385 1 291 0399<br />
CZECH REPUBLIC<br />
<strong>Komatsu</strong> <strong>Forest</strong> GmbH<br />
www.komatsuforest.cz<br />
Phone: +420 2 7270 1438<br />
DENMARK<br />
Helms TMT Centret AS<br />
www.helmstmt.com<br />
Phone: +45 9928 2930<br />
ESTONIA<br />
Balti Metsamasina AS<br />
www.komatsuforest.com<br />
Phone: +372 322 3630<br />
FINLAND<br />
<strong>Komatsu</strong> <strong>Forest</strong> Oy<br />
www.komatsuforest.fi<br />
Phone: +358 20 770 1300<br />
FRANCE<br />
France South:<br />
CEMA<br />
Phone: +33 555 930 222<br />
NORTH AMERICA<br />
SOUTH AMERICA<br />
<strong>Komatsu</strong> <strong>Forest</strong> LLC<br />
Phone: +1 715 524 2820<br />
www.komatsuforest.com<br />
UNITED STATES<br />
<strong>Komatsu</strong> <strong>Forest</strong><br />
North American Marketing<br />
Green Bay, WI<br />
www.komatsuforest.com<br />
Phone: +1 920 593 3000<br />
info.us@komatsuforest.com<br />
BRAZIL<br />
<strong>Komatsu</strong> <strong>Forest</strong> Ltda.<br />
www.komatsuforest.com<br />
Phone: +55 41 2102 2828<br />
OCEANIA AND OTHER MARKETS<br />
AUSTRALIA<br />
<strong>Komatsu</strong> <strong>Forest</strong> Pty Ltd<br />
www.komatsu.au<br />
Phone: +61 2 9647 3600<br />
NEW ZEALAND<br />
<strong>Komatsu</strong> NZ<br />
www.komatsu.au<br />
+(64)-9-277-8300<br />
France North:<br />
MAT FOR<br />
Phone: +33 388 385 444<br />
GERMANY<br />
<strong>Komatsu</strong> <strong>Forest</strong> GmbH<br />
www.komatsuforest.de<br />
Phone: +49 74549 6020<br />
HUNGARY<br />
Kuhn Kft.<br />
www.kuhn.hu<br />
Phone: +36 128 980 80<br />
LATVIA<br />
Valmet Lat<br />
www.komatsuforest.fi<br />
Phone: +371 750 1357<br />
LITHUANIA<br />
Lifore Ltd<br />
www.komatsuforest.fi<br />
Phone: +370 5 2602 061<br />
NETHERLANDS<br />
W. van den Brink<br />
www.lmbbrink.nl<br />
Phone: +31 3184 56 228<br />
NORWAY<br />
<strong>Komatsu</strong> <strong>Forest</strong> A/S<br />
www.komatsuforest.no<br />
Phone: +47 62 57 8800<br />
POLAND<br />
Arcon Serwis SP.ZO.O.<br />
www.arconserwis.pl<br />
Phone +48 22 648 08 10<br />
CHILE<br />
<strong>Komatsu</strong> Chile S.A.<br />
www.kch.cl<br />
Phone: +56 419 253 01<br />
SOUTHEAST ASIA<br />
<strong>Komatsu</strong> <strong>Forest</strong> Pty Ltd<br />
www.komatsuforest.com<br />
Phone: +61 2 9647 3600<br />
INDONESIA<br />
PT United Tractors Tbk<br />
www.unitedtractors.com<br />
Phone: +62 21 460 5959<br />
PORTUGAL<br />
Cimertex, S.A.<br />
Phone: +351 22 091 26 00<br />
RUSSIA<br />
<strong>Komatsu</strong> <strong>Forest</strong> Oy<br />
www.komatsuforest.fi<br />
Phone: +7 095 258 1428<br />
SLOVAKIA<br />
<strong>Komatsu</strong> <strong>Forest</strong><br />
www.komatsuforest.cz<br />
Phone: +420 2 7270 1438<br />
SPAIN<br />
Hitraf S.A.<br />
www.hitraf.com<br />
Phone: + 34 986 59 29 10<br />
SWEDEN<br />
SweLog Skogsmaskiner HB<br />
www.sweloghb.com<br />
Phone: +46 171 41 67 70<br />
SWITZERLAND<br />
W Mahler AG<br />
www.wmahler.ch<br />
Phone: +41 44 763 5090<br />
UNITED KINGDOM<br />
<strong>Komatsu</strong> <strong>Forest</strong> Ltd<br />
www.komatsuforest.com<br />
Phone: +44 1228 792 018<br />
CANADA<br />
<strong>Komatsu</strong> <strong>Forest</strong><br />
North American Marketing<br />
Green Bay, WI<br />
www.komatsuforest.com<br />
Phone: +1 920 593 3000<br />
info.us@komatsuforest.com<br />
To find your local dealer/sales representative.<br />
Go to www.komatsuforest.com<br />
SOUTH AFRICA<br />
<strong>Komatsu</strong> Southern Africa<br />
Ltd<br />
www.komatsu.au<br />
Phone: +27 11 923 1110<br />
JUST FOREST NO 4 • 2007 35
Change of address<br />
Is your magazine delivered to the wrong address? Please contact your nearest sales office.<br />
Products and knowledge to optimize your profi tability<br />
The right knowledge, products, and prices, spanning everything from greases to engine and<br />
hydraulic oils. That’s the core content of our broad range of high quality lubricants. For you, this<br />
means maximum security and simplicity. You know that everything’s been carefully chosen and<br />
tested. You know that our technicians and service centers are always close at hand. And we take<br />
care of your machine so as to optimize both service life and performance. And profi tability.<br />
As a Valmet owner, you’re in good hands. Not only do you have one of the market’s most high performance machines, you also<br />
have, in very real terms, an entire forestry machine group to back you up. Read more about ProSelect on our website.<br />
The product offering may vary between markets.<br />
<strong>Komatsu</strong> <strong>Forest</strong> AB<br />
Box 7124,<br />
SE-907 04 Umeå<br />
Sweden