Post: TimberPro and SP Harvesting Equipment Demo Impresses

October 29, 2024

TimberPro and SP Harvesting Equipment Demo Impresses

A forwarder carrying a 20-ton plus load of pine logs down a 50% slope drew gasps from a group of experienced foresters and harvesting contractors attending a field day in the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) midlands recently.

When the highly skilled and experienced forwarder operator, Enoch Mthembu, stepped out of the vehicle, having safely brought the load to the roadside at the bottom of the slope, the foresters and contractors in attendance spontaneously applauded. Enoch was clearly surprised by this reaction, as working in such steep terrain is all in a day’s work for him.

The forwarder was a TimberPro TF 840D, distributed and supported in South Africa by Zululand-based Logmech. The occasion was a field day hosted by Logmech on Sappi’s Clan plantation in the KZN midlands, the highlight of which was this demonstration of the TimberPro forwarder’s supreme power and balance.

Sappi Clan is located on the edge of the Karkloof escarpment with many steep slopes, providing the mechanised harvesting team with plenty of challenges. It also provided an ideal location for Logmech to demonstrate the flagship logging equipment in their stable: the TimberPro forwarders and harvesters, SP Maskiner heads, and their own Logmech grabs.

The first stop was the TimberPro forwarder doing its thing on a ridiculously steep slope that did not look do-able. However, with around 20 to 22 tonnes of pine logs on board, the forwarder handled it easily with experienced operator Enoch at the controls. A set of chains on the bunk wheels provided extra traction.

This demo should come with a cautionary advisory: don’t try this unless you have a machine like the TimberPro and an operator with the skill and experience of Enoch!

Next was a demo by a tracked, levelling, purpose-built TimberPro harvester TL 725D, equipped with a big SP 761LF head. It operated efficiently on a steepish slope, felling, de-limbing and cross-cutting some pretty big pine trees quickly and precisely.

Then, it was on to a flatter compartment where the SP 591LX, attached to a Hitachi excavator, was put through its paces. As Anders Gannerud of Swedish manufacturers SP explained, the 591LX is the head that put them on the map.

Foresters and contractors at the field day give the TimberPro forwarder the once-over. Note the wide bunk giving the forwarder a low centre of gravity, maximising stability.

Vergelegen plants trees for tomorrow Vergelegen Wine Estate, a Western Cape heritage site in Somerset West, is renowned for multiple sustainability initiatives, and during Arbor Week, staff from all divisions, from pastry chefs to vineyard workers, gathered to plant 200 trees.

It was developed closely with the Logmech team over many years and perfectly adapted to southern African conditions. Logmech has sold 140 SP heads in Southern Africa.