HIGH PROFILE
The 890.3 forwarder at Expoforest 2011 in Brazil
Southern Hemisphere Eucalyptus is a booming market The 860 forwarder
I went from a position in Norway where it was about - 37° to a job in Brazil where it was close to 37° on the right side of zero so it was a pretty easy decision for me to stay
the country but that visit really enforced the fact that mechanisation was lacking and so was the competition. Today, the situation has changed a great deal but there are still operations using very old equipment – chain saws etc. The big companies have really good machines that are high-tech and industry leading designs from Sweden and Finland but down the road a small company might still be using chain saws. The market is so extremely big here that you still get all kinds of different operations.
At the moment, things are expanding very, very fast. Pulpmills are popping up everywhere – right now I can think of three really big pulp mills that are being built. These mills are big because the biggest pulp company in the world is placing a lot of emphasis on increasing its footprint in Brazil.
IFI: How does the focus on eucalyptus change harvesting equipment and techniques when compared to traditional Northern Hemisphere species like spruce and pine? RA: There is a huge difference. We actually say sometimes that eucalyptus is no longer forestry but is more farming because of the time it takes to grow. Today, we could harvest a eucalyptus stand that was planted only six years ago – in six years it’s full grown. I have been to the same clear cutting site four times since being here.
The other major difference between the way Brazil operates and Northern Hemisphere countries generally operate is that the big companies have their own machines. In Sweden most of the companies I worked with had two or three machines. If there were six machines it was a big company. In Brazil, one company might have 200 machines. The last big deal we made with a large plant was for 153 units and on average we’ll sell 25 to 30 new machines to these big guys each year.
IFI: What about trade-ins? RA: It’s very rare that we trade in machines because the quantities are so big. These older machines have also been running for 25,000 to 30,000 hours each so there’s really not much you can do with them besides send them onto the scrapyard. So companies will normally sell old machines to private clients through an auction process.
IFI: Any other differences? RA: In Europe we work with contractors everywhere who negotiate with the forest companies and get the job that way. Here, the
Komatsu Forest probably has 200 to 300 mechanics working on taking care of Komatsu machines sold to the big companies – that’s all they do
biggest companies own all their own machines and employ all their own operators to run those machines in plantations that they also own. The only external contract is with the machine supplier for servicing and maintenance. Around my local region, Komatsu Forest probably has 200 to 300 mechanics working on taking care of Komatsu machines sold to the big companies – that’s all they do.
IFI: What are the technical differences on harvesting machines that are
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2011 | International Forest Industries 49
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