Mack Trucks gives us tips to achieve better performance and longer life from our batteries.

It is not only very cold weather which shortens the life of a battery. Even though spring's warmer temperatures may amplify battery capacity, making it easier for your engine to turn over, it also increases the rate at which your batteries deteriorate. That's because warmer temperatures encourage corrosion and lead sulfate to build up on the grids and electrodes. This, in turn, can interfere with charging, eventually leading to battery failure.

But that's not the only problem. Electronic parasites can also drain a battery to discharge. Whether it's a TV, microwave or laptop charger left running too long, or a telematics system pulling 24/7 from an already weakened battery bank, parasitic loads deplete reserve capacity, putting you at real risk for unexpected battery failure and costly downtime. Mack recommends following this simple five-step plan to help prevent excessive discharge, and keep your batteries running strong all spring and summer:

• Unplug your electronics - Even when they're not in use, cell phone chargers, coffee makers, lights and such can still pull a few milliamps of current from your batteries as long as they're plugged in. Over time, this can drain a battery of its charge. So be sure to turn off and unplug all electronics to reserve power.
• Keep your cool - Higher temperatures accelerate corrosion and sulfation. But you can extend battery life by parking in shaded or covered areas whenever possible.
• Move more - Electronic accessories and systems within your truck draw power 24/7. The longer your truck is parked, the fewer opportunities your batteries have to recharge. Keep moving to minimize the effects of parasitic loads.
• Stay charged - Deep cycling speeds the rate at which batteries deteriorate, eliminating hundreds of normal starting cycles or even causing immediate failure. Make sure you've got the right sized alternator installed in your truck to help keep your batteries in a fully charged state.
• Upgrade to AGM - Absorbent Glass Mat (AGM) batteries require less maintenance, and are designed to handle extreme heat and high parasitic loads better than conventional flooded batteries. They also have low internal resistance, which allows them to recharge more quickly.

Regular inspections and testing are critical for maximum battery longevity. Source

It is designed for the heaviest of machinery and the most difficult terrain in forestry, earthmoving and road construction.

The ground-breaking tyre has new features ranging from an all-new tread pattern to a fortified carcass. The demands set for an ultimate tractor tyre have become difficult to meet since machine weights, horsepower and road speeds have all increased. For safe and sustainable forestry, earthmoving and road construction, Nokian Tyres present the new Nokian Tractor King.

Nokian Tractor King is new from surface to core. It essentially has the carcass of a heavy-duty earthmoving tyre, complete with steel belts, extra cord layers and Aramid-reinforced sidewalls. This combined with a strong rubber compound makes it extremely resistant against cuts and punctures of forestry, earthmoving and road construction work.

Many lugged tyres suffer from vibration problems, worsening with speed and tyre wear. Nokian Tractor King offers a smooth ride, even at high speeds. Its durability, wear-resistance and environmentally friendly production process make it a sustainable choice for modern forestry. Some of the main features are as follows:

• 50% more tractive edges compared to conventional lug pattern. The new tread pattern gives grip on all terrains from sticky clay to loose sand.
• A maximum speed of 65 km/h
• Economical kilometres. The new wear-resistant tread design provides for comfortable, cost-efficient mileage.
• A high load capacity of 320 kPa.
• Durability for tough conditions. A core and sidewall design for good puncture-resistance.

Source

The partnership is to extend its grapple and grapple saw portfolio in Australia and New Zealand.

Waratah Forestry Equipment and Hultdins have formed a distribution partnership to offer an extended product line of grapples and grapple saws to Waratah customers in Australia and New Zealand. The Waratah-branded grapples and grapple saws are a result of customer demand and will become available for purchase in June.

Hultdins, which is based in Mala, Sweden, is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of attachment product lines and has been developing and engineering products for more than 90 years with tens of thousands of its products being used in the forest every day. Over the course of their 40-year history, Waratah has developed a reputation for good aftermarket technical support and parts systems. The addition of these new lines now provides loggers in Australia and New Zealand with assurance of quality grapple products and confidence that Waratah have them covered in aftersales. As part of this partnership, Waratah staff has received training on the grapple lines with the recent arrival of the first range of grapple inventory and wide range of spare parts. Source 

Proven design technology with added features for versatility for a high-production chipper.

The 50 / 48X was updated to a similar design layout as Morbark’s other industrial drum chippers with a sloped infeed, reverse-pivot top feed wheel, bottom feed wheel, externally adjustable anvil and Advantage 3 drum assembly that can come as 10-knives for fuel chip or 20-knives for micro-chip applications.

One of the design aims was making it easier for customers to perform routine daily maintenance. This focus resulted in the development of:

• A hydraulic hinged door and hood locking system to provide quick access to the drum during knife change intervals.
• Large work platforms on both sides for easier and safer drum inspections.
• A consolidated area for oil and hydraulic filters, easily accessible from the ground or maintenance platform.
• An independent drum drive tensioning system for ease of adjustment.
• An increased area between the engine and chipper base for easy access during general engine inspection and belly band removal.

Other improvements focused on performance and production. The top feed wheel was enlarged more than 15% to 40″ (101.6 cm), and the hydraulic system now includes a direct drive Poclain motor for the top and bottom feed wheel that eliminates previous chain and sprocket drives and provides more torque. The 50 / 48X can be equipped with a Caterpillar C27, 1,050 hp (783 kW) engine or Caterpillar C32, 1200 hp (895 kW) engine, both Tier 4 Final. The PT Tech HPTO15 hydraulic clutch is now standard, which allows flexibility across a wide range of chip sizes. Source  

It is smaller and lighter than the previous model, but still has impressive performance.

The 3310B can operate on tighter landings for biomass and land clearing operations. It has a 270-degree rotating discharge spout which provides for flexible operations. With a 540 hp (402 kW) Tier III or Tier IV Caterpillar engine, the 3310B has the power to handle up to 24-inch (61 cm) diameter logs. With large access doors on both sides of the machine for serviceability, the fully enclosed engine compartment keeps things clean.

The 3310B’s transverse design allows for a much smaller operations deck, providing flexible production configurations in diverse terrain. With 230-degrees of rotation, the end-load or optional top-load spout design allows trailers to be loaded in a variety of positions, depending on the demands of the job site.

Using the drum and knife design from the larger 4300 series drum chippers, the 3310B’s main components are robust and offer long life. The 3310B is available with a four-pocket drum for typical biomass chips, or an eight-pocket drum for microchipping applications. The chips exit the machine from an innovative auger system which feeds an accelerator to increase payload density.

The 3310B is available with an optional powered feed deck, allowing for shorter stems and tops. Both the powered- and standard fixed feed deck can be stowed for transportation purposes. It is also Peterson+ enabled, which is a new remote monitoring solution providing machine owners access to real-time and historical data of their machine’s performance and location. Source 

Waratah Forestry Equipment announces new leadership for North American market

Waratah Forestry Equipment has appointed Elliott Little to the position of Manager of North American Waratah Distribution. As part of his new role, Little will be responsible for managing the North American Waratah business and leading distribution teams in the United States and Canada. Little started his career working for a Canadian forest products company and from there he joined John Deere. He then held the position of Manager of the Commercial Development for the western U.S. & Hitachi and Manager of Discount & Incentive Programs for John Deere Construction & Forestry. Little’s most recent role was Division Manager of Customer Support for John Deere Construction and Forestry’s southeastern U.S. division. Source

JCB announces an investment of more than £50 million in a new British plant

The new plant will create hundreds of jobs and double production of cabs used on its machines. The hi-tech factory will have the capacity to produce around 100,000 cabs a year. It will include a computer-controlled production line, fully-automated painting facility and robotic welding and will create more than 200 new jobs by 2022. Source

13 - 15 September 2018 - Pacific Logging Live In-Woods Conference - Corvallis, Oregon, USA.  https://www.pacificloggingcongress.org/in-the-woods-show         NEW!

23 - 26 July 2019 - Third Africa Forest Industry Investment Conference and Field Trip - Durban, South Africa.  For more information, contact admin@dana.co.nz      NEW!

To see the full list of conferences and exhibitions, please click on "Events" in the menu at the top of the page.