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HI-TECH FORESTRY EQUIPMENT TESTS UNDERWAY THROUGH AAES
GEORGIANA, Ala.__--It bounds through the forest on over-inflated tires,
lifting itself hydraulically over stumps and underbrush. Its high speed
harvesting-head dangles from one long tentacle.
Though it sounds like something from the set of the latest James Bond
movie, "it" is a Finnish timber harvesting system that is
being tested by the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station for use
in Southern forests.
The Norcar 600H harvester and 490 forwarder, manufactured by the Finnish
company Ab Norcar Oy, represent the latest in high technology forest
harvesting equipment. Equipped with an insulated cab that could withstand
a falling tree, air conditioning, plush seating and stereophonic sound
system, the Norcar system is both safe and comfortable.
"The advantage of this system is that each tree is processed to
the appropriate lengths, as dictated by the timber market," according
Robert Tufts, associate professor of forestry at Auburn University.
He explained that length and diameter of each log is determined by electronic
sensors and an onboard computer. The operator presets cutting lengths
and diameters in advance, or manually selects the cutting location based
on the diameter and length of the stem as displayed on the computer
readout.
In tests conducted near here in cooperation with Ab Norcar Oy and Rocky
Creek Logging Company in Chapman, Auburn researchers found the Norcar
600 harvester costs about $110 per productive machine hour (PMH) to
operate and the 490 loader about $50 per PMH. At this rate for average
size pine trees, it would cost about $14 per cord for harvesting and
stacking. "This cost is comparable to the most efficient conventional
harvesting equipment now available," according to Dick Brinker,
an assistant professor of forestry at Auburn. The added advantage of
the Norcar 600 harvester and 490 loader is that the trees are already
cut and stacked into the most marketable size, so handling costs after
harvest are considerably less than for conventional equipment, according
to the Auburn researchers.
The Auburn research indicates that the Finnish equipment is safe, comfortable
and economical. However, several problems exist. Foremost is its high
price tag (about $400,000). The sophisticated control panel, which also
looks like something out of a James Bond movie, will require a much
higher level of operator training than conventional equipment, according
to the Auburn researchers.
"In our tests, the Norcar system was slightly more efficient in
clear cut versus thinning operations and in handling saw logs versus
pulpwood," Tufts noted. "Still, in either type operation,
the Norcar system proved comparable to any conventional equipment we
have tested. It appears that advantages outweigh disadvantages for these
machines, and the number of these harvesting systems operated by large
logging companies in the South is likely to increase," Tufts concluded.
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By:
Roy Roberson
5/9/90
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