The demand for biomass has grown substantially in recent years and shows no sign of stopping any time soon. In this month’s Buyer’s Guide, Forestry Journal looks at some of the machinery currently on the market which can help you produce uniform, high-quality chips.

JAS P WILSON
BOTEX XL PRO 14 TRAILER WITH 570 LOADER

Forestry Journal:

WHETHER you’re working in forestry, firewood, arboriculture or site management, when it comes to timber handling and the process of either extraction or processing, Botex machinery, a mainstay of the British and Irish forestry sector, has a number of solutions.

Its UK-manufactured heavy-duty forestry trailers and loaders provide a comprehensive range which has expanded in recent years to include several models that are themselves expandable. These units have a rear bolster section which can pull out to increase bed length when needed.

The XL–PRO 14 is the best-selling model of the range, building on decades of success and popularity of their fixed-length units. This model packs in all the well-known strengths as before, with several new features which have seen it steadily rise in popularity to number one in the range.

The XL–PRO 14 is ideal for owners who carry out a mix of extraction duties and road haulage, as the adjustable bed-length adapts to suit the job. Working in the woods? Keep it closed in to allow the same manoeuvrability when traversing the woodland as a fixed unit, using the steering drawbar on the trailer to access small pockets of woodland, urban sites and narrow-access locations.

Or carrying out road work or secondary forwarding? Get the extension pulled out, and comfortably carry two full bays of 3-metre timber! A perfect set-up for biomass lengths, and one of the key factors behind many customers moving into an extendable unit, literally halving the number of journeys required on most fixed-length trailers.

The ability to further adapt these trailers to suit your exact requirements is there; Botex offers various loader options and loader controls. Whether you’d like a fully electric mini-lever set-up, a Scanreco radio remote control or the traditional hydraulic control, the options are all available to you. The roof-mount option is ideal for those who have other applications for the loader. The tractor loader unit could work free of the trailer, running PTO implements such as feeding chippers, running processors or even to access sites where a trailer wouldn’t fit.

Together, these options allow you to tailor your Botex package to suit your business.

The Jas P Wilson team is always on hand to discuss options, including sourcing base tractors, forestry guarding and more – call 01556 612233 and ask for Ian Brown for full details.

www.jaspwilson.co.uk.

GLOBAL RECYCLING SOLUTIONS
THE BEAST, BANDIT

Forestry Journal:

IN 1983, the very first Bandit chipper was built in a 6,000 square-foot converted repair shop, with the assistance of just six employees. Fast-forward to the present day and Bandit’s complete product line offers more than 50 different machines to choose from, each including the reliability, durability, efficiency and production that have made Bandit hand-fed chippers world-famous.

The Beast horizontal grinder range consists of six models and represents the largest of the Bandit line. The Beast 2680 has a strong presence in the UK and it’s not hard to see why this machine is called ‘the showstopper’.

The Beast has gained a global fanbase, being in demand in 56 countries. Serving mulch and biomass needs by processing everything from switch grass to brush, trees and wood chips, the Beast is also used to recycle a number of difficult-to-process materials. The unique set-up and design have secured this machine’s place in the recycling world by ensuring every run produces top-of-the-range, high-quality product.

The Beast horizontal grinders are able to process an amazing array of materials, turning them into valuable products. These horizontal grinders process stumps, logs, brush, wet leaves, whole trees, landscape waste, pallets, railroad ties, telephone poles, sawmill waste, stubborn chunk wood, chip-mill and paper-mill waste, agricultural waste such as hay and straw, shingles, plastics and more.

With the growth in the biomass sector over recent years, producers have been searching for a machine that can offer not only reliability in running but also reliability in product production and control. The Beast has been the machine of choice for many as it produces a wide range of high-quality, screened ground material and woodchips for virtually any fuelwood market. This includes direct-fire boilers, co-fire boilers with coal, and microchips for wood pellet production.

As well as successfully clearing forest residue, the Beast is also known for turning green waste, sawmill, pallet and logging residues into mulch. It absolutely dominates all other machines in these markets. The patented cutter mill cuts, splits and chips material apart, creating a more uniform, higher-value mulch product. A range of tooth and screen options allow companies to make different types of mulch for different markets, whether performing multiple grinds or producing a top-quality mulch in a single pass.

The tailoring of tooth and screen options for each individual customer offers a bespoke service where the machine can be set up as if it had been custom made for the desired end product.

The key to the Beast’s success is its unique cutter mill. Using a spiral pattern with a series of teeth, cutter bodies and rakers, the cutter mill processes material using a cutting/splitting action versus other recyclers that attempt to bash material through hammering and grinding.

The mill in most rival horizontal grinders turns in an upward direction. The cutter mill in the Beast turns in a downward direction to work with the flow of material and gravity. The downward cutting action is more aggressive and much less likely to discharge material back through the infeed.

If you would like to witness the incredible power of the Beast range for yourself, Global Recycling Solutions have a Beast 2680T available for demo, with Kesla loading crane. This exclusive crane version is the only one in the UK.

For further information, contact the Global Recycling Solutions sales office on 01476 568384, option 1, or visit www.globalrecycling.eu.

FUELWOOD
HEIZOHACK RANGE

Forestry Journal:

Heizomat is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of machinery and accessories within the biomass sector. To achieve the uniform quality chips desired for its own woodchip boilers, it developed its own unique woodchippers – Heizohack.

Heizohack chippers are widely regarded as the woodchipper that produces the best-quality biomass-grade woodchip on the market. Interchangeable sieves surround the chipping drum and determine the size and, therefore, the grade of the chip produced. Smaller inexpensive blades, control of the speed timber is fed to the chipping drum, control of the speed of the drum itself, and on the larger models, depth gauges to control how big a ‘bite’ the blades can take out of the timber, all make controlling the size and quality of the chip produced achievable.

Large flywheels on all Heizohack chippers generate momentum within the machine, meaning that they do not require a lot of horsepower to run them. The smallest chipper in the range has an impressive 12-inch-diameter capacity, and only requires 70 horsepower, meaning capital outlay and fuel consumption are kept to a minimum.

Heizohack chippers also have an impressive appetite. The larger models in the range are capable of producing in excess of 50 tonnes of perfect-grade biomass woodchip per hour.

All Heizohack chippers have letterbox-type infeed openings with aggressive top and bottom infeed rollers. This means that they are all capable of processing twisted timber, and taking in brash. The ability to process virtually any timber, coupled with their simple, mechanical, tank-like build quality and the vast range of machines, has made Heizohack chippers a firm favourite amongst biomass contractors producing chip to sell, boiler owners who wish to produce chip for their own use, site-clearance contractors and tree surgeons alike – as there is a model of Heizohack chipper to suit every requirement.

Fuelwood (Warwick) Ltd is the authorised UK importer, stockist and service provider for Heizohack chippers as well as other brands of forestry machinery, including the GROS range of woodchip blowers and trough augers. This range of blowers makes transferring chip into a chip store fast and effortless.

With chippers from across the range always available in stock, finance solutions, comprehensive spare parts inventory and a fleet of service engineers, Fuelwood offers the reliable, hassle-free solution to purchasing and owning biomass machinery.

For further information or to discuss your requirements, visit www.fuelwood.co.uk or call 01926 484673.

MULTI-LOG
EAZI-PAK FIREWOOD BAGGING MACHINE

Forestry Journal:

THE last 10 months have been tough for the UK population. Economic, travel and holiday restrictions have ensured that families have for the most part been at home. Firewood sales have rocketed as a fire is seen as a comfort that people can share.

Historically, logs sold in nets are expensive and are generally bought from service stations charging extortionate prices, bought by very occasional fire burners. This is now changing as more firewood suppliers are tapping into this very lucrative market.

So, how do you calculate the potential profit in a net of logs? In the local service station in Dalbeattie, logs are now sold in plastic bags containing even less wood than the previously sold 60 x 45 nets at £7.49 each. These short, stumpy logs are specifically designed to attract the occasional fire burner who in the main has plenty of disposable income and does not give too much thought to the cost of buying the odd couple of nets.

Smart producers have realised that these customers can be targeted along with those who would maybe have less to spend normally but have more available during lockdown. The next few months are the ideal time to introduce convenient net bags to this market at sensible retail prices.

The fact that most garages sell softwood has to give the hardwood retailer a major advantage. It is quite ironic to see that garages are selling mainly softwood nets in areas of the country where historically it has been difficult to sell bulk loads of softwood. This point alone surely confirms that the market for retail logs in nets is there.

Since the Eazi-Pak was launched 16 months ago, many purchasers have used the machine to quickly and economically produce netted logs using existing staff and family in any available time to do so or staff specifically employed to use the machine in consistent shifts.

The single-phase electronically powered Eazi-Pak requires minimal effort to operate and as there are no noise issues it allows normal conversations between operators.

The Eazi-Pak can also be used to fill builders’ bags of logs. With prices starting at only £12,500 + VAT, the machine is already being used by businesses large and small.

For more information, contact John Wilson on 07730 581291, sales@multi-log.co.uk or visit www.multi-log.co.uk.

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