In this series of articles, we will be sharing exclusive coverage from KWF Tagung 2024. 

BEING demonstrated on the Portable Winch stand was the new PCW4500 two-stroke winch. Visitors gathered to watch it pull a log out of the woods, with a battery-powered winch sending it back in.

Portable Winch’s CEO Pierre Roy said: “A two-stroke engine is something new for us. Until now we’ve been using Honda engines and of course we have a battery remodel, but the two-stroke is something people requested because they want to use the same fuel as in their chainsaws, which makes things easier for them.

“With a two-stroke you need a really good engine. You want something that you know will start when you get to the forest. In the past there have been winches produced with engines that are not of a professional standard and it’s a problem.

The Portable Winch impressed The Portable Winch impressed (Image: FJ/JH)

“We chose a CER500W engine from Maruyama, a 100-year-old Japanese company that’s not very well known here in Germany, but is quite popular France and Italy, with distribution in North America and Central America. It makes professional equipment and guarantees the engine for five years, which is a quite amazing in the engine world, especially for a two-stroke motor.

“So we have a new engine that’s easy to start and starts every time on the first pull. It behaves almost like the Hondas we have. One of the reasons we chose Honda in the first place was because it’s easy to start and you can rely on it, and this is in the same class.

"The other factor is that with a 50cc engine we get from the two-stroke 20 per cent more power, going from 1,000 kilo for our other winches to 1,200 kilos, so it gives it a little bit more oomph.” 

Head to our YouTube channel to watch a full version of this interview, which will be published in the coming weeks.