The Malwa Forwarder's First Job

The first job we tackled with the Malwa was part of a thinning program on an estate in central Scotland.  The wood pictured was a mixed Sycamore and Larch plantation on undulating ground with rocky outcrops.  We were removing the majority of the Larch, which was of poor form, and lightly thinning the Sycamore.  We removed just over 200 tonnes, stacking along the side of a farm road, from the road, as we could not get along the back of the stacks due to remaining trees.

The Malwa performed incredibly well, the improvement on a tractor-trailer combination being like night and day.  It is very nimble, making it possible to nip in and out of the wood quickly and maneuver around the stand with ease.  With short extraction distances 3 loads an hour is not out of the question.  The crane is also hugely productive due to its speed and accuracy.  Finally, the operator environment is very good, meaning long days are not a problem, it is quiet and comfortable with all controls at your fingertips.  Also, the working lights are so good that during those days where the sun remains low in the sky, and so is always in your eyes, you look forward to it getting dark as your visibility improves.

As you can see from the pictures the machine barely left a mark on the ground, whether in the wood or at the access point where we were coming on and off the farm road.  This is despite a reasonable amount of rain while we were working and very little in the way of a brash mat to run on.  Where larger, 8 wheeled machines would damage a gravel road turning on and off it the Malwa barely left a mark.  

Below are some pictures taken with the last load of timber to be extracted.

The Malwa 560 forwarder loaded with Sycamore thinnings for firewood

Nipping between the trees it is difficult to see the extraction route

One of two main extraction routes

The second main extraction route with barely a mark left

An overview of our access into the wood showing how little impact the Malwa makes

The access onto the farm road showing the complete lack of damage to the edge of the road, despite having brought over 50 loads out of the wood