Direct Drive drives logger to Deere

DMAG94F_Review
2/2/04
3:33 PM
Page 1
DKMAG94F_Review
MARCH 04
Direct Drive drives logger to Deere
New feller-buncher introduced...p/6
Processing head right idea...p/8
p/3
Happy birthday, dear John...p/10
C O V E R
S T O R Y
“I’m a forestry contractor
with a lot on my mind —
the weather, keeping a
steady workforce, and
maintaining my equipment. I don’t have the
time to become familiar
with all the financing
options* out there.”
When you want real
financial solutions.
There are many challenges in the forestry
industry, but financing shouldn’t be one of
them. That’s because John Deere Credit is
here to help. When you finance your new
Deere loaders, skidders,
and feller-bunchers
though John Deere
Credit**, you can acquire
your equipment with the
flexibility you need.
We understand the
forestry industry, so we
give you the option to set your retail note
with skip payments to meet your seasonal
cash flow needs**. We’ll also help you
work out contract terms and details to
fit your budget.
For credit solutions to your day-to-day
business needs, talk to John Deere Credit.
Put us to work for you and we’ll help build
your success, season after season. For
more information, call 1-800-468-8518 (US)
Dirt may be robbing you blind.
Dirt, gunk, crud, particulate contamination. Whatever you
want to call it, the stuff could be wreaking havoc on your
machinery and costing you big time.
Maybe that’s not earthshaking news, but the fact that
more than 90 percent of hydraulic system failures are caused
by contamination is.
A recent John Deere survey discovered contaminated
hydraulic systems cost contractors more than any other
machine maintenance problem. And what’s equally disturbing is that on machines with sophisticated, high-flow
systems, the amount of dirt doing the dirty deed wouldn’t
fill a bottle cap.
John Deere is looking at promising new solutions to help
prevent this vexing problem. For example, we’ve adopted a
filter caddy system that will clean fluids as they run through
the filtration unit and back into your equipment.
There is also a new technology called the Ultra-Clean
System that scours hydraulic systems by shooting a rapidfire projectile through hose and tube assemblies. The projectile strips out internal contamination as it travels through
couplings and around bends, forcing the contamination out
in front of it. So oil stays clean as it reaches expensive components, which extends system and filter life.
We can’t stress enough how important a vigilant fluid-analysis program is. Obviously, changing fluids and filters at recommended intervals is critical, too. You can count on Deere to be
your ally in the fight against productivity robbing dirt.
Sincerely,
or 1-800-520-0502 (Canada) and refer to
“real financial solutions.”
Mikko Rysa
Vice President, Worldwide Forestry Sales and Marketing
Arkansas logger focuses on an efficient operation and shaping the industry’s future
Allen Bedell, president of Circle B
Logging, Inc. in Fordyce, Arkansas., has
been working in the woods for 44 years
and running his own logging business
since 1973. In that time he’s seen the
industry change in many positive
ways. Improvement to the machinery
used in harvesting has increased speed
and efficiency, and made logging a
safer profession. Changes in practices
have made the industry more environmentally responsible and enabled
those who work in the industry to be
looked upon with higher esteem by
those both in and out of the logging
community.
Bedell’s company does contract
thinning, chipping the lower quality
wood for paper and sending the higher
quality timber, as whole logs, to an
OSB mill. He recently downsized his
operation from three crews to one,
and shaped that crew into a model
of efficiency.
“I enjoy being able to keep a close
eye on my work,” says Bedell. “I was
spending too much time in my truck
driving from one job to the next. Now
I can do a better job of making sure
our production is on target and we’re
working as efficiently as possible.
Running just one job is also a lot less
stressful.”
Bedell’s job is aided by a chipper
and a loader that runs stems through
a processor that delimbs and cuts to
length. Cutting is done with rubbertired machines equipped with fellercontinued on page 4
www.Construction.JohnDeereCredit.com (US)
www.Construction.JohnDeereCredit.ca (Canada)
* Consult your tax advisor.
**Subject to John Deere Credit approval.
3
Not all products sold at all locations.
C O V E R
S T O R Y
buncher heads. Two John Deere
648G-III Skidders with dual-arch
grapples transport the trees to
the landing and remove slash.
“We’re using a very highcapacity chipper,” says Bedell,
“so it’s important to get good
production from the skidder.
The 648Gs are definitely the
right machines for the job.”
Bedell points to the availability of a direct-drive transmission as a reason for choosing
John Deere. “The direct drive
allows the skidder to pull heavier loads, and it does so more
efficiently, using less fuel, and
without the higher maintenance costs associated with
torque-converter-type transmissions,” he says. “While this
transmission is a bit more difficult to operate, I’d have to say
that it is more ‘owner friendly.’
In today’s competitive market
we need to look at every way
possible to lower operating
costs. The direct-drive transmission is one.”
Another is choosing a dealer
or supplier. Bedell points out
that everything breaks once in
a while. His big concern is
getting it up and going again,
quickly. “The dealer is a very
influential factor in our equipment-purchasing decision,”
says Bedell. “We look for people who do what they say they
can do, and for good parts and
service support. We get that
from Warrior.”
Bedell has been working
with Warrior of Arkansas
or its predecessor
since 1978 and looks
upon the relationship favorably. “I
Climate-controlled cab keeps Circle B
operators at peak efficiency no matter
what weather conditions exist.
4
guess if I were filling out a questionnaire, when it came to ‘How
do you feel about Warrior?,’
I’d have to check the box that
says, ‘Meets or exceeds expectations.’ They do great work
for us.”
Bedell’s current job involves
a tract that was harvest cut 27
years ago and reseeded by
“Mother Nature.” “We’re looking at about 700 trees per acre
here,” he says. “We’re thinning
to 200 per acre, leaving only
the best to mature.”
The crew operates a ninehour shift and is averaging ten
acres a day, filling a chip van
every 30 minutes or so and a
whole log truck every hour.
It’s a busy place.
Throughout his career Bedell
has actively participated in a
number of state and national
industry associations, and
strongly believes that taking a
proactive position is not only
good for business but the right
thing to do.
“I want to be able to influence
how things in our industry are
done,” he says. “Participating
in these associations helps
make that happen.” He observes
that having a person who has
actually been on a forestry job
sitting at a table with scientists,
legislators, and others involved
in setting policy for the timber
industry is crucial. “Often these
people don’t have a good feel
for how things are actually done.
Being able to express our view
adds some reality to the discussion and is appreciated.”
Bedell was actively involved
with the Sustainable Forestry
Initiative, which shows everyone in the industry how to be
better stewards of the land,
and he points to this as one
concrete example of how
involvement can affect the
business in a positive way.
The company’s visible profile in the industry doesn’t go
unrecognized. Circle B Logging
was the winner of the first
Timber Harvesting Outstanding
Logging Business of the Year
Award in 1998. Bedell’s proudest accomplishment, however,
was being named the chairman
of the Forest Resources Association, a position he currently
holds. “This is a very important, influential organization,”
says Bedell. “Being named
chairman is a great honor.”
Bedell’s extremely efficient
one-crew operation will allow
him to continue to be a highly
successful logger, and his continued involvement in shaping
the future of the industry will
leave a legacy that he and his
family will be proud of for
many years to come."
Center: Alen Bedell
has been working in
the woods for nearly
45 years. Above:
Dual-arch grapples
serve Circle B’s
needs well.
5
F E L L E R - B U N C H E R
This feller-buncher delivers go-anywhere production in a reliable, versatile package
John Deere’s new 903 is a purpose-built forestry
machine with a full-size, heavy-duty undercarriage.
Its high power-to-weight ratio and excellent traction allow it to work in difficult terrain with ease.
A hydraulically opened, walk-through compartment
provides unmatched access to the engine, hydraulic
components, and daily service areas.
A good understanding.
The 903’s quiet, spacious, pressurized cab has
unmatched visibility. Controls are well located and
operate with minimum effort. Gauges are clustered for
monitoring at a glance. The suspension seat has multiple adjustments to provide the operator optimum
comfort and allow peak productivity all shift long.
The 903G has a big footprint; a high, 29-inch (400
mm) ground clearance; and 8.5-inch (216 mm) pitch,
nine-roller undercarriage. Available with 24-, 28-, and
30-inch (610, 710, and 760 mm) pads, it provides surefooted performance with as little as 7.3 psi (58 kPa)
ground pressure.
It’s automatic.
The Deere 903G’s performance is managed by the
revolutionary Total Machine Control (TMC) system.
TMC automatically manages the machine’s hydraulic
system, engine, swing, propel, and boom functions.
Operators can customize the 903G’s settings for
speed or sensitivity, or choose one of two that are preset. TMC stores settings for up to seven operators. Vital
machine functions are monitored, with audible and
visible warning provided for critical machine functions.
The power to please.
An 8.1-L John Deere diesel delivers 225 hp (190kW)
and an impressive 922 lb.-ft. (1250 Nm) of torque at an
easy-on-fuel engine speed of 1,500 rpm.
6
Just like home.
Where the work gets done.
The 903G can be equipped with a 22-in. (560 mm)
capacity, high-accumulation side pocket, low-velocity
front-discharge saw head as standard equipment. Two
heads with 220-degree rotation are also available.
John Deere’s exclusive SECURE-Extended™ warranty
can be custom designed to meet the owner’s operating schedule, providing fixed machine costs for a
specified period of time.
Now available.
The John Deere 903G is available today. See your
dealer for details."
Waratah processing head and 200LC Excavator enhance output, increase accuracy and safety.
In mid-August of 2002 Charles
and Larry Hill, owners of Hill
Logging in Jeffersonville,
Georgia, made a decision that
would dramatically improve
the efficiency of their business — they purchased a used
John Deere 200LC Excavator
equipped with a new Waratah
HTH622 processing head.
“Prior to that purchase we
were using a gate delimber and
a man on the ground to clean
up the logs and cut them to
proper length,” says Hill. “Our
new setup has proven very
efficient. First, getting a man
off the ground was a decision
we felt good about. It’s a dangerous job and was very timeconsuming. But where we really
noticed the difference was in
our output. Production just
multiplied.”
Hill does selective cutting
and final harvesting in plantations that have already been
thinned once, sometimes twice.
“We do multiple separations,”
explains Hill. “We separate
out the logs that will become
poles. Those are 12 to 14 inch-
es in diameter at the butt and
7 inches at the top. Logs destined for a mill that buys saw
lumber are 28 inches and larger
in diameter and tree length.
The plywood mill buys logs
that are 18 to 28 inches in
diameter and tree length. The
plywood mill buys logs in multiple lengths that are 18 to 28
inches in diameter. Another
wants 10- to 18-inch diameter
logs for dimensional lumber.
Other mills have different
specifications. All of this
required measuring on the
7
W A R A T A H
C O N T .
Charles Hill, Hill Logging
ground, and marking each log
with paint.”
Now all the delimbing, measuring, and cutting to length
is done by the computers built
into the processing head, at
17 feet per second. “It’s not
instant, but it’s really fast,”
observes Hill.
The Hills didn’t become successful southern loggers by
making quick, impulsive decisions. Theirs are calculated and
well thought through. This was
no exception. “We had been
looking for a ‘better way’ for
four years,” says Hill. “My son
Jeremy first mentioned the idea
of processing heads. My first
thought was that this was something that we couldn’t afford,
but Jeremy was persistent. We
looked at different processing
heads, different carriers.
“We talked to manufacturers’
reps and other loggers. I talked
to Buddy Long, an Arkansas logger who had more than 16,000
hours on his Waratah head and
had no problem with it at all,”
notes Hill. “That was a big influence in choosing the processing
head. We also knew that Ron Hare
with Waratah has his phone on
24 hours a day, 7 days a week,
and would be available to help
us troubleshoot any problems
we might have.
8
“As for the carrier, there are
a lot of John Deere 200LCs out
in the field, and everyone we
talked to gave them high marks
on efficiency and reliability,”
says Hill. “We’re real happy
with our decision.”
Like a video game.
James Faulk, Jr., Charles and
Larry’s nephew, likens operating
the unit to playing a video game.
“It takes good eye/hand coordination, and you’re using most
fingers on both hands. Once you
get onto it, it’s really kind of fun.
I can run the machine all day
long, and not be all that worn
out at the end of the day.”
The Hills’ company keeps
very accurate records on each
machine’s operating costs, and
the John Deere machines in their
operation come out real good on
paper. “The 200LC uses 4 to 5 gallons of fuel per hour. That’s very
reasonable,” says Hill. He has a
748C-II Skidder and a competitive
unit. “The Deere engine in the
skidder is much easier on fuel,”
he says. “I’d say 10 to 15 gallons
a day better. Multiply that by the
number of days a year we operate, and it adds up to a good bit.”
Religious experience.
Preventive maintenance is
almost a religious experience
at Hill Logging. “Our daddy
always told us oil was the
cheapest thing that you could
buy, so we change the oil and
filters every two hundred
hours,” says Larry Hill, Charles’
brother. The company has a
custom-made oil-change trailer
that it brings to the field. It’s
extraction system can quickly
remove and store old oil and
used filters. New oil is pumped
in and the job is done in a matter of minutes. “It’s an efficient
and environmentally friendly
way to do things,” Hill says.
“And it’s so simple that we are
sure to do it on schedule.” He
notes that, with the Deere
machines, preventive maintenance items are easily accessible, which helps in making this
vital procedure fast and easy.
Jeremy Hill, Charles’ son,
who sometimes runs the John
Deere 200LC, tells of another
way this machine increased the
company’s production. “We had
a wet spell a couple of months
ago that had most loggers in
this part of the country shut
down. We worked right through
it by using the machine as a harvester. Because the machine
has such good floatation, we
would take it into the wet spots,
cut the trees, and shoot them
out to dryer ground so the skid-
ders could pull them up to the
landing. As we were doing this,
the branches that were being
removed developed a ‘pad’ that
the skidders could run on.”
Another production boost
accomplished with Hill Logging’s excavator/processor
combination is getting more
usable logs out of the woods.
“This machine so accurately
measures length and diameter
that we can process and remove
a lot of the shorter logs that we
would have left in the past,”
says Ken Hill, Charles’ nephew.
“We get paid by the delivered
ton, so every extra bit we can
get out is a big plus for us, as
well as the landowner.”
The Hill’s decision to go with
the John Deere machines was
also influenced by the service
provided by his dealer, Metrac,
headquartered in Atlanta, with
facilities also located in Braselton,
Adairsville, Columbus, Macon,
and Augusta, Georgia. “They’re
a big company and are devoted
to backing up the machines
they sell,” observes Hill. “When
they don’t have a part in stock,
they bend over backwards to
get it to you fast. In fact, right
now my Metrac salesman is on
his way to the parts depot near
Atlanta to get a part for us. It’s
really hard to put a dollar value
on service like that, but I can
tell you this, we sure do appreciate it. It’s something we won’t
soon forget.”
Hill Logging’s combination
of John Deere machines and the
Waratah processor head has
given their operation a big boost
in productivity. It’s a combination that just might do the same
for you. Your John Deere sales
rep can help you put together a
package right for your operation. Talk to him, today."
9
FOUNDER’S BIRTHDAY
HARVESTING
F O R E S T R Y
E Q U I P M E N T
CTL
Don’t sweat the
small stuff
When John Deere crafted his
famous steel plow in his blacksmith shop in 1837, he also
forged the beginnings of Deere
& Company — a company that
has not only survived 166
years, but has grown into a
worldwide corporation that
today does business in more
than 160 countries.
As we celebrate the 200th
anniversary of the birth of this
enterprising pioneer, it’s appropriate to look back on his life
and legacy.
In 1821 at the age of 17 John
left home to become an apprentice blacksmith. Completing his
apprenticeship in 1825, the
young and eager John Deere
moved on to journeyman positions, where he honed his skills
and learned firsthand that a
blacksmith’s workmanship was
his signature. John plied his
10
trade as he raised a family in
central Vermont.
In 1836 he made the difficult
decision to leave his family and
head West to seek his fortune.
He made a trip taking several
weeks to Grand Detour with just
$73 in his pocket. Upon arrival
he rented land and hastily built
a small blacksmith shop.
It wasn’t long before he
heard tales of frustration from
farmers struggling to break the
tough prairie sod. Soil clung to
their cast-iron plows and had to
be removed by hand every few
steps, making plowing an arduous and time-consuming task.
One day in 1837 John spotted a broken saw blade in the
corner of a sawmill and asked
the owner if he could take it
back to his shop. There, John
Deere fashioned the world’s
first successful steel plow and,
in doing so, opened up the West
to agricultural development.
In 1848, John Deere moved
his operation to Moline, Illinois,
to take advantage of the better
transportation and water power
provided by the Mississippi
River. Within a few years, production had reached 1,600 plows
a year, and John was getting
steel rolled to his specifications
from Pittsburgh.
It was during these early
days that John Deere laid down
his principles of doing business
that are still followed by the
company that bears his name
today. Among them was his
insistence on high standards
of quality. “I will never put my
name on a product that does
not have in it the best that is
in me,” he vowed."
Two six-wheel
harvesters.
Three tracked
harvesters.
Four forwarders
in seven different
base configurations, four-wheel,
six-wheel, and
eight-wheel.
Making money in CTL harvesting in small-to-medium wood is a matter of
choosing the right equipment. Nothing’s easier on the jobsite – or easier to
run – than John Deere harvesters and forwarders. They go quietly and efficiently
about their job with hardly a trace of disturbance, getting strong production
numbers and the highest quality logs. Make your move into the future
as a preferred CTL contractor. Choose John Deere.
There’s a John Deere team right for you.
LEADING THE WAY
Productivity – Uptime – Low daily operating costs
And nobody serves forestry customers better
than your Deere forestry focused dealer
www.johndeere.com
Feel the power of choice.
Legendary Deere skidders, for years powered by
an ultra-efficient direct-drive transmission,
now offer a torque-converter option on the midsize 648G-III Grapple Skidder and 640G-III
Cable Skidder. See us for details.
DKMAG94F Litho in U.S.A. (04-03)
Not all products sold at all locations.