Fendt Testimonial Sp ecial

C
ontractor Daniel Upton of
Southern Wood Energy has a
very big job for his Fendt 936 Vario
– towing and powering a massive
wood chipper capable of swallowing
whole trees up to 1.2m in diameter.
The chips are used for woodfuel, and
Dan has contracts across the south of
England, with the tractor and chipper
combination travelling from his base
in the New Forest as far as Chelmsford
in Essex and Saltash, Cornwall.
T
he fearsome-looking Ahwi chipper
is a substantial machine, yet
operator Chris Pain says that the 936
happily tows it at good road speeds,
eating up the miles between jobs.
“It is really quick and smooth on the
road; I use the cruise control and drive
it on the pedal like an automatic
car via the Vario transmission so
it is very nice to drive,” he says. “I
certainly notice the difference if I
have to get in another tractor!”
A
t the work site, Chris switches
to reverse drive, giving him an
excellent view of the chipper and
allowing him to concentrate on
operating its loading grab control
and electro- hydraulic switchbox.
The chipper can be worked entirely
from the cab, keeping Chris safe
from its jaws and crane and out
written by Jane Carley
of the dust and elements. He can
even shuttle the chipper around
site from the reverse drive position
when needed.
B
ut it is when he fires up the high
capacity chipping mechanism
that the 936 Vario really shows its
mettle. Delivering 330hp at the pto
shaft, the Deutz engine offers the
torque range to power the hefty
drum as its blades gnaw through
tree trunks.
“We had another make of high
horsepower tractor initially,” comments
Dan. “But it blew up after 200 hours,
and had always struggled to maintain
power to the pto. Their local Fendt
dealer were quickly out with a 936 on
demonstration, and it was clear straight
away that it fitted the bill – the smooth
drive just powers the wood through
the chipper. As a bonus the tractor also
handles our Ahwi forestry mulcher
really well, although it is kept busy with
chipping most of the time.”
comments. The generous
660 litre fuel tank is
also appreciated, as the
power-hungry work can
use 500 litres a day, and
the trip to Chelmsford
requires 200 litres alone.
Fendt Testimonial Special
FENDT 936 POWERS
WOODFUEL SOLUTION
“It may sound a lot, but for the sort of
work the tractor does, it is pretty frugal,
using about 50-65 litres an hour when
running at full revs,” comments Chris.
D
an adds that they get excellent
back-up from their local
dealer, “Which gives us peace of mind
when the tractor is working so hard.
They are able to loan us another 936
if ours is in for major servicing, which
avoids downtime.”
T
he 936 Vario has clocked up
2000 hours in its first nine
months, and Dan expects it to
average about 2500 hours a year.
Chris often works through the
night, so the numerous, directable
worklights come in very handy, he
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FENDT is a worldwide brand of AGCO Corporation
tel hotline: 01628 488441 email: [email protected]
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“We’ll take waste wood from tree
surgery and turn it into fuel, which
helps the company stay competitive
as it provides a market for its byproducts. We are also one of very
few contractors that can chip willow
successfully, as it is a stringy, difficult
material and we process the waste
wood from J&S Wright, Britain’s only
remaining cricket bat manufacturer,
for LC Energy to fulfil a BAA contract
at Stansted Airport,” he explains.
T
he company also works on
a sub-contract basis for the
Forestry Commission, buys timber
for chipping and offers a chipping
service for customers wishing to use
their own wood.
to handle pellets from ‘fines’ – small
wood chip fragments graded out
with a screening machine.
“The aim is to use every part of the
tree, and this product is also popular
for pet litter and animal bedding. We
have a client, Kingston Maurward
College near Dorchester for whom we
provide pellets for their stables and to
power a boiler, so they use it in both
ways,” explains Dan
“We also have a supply contract with
Forest Fuels who service the Royal
Marine camp at Hamworthy with bins
of chip for their boilers. The smaller
scale heating market looks to have real
potential and is expanding daily.”
W
ith such a hefty schedule,
Dan plans to swap the tractor
each year, and is keen to stick with
Fendt in the future. He has been so
impressed with the brand that he
has an 820 Vario on order
to power his ‘smaller’
machinery, which only
requires it’s 207hp!
“Working the sort of hours
that we do, the tractor has
to provide a good operator
environment to maintain
productivity and the
Fendt really delivers in that
area, as well as in terms of
performance,” he says.
Fendt Testimonial Special
And downtime is a luxury that Dan
can ill afford, having built up the
wood energy side of his business
from his original tree surgery
company, which he has now sold,
although he maintains close links
with the new owner.
F
or more information
on Fendt please
visit your local dealer or
telephone our brochure
hotline on
01628 488441
www.fendt.co.uk
P
ower stations are currently the
main customers for woodfuel, and
Dan works closely with UPM Tilhill
at Alton which supplies Slough Heat
and Power, producing around 30,000
tonnes of chip per year.
T
he domestic and commercial
heating market is a future target,
and Southern Wood Energy also
operates a wood pelleting plant at
Blandford Forum to produce easy
www.fendt.co.uk
FENDT is a worldwide brand of AGCO Corporation
tel hotline: 01628 488441 email: [email protected]
Leaders Drive Fendt