Shaws Iron Test; Wizard Tricks
Today we are in Southland, testing the CDL log grapple made by 3D Industrial Engineering in Rotorua. It’s a tough test, the macrocarpa logs are big, old and heavy, but the grapple shines through as a solid bit of New Zealand-made kit. The 3D Industrial Engineering story is a classic one of starting out with humble beginnings in a shed south of Rotorua and now having 15 staff making equipment for forestry operations nationwide. But more about that later.
We venture about as far south as you can go, to Invercar...
NZ Logger Feature Sections June 2026
Harvesting; Skidder productivity in a high production crew
Over the last two decades, a lot of effort and research has focused on improving cable logging systems.This has been driven by the need to mechanise for both productiv...
Benefits of using remote control
Some of the technology used in the clearing of landmines is being utilised to clear land of vegetation in New Zealand.FAE’s RCU series of remote controlled compact tra...
Forest Talk
From movies to microbiology
Darryl Heron’s journey into science started at the movies. As a teenager growing up in South Africa, he was captivated by the 1995 film Outbreak, which...
Gas transition loan scheme a positive step forward
The Wood Processors and Manufacturers Association of New Zealand (WPMA) has welcomed a new pathway to help large industrial gas users transition away from na...
Health and Safety group is awards finalist
The NZ Forestry High-Potential Incidents (HiPo) Group is a finalist in the ‘collaboration’ category of the Safeguard New Zealand Workplace Health and Safety ...
In need of a yarder – and fast
Twice in the last 12 months Tony Hill has needed machinery in a hurry. Both times it was TDF Solutions he called. There was a reason why he made the fi...
Message for forestry in safety alert
A recent safety alert on changing tractor tyres is equally relevant to the forestry industry says WorkSafe.Feedback from the alert indicates it can also appl...
Mulcher put through its paces
A Tigercat mulcher at Speirs Logging is the subject of the July Iron Test. The Tigercat 4161-15 mulcher head is running on a Tigercat L870D, a 370HP 38...
Plan to relieve pressure on forest park
A plan has been put in place to cut damaging deer numbers in a Manawatū forest park.The newly finalised Ruahine Adaptive Wild Deer Management Plan sets out a...
"if a tree falls in a forest...?"
Forest Talk will hear it!
