This month our Iron Test team visits the Mangatu Block to test Hill Logging's new Sany 245F fitted with a Falcon Winch Assist financed by TDF Solutions.
 
 The 245F is powered by a 6.37 litre, 147kw/297HP Mitsubishi engine with two Kawasaki hydraulic pumps, pushing 260 litres per minute each pump.  Agility and fuel efficiency are two of the standouts noted so far by its owners.
 
 The geography of the test site under the lee of the main Raukumara Range, with the prevailing westerly wind coming over from the Motu River, compounded by the altitude of over 900m above sea level in places, means it catches the wind from any direction. This site gets whacked almost constantly. It's tough ground, with tough weather conditions, so it takes a tough and determined team of loggers with reliable gear, a flexible forest company and perhaps a little bit of luck too.
 
 When Tony Hill first started logging as a skiddie on a Stihl 660, he was 15 years old.
 
 "The Sany 245 is a good, honest and really agile machine," he says. "It’s one of the lighter winch assist machines around, but very stable, being high and wide, and a firm anchor. With its engine management system, it is also very economical on fuel as it powers down right away, as soon as pressure comes off the tether. That's obviously important for general efficiency, but also because diesel needs to be dragged a long and dangerous way up into here, so it's a lot more expensive in time and money, compared to the crews working close to Gisborne.”
 
 To read more, get your copy of the April 2026 edition of NZ Logger magazine, on sale from 30th March. Check the link on this page to subscribe to either a printed or digital copy (or both).