It's off to the stormy West Coast for this month’s Iron Test – a Komatsu PC270HW sporting an Ensign grapple.
It’s been a long time since we tested a machine in that part of the country, and maybe there was a bit of revenge for that from the weather gods who definitely weren’t smiling.The PC270HW is a high profile unit, with a very long and capable-looking boom on it. It's narrow and deep in structure and looks very capable.
It is owned by KEA Logging who have been mostly in windthrow blocks for about 23 years.
Regular Komatsu operator Roy Fisher gives a glowing report on the PC270HW, saying it's "everything you need in a loader – power, stability, reach and height. Although it is a bit like climbing into Mt Everest it's that high."
To find out more about the Komatsu PC270HW and the work KEA Logging are doing, read the full article in the September 2026 edition of NZ Logger magazine, on sale from 31 August. Check the link on this page to subscribe to either a printed or digital copy (or both).
