Grimmer Contracting’s new Komatsu 895.2SS forwarder is the first SpeedShift in New Zealand. In other words, it enables operators to use the machine's full speed range without having to stop to change gear. SpeedShift automatically shifts the machine up a gear as the operator increases speed, which results in both lower fuel consumption and higher average transport speed, says Komatsu. Our Iron Test Team decided to find out for themselves.
Significant areas of trees downed by Cyclone Gabrielle litter the road in to Grimmer Contracting’s Whangarei hauler pad and it is still shrouded in mist and mystery as the Iron Test team drives down to it and edges past towards the container for induction. The advantage of having a forwarder on site is immediately obvious as all the blown-down trees on the access road have already been processed at stump and brought to the skid for loading out.
The 895.2SS is an innovation-packed machine with adjustable width bolsters giving a load area variation from 5.2 to 7.2m2. There's an oil-cooled gearbox and automatic speed changes right through high and low range, and it can carry 20 tonnes of logs at up to 22kph. And that’s just for starters.
To read more, get your copy of the April 2023 edition of NZ Logger magazine, on sale from 3 April. Check the link on this page to subscribe to either a printed or digital copy (or both).
