Combine a steep forest road network, erodible terrain, high-cost earthworks and destructive weather events and you’ve got a recipe for finding new log transport solutions. Qube Forestry New Zealand’s East Coast operation (formerly Pacific Haulage), based in Gisborne, did just that, in the form of the addition of ten 8x6 Scania G500 trucks to assist in harvest planning, loading and log transport in these difficult conditions.

With a full fleet of 90 trucks, predominantly working for corporate forest companies, “we rarely venture outside the region” says General Manager, Campbell Gilmour.

The seeds for the company’s new acquisitions began after Cyclone Bola hit back in 1988. In the aftermath of the cyclone, the land was no longer deemed suitable for farming, and was planted in trees instead. The East Coast thus had a large planting boom in the early 1990s, with the catch being that these plantations were on steep, highly erodible areas.

From 2016 onwards this harvest commenced and, being first time rotation, they were, and are, all Greenfield operations with little, if any, roading infrastructure available.

As a result, roading operations became year-round operations to keep ahead of the increased harvesting task, says Mr Gilmour.

Add to that high-cost earthworks with a limited supply of good quality aggregate in Gisborne, with resulting high metal haulage and supply rates, and the lower quality aggregate tends to get used for the forest roading networks.

That’s when they’re not being eroded and destroyed by severe weather events.

No wonder then that in 2019 the company started thinking about some sort of cartage alternative. 

To read more, get your copy of the July 2024 edition of NZ Logger magazine, on sale from 1 July. Check the link on this page to subscribe to either a printed or digital copy (or both).