At 9.5 metres long and 285 horsepower, the Tigercat 635H is one big mother of a skidder. And big is what Tainui Logging owner Phil Hemopo was looking for when he planned this new machine purchase a bit over a year ago.

“You know you are on to a good thing when a machine is out of stock and you need to order it a year in advance,” he says. 

“Here in central Kaingaroa the Douglas fir blocks we harvest have a smaller and lighter piece size than radiata at 30 years old, so we need to handle almost three times the number of stems to get the same weight of wood compared to radiata. That’s about 800 stems a day which is in the region of 500 tonnes a day, which is our current target.

“So if a bigger skidder can go out and get two loads in one go compared to a smaller skidder then we are going to reach target a lot sooner with less wear and tear on the machine, the operator and the environment.” 

As the NZ Logger Iron Test team sign into the log site on an iPad at the container, they are keen to test this imposing machine. 

To see how it went, get your copy of the February 2023 edition of NZ Logger magazine, on sale from 6 February. Check the link on this page to subscribe to either a printed or digital copy (or both).