NZ Logger Magazine | March 2025
March 2025 Iron Test

Shaws Iron Test; Built to last

     Story & photos: Tim Benseman

The sparrows weren’t even thinking about their first fart when Iron Tester, Tony Hill, set off from his Tolaga Bay home base somewhere around 1AM, heading for work in the back of remote Ruatoria on the East Cape.

Around 10am he left his regular job tethered harvesting and set off on a three-and-a-half hour drive to meet us at this Iron Test in the mighty Mangatu Forest.

As for me, after traversing the frost-heaved roads of central Alaska on a recent work trip, I thought I had seen the worst roads in t...

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March 2025 Forest Engineering

Forest Engineering; The case for two-stage trucking

Ten percent of all logging operations in New Zealand now involve some form of two staging. This has prompted Forest Growers Research (FGR) and the University of Canter...

March 2025 Harvesting

Small-scale selective harvesting in action

In 2022, and then again in 2024, the Northland Tōtara Working Group (NTWG) harvested small volumes of tōtara from the same Pāmu (Landcorp Farming) property in Northlan...

Forest Talk

 
  • An honest, agile machine

    An honest, agile machine

    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 2...

  • Axeman to compete after near fatal heart attack

    Axeman to compete after near fatal heart attack

    Just four months after being declared clinically dead, Kiwi axeman Kahu Woolley is back on the chopping block this weekend – literally.Australian-based Wooll...

  • Environmental Forestry 2026

    Environmental Forestry 2026

    This month’s Environmental Forestry conference will focus on the immediate, practical needs of forest managers and planners.While previous discussions in the...

  • Patchell Group expands options through Australian joint venture

    Patchell Group expands options through Australian joint venture

    With decades of experience designing and building transport solutions for New Zealand conditions, The Patchell Group continues to focus on what it does best ...

  • Safety Alert following a yarder stabilising ram failure incident

    Safety Alert following a yarder stabilising ram failure incident

    The Forest Industry Safety Council has released an important Safety Alert following a yarder stabilising ram failure incident.The Safety Alert relates to Thu...

  • Tidy-up trial leads to new grapple

    Tidy-up trial leads to new grapple

    Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 highlighted concerns around the impact of slash on waterways – especially around New Zealand’s East Coast. In November 2024, global...

  • Week of forestry workshops in Rotorua

    Week of forestry workshops in Rotorua

    The University of Canterbury’s School of Forestry is running a series of Forest Engineering Workshops in Rotorua this winter.The one-day courses are designed...

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