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HarvestTECH 2021  |  13-14 April 2021, Rotorua, New Zealand + Virtual On-Line

HarvestTECH News provides the latest updates on breaking news, research results, reports, articles, videos and useful web links for wood harvesting and transport operations throughout Australasia.



HarvestTECH Events provides annual world class technology events and exhibitions to wood harvesting contractors, harvest planners, forest managers and wood transport operators.

HarvestTECH 2021

Latest News & Technologies

HarvestTECH News | Issue 39

HarvestTECH News | Issue 39

Welcome to the latest issues of HarvestTECH.News. In New Zealand, the news over the last month has been dominated by Cyclone Gabrielle and its aftermath. The cyclone cut off communities and caused widespread flooding and destruction to homes, businesses and infrastructure. As the clean-up continues, one key debate will be on how we, the forest industry and other land users, ...
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John Deere Introduces New Mid-Size Crawler Log Loader

John Deere Introduces New Mid-Size Crawler Log Loader

The new 2956G offers optimal horsepower and hydraulic capability. Helping ease transportability, the 2956G design offers an overall shipping width of less than 11'6" and a 90,000 lbs operating weight ...
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Plantation thinning for carbon, timber and innovation

Plantation thinning for carbon, timber and innovation

Plantation thinning may not be new in the forestry sector, which has been thinning to improve tree growth and vigour for years. But the operations being carried out by Forico ...
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News & Technologies Cont.

HarvestTECH News | Issue 36

HarvestTECH News | Issue 36

Welcome to the latest issues of HarvestTECH.News. In log transport, we continue to cover an array of new innovations in electric, hydrogen and diesel-hybrid powered vehicles, truck automation and platooning ...
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HiVision 2.0 camera system for forestry cranes launched

HiVision 2.0 camera system for forestry cranes launched

Hiab’s HiVision™ for forestry cranes uses external cameras to show the cranes surrounding. The operator sees the surroundings using virtual reality (VR) goggles inside the truck cabin. This improves productivity, ...
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Autonomous agricultural modular vehicle launched

Autonomous agricultural modular vehicle launched

Multi-use, modular platform Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) automates tree and vine crop tasks, starting with intelligent spraying Robotics Plus, a New Zealand-based agritech company, on 20 October launched its autonomous ...
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Celebrating long-term evergreen harvesting contract

Celebrating long-term evergreen harvesting contract

In what must be one of the longest partnerships in NZ forestry, Safetree Certified Contractor Gamble Forest Harvesting celebrated 50 years working for City Forests in 2021. Safetree Toroawhi Richard ...
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Napier Port successfully trials prototype log grabs

Napier Port successfully trials prototype log grabs

On Friday 2 September, Napier Port’s senior crane operators safely and successfully loaded logs onto the Norse Mobile bulk cargo vessel using log grabs custom-designed and built for use on ...
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Rangatahi growing in forestry with iwi trust training

Rangatahi growing in forestry with iwi trust training

In New Zealand, a training initiative implemented by a central North Island iwi trust is taking rangatahi (youth) to new heights, three years since its launch. Rotomā No. 1 Incorporation’s ...
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Forest360 NZ log export market update

Forest360 NZ log export market update

It would be nice to be reporting on a rebound in the export market on the basis of solid demand and improved overall global macro-economic factors, but that would be ...
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International softwood log trade declines 20%

International softwood log trade declines 20%

Global trade of softwood logs plunged by 20% during the first half of 2022 y-o-y. Much of the decline was because of the Russian log export ban that came into ...
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Diesel-electric hybrid trucks for logging industry

Diesel-electric hybrid trucks for logging industry

If one guy can call his electric-car company Tesla, why not call theirs Edison, a couple of Merritt enrepreneurs figured. While the real-life Tesla and Edison, ground-breaking inventors, became fierce ...
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HarvestTECH News | Issue 35

HarvestTECH News | Issue 35

Welcome to the latest issues of HarvestTECH.News. After years of progress, electric heavy trucks are finally on the road in this part of the world. Australian log harvest and haulage ...
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Volvo marks series production on heavy-duty EVs

Volvo marks series production on heavy-duty EVs

Swedish manufacturer Volvo Trucks is beginning series production of its heavy-duty electric models with global deliveries set to ramp up. And customers in Australia and New Zealand can expect to ...
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Fennell Forestry commissions world’s 2nd electric log truck

Fennell Forestry commissions world’s 2nd electric log truck

As a follow up to the local electric log truck story that we ran in the 9 September issue of Friday Offcuts, we've built in more information this week on ...
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Mental wellbeing resources from Safetree

Mental wellbeing resources from Safetree

Safetree has some forestry-friendly resources to support good mental wellbeing: • Where to get help: Contact details for organisations that can help if people are struggling • Tailgate health cards: ...
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Next generation harvesting head control

Next generation harvesting head control

The Tigercat D7 control system combines a solid and field proven hardware and bucking control system with a Tigercat developed head control and user interface. The system offers powerful functionality, ...
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Forest360 NZ log export market update

Forest360 NZ log export market update

Last month I made the comment that there was some light at the end of the tunnel in terms of increased export log prices, but we weren’t quite sure what ...
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Yamaha's beefed-up unmanned helicopter can carry up to 50 kg

Yamaha’s beefed-up unmanned helicopter can carry up to 50 kg

Yamaha recently announced that the company has further strengthened the functions and performance of the industrial-use unmanned helicopter FAZER R G2. Specifically, the transport & delivery services have been enhanced ...
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Super-fast 10-minute electric car charging

Super-fast 10-minute electric car charging

Despite the growing popularity of electric vehicles, many consumers still hesitate to make the switch. One reason is that it takes so much longer to power up an electric car ...
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Using biomass to take cane trains beyond diesel

Using biomass to take cane trains beyond diesel

Diesel is impressive. Impressive in its abundance, energy density and liquid transportability. These unique features have made it ubiquitous to heavy transport and traction in the 20th and 21st centuries ...
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HarvestTECH News | Issue 34

HarvestTECH News | Issue 34

Welcome to the latest issues of HarvestTECH.News. As part of the record turnout of forestry and wood harvesting companies at the recent Residues2Revenues 2022 event in New Zealand, the very ...
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Ponsse launches an electric forest machine

Ponsse launches an electric forest machine

Ponsse and Epec are introducing the PONSSE EV1, an electric forest machine technology concept. While the forest machine will be commercially available later, Epec's technology can already be used in ...
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OneFortyOne to export sawmill woodchips

OneFortyOne to export sawmill woodchips

OneFortyOne’s New Zealand’s Kaituna Sawmill and Marusumi Whangarei Co. Ltd, have signed an agreement to export wood chip to Japan with the first vessel expected to depart from Port Marlborough ...
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NZ's first hybrid harvester operating

NZ’s first hybrid harvester operating

Mike Hurring Logging & Contracting in Balclutha, has begun operating New Zealand’s first diesel-electric harvesting machine. Not only is the machine cheaper to run and better for the environment, it ...
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Leadership change at Tigercat

Leadership change at Tigercat

Tigercat founder Ken MacDonald takes on the role of president, Tigercat Industries. On August 2, 2022, Grant Somerville stepped away from his role as president of Tigercat Industries. The timing ...
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Pedersen Group unveils log debarking facility

Pedersen Group unveils log debarking facility

A reliable, environmentally friendly, and sustainable alternative to methyl bromide.August 2021 saw the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announce revised regulations regarding the use of methyl bromide. Fumigation of logs and ...
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Introducing the Tigercat 6900 Grinder

Introducing the Tigercat 6900 Grinder

Tigercat officially has introduced the 6900 grinder, the first regular production offering in Tigercat’s material processing category. The 6900 is the first production grinder designed and built by Tigercat. The ...
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New zero-emissions truck showcased

New zero-emissions truck showcased

Imagine a truck that only emits water vapor, produces its own electricity onboard and has a range of up to 1 000 km. It’s possible with fuel cells powered by ...
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Worksafe: Close scrutiny or radical over-reach?

Worksafe: Close scrutiny or radical over-reach?

New Zealand workers are still being maimed and killed in huge numbers, but WorkSafe’s boss is ambitious to deliver change. Phil Parkes was trained as a regulator in the ways ...
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HarvestTECH News | Issue 33

HarvestTECH News | Issue 33

Welcome to the latest issues of HarvestTECH.News. First up, thanks to all of you who attended the Residues2Revenues 2022 event last week in Rotorua, New Zealand. An outstanding turnout (considering ...
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Maersk to launch NZ coastal shipping service

Maersk to launch NZ coastal shipping service

Shipping giant Maersk is launching a dedicated New Zealand coastal service to help strengthen the supply chain and improve vessel schedule reliability. It’s the first time the company has offered ...
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Forest360 NZ log export market update

Forest360 NZ log export market update

June is never a fun month in this game. We’re generally kidding ourselves that it’s going to be a dry winter or that we’ve had enough rain already and there ...
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