Since 2019, the forestry companies have been working together with Komatsu Forest to develop a new forestry machine concept that benefits sustainable forestry in the long term. There is now a concept machine ready to be tested in the terrain, named Centipede.
The innovative machine provides significantly lower ground pressure compared to a conventional machine, lower fuel consumption on soft ground, better operator comfort and a smoother flow to industry.
"The reduced land impact makes it easier to carry out driving at all times of the year, which is important when we move towards shorter periods of frozen land, says Jan Åhlund", forestry manager at Holmen Forest.
The belt construction means that the weight is distributed over a larger area, at the same time as the machine handles obstacles more easily without bouncing like a conventional machine that runs over stumps and stones. It improves the driver environment and makes it faster to drive timber.
"If this becomes a success, we hope that we will gradually see more and more machines with this technology", says Jan Åhlund.
The concept has been developed by the machine manufacturer Komatsu Forest in joint collaboration with Holmen, BillerudKorsnäs, Mellanskog, Norra Skog, SCA, Stora Enso, Sveaskog and Södra.