Mascor supplies Can-Do Timbers’ second John Deere and Waratah harvesting unit

 

Cassie Greyling’s company, Can-Do Timbers, recently took delivery of a new John Deere 859MH tracked harvester carrying a Waratah 616C series-III harvesting head. The machine is an upgrade on the company’s reliable nine years old 759JH harvester and Waratah HTH616 head.

Can-Do’s teams are currently contracted for five to six years to supply cut-to-length eight to10 years old pulp logs from a site near Barberton and another in the Sabie area.

With a target of 270,000 tonnes a year and the John Deere 759Jh harvester approaching 37,000 hours, Greyling decided to expand his mechanised operations.

“Our customers rely on us to deliver quality debarked and cut-to-length logs on time. The safest way to meet these expectations is to mechanise.

“I took advantage of the John Deere replacement programme and chose the bigger 859MH tracked harvester and latest Waratah 616C series-III debarking harvesting head.”

The harvesting unit joins the ranks of Can-Do’s crank boom loggers, short-haul trucks, and its purpose-built John Deere 540G cable skidder, 1710D forwarder, 759 harvester with a Waratah HTH616 harvesting head and the new John Deere 1910E forwarder.

 

John Deere 859MH harvester

Alex de Kock, branch manager at John Deere Mbombela (formerly Nelspruit), says Can-Do’s new harvester incorporates John Deere’s smooth boom control (SBC) and rapid cycle system (RCS) technologies.
 

The SBC system instantaneously responds to operator input while smoothing out the machine’s hydraulic acceleration and deceleration functions. It delivers a smoother experience for the operator and less wear and tear on the machine over time

De Kock says the RCS is a standard feature on all 800M-series booms. A single joystick controls the motion of the boom, stick, and head in a straight and level path.

The 859MH’s longer, wider undercarriage provides strong tractive effort for negotiating difficult and steep terrain. Greyling is impressed by the underfoot stability and self-levelling cab that lets his teams safely work on slopes of up to 35%.

The machines also feature John Deere’s Timberlink and Timbermatic uptime and maintenance monitoring systems. Greyling says he doesn’t get full use of it at this stage because cell phone reception is poor on most sites. He downloads the data directly from the machines.

 

Operators

Forest harvesting machine operators cannot afford to be distracted or uncomfortable. Can-Do’s operators enjoy John Deere’s cabs because the floor-to-ceiling front window, large side windows, skylight, and the levelling cab’s floor window significantly expand the view of the harvesting area.

The work area has clear views, a comfortable seat, and well-designed controls. The seat of the 859MH is more ergonomic than previous models. It features a dual-density seat pan and contour and updated armrests and suspension to improve the overall comfort of operators of all sizes.

 

Waratah 616C series-III head

De Kock says the new Waratah 616C series-III head has a more efficient main control valve that reduces processing time. The valve makes the newly designed delimb and drive arms more responsive when grabbing stems, log handling and sawing.

Hose routing makes it easier to access and service the valve, and the integrated handles and quick-attach pins of the valve cover provide fast no-tools access. A larger oil filler makes filling bar and chain oil quicker and shortens daily servicing.

 

Mechanisation

Greyling began his harvesting contractor career in 1990, providing a 100% manual harvesting service.

“Forestry contracting is competitive and price-driven. The only way to survive is to take care of your employees, invest in new technologies, maintain equipment and work as efficiently as possible to move the required volumes,” explains Greyling.

In 2004 he launched Can-Do Timbers, secured a contract to supply 50,000 tonnes of eucalyptus pulp logs a year, and invested in a John Deere 540G cable skidder. The contract soon increased to 140,000 tonnes annually, and Greyling adopted a 60:40 split in favour of mechanised harvesting.

The additional harvester and increasing efficiencies have increased Can-Do’s mechanised operations to 80%.

“This shift would not be possible without the support and back-up of Mascor and John Deere. Mascor’s technical staff are well equipped to provide the mechanical and maintenance services to keep forestry contractors up and running,” Greyling comments.