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The John Deere and Hitachi joint venture in Canada has been a huge success and manufactures machines that are truly multipurpose: excavator frames are modified into forest machines. In recent years the DHSP Swing Machines also gained a solid foothold in Russia.
In North America, Australia and New Zealand, it is common for an excavator frame to be modified into a forest machine for use in a variety of conditions. In 1988, John Deere and Hitachi established a joint-venture company, Deere-Hitachi Construction Machinery. The frames of the excavators it manufactures can be modified into forest machines. The production of the machines takes advantage of Hitachi’s extensive know-how in excavators.
Logging conditions differ from typical urban worksites, so the upper and lower sections of the bodies of the modified machines are reinforced – this way they can lift heavy and long loads of timber. The ’54 Series Swing Machines also feature higher ground clearance as well as a crawler track and cab that are modified for forest conditions.
Successful launch in Russia
Fitted with a Waratah grapple, the John Deere 2054 is an example of a DHSP [Deere Hitachi Specialty Product] machine, which can be accommodated to several different applications depending on the attachment. The machine was introduced to the Russian market in the second half of 2005 and was very well received, particularly by major companies. These customers have been able to adopt new and more efficient logging methods with the arrival of the DHSP machines.
“DHSP fulfills customer requests for powerful, multipurpose forest machines. The demand is clearly on the rise, and new agreements will be signed in the near future,” says a delighted Stanislav Bykov, Sales Manager, John Deere.
In Russia, the DHSP 2054 machines are used as harvesters and timber processors – a John Deere 758-HD harvester head is installed for use in harvesting. Most of these heads harvest whole trees, and often work in demanding terrain, such as marshlands. In such conditions, the environmentally friendly features of the DHSP are evident – ground damage remains at a minimum.
“Environmental issues are important to customers. They also value the DHSP machine’s enormous fuel tank, which saves a lot of time because it doesn’t have to be refilled as frequently,” says Stanislav Bykov. He adds that the advanced hydraulics of the DHSP outperform its competitors and further improve the machine’s performance.
DHSP Forestry Swing Machines include the models 2054, 2554, and 3554, and are as versatile as the conditions they work in. Talk to your dealer today about how a John Deere Swing Machine can benefit you.
Reprint from In the Forest, Issue 2, 2006 [Edited for web]
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