Fielding Logging and their production team of eight are currently contracted to Forico. The team produces 2500 tonnes of eucalypt plantation products per week, being mainly export peeler logs and chip logs for the pulp and paper industry.

We met Jeffrey Fielding from Fielding Logging on their site 30 minutes east of the Hampshire chip mill in northern Tasmania. Jeffrey has been working in the family business for 14 years and has been operating log processors for eight years.

“We prefall around 80% of the trees with a disc saw and generally process the pre-felled trees in field into short length, then using the forwarder to deliver it to road side to be loaded” Jeffrey explains.

To meet their production targets Fielding Logging use a range of Tigercat equipment which include an LH822C harvester fitted with Tigercat 575 harvesting head, an L830 Feller Buncher fitted with Tigercat 5702 disc saw, two H845C harvester, one fitted with the Tigercat 570 processing head, an H845B harvester, a 1075B forwarder and a Hyundai R250LC-9HC excavator to load trucks.

Jeffrey is currently operating a Tigercat H845C harvester fitted with the new Tigercat 570 harvesting head. The new 570 is the latest addition to the Tigercat harvesting head line-up. It is a two-wheel drive harvesting head best suited to in-stand harvesting with an optimal range 150-510 mm diameter. With optional hydraulically timed processor knives, the 570 can also be used for roadside processing.

“We decided to purchase the Tigercat 570 harvesting head as we were very happy with the performance of the earlier 575 model - which we still have” Jeffrey says.

The 575 is developed for in-stand harvesting, roadside processing, multi-stem pulpwood and eucalyptus debarking. The D5 system combines field-proven hardware and bucking control with a simple and intuitive Tigercat-developed user interface.

“With over 1000 hours now on this unit and with no down-time issues, the 570 has proved to be ahead of its class in both durability and performance. The product support from Tigercat and their agent Onetrak was an equally important factor for us when we decided to purchase the 570” Jeffrey adds.

“The key features that contribute to the excellent performance is that it is a tidy, solid unit that does not struggle to do the work. The saw is brilliant, particularly the saw limit control - and the measuring sequence is fast and accurate” Jeffrey says.

The 570 harvesting head is optimal for superior feeding, delimbing, measuring and debarking, especially in sub-optimal stem form conditions. Available in 3 levels of control and reporting, the D5 system handles multiple jobs with multiple operators, and allows for customizing menus and settings, right down to joystick button functions. Touching the length or diameter log symbols immediately direct you to the calibration setting screens. Indicator icons link to relevant setting screens. Production windows link directly to production reports and bucking instructions. The main diagnostics screen is a map of the system. Simply touching a controller icon takes you directly to where you need to be.

“The Tigercat 570 is the best head I have used by far - it just seems to be built to do the job and do it easily” Jeffrey concludes.