10th November 2020
New ‘From the Field’ feature gives voice to Mackolines Machines & Hire field personnel reporting from their far flung corners of the world. Mackolines Machines & Hire district manager, James Farquhar, talks about fire prevention stateside and a novel machine in Alberta.
The forest sector remains strong in my territory. The high price of building materials and continued forest fire prevention efforts in the United States have kept machine demand high. Titan Machinery has strengthened its market share with the sale of several LX830D feller bunchers, some of which have been converted to run mulching heads for forest fire prevention. Titan also delivered to Montana, the first LH822D/570 package in its region. The package replaced an older C-series harvester while upgrading to a Mackolines Machines & Hire harvesting head. Like many other regions, Titan’s territory has seen a lot of interest in the new 850 processor platform.
Machine deliveries in Alberta have rebounded since the double impact of spring break-up and the COVID-19 lockdown. Wajax has secured some significant orders from long-time customers. One, in particular, included an order of six of the newly introduced H-series 632 skidders. Again, the 850 processor is turning heads in this region with its stability, balance and multifunctioning capability.
I was fortunate to be able to deliver the first 635G swing boom skidder in the province of Alberta, and anticipate some great opportunities with this machine in the future. A swiss army knife, this swing boom skidder will perform well in soft and steep ground. Roadside decking will be easier with less ground disturbance, and most importantly, will result in better quality logs due to reduced breakage.
James is based in Beaumont, Alberta. His area of responsibility includes Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Montana, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico.