HPE Africa recently supplied a Hyundai R210LC-7 excavator to Kanyi Ilanga Forestry Services, which was converted into a versatile HT shovel yarder by Hintech Manufacturing, to cope efficiently with demanding uphill and downhill logging operations.
Experts from HPE Africa and Hintech Manufacturing worked in consultation with Kanyi Ilanga to transform the robust crawler excavator, for high-lead forestry operations. This machine, which was purposed for the extraction of logs, also meets the company’s cable harvesting requirements.
“We are cognisant of key focus areas in the forestry sector – optimum safety on site, low environmental impact and sustainable mechanisation,” said Alex Ackron, Managing Director of HPE Africa, exclusive distributors for Hyundai Construction Equipment in Southern Africa.
“High productivity is also critical in daily logging operations. The 21 T Hyundai R210LC-7 excavator, which is the durable and mobile carrier of the HT Shovel Yarder conversion, has an impressive production capacity of up to 160 T per day, depending on the rigging, tree size and terrain.
“There are many advantages of this customised forest harvesting solution, including fast cable yarding set-ups for increased productivity, easy mobility, precision control, low maintenance and features for improved safety in steep, slippery and remote locations.”
The Hyundai excavator, which is self-stabilising due to its weight, provides its own anchor support, eliminating the need for guy lines. Unlike conventional cable yarding systems that are anchored, this tracked machine can self-travel between felling areas and manoeuvre over rough and steep terrain. Apart from providing extra stability and supporting the tower, the bucket is also used to clear roads and debris when needed.
“This customised fuel-efficient machine has a 300-m uphill or downhill operating distance and is able to extract up 8 to 10 trees simultaneously, with a payload of up to 3 T.”
Ackron said that the Hintech-fitted forestry spec all-weather steel operator cab is spacious, with glass windows on all sides for clear 360˚ visibility and a fully adjustable suspension seat. These are important features for enhanced operator comfort and improved safety in forest harvesting.
The operator easily controls winch spooling on the haul back line and main line from the cab, by way of pilot-operated joysticks and foot pedals, which are conveniently mounted. A multi-camera system for operator and offsite winch and choker monitoring, is an additional safety feature. Ground-line access to critical services and grease points of the excavator, ensures easy serviceability and reduced maintenance time. “Hintech’s skilled engineering team is able to custom-convert and reinforce every Hyundai machine to meet exact forest performance requirements, using proven systems, which have been developed in-house since 2000,” confirmed Karl Hinteregger, owner of Hintech Manufacturing.
Other modifications carried out on excavators specifically for forestry, include the addition of processor and harvesting heads for felling, debarking, sorting and cross cutting to length; timber grapples for loading and cable yarding conversions for extraction.
HPE Africa, sole distributor of Hyundai Construction Equipment and McCloskey screens and crushers, offers affordable OEM parts and repair and maintenance support service throughout the country.