Swedish forest industry develops tomorrow’s sustainable forest machine

A new type of forest machine is currently driving around the forests of Sweden. It combines a low-impact approach, increased productivity and an improved operator environment and is the result of a major cooperative project that has been under way since 2019. The concept machine is called Centipede and it has been developed by SCA, seven other Swedish forestry companies and the forest machinery manufacturer Komatsu. The machine is currently being test driven and the results are promising.

Swedish forestry is facing major challenges and the issue of sustainability is the focus of attention. For this reason, Södra, Sveaskog, SCA, Holmen, Norra Skog, Mellanskog, Stora Enso and BillerudKorsnäs, as well as the forest machinery manufacturer Komatsu Forest, have jointly developed a new forest machine for low-impact forestry. With its innovative technology, the machine – called Centipede – is designed to ensure the most sustainable possible management of forests for both the environment and people.

Low-impact and comfortable work environment
Centipede has been developed to meet the challenges of forestry and offers three important benefits: Lower soil compaction, increased productivity and better work environment.

“This is a comprehensive project, in which the parties are taking a long-term approach to promote sustainable forestry. In the project, we have fundamentally challenged today’s technology and taken a step into the future,” says Erik Nilsson, CTO of Komatsu Forest.

The machine is built to reduce the risk of ground damage, to increase transport speed and to reduce whole-body vibrations for the operator. The machine has a newly developed forestry track system, with a large support surface to minimize ground impact. It also has a fully suspended chassis to handle uneven ground conditions, enabling the speed of the machine to be increased significantly without the corresponding increase in vibrations.
more at source: https://www.sca.com/en/top-news-startpage/2022-04/svensk-skogsnaring-utvecklar-framtidens-hallbara-skogsmaskin/

Related Posts

Top-10 Reasons to Comment on the Revised National Forest Stewardship Standard

Through Friday, December 18th, the draft revised National Forest Stewardship Standard is open for public comment. Following below are the top-10 reasons to review the draft and submit your comments: 1) Influence the management of more than 35 million acres of forest currently certified to FSC standards in the US, with millions of additional acres considering certification. 2) Add your perspective to the diverse coalition of voices represented by FSC. 3) Help FSC make sure the new forest stewardship standard is both rigorous and practical. 4) Stand up for science as it applies to forest management. 5) Ensure FSC certification remains a good proxy for climate-smart forestry and wood products in the construction marketplace. click read more below for the remaining 5.

Plans drawn up for World’s tallest Wooden Skyscraper

Sumitomo Forestry, a Japanese company is planning to build the world's tallest wooden skyscraper to mark its 350th anniversary in 2041. Only 10% of the 70-storey W350 tower would be steel, combined with about 180,000 cubic metres of indigenous wood which will make up for 90% of the building. This will limit the carbon footprint of the building as the wood will store the carbon instead of emitting it into the atmosphere. There will be about 8,000 homes, with trees and foliage on balconies at every level, creating a pleasant space for plants and living organisms and in turn contributing to the biodiversity of the city. In doing so, the company will be on track to meet its wider objective to create environmentally-friendly and timber utilising cities and maintain the livelihood of the forest ecosystem. Click Read More below for additional information.

Revised advice note for protecting Intact Forest Landscapes published

The revised advice note becomes effective on 1 January 2023 and reflects the interim measure for Intact Forest Landscapes requested by Motion 23 at the FSC General Assembly. At the 9th FSC General Assembly in Bali in 2022, the FSC membership passed Motion 23:2020 and associated Implementation Note which requires the use of landscape-wide approaches adapted to local conditions and strengthened Standard Development Groups (SDGs) to improve protection of Intact Forest Landscapes (IFLs). The Secretariat took immediate action and announces the publication of a revised Advice Note for IFLs to implement the interim measures required by the passed Motion 23 (including the interpretation note). Motion 65:2014, approved by the FSC membership at the 7th General Assembly in Seville in 2014, called for the protection of the vast majorities of Intact Forest Landscapes (IFLs) within the FSC certified Management Units. This has been implemented through IFL-specific International Generic Indicators (IGI) in FSC-STD-60-004 V2-0, and through the Advice Note ADV-20-007-018 for areas where there are no approved Forest Stewardship Standards based on V2-0 of the IGI.
Back To Top
×Close search
Search