WOODCRACKER | WESTTECH W1350 Caterpillar-powered machine simply devours the timber fed into it. Whilst Morbark is reluctant to give actual production figures for the chipper as there are so many variables, during our time with James he quickly filled the bulk body on the Iveco with approximately 10 tonnes of material, which equates to a potential output of up to 160 tonnes per day meaning the chipper has given the company a huge production increase over their older Bandit model. Feeding the chipper regular sized logs is one thing but James and his team regularly encounter larger material. “The market for biomass material constantly fluctuates. Recent changes have meant that timber we would cut up is now a viable source of income following chipping,” James said. To handle the pre-processing of the larger material James looked at a range of attachments available. “We were being pushed towards what seems to be the industry standard in the UK, a cone splitter. I’ve tried them before and whilst they do the job, they’re slow and can easily get stuck in the logs. We decided to
IMAGES PAUL ARGENT
PUZZLE PIECES
Greenwood’s Tree Contractors explains to Paul Argent how its recently acquired Westtech W1350 Woodcracker has fitted seamlessly into its already-capable fleet of machinery
“THE FIRST PART OF THE PUZZLE WAS THE HUGE INVESTMENT IN A MORBARK M20 CHIPPER” James Greenwood and the mighty W1350 Woodcracker. FORESTRY MACHINERY SPRING 2023
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