‘Tonnes you cut are never the tonnes you’re paid for’

Based near Mounrath in Co Laois, Damien Brophy has grown his forestry business substantially in less than two decades. He grew up watching his father fell trees with a crew of staff on chainsaws, with extraction carried out with County tractors, predominantly the renowned 1174s.

After leaving school, he served his time as a plant fitter at a local mine.

Damien always had a bug for the timber work, and Brophy Timber Services was soon established in 2008, when Damien bought his first timber harvester and hired a forwarder. In terms of the company’s forestry harvesting work, 40% is Coillte, 40% is private and the remaining 20% is for sawmills. Outside of this, the company has a firewood processing business, and carries out a lot of private tree care works and with a workshop and a team of mechanics, he has always carried out his own repairs, and some for other contractors.

Harvesters and forwarders

Damien’s first harvester was a used 2001 Timber Jack 1070, which he picked up in Donegal. He ended up taking in a damaged Bruunett 678 forwarder from a local contractor, on the basis that he could run it if he fixed the damage to it.

Looking back, Damien said it probably cost him more to fix the machine and keep it operational, than it would have cost him to properly hire a machine at the time, but it got him going.

Six months later, a Valmet 820 forwarder was added, followed by a second Timber Jack 1070D harvester 12 months later. Damien continued to upgrade machines regularly, before buying his first new machine in 2013. This was a John Deere 1070E harvester, with a second new harvester coming nine months later, along with a new John Deere 810E forwarder. In 2014, a new Komatsu 840TX forwarder was added.

Why Ponsse?

Damien buys machines based on what he feels works best for his operation, with price, service and the driver’s preference also being key deciding factors.

The Ponsse kit caught his attention at the Elmia forestry show in Sweden, where it launched a new harvester. Once he was due his next upgrade in 2015, he enquired and subsequently bought a new Ponsse Wisent forwarder.

Happy with its performance, a second followed in 2016, and so too did a new Ponsse Scorpion harvester, followed by another new harvester in 2017.

Today, he runs two harvesters and three forwarders. The harvesters are a Ponsse Scorpion King and a Scorpion, while the forwarders are a Ponsse Wisent, an Elk and a John Deere 1010G. The four Ponsse machines are all 2022, while the John Deere was bought new this year. The Scorpion King is being traded for a new Scorpion Giant, which is set to arrive this week.

“We have been very happy with how the Ponsse equipment has performed. The machines are seriously well balanced, with great control layouts.

“The Ponsse harvesters are the only machines on the market where the crane is mounted on the roof of the cab, giving the operator super visibility and control of their work. It can take away a little bit from operator comfort, but once the machine is set up correctly, it has very little impact on the comfort.

“We bought a new John Deere forwarder this year. It was priced keenly and the forwarder driver preferred the Deere.”

One piece of kit that stood out was a Timbermax T10 traction assist winch, the first of its kind in Ireland. Damien purchased this piece of Canadian engineering from RJ Fukes Forestry Services in Wales.

A lot of Irish forestry is grown on difficult land, often with tough terrain. This was the case where we linked up with Damien, on the Slieve Bloom mountains.

To do the best job possible for his clients, while ensuring the safety of his staff, Damien made the investment.

Usually, these machines are mounted on the excavator’s quick hitch. Always one to think outside the box, Damien decided to remove the 6.5t rear counterweight, and bolt on the winch here instead. This meant he was still able to use the excavator on site to tidy the forestry roads once they had finished the job. With 500m of a 16mm wire rope, the T10 winch is rated to pull 11t.

It is remotely controlled, meaning one operator can both drive the harvester working on the slope, and control the winch, from the cab. The system works optimally on slopes from 35% to 70%.

Palms cranes

Damien recently became the Irish agent for Palms cranes. Built in Estonia, the company has 13 models. Damien just fitted his first to his John Deere 6215R.

He needed the crane for tasks such as collecting and delivering diesel tanks to forests, hauling pipes for directing water flow, drawing firewood and helping out with site clearance.

“Forestry contractors need to have more respect for themselves, so that sawmills and semi-State bodies will have more respect for them and the work they do.

“For the risk we take on and the level of investment that’s involved, the rate is simply not good enough. A new harvester and forwarder would cost you €1m plus VAT. For contractors to survive and stay in business, the rate needs to increase by 15% to 20%. The business is that tight, and equipment is that expensive that I do feel there will be less and less contractors.

“We need a body to help us train drivers, and we need credit or help in doing so, such as tax breaks. It takes a lot of time to train an operator on how to correctly use these machines, and they need time to get used to the machines. The average age of forestry machine operators is around 60.

“We get no Government support or interaction; we are simply brushed under the carpet. We’re working in forests everyday and we do our best for the environment. We put in silt traps and try to capture and filter run-off. This isn’t required, but we see it as the right thing to do. Forestry contracting is viewed as a last-ditch job, versus a good career, and this is wrong. Good employees are well paid, and they drive new equipment, with all of the latest technology.

“The Irish model of pricing timber is outdated. The Finnish use independently calibrated forestry heads to monitor the tonnage that’s cut. In Ireland, pricing is based on weight too, but it’s variable.

“Timber is left on roadsides for long periods, meaning weight drops. Call a spade a spade, the tonnes you cut are never tonnes you get paid for over a weighbridge. The move to the Finnish way would bring more transparency to the industry.”