In October we flew to Munich, where we met up with David Pattison and Paul Denton of Spalding’s Forestry before continuing our journey to Rettenbach a Auerberg where Pfanzelt Maschinenbau GmbH are based.
David and Paul were joining us on a tour of Pfanzelt’s premises and to see some equipment demonstrations laid on by Regina Pfanzelt and Peter Voderholzer. Spalding’s Forestry will be adding some of Pfanzelt’s forestry equipment to complement their expanding range of tools and equipment for use in the forestry, arboriculture and firewood industries. I was surprised by the weather when we arrived on the Tuesday afternoon as it was warm and sunny which was in complete contrast to the wet and miserable weather we had left behind Scotland. We had arranged to meet Regina on the Tuesday morning at the Pfanzelt factory, and I was pretty sure we had programmed the wrong address into the sat-nav as the route we were going was taking us through farmers’ yards and minor roads. We eventually arrived at Pfanzelt’s headquarters where we met Regina, who had arranged a company presentation and factory tour for us. Paul Pfanzelt, Regina’s father, founded the company Pfanzelt Maschinenbau GmbH 26 years ago in 1991, initially manufacturing geared and chain driven cable winches for forestry use. Paul’s early life was spent working on his father’s farm, taking care of the cows in the summer and working in the woodlands in the winter. The technical side of forestry fascinated Paul so he started an engineering apprenticeship and on completion he gained employment with Schlang & Reichart, who had been developing and manufacturing forestry winches since 1945. 1993 saw Paul expand the business by starting to manufacture forestry trailers and modifying agricultural tractors for forestry applications. As the workload expanded, they were able to build new workshops in 1994. The first of the PM brand of logging trailers was manufactured in 1996 and the loaders were sourced from other companies until the year 2000, at which point the company began to manufacture its own PM Kran loaders.
In 2001, Paul came up with the idea for the four WD Felix forwarder (now into its fourth generation and available as a four or six wheel drive unit); this was an innovative design for extracting timber in German, Austrian and Swiss forests. Available as a skidder with either single or double drum rear mounted winches with a pulling capacity of up to 10 tonnes, a clam bunk skidder or a conventional short wood forwarder, this machine is especially versatile. Production of the PM Trac forestry tractor started in 2005 and was initially a successful co-operation between Pfanzelt and Austrian tractor manufacturer Steyr; however, before long Pfanzelt were manufacturing the PM Trac themselves. Schlang & Reichart was sold to Paul Pfanzelt in 2013 by the owner Mr Hayfenmayr. He decided the sale would be the best way forward for both the company and its employees. Although still separate, both firms work and are managed from Pfanzelt’s premises in Rettenbach a Auerberg.
cOne of their latest developments is the FR50 Moritz tracked mini skidder, which was launched at the KWF exhibition in 2016. This mini skidder can perform a wide range of duties anywhere a cable winch is needed. It is able to access areas where it would be impossible for larger machines to work, travel on areas with poor soil structures/ground conditions and is able to work safely in steep challenging conditions. Pfanzelt constantly derive new equipment designs and improvements to their existing products and this has seen them pick up awards along the way. In 2012 they were awarded the forestry prize from the German Federal Ministry for Food agriculture and Consumer Protection (BMELV) for the hydraulic overrun brake and PPS controller; in 2014 they received the special “Innovative Company” award of the KWF medal at Interforst; and in 2015 they were nominated for the “Grand Prix for medium –sized privately owned companies.”
Before embarking on our tour I noticed how committed Pfanzelt are to green energy and keeping their CO2 emissions as low as possible. Most of the workshop roofs are covered in Solar Panels for supplying electricity, heating throughout their premises is supplied by biomass boilers, timber is used where possible in the construction of the workshops/offices to neutralise their carbon footprint manufactured “in house”, while the ones that are bought in are sourced from partner companies in their region to cut down long delivery journeys. The workforce of 140 is primarily comprised of local people and they run three-year apprenticeships for 16 youngsters who can start at the age of 15. It is run in conjunction with the local school with three days of hands on experience at the factory and two days of education at school. The factory tour was a real eye opener as no expense is spared at Pfanzelt. They use the latest CAD software for developing new equipment, CNC milling machines, laser cutting machines as well as robotic welders for more extensive and awkward welding. Regina, although quite young and a fairly recent employee in her father’s company, was a mine of information. There was not a question I asked that she couldn’t answer and her command of the English language is to be admired, meaning my tour was extremely interesting and informative. The larger mechanical equipment is built to order and is usually assembled within 12-16 weeks. They carry out their own quality control and testing and all items are sold through their dealer network with warranty and a test report. After the tour Regina had arranged for Peter Voderholzer (marketing manager) to join us; we were going to view a PM Trac working and to get a chance to try out the Moritz mini skidder we had brought with us on a trailer. The PM Trac with double drum winches, a rear axle mounted PM Kran and Profi trailer was owned by Michael Schneider and he was working a small spruce clear fell which had been infected by beetles. One of the advantages of this type of set up is that it is not necessary to transport the equipment by low loader between sites as the PM Trac has a road speed of 50 km/hr, which results in significant savings. The tractor has a roomy, mid mounted and pneumatically suspended cab with excellent all-round vision and a pneumatic suspended seat which can be electrically rotated through 350 degrees, meaning you are always facing your working zone. The idea of the mid mounted cab is so that attachments can be mounted at the rear via the Pfanzelt System for Attachment. They can be quickly fitted without tools and are positioned directly over the rear axle. The tractor’s chassis is similar to a vehicle chassis running from front to back, taking the strain off the centre of the tractor when mounting additional equipment over the front and rear axles. This is not a converted agricultural tractor for forestry use but a purpose built, well rotected forestry tractor with multiple uses in forestry, landscape management and agriculture. It is available with either a 133 or 174 hp engine and comes equipped with active parking control and a front axle locking ram, which improves stability and comfort during operation. Access for servicing/maintenance/ re-fuelling is good. Reversing with a trailer was much easier due to all the driving controls and floor pedals rotating with the seat and it was particularly operator friendly and easy to operate (I did find the large upright levers for the crane controls a little awkward to begin with after years on mini levers but mini levers can be fitted if necessary). Overall, I thought this was a brilliant machine: it is quiet, comfortable, stable, a pleasure to operate and really looks like it belongs in the forest. Next on the agenda was getting the Moritz off the trailer and into the woods to see what it was made of, and sure enough it didn’t disappoint. The one we were using had a 4-tonne winch (a 5.5 tonne winch is the largest available with 120m of cable) and a lot of thought had gone into the design with the provision of space for a chain saw, a combi fuel can and a lockable tool box. The tracks can be hydraulically widened for greater stability on side slopes and it has 300mm of clearance. It has an approach angle of 45 degrees both front The tractor has a roomy, mid mounted and pneumatically suspended cab with excellent all-round vision and a pneumatic suspended seat which can be electrically rotated through 350 degrees, meaning you are always facing your working zone. The idea of the mid mounted cab is so that attachments can be mounted at the rear via the Pfanzelt System for Attachment. They can be quickly fitted without tools and are positioned directly over the rear axle. The tractor’s chassis is similar to a vehicle chassis running from front to back, taking the strain off the centre of the tractor when mounting additional equipment over the front and rear axles. This is not a converted agricultural tractor for forestry use but a purpose built, well rotected forestry tractor with multiple uses in forestry, landscape management and agriculture. It is available with either a 133 or 174 hp engine and comes equipped with active parking control and a front axle locking ram, which improves stability and comfort during operation. Access for servicing/maintenance/ re-fuelling is good. Reversing with a trailer was much easier due to all the driving controls and floor pedals rotating with the seat and it was particularly operator friendly and easy to operate (I did find the large upright levers for the crane controls a little awkward to begin with after years on mini levers but mini levers can be fitted if necessary). Overall, I thought this was a brilliant machine: it is quiet, comfortable, stable, a pleasure to operate and really looks like it belongs in the forest. Next on the agenda was getting the Moritz off the trailer and into the woods to see what it was made of, and sure enough it didn’t disappoint. The one we were using had a 4-tonne winch (a 5.5 tonne winch is the largest available with 120m of cable) and a lot of thought had gone into the design with the provision of space for a chain saw, a combi fuel can and a lockable tool box. The tracks can be hydraulically widened for greater stability on side slopes and it has 300mm of clearance. It has an approach angle of 45 degrees both front ensuring ample room for loading 2x3m bays of produce. The rear bunk and winch pulleys can be lifted on hydraulics to help prevent timber digging in when winching trees over obstacles. Johann was supplying the round timber to a sawmill in Italy which was only a few kilometres across the border from Germany. They were cutting long pole length saw logs, crosscut in the mill, and shorter length pallets and pulpwood. The benefits and usefulness of the Felix for this type of work were obvious as it was carrying about 10 tonnes of timber in its bunk and skidding the long lengths behind on the winches. It was especially agile in the forest and the soil conditions were good. The site wasn’t steep but it was an up-hill extraction and Johann completed the job with one set of wheel chains on the rear, which resulted in minimal damage to the forest floor and roads. Peter asked Johann if it would be possible for me to test drive the Felix (we were lucky that Peter had lived in Garmisch for a while as the Bavarian dialect was as alien to most Germans as the Glaswegian dialect is to the English). It was a well laid out, roomy cab (identical to the PM Trac tractor) and the crane was a dream to use - powerful, smooth and really stable even at full reach. The pneumatic cab suspension and seat make a big difference to operator comfort when travelling over obstacles and when travelling at speeds of up to 40km/hr on the highway (the rear drive is disengaged for highway use). Access to service/ re-fuelling points is good and hydraulic hoses are well routed for protection but still easily accessed for replacement, while hydraulic pipes on the dipper boom are routed on the inside (standard on all crane models) for better protection. I really enjoyed my test drive and this is a machine that I would enjoy operating on a full-time basis. We then returned back to Pfanzelt HQ where Peter and Regina had arranged an opportunity to test a S-line three point linkage winch and an S line 10 tonne trailer and crane owned by Andreas Schneider although it is sold as a semi-professional model it is able to outperform a lot of winches that are labelled as professional models. The S-line trailer had a trailer mounted crane from Rettenbach a Auerberg in a nearby forest. I have used a few 3pl winches in the past - I have owned a Farmi 3 tonne and a Fransgard 5 tonne. The Pfanzelt S-line winches have greater pulling power due to the fact they are geared winches and not chain driven, the drum is in line with the direction of pull not at a 90-degree angle away from it and it has the lowest tractive force loss of only 21% by using a drum with a large core diameter. For a semi-professional winch it has all the features you would expect from an expensive professional winch: easy cable payout hydromechanical cable payout is available as an optional extra), wireless control and a cable infeed brake and distributor are just some of the benefits provided by this range of winches. Essentially, it was easy to pull the cable out, the controls for functions were simple, the winch release/braking system was excellent, and under no circumstances would it be possible to end up with a tangled mess on the drum that takes time to sort out and can damage the wire rope. When winching in trees it was also strong and smooth. This is a really well made strong winch and operated via a platform on the drawbar with four lever controls mounted on the hydraulic valve block with 2 electric toggle switches for the grab and extension functions. The unit has a reach of 7.5m and a good powerful lift and there were two hydraulically operated jacks for stability when loading/unloading. Again, it was a quality piece of equipment that would stand up to the demands of some of the less gentle operators in the industry. It was an amazing two days and the time and effort put in to show us around by both Regina and Peter was amazing. Their enthusiasm and professionalism for the Pfanzelt products is a pleasure to see and it’s not surprising that this company is going from strength to strength. We headed back to Munich but I must have got my dates mixed up as I had a spare day before flying home. Oh well, it was October, I like beer and I was in Munich, need I say more? For more information on Pfanzelt products in the UK please contact Spaldings Forestry