New Madill 124 Featured in - Brightwater Engineers Ltd
New Madill 124 Featured in - Brightwater Engineers Ltd
New Madill 124 Featured in - Brightwater Engineers Ltd
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It’s been five years<br />
s<strong>in</strong>ce the last all-new<br />
<strong>Madill</strong> <strong>124</strong> arrived <strong>in</strong><br />
<strong>New</strong> Zealand.<br />
<strong>in</strong> <strong>New</strong> Zealand under licence and the deal to do so was<br />
confirmed by Nicholson Manufactur<strong>in</strong>g after it became<br />
the new owner.<br />
Regular readers of NZ Logger will know from the article<br />
published earlier <strong>in</strong> the year that it took more than 12<br />
months from sign<strong>in</strong>g the deal for this first <strong>Madill</strong> <strong>124</strong><br />
to emerge from the <strong>Brightwater</strong> facility <strong>in</strong> Christchurch,<br />
s<strong>in</strong>ce the 2-Dimensional eng<strong>in</strong>eer<strong>in</strong>g draw<strong>in</strong>gs had to be<br />
re-created digitally <strong>in</strong> 3-D and then orders placed with<br />
component suppliers before production could commence.<br />
And, as we expla<strong>in</strong>ed <strong>in</strong> that article, <strong>Brightwater</strong> did not<br />
rush the build, want<strong>in</strong>g to ensure the first <strong>New</strong> Zealand<br />
mach<strong>in</strong>e would be as good, if not better than the orig<strong>in</strong>al<br />
– a concern that may have crossed the m<strong>in</strong>ds of some<br />
potential buyers, but not Alister.<br />
“I figured they’d want to do everyth<strong>in</strong>g possible to get<br />
it right, so that didn’t worry me,” he says. And have they?<br />
“It’s worked brilliantly s<strong>in</strong>ce we took delivery (<strong>in</strong> June)<br />
and noth<strong>in</strong>g has gone wrong, so yes, they did get it right,”<br />
adds Alister.<br />
The only work required after it arrived <strong>in</strong> the forest<br />
was some adjustment to the speed of the drums for the<br />
guy ropes, which weren’t be<strong>in</strong>g taken up quickly enough<br />
when the yarder was be<strong>in</strong>g shifted back and forth <strong>in</strong>to<br />
new positions. But that was more a case of f<strong>in</strong>e-tun<strong>in</strong>g,<br />
not a repair, and any contractor will attest that it’s not<br />
unusual for new mach<strong>in</strong>es to suffer a few teeth<strong>in</strong>g<br />
problems once they get out to the bush. So that’s a pass<br />
with fly<strong>in</strong>g colours for the new <strong>Madill</strong> <strong>124</strong>.<br />
Credit goes to the diligence of the <strong>Brightwater</strong> Services<br />
Andrew Vari positions the <strong>Madill</strong><br />
<strong>124</strong> as close to the edge of the<br />
gully as is safely allowable for<br />
greater visibility to grab and<br />
drag trees to the land<strong>in</strong>g.<br />
team, led by L<strong>in</strong>coln Rayner, Eng<strong>in</strong>eer Manager, which<br />
took great pa<strong>in</strong>s to build quality and reliability <strong>in</strong>to<br />
Number One (it’s actually been given the serial number<br />
51, to follow on from the last Canadian-built mach<strong>in</strong>e) at<br />
every step of the process. L<strong>in</strong>coln has returned for the<br />
first time s<strong>in</strong>ce the Peacocke yarder was commissioned,<br />
to see how his “first-born” is runn<strong>in</strong>g and to answer any<br />
technical questions myself or Iron Tester ‘Scania James<br />
may have.<br />
Right now, we’re just admir<strong>in</strong>g the job be<strong>in</strong>g done by<br />
Andrew Vari <strong>in</strong> the controll<strong>in</strong>g seat up <strong>in</strong> the sh<strong>in</strong>y new<br />
cab, as he expertly places the Young grapple tongs over<br />
each tree and pulls them up to the land<strong>in</strong>g.<br />
Before Andrew arrived two years ago, the old yarder<br />
was worked by Alister, but he’s happy to take a back seat<br />
these days and manage the operation <strong>in</strong>stead, though<br />
does admit to hav<strong>in</strong>g a few sneaky goes on the <strong>Madill</strong><br />
when Andrew wants a break. Well, who could resist<br />
play<strong>in</strong>g with such a nice (big boy’s) toy?<br />
We chat about his forestry experience and the steps<br />
that led to the <strong>Madill</strong> purchase and it’s <strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g to hear<br />
that Alister does not have a family history <strong>in</strong> this <strong>in</strong>dustry<br />
– his father was a sheep farmer and when the farm was<br />
sold they upped sticks and sailed the Pacific on a yacht for<br />
a while. Back on land, Alister decided to give forestry a go<br />
after school and found work with Sam Webb’s harvest<strong>in</strong>g<br />
crew near Taupo. He graduated to foreman and then<br />
started up his own crew 12 years ago with a Berger tower<br />
hauler, work<strong>in</strong>g various areas, from the Raglan coast<br />
through to Gisborne, before arriv<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> Ka<strong>in</strong>garoa.<br />
Andrew Vari likes the<br />
easy access to the<br />
new Detroit eng<strong>in</strong>e and<br />
Allison transmission.<br />
He swapped the tower for a 1991 Cypress sw<strong>in</strong>g yarder<br />
along the way because of its greater versatility on broken<br />
country and it worked well, although suffered the usual<br />
issues you’d expect of a well-used mach<strong>in</strong>e, need<strong>in</strong>g<br />
various components fixed and upgraded on a regular<br />
basis, as they succumbed to wear-and tear.<br />
“I guess I got fed up with the phone calls from Andrew<br />
say<strong>in</strong>g this needs fix<strong>in</strong>g or we have to replace that<br />
because it’s wear<strong>in</strong>g, which was really beh<strong>in</strong>d the idea of<br />
gett<strong>in</strong>g a brand new yarder,” says Alister.<br />
“I shouldn’t need to do anyth<strong>in</strong>g to it for a long while<br />
and I know I will get 20 years of good service from a<br />
mach<strong>in</strong>e like this if we take care of it.”<br />
While Alister and I have been chatt<strong>in</strong>g, ‘Scania’ has<br />
climbed up to jo<strong>in</strong> Andrew <strong>in</strong> the cab, to get his part of<br />
the Iron Test under way. Watch<strong>in</strong>g the new <strong>124</strong> go<strong>in</strong>g<br />
through its test paces, Alister says there are a number<br />
of similarities between his old Cypress and this mach<strong>in</strong>e,<br />
after all, it is an early predecessor (the <strong>Madill</strong> bus<strong>in</strong>ess<br />
was purchased by Cypress, which put some of its models<br />
<strong>in</strong>to the familiar red and white livery).<br />
Twenty years later and we are <strong>in</strong> an entirely new era,<br />
although the <strong>Madill</strong> <strong>124</strong> of 2012 is not much different<br />
to the mach<strong>in</strong>es that have carved a great reputation<br />
<strong>in</strong> forests around the world. It still looks and runs like<br />
a <strong>Madill</strong> <strong>124</strong>, but there are a number of 21st century<br />
upgrades.<br />
They <strong>in</strong>clude the latest 14-litre Detroit Diesel Series<br />
60 eng<strong>in</strong>e built to Tier III standards, <strong>in</strong> place of the 12.7litre<br />
Detroit previously used, which lifts power output to<br />
336kW (450hp). The fully automatic transmission has<br />
given way to Allison’s Powershift clutchless 6-speed<br />
manual – a change that is designed to give the operator<br />
more control over pulls, elim<strong>in</strong>at<strong>in</strong>g the ‘hunt<strong>in</strong>g’ between<br />
gears that can occur with an auto as it drags a heavy<br />
tree to the land<strong>in</strong>g. The w<strong>in</strong>ch control has changed to<br />
air-actuated, <strong>in</strong>stead of electric, to preserve reliability<br />
and also allow for fixes to be done <strong>in</strong> the bush, be<strong>in</strong>g less<br />
complex than an electric system.<br />
The <strong>Madill</strong> sits on a D7 track base, as before, but with<br />
up-to-date track motors. The hydraulic system is also<br />
similar to that used <strong>in</strong> the past, but with latest technology<br />
components it now delivers <strong>in</strong>creased flows.<br />
All the metal fabrication is <strong>New</strong> Zealand-made and<br />
the biggest change to the earlier <strong>124</strong>s is the cab, which<br />
is closely modelled on the one designed for the <strong>Madill</strong><br />
3800 log loader that is back <strong>in</strong> production <strong>in</strong> Canada and<br />
features Marguard front and Lexan side screens, so there<br />
is no need for protective bars on the w<strong>in</strong>dows.<br />
<strong>Brightwater</strong> talked to <strong>Madill</strong> <strong>124</strong> owners and operators<br />
to get their <strong>in</strong>put on improvements to the mach<strong>in</strong>e dur<strong>in</strong>g<br />
the re-draft<strong>in</strong>g process and one of the updates suggested<br />
is evident up on the 60ft boom, where the ma<strong>in</strong> fairleads<br />
now have reta<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g collars <strong>in</strong> the bronze thrust bear<strong>in</strong>gs<br />
to hold them captive if they break – thus, the yard<strong>in</strong>g<br />
operation won’t come to a judder<strong>in</strong>g halt as it can still be<br />
used until a full repair is made.<br />
Have the upgrades and newer componentry made<br />
much difference to the actual operation of the new<br />
<strong>Madill</strong>, compared to his old yarder? Very much so, says<br />
22 NZ Logger | December 2012/January 2013 December 2012/January 2013 | NZ Logger 23