Driving forces

The Engine and the Forest

Few industries have seen the same kind of technology development as the forest machine industry. And the driving forces behind this development have seen equally large changes. In the beginning, development was mostly about optimizing production. Today, the array of requirements is far more complex and includes everything from the financial means of individual forestry contractors to an important focus on global environment and climate issues.

Increasing demands

Through legislation and market demands we’ve seen a rapid rate of emission reductions – from a 29% NOx and a 10% PM reduction in 1996 to a full 97% reduction of both NOx and PM by 2014 (see illustration). This has resulted in the development of various emission control technologies by forest machine manufacturers.

The diesel price is another factor. In many countries, the price of diesel almost doubled between 2001 and 2011. This means that today forest machines must often clock up many operating hours in order to achieve acceptable levels of profitability. So it's little wonder that forest machine owners welcome every small improvement in fuel efficiency.

Productivity requirements

Naturally, increased production is also a way for forest machine contractors to improve their profitability. Engines offer development potential, although machines are already working at close to maximum through the use of shifts. What's more, increases in productivity through, for example, greater engine power risk jarring with environmental requirements. As such, Komatsu Forest is wiser to invest in smarter control over – and the optimization of – engine power and the use of the latest technology to reduce fuel consumption.



Emission reduction