Caged wood cascading

By deploying truly unique equipment, tree felling company Weijtmans managed to limit inconvenience and guarantee safety at all times on behalf of Boskalis. The uprooted timber was also used in the highest possible quality application in the chain (cascading). 

On the existing route of the N69 there were trees here and there too close to the road. It did not benefit the safety of road users. "On one Saturday -during a large-scale road closure- we used four teams to remove most of these trees," says Kees Weijtmans. "A number of trees were uprooted afterwards without closing the road. A job we can do safely thanks to our unique telescopic crane with its own developed clamp. The clamp consists of standard components, but the rotating mechanism with motors in combination with a planetary gear system, is unique. With this clamp we stabilize the tree. Then the branches are cut off and we can put the tree away in a controlled way. The special mast can handle a torsional force of as much as 60,000 Nm."

On the new route of the N69, Weijtmans spent ten weeks clearing all together about 10 acres of forest trees. "A nice project that went fine with zero incidents. In addition, we manage to distinguish ourselves by working according to the principle of cascading. We try to return all the wood as high up the chain as possible. Only what remains is shredded. That is not a given in our sector."