Faced with the challenge of working in some of the toughest environments in Britain, specialist contract Future Forestry turned to McConnel to find safe and productive solutions.
The company needed to overcome the problems of working on the steep slopes of the Scottish Highlands - cutting access paths through dense gorse and overgrowth, and operating safely in a potentially dangerous environment directly underneath high-voltage power-lines.
Unable to clear the vegetation with conventional machinery because of the safety risk around the power lines, the company turned to McConnel’s all-terrain remote control ROBOPOWER and ROBOCUT machines to tackle the task.
Powered by a 140hp diesel engine and boasting a 150m remote control range, ROBOPOWER is part of the new generation of unmanned remote control tractors. Equipped with a forestry mulcher it was able to complete a task which would have taken a manual cutting team weeks to finish in just a few hours.
The team also used a ROBOCUT armed with a heavy-duty ROBOMULCH flailhead – taking full advantage of its ability to operate on slopes of up to 55 degrees.
McConnel’s remote control product specialist Simon Pattrick said: “The machines excelled in some of the UK’s toughest terrain and were able to clear dense vegetation which had not been cut back in decades.”
“Both machines proved highly effective and protected operators by allowing them to work safely well away from hazardous zones.”
For more information on McConnel’s full range of remote control products, please go to: http://www.mcconnel.com/remote-control-technology/
