Mosaic Forest Management, a forest and logging company on Vancouver Island B.C., had the opportunity to put the new Cat® 568 Next Generation forestry machine through the paces at a logging site near Nanaimo. “We have about 25 pieces of Cat equipment and have been a Finning customer for about 15 years,” says Ben Lattanzi, Maintenance and Purchasing Manager for Mosaic Forest Management. “The machines are reliable with very little downtime and the product support meets our needs.”
This Next Generation log loader is guaranteed to move a lot more timber. It is powered by a Cat 9.3B engine which consumes 5% less fuel and gives the machine 10% greater swing torque. According to James Smith, who has been operating the machine for Mosiac in various applications from hoe-forwarding and chucking to high piling for skidders and landing prep for processors, sees some significant improvements especially in the track power. “The extended track frame has a greater footprint for the steeper terrain we work on. As long as the tracks will hold, it will power through it.”
Like all Next Generation forestry machines, the changes aren’t all tied to horsepower (HP). The large windows and open site lines lend themselves to much greater visibility. “I’m not stretching and straining my neck to try and see,” explains James, “And with the new 568 electronic control, I find the operation of the machine to be smoother. It’s a much more comfortable cab, and the monitor on the new 568 is really simple, easy to use, and very convenient with it being a touch screen.” For Andrew Babuin, sales rep for Finning Canada, the inside of the cab is one of the highlights. “With more visibility of the terrain, you are just going to increase your productivity, have more confidence going through the bush, and move more logs faster,” says Andrew.
Compared to the previous model, the Next Generation 568 will use 65 fewer filters over the life of the machine which will lower maintenance costs by 15%, another big advantage to equipment owners. “Reducing our maintenance costs will help our bottom line and will help our cost in logging and getting our product to market cheaper,” says Ben.
“They have taken a good machine and made it that much better, including increasing the engine HP and track power,” says Andrew. “The operator told me within three minutes of running up the road that he noticed a big difference. And they also increased the swing torque as well, so the overall performance is much better than the previous model.”
After testing the new machine on some of the toughest terrain in B.C., Mosaic is also impressed with what they see. “The 568 met our expectations in production. With this new model, it seems like they’ve taken it up a level. I’m very pleased with what I’ve seen so far and what Caterpillar has brought to the table with this machine,” says Ben.
For Andrew, he can’t wait to get this new machine out to more customers working in the field. “We’re really excited for other customers to experience the benefits of the new version.”
For more information on the Cat 568 Next Generation forestry machine click here.
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