The dairy cattle left (Pedersöre/Esse) Alvar Wärn's farm in Ähtävä six years ago, and the warm barn was made into a full-scale forestry equipment storage shed. He selected wood chipping as his new business. Choosing a wood chipper was not difficult, he simply turned to the familiar Finnish-made Kesla. In February 2017, Alvar Wärn renovated his chipping unit by sticking with the same models: Kesla C645 and Valtra T234.
C645 is even better
The dairy cattle left (Pedersöre/Esse) Alvar Wärn's farm in Ähtävä six years ago, and the warm barn was made into a full-scale forestry equipment storage shed. He selected wood chipping as his new business. Choosing a wood chipper was not difficult, he simply turned to the familiar Finnish-made Kesla. In February 2017, Alvar Wärn renovated his chipping unit by sticking with the same models: Kesla C645 and Valtra T234.
"I'm reall satisfied with the Kesla and the quality of wood chips it produces. The machine has worked really well and the provision of spare parts has also gone smoothly," Alvar begins his story directly by bundling up his experiences. His trade-in Kesla, which logged more than 7000 tractor hours, was the same proven model. The largest Valtra T-model's power take-off is sufficient, but "the power is always too low," says Alvar grinning with the corners of his mouth. With this unit, 80-120 cubic meters of chips are produced per hour.
New details refined
"The new rotor design now makes a more uniform quality of chips. The blades are very easy to change. Also, I like the higher blade workbench; it is easier to clean and the feed table is higher than before, which itself makes the chipping work easier." The work is even more flexible with a camera installed on the blower pipe, which Alvar did not choose to get.
Alvar chips wood for farms and private companies in a hundred-mile radius. To some extent, he also works as a subcontractor for large energy producers. The tractor-operated trailer-mounted chipper is often invited to places where a truck-mounted chipper cannot pass because of the softness or slope of the ground.
His marketing has all been by word of mouth, so electronic communications have not yet been needed. Alvar runs his Kesla-Valtra unit alone, although his son Oscar (21) helps him chip once in a while, when his own work permits. In the summer, Alvar works mainly on forest roads and roadside cutting.
Alvar services and, when necessary, repairs the machine himself, external maintenance work is rarely needed. However, wood chipping contractor Alvar Wärn notes he gets advice on maintenance and spare parts from Kesla quickly.
Text and photos: Juhani Rahkonen
The barn, still in good condition, was converted at the beginning of the decade to function as an equipment shed. Lifting the roof was the biggest task.
Alvar’s house and equipment shed are both heated by wood chips. The heating system's 100 m3 wood chip storage is deep and in a normal year needs to be filled only twice. The yard is perfectly clean, as it is quite common in Ostrobothnia.
A neat stack of material located in a ventilated space is an important factor in high-quality chips, while respecting cleanliness. Excavators equipped with guillotine blades have the power to lift trees with their roots, which is poison to the blades of the chipper.
The touch-screen control panel has quite many features on offer. According to Alvar, the functions have been quite easy to learn.
Valtra is the indisputable leader in forest tractor cabs; the controls are in the right places, the cab is roomy, the air conditioning/heating works and the necessary skylight is wide enough.
Kesla C645 is a compact package on the highway. It is put into chipping mode and vice versa by taking just a few moments in the cab to operate the commands. Alvar’s 316T loader is equipped with a ProG26E grapple.