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
Ladugården, fortfarande i gott skick, omvandlades i början av decenniet för att fungera som maskinskjul. Att lyfta taket var den största utmaningen.
Både Alvars hus och maskinskjul värms upp med träflis. Värmesystemets flisförråd på 100m3 är djupt och behöver endast fyllas på två gånger under ett normalt år. Gårdsplanen är fullständigt ren, vilket är ganska vanligt i Österbotten.
ntrollpanelens pekskärm erbjuder många funktioner. Enligt Alvar har det varit ganska lätt att lära sig alla funktioner.
Valtra är obestridd ledare inom skogstraktorhytter; kontrollerna sitter på rätt plats, hytten är rymlig, luftkonditioneringen/uppvärmningen fungerar och det nödvändiga takfönstret är tillräckligt brett.
Kesla C645 har ett litet format för transport på vägar. Den sätts i och ur driftläge på bara några ögonblick genom kontrollerna i hytten. Alvars 316T-lastare är utrustad med en ProG26E grip.