Valtra attracted a crowd at ElmiaWood

08.06.2009

Valtra introduced the S Series tractor with TwinTrac to the public first time at ElmiaWood. In addition visitors had their first chance ever to test drive Valtra's stepless Direct models. The recently unveiled SVC cab with the special forest roof was also on display, as well as about 30 other Valtra tractors, all equipped with Valtra's unique forest features.

The Lantmännen and Valtra international stands and demonstration areas attracted a large crowd of visitors from Scandinavia, the Baltics and Central Europe.

Valtra - Unbeatable in the Forest

Today’s agricultural tractors are truly general-purpose machines that can take care of tasks on the fields, in the forest and on the streets. By individually specifying the type of equipment and options you want, you can have a tractor that is especially well suited for first and second thinnings of the forest, harvesting energy wood, transporting and chipping energy wood. The advantages of using agricultural tractors include a lower price, simpler maintenance, better manoeuvrability, lighter weight, better resale value and substantially enhanced versatility compared to the specialised forest machinery. Forest work also creates additional uses for agricultural tractors that might otherwise sit idly in the garage outside the field-working season.
Tractors designed for forest work feature high ground clearance, a flat belly, a protected fuel tank and optimal weight distribution to allow also the front wheels to pull strongly in the forest without damaging the terrain. The floor of the cab should be flat, and the driver’s seat should rotate. The cab should also be fitted with a reverse drive system at the back of the cab and a panorama roof protected by roll bars. Purpose-built forest cabs allow the driver to see the tops of the trees and the grapple loader or harvester without having to stretch his neck. Controls at the rear improve ergonomics, as the second steering wheel and gas pedal prevent the driver from having to twist his body around.

The final choice of specifications and options is a matter of individual taste. What kind of lights do you need, and where, to let you continue working in the forest even when it gets dark outside? What kind of forest loader do you need – how much lifting capacity and reach? Do you need an auxiliary hydraulics pump at the front to speed up loader work? A forest trailer with driving wheels, hydraulic drive or standard trailer? Cross-ply tyres would seem to be an obvious choice to protect against sharp stumps, but there are still a range of options in terms of size and brand, all of them available with factory-fitted valve covers. Especially for harvesting, but also in loading, the front-axle stiffening system might be worth considering.

Born in the forest
Agricultural tractors have long been used for forest work in Scandinavia. The farming season is short, and in wintertime farmers have plenty of time to manage their forests. By comparison, farmers on large and warm steppes and prairies have not required such tractors for forest work. Valtra tractors have been built in Finland for over 50 years, and Valtra is the world’s leading manufacturer of tractors that can be used for forest work. Within the past half century this Scandinavian forest expertise was further reinforced when Valtra acquired the tractor operations of Volvo BM in 1978.

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