The partnership aims at developing a forwarder with rubber tracks.
Prinoth will participate in a consortium of European forestry institutes together with Ponsse. The partnership aims at developing a forwarder with rubber tracks that can protect the forests and soils while improving productivity and access to weak forest soil. Consortium members are examining more stringent thresholds for soil damage, developing improved operations practices and would like to better regulate rut creation and treatment.
The Prinoth Panther undercarriages, which have a ground pressure as low as 4 psi (pound per square inch) or 281 g/cm2, can provide a good solution to the consortium. This undercarriage has a unique system equipped with rubber tracks and an exclusive high travel large wheel/tandem that were developed to work together to provide the best off-road capabilities with minimal impact on the environment. This feature will help reach one of the project’s specific objectives which is to significantly diminish wheel rutting and soil disturbance compared to a regular wheeled-forwarder.
The project will comprise of Panther undercarriages assembled into a Ponsse forwarder. The undercarriages will also provide improved speed and as such, increased productivity for businesses. It is envisaged that this forwarder will allow for better machine utilization rates for contractors which will, in turn, translate into a more constant wood supply independent of weather conditions. Prinoth’s undercarriage expertise developed over many years will then be applicable to a very demanding industry like forestry. Source: https://www.prinoth.com/en/tracked-utility-vehicles/news/news/partnership-with-ponsse-334/