Shawano manufacturer to ship 3,000th tree harvester

Komatsu Forest LLC of Shawano has announced plans to ship its 3,000th Valmet Tree Feller/Harvester machine.

This marks a significant milestone for Komatsu Forest, a leading manufacturer and distributor of heavy tree harvesting and loading equipment throughout the world.

“For over 20 years, we have manufactured and distributed our products under the Timbco and Valmet brands from the manufacturing facility in Shawano,” said Nate Burton, Komstsu Forest’s marketing general manager. “Although this particular unit is destined for Australia, we have many customers in Chile, Brazil, South Africa, the UK, Russia, Canada, and of course the U.S.”

The company was founded in 1979 and purchased by Komatsu Ltd of Japan in 2003. Komatsu is the second largest construction equipment manufacturer in the world, behind Caterpillar. Other Komatsu Forest machines are produced at the company's world headquarters in Umea, Sweden, and are distributed in North America through the Shawano facility.

On June 26, Komatsu Forest will ship the 3,000th Valmet Tracked Tree Feller/Harvester manufactured at the Shawano facility. Machine number 3,000 is a Valmet 430FXL, a 300-horsepower self-propelled tracked machine weighing about 60,000 pounds that fells and processes trees at the stump for transport to a consuming mill. The eventual selling price of the machine in U.S. dollars including the harvesting attachment installed in Australia will exceed $500,000.

The company is planning a ceremony and lunch for employees June 26 to recognize their achievement, the impact of their work on the local and state economies and the support the region has provided to the company.

“Companies like Komatsu Forest have such an incredibly positive impact on our economies as well as our communities,” said State Rep. Gary Tauchen (R–Bonduel). “Achieving this milestone is a great accomplishment that was achieved thanks to the dedication, skill and hard work of their employees and we congratulate them on their achievement.”