SOURCE: Supply Post (East and West Editions), December 2008
by Keith Ellis
Seven years ago, Gary Lowe of Stoney Creek, Ontario was approached by his father-in-law to run and develop the family business, Winona Wood, a tree harvesting operation. After spending many years in the automotive sales industry, it was an opportunity for Lowe to try something new and grow the company for his family. At the time, Winona Wood’s services consisted of harvesting and selling firewood throughout Ontario. As Lowe immersed himself in the business and grew the operations, he quickly discovered the opportunity of land clearing and site preparation.
Many of the traditional land clearing techniques in Ontario included the use of feller bunchers and skidders; however, Lowe noticed that a large portion of the new tree growth was diseased and could be mulched in place. Winona Wood researched the available mulching equipment and was one of the first land clearing operations in Ontario to use dedicated mulching equipment and attachments. Lowe was landing numerous jobs due to the efficiency and benefits of his mulching fleet. As a result, Winona Wood grew quickly to fulfill the range of job specifications in diverse environments and acquired numerous pieces of equipment. As the equipment assets and revenue started growing for Lowe’s operations, the maintenance expenses and downtime were also escalating due to the harsh operating conditions in Ontario.
At the time Winona Wood entered the mulching market, the majority of mulching equipment was powered hydraulically or by power take-off (PTO). The mulching attachments were typically mounted to the front of a prime mover and used a series of drive belts and pulleys to spin the mulching rotor from 1,250 to 2,100 rpm. The rotors were equipped with proprietary cutting tools to tear and chip a tree into mulch. The range of soft and hard woods and temperature conditions in Ontario pushed Lowe’s fleet to its limits and eventually exposed equipment weaknesses. The rotor bearings required daily greasing and the cutting tools had a finite life and were expensive to replace. The drive belts and pulleys were subjected to shock loading and constant start and stop situations which ultimately led to failure. Also, the PTO driven systems would experience mechanical failure over time. After fighting the rising maintenance expenses with his mulching fleet, Lowe decided to sell all of his mulching equipment and re-examine his approach to mulching.
Initially, he talked to numerous equipment distributors and researched the Internet for innovative approaches to mulching. Lowe attended the CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2008 in Las Vegas, Nevada reviewing the latest equipment and trends and met with IronWolf, an equipment manufacturer based in Noble, Oklahoma, who manufactures a range of attachments and equipment designed for excavation, surface mining, milling, and land clearing. At the show, IronWolf unveiled the Mulcher series of mulching attachments designed for skid steers and larger prime movers. The Mulcher design uses similar technology employed by IronWolf’s larger surface mining machine, the IronWolf Crusher. The cutting head is driven hydraulically using a direct drive system including high torque, low-speed motors and planetary gearboxes. The mulching rotor turns at 600 rpm and uses low cost cutting tools.
After the CONEXPO, Lowe traveled to IronWolf’s headquarters, toured the factory, and tested the equipment. Impressed with the low maintenance design, Lowe purchased the first production model Mulcher from IronWolf in June 2008. Winona Wood mounted the IronWolf Mulcher 5X to an ASV PT- 100 track loader and used the new equipment to complete many multiacre land clearing projects. The robust design proved to withstand the harsh conditions and has much lower maintenance costs compared to competitive products.
With the success of the IronWolf Mulcher, Lowe has refined his business model to maximize the flexibility of his future fleet while minimizing capital expenses. Winona Wood has since purchased other equipment and prime movers, but has maintained only one Mulcher 5X to date. Depending on the job scope, Winona Wood will mount the IronWolf Mulcher to a different prime mover by using quickconnect fittings and unique mounting brackets and currently uses the Mulcher mounted to a Caterpillar 320C excavator. The mounting flexibility and the robust design of the IronWolf Mulcher is enabling Winona Wood to multi-task, meet the needs of the client, and minimize maintenance and capital expenses. Winona Wood and IronWolf continue to exchange ideas and constantly innovate to remain competitive in today’s dynamic economic and climatic environment.