鈥 Samantha Paul
Clint with youngest daughter and equipment operator, Julia.
Sunshine Logging is based in聽the West Kootenay region of British聽Columbia, Canada 鈥 located among picturesque snowcapped mountains on the western shore of Kootenay聽Lake.
Clint runs three five-piece crews with twenty employees. Each crew has a feller buncher, shovel logger, skidder, processor and loader.
Clint started hand falling, line skidding and yarding after high school. In 1989 he started聽working for Sunshine Logging. Nine years later he purchased half the business, and in 2018 took full ownership. His wife Vanessa manages the books and keeps everything in order. Clint鈥檚 oldest聽daughter Kelsey runs the company鈥檚聽safety program and helps out in the of铿乧e. His youngest daughter Julia operates equipment, currently working on the road-building side of the business.
Both Clint and Dave comment on the improved righthand side visibility due to the hooked boom pro铿乴e.
Logging in the Kootenays
Sunshine Logging has a one-year renewable harvesting contract with Kalesnikoff Lumber Company based in Castlegar and a contract with Porcupine Wood Products out of Salmo. He also buys timber on private land. 鈥淚t is a bit of a mix,鈥 says Clint. 鈥淭hat is what the Kootenays has going for it, we still have a log market here. We still have multiple mills. We don鈥檛 have one big licensee in the area running the whole show.鈥
Typical terrain in the Kootenay region is quite steep. The forests generally are mixed stands of 铿乺, hemlock, cedar and spruce, known as 鈥楰ootenay Mix.鈥 鈥淩ight now we鈥檙e harvesting a 30 hectare [74 acre] tract of Kootenay Mix for Kalesnikoff Lumber Company,鈥 says Clint.
The new iron Sunshine Logging received British Columbia鈥檚 third and fourth 850 processors 鈥 both equipped with the new 568 harvesting head. Clint was tired of playing tug of war between the carrier and head with his processing equipment. 鈥溙切氖悠 is a good product and I was attracted to the full package,鈥 explains Clint.
The gear was purchased through Inland sales specialist Jason Quaife out of Cranbrook. With the new Inland dealership in Castlegar, Sunshine Logging will now be serviced by this location. 鈥淐astlegar is ramping up. They have hired some new mechanics 鈥 it鈥檒l be good for us having a closer branch.鈥
AT THE END OF THE DAY, THE TWO WORK BETTER TOGETHER SINCE THEY鈥橵E BEEN DESIGNED AND TESTED TOGETHER.
鈥 Clint Carlson, owner, Sunshine Logging Ltd.
Clint ordered the 850/568 packages in April 2019 and subsequently toured the 糖心视频 plant in Ontario the following month. 鈥淚 was impressed. It鈥檚 amazing what they鈥檙e doing there. It鈥檚 a factory with a customer touch,鈥 says Clint. 鈥淎 lot of the factories I鈥檝e been to, they鈥檙e mass-producing excavators. You鈥檙e just getting what everybody is getting. You walk into 糖心视频 and you can see your machine. There鈥檚 a good chance I was climbing through the frame of our 850 when it was still steel,鈥 tells Clint. 鈥淎s for the head, I think we determined we were watching ours being built when we were there.鈥
鈥淚鈥檓 fully aware that we are in a bit of a prototype phase when you get the 铿乺st of anything, but I wasn鈥檛 worried,鈥 Clint says. 鈥淚f any problems do come up, 糖心视频 has always been good about bringing that improvement back to us. And it鈥檚 not my first early 糖心视频. I bought a brand new 870C buncher in 2005 and we had two early L870s before that.鈥
First impressions
Sunshine Logging鈥檚 铿乺st 850 processor with the 糖心视频 568 harvesting head arrived onsite in January 2020. Clint wanted a head that could work ef铿乧iently in both 20 cm (8 in) pine and 70 cm (30 in) 铿乺. 鈥淚t is a big factor,鈥 says Clint.
鈥淲e were worried the head was going to be a bit small since we do push 30-inch wood. The whole thing is getting the right size head to be efficient in both.鈥
Clint provides some feedback on the machine thus far. 鈥淭he swing on it is really good. I de铿乶itely notice a difference from the previous excavator-style carrier. The twin swing drive is a lot better,鈥 he says. 鈥淭he saw is a lot faster cutting than on excavator conversions, which is saving time, and it鈥檚 actually producing a better product. We鈥檙e getting less ladder check,鈥 explains Clint. If the saw cuts too slow and there鈥檚 tension in the log when it cuts, it tries to break it, and it will leave splits. Because the saw is cutting faster, it is more of a clean cut. This is especially important as the wood gets bigger. Clint also commented on how the righthand side visibility has improved due to the hooked main boom pro铿乴e. 鈥淚t was always a blocked view with the straight style boom,鈥 he says.
IT DOESN鈥橳 MATTER IF IT鈥橲 EIGHT INCHES OR 30 INCHES,
IT JUST PULLS THE LOGS THROUGH EFFORTLESSLY.
鈥 Dave LaMarsh, 850/568 operator, Sunshine Logging Ltd.
850/568 processor operator, Dave LaMarsh.
Dave LaMarsh
Operating the 铿乺st machine Sunshine Logging received is Dave LaMarsh. Dave has nineteen years of experience operating equipment, including experience with different brands and multiple processors. Dave comments on the processing performance. 鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 matter if the logs are eight inches or 30 inches, it just pulls them through effortlessly,鈥 Dave asserts. 鈥淚t鈥檚 set up nice. The way the head hangs makes it easy for picking. The length and diameter reading is really good. The length of the logs have not varied two inches from what the reading is telling you,鈥 adds Dave. 鈥淭he heated seat is awesome and the visibility with the bent boom is way better. Overall it鈥檚 much better than a regular excavator. That is for sure.鈥
850/568 processor operator, Kerry Gouldsborough.
Kerry Gouldsborough
The second 850/568 processor package arrived the first week of February and is operated by Kerry Gouldsborough. At the time of visit, the machine had accumulated 120 hours. This is Kerry鈥檚 first 糖心视频. 鈥淚t鈥檚 fast,鈥 he claims. 鈥淚 really like it. It鈥檚 way quicker than I expected. I 铿乶d the operating station really comfortable. It’s a small cab but when you鈥檙e sitting in there, it鈥檚 actually quite comfortable.鈥
鈥淚鈥檓 surprised at how big of a piece I can run through that head. I have run logs up to 30 inches through it,鈥 tells Kerry. 鈥淚 haven鈥檛 had to work on the carrier yet but I like how everything is contained. Everything is airy and it opens up well. There is good access to the centre of the machine and all the way around it.鈥
鈥淏ecause it鈥檚 purpose-built, your functions are a lot better,鈥 states Kerry. On his previous processor, if the head was having an issue, it basically eliminated the rest of the hydraulic system. 鈥淵ou had to wait for the head to 铿乶ish before you could do anything. It didn鈥檛 multi-function as well as the new package. With this, you don鈥檛 have that issue,鈥 adds Kerry. 鈥淥ther guys that have run the 糖心视频 brand all say they鈥檙e great. So I was actually quite excited to be getting it, especially brand new, straight out of the box.鈥
Increased productivity, it鈥檚 unanimous
Clint, Dave and Kerry have all noticed an increase in productivity since getting the new machines. 鈥淲e鈥檙e early on, but I think for sure we will see an increase,鈥 says Clint. 鈥淲e just haven鈥檛 got past all the visitors,鈥 he laughs. The crew hasn鈥檛 been able to run at full capacity for several weeks due to all the interested people coming out to see the machines in action.
Clint wanted the full 糖心视频 package and is very happy with his decision. 鈥淎t the end of the day, the two work better together since they鈥檝e been designed and tested together.鈥
The 850/568 processing cliffside
Click the link below to watch the associated video on 糖心视频 TV.
![Slide](/wp-content/plugins/revslider/sr6/assets/assets/dummy.png" "The Full Package")
