Deere mpany : Rising Up Down Under | John Deere US

1270E Wheeled Harvester

Australia may be known for the Sydney Opera House, the Great Barrier Reef, and its vast outback, but it also has a rich history of logging. During the 19th century, European settlers began clearing native forests to make way for farms while supplying wood for fencing and building construction. A search for a tree that was most suitable to Australia's climate fueled the growth of forestry plantations, especially during the 1920s and '30s. Today most logging is done on these plantation forests, which comprise approximately half softwood (mostly pinus radiata species) and half hardwood (mostly eucalyptus species). Plantations cover two million hectares along the southeastern and southwestern coasts.

Reid Logging, located in Mount Gambier, South Australia, harvests 100,000 cubic meters of pine annually. Most of its product is sent to domestic mills, with pulpwood being exported. Founded by John Reid in 1966, the company pioneered mechanical logging in the region. In the early days, teams of 13 loggers hand-felled timber, which was cut into short 1.2-meter pulpwood before being stacked by hand onto trucks. 'This process was extremely labor intensive with a high rate of injury,' says current owner Colin Reid.

Beginning in the mid-1970s, Reid Logging began mechanizing operations. In 1974, the company introduced the first forwarder on the southeastern coast, which could load 5-meter-long logs. 'This resulted in far less manual handling of wood, significantly fewer injuries, and dramatically greater productivity,' says Reid. In 1978, it introduced the region's first harvesters - two John Deere 743s - which further helped reduce accidents and increase productivity.