Watch a video of the Tigercat 1075 scarifiers in action.

In a demanding application where duty cycles approach 100 percent in soft ground, steep hills and rock strewn terrain, Tigercat has found a new market for its super-duty forwarders and six-wheel drive skidders. The country is Sweden, the application is ground scarification and the requirement is for high horsepower, durably constructedprime movers.

In Sweden, the scarifying process generally involves the use of a disc or trenching attachment fitted to the rear of a heavy duty carrier. The machine travels over a previously harvested tract, breaking through branches and tops left over from the harvesting process and creating rows of inverted turf. The mounded rows provide new trees with more light, water and access to nutrients, encouraging improved root formation.

In some cases saplings are manually planted on the edge of the mounds. In other cases, seeds are planted during the scarifying process using a system integrated into the attachment. Yet another method involves natural regeneration by seed trees left on the harvested area.

Tommy Olers, foreman for Akers Skog, operates one of the company’s two 1075 scarifiers fitted with a Bracke T26.a disc trencher attachment. At 205 kW (275 hp), the 20-tonne (22 tn) 1075 is Tigercat’s largest forwarder. It is quickly becoming regarded as the forwarder of choice for scarifying applications. Tommy works the machine in southern Sweden near Filipstad where the ground does not freeze until January. At that time the machine can either be converted to a standard forwarder for the winter or Tommy can seek contracts to the south in more temperate Germany.

Akers Skog provides scarification services to forest industry giant Stora Enzo as well as a Swedish government-owned company. These companies try to place the 1075 scarifiers in sites with the most malevolent terrain and greatest amount of rock, recognizing there are few machines or contractors in Sweden that can handle these difficult contracts. Although it varies according to the terrain, the production rate averages one hectare (2.47 acres) per hour in tough ground.