Soft ground in Latvia – a piece of cake with Terri

Indulis Vanags from Latvia owns around 750 hectares of forest. When he was looking for a light and agile forest machine, the choice fell on a Terri 34c Combi. Since its delivery last summer, it has run more than 1,100 hours.

How did you get in touch with Terri?
– I was looking for a small, light machine for thinning work. There were several alternatives at first, but Terri was the only one offering a tracked machine that works really well on ground with poor bearing capacity.
– I contacted Terri and met their salesperson at Elmia Wood, and some time later I travelled to Älmhult to see the factory and the machine during a demonstration.

Is there any difference between Swedish and Latvian forests?
– Basically, there is not a big difference. Our forest land has slightly poorer bearing capacity, and the most common trees we fell are birch, alder and aspen. My machine, which is equipped with a Log Max 928A, does a great job with those tree species.

Why do you think Terri works so well for your forestry work?
– Few forest owners here have focused on thinning in the past, so now we have a great deal of forest on soft ground that needs thinning. A Terri suits that very well.
– Forest owners in Latvia are very cautious and do not like the big machines because of the ruts they leave in young forests.

What is the best thing about Terri’s machines?
– For such a small machine, the operator environment is very good, and I am also very pleased with the work lights and the technology under the bonnet. But the very best thing is probably that forest thinned with a Terri machine gives such high-quality timber. Thanks to its size and agility, it gets through the forest without the need to make strip roads.

Isn’t service and communication difficult when you live outside the Nordic countries?
– Before I bought my machine, I was a bit worried about service, as there is no dealer or service provider in Latvia. But the machine is built so that I can fix many things myself with my basic knowledge and tools. If something is more complicated, I simply email Magnus Hansson, who is head of production at Terri, and together we fix any problem.