Specialists in tough felling work: SENNEBOGEN
excavators at work at Canal du Midi
Protection for the UNESCO World Heritage Site: SENNEBOGEN excavators chop down
diseased trees at Canal du Midi. A 718 forestry telescopic crane and an 830 crawler
excavator are working along the more than 240 km long canal to secure the diseased
tree population.
The Canal du Midi is more than 240 km long and connects Toulouse to the
Mediterranean Sea near Sète. Completed in 1681, it was a critical transport route for
years, opening up regional markets to interregional trade long before modern streets
and transportation routes came to France. Today the canal, which was inscribed as a
UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996, is a beloved vacation destination and is
primarily used by pleasure craft and houseboats. However, this idyll is being
threatened. The some 42,000 plane trees lining the Canal du Midi have been stricken
by a disease. A microbial fungus is infesting the trees. Branches and bark begin
falling off, and the tree is dead in two to five years.
The only solution for curtailing the disease is to chop down and burn the affected
trees. Specialized companies spend the winter clearing out a number of targeted
locations. This is where the two SENNEBOGEN excavators delivered at the start of
2015 by Sales and Service Partner SYGMAT come into play.
Modern felling with grab saws at SMDA and Groupe SERPE
Depending on the size and thickness of the trees, the properties of the soil and the
regional location, two SENNEBOGEN machines join in on behalf of Voies Navigables
de France, the state authority for inland waterway management.
For this work, the company SMDA SAS relies on an 830 HD crawler excavator
equipped with a 17 m boom and a hydraulic grab saw. The robust, telescoping HD
Press contact:
SENNEBOGEN Maschinenfabrik GmbH
Mr. Florian Attenhauser
Sennebogenstraße 10
94315 Straubing - Germany
Tel: +49 9421 540-354
Fax: +49 9421 540-888
undercarriage with 700 mm wide track shoes keep the 830 stable and secure, and
also allows it to navigate difficult terrain with ease. The machine is powered by a 164
kW diesel engine and has a comfort cab that can be angled up to 30° and extended
up to 2.7 m. This gives the operator an optimal view of the work area and direct sight
even of higher branches. Protective gratings on the windshield and glass roof panel
protect against falling materials.
Another green machine is performing a similar task about an hour's drive away for
Group SERPE. The 718 forestry telescopic crane with 13 m boom and mobile
undercarriage is practically made for this kind of mobile use. This configuration
includes a grab saw with a tilt rotator. The operator has to bring the branches and
trees piece by piece to a specific location in order to then burn them on site. This is
designed to prevent further contamination of the tree population. The impressive,
compact size of the all-wheel drive 718 also preserves the ground. The machine also
drives short distances itself, thanks to being approved for road use and a top speed
of 20 km/h. A normal flat-bed trailer is enough for transport over longer distances.
Both machines are handled by Sales and Service Partner SYGMAT in France and
have already proven themselves after just a few weeks of continuous use.
Captions:
A SENNEBOGEN 718 forestry mobile crane and an 830 HD excavator at work in
France to manage the trees along the Canal du Midi. The historical tree population is
suffering from a fungus and must be precisely and thoroughly treated.
Press contact:
SENNEBOGEN Maschinenfabrik GmbH
Mr. Florian Attenhauser
Sennebogenstraße 10
94315 Straubing - Germany
Tel: +49 9421 540-354
Fax: +49 9421 540-888