2018

Newsletter Edition 11/2018

Overview Forwarder2020 in a Nutshell (page 2) Field tests in Lithuania (page 3) Interview with Dr. Remigijus Zinkevicius, ASU

(page 4-6

Editorial

Events and stories (page 6-8) Focus on project partners Bosch Rexroth Ltd. & SC ROTECA S.R.L. (page 11)

Dear Readers,

A very busy summer is behind the consortium of the Forwarder2020 consortium and we are very happy to report on the forthcomings of the project in our fourth newsletter. You can look forward to a report on the field tests in Lithuania which took place in October 2018 near Punia, Lithuania, several feedbacks on fairs and conferences in which our project partners participated in order to present our Forwarder2020 project and last but not least we present the next interesting interview to you: with Dr. Remigijus Zinkevicius, professor at Aleksandras Stulginskis University in Kaunas, Lithuania, who explains to us his contribution to the project and the importance of the Forwarder2020 project for his research in general. And you will get to know two more important partners of our project today: Bosch Rextroth Ltd. From UK and SC RORTECA S.R.L. from Romania. Now we wish you a pleasant reading! For more information on Forwarder2020, please visit the project website, Twitter or LinkedIn. Kindly yours, Felix Fürst zu Hohenlohe-Waldenburg, CEO at Hohenloher Spezial Maschinenbau GmbH & Co. KG and Forwarder2020 project coordinator Project coordinator: Mr. Felix Fürst zu Hohenlohe-Waldenburg Hohenloher Spezial Maschinenbau GmbH & Co. KG [email protected]

Imprint | www.forwarder2020-project.eu

Forwarder2020 in a Nutshell

The Innovation Action Forwarder2020, co-financed by the European Commission, has the main aim of improving sustainability of wood production and delivery as well as operational forest management and planning. This will be achieved by developing specific innovations for more efficient forwarders (wood extraction and transportation vehicles) such as:

Hydrostatic mechanical powersplit transmission Hybrid hydraulic crane system with energy recuperation Hydropneumatic suspension Triple-bogie axle Monitoring system

Title: Smart Forwarder for sustainable and efficient forest operation and management Duration: Oct. 2016 – Sept. 2019 Funding: around 2M€ via H2020 Coordination: Hohenloher Spezial Maschinenbau GmbH & Co.KG, Germany Participant countries: Germany, Switzerland, Lithuania, Romania, Italy, United Kingdom Field of research: forestry, forestry machines, forest operation and management

Forwarder2020 innovations will be integrated into 2 prototypes that will be tested under real environmental conditions at 4 different locations (Germany, United Kingdom, Lithuania and Romania) by forest contractors that are part of the consortium. Forwarder2020 works towards the improvement of forestry machines to assure a more sustainable wood mobilization through: 1)

2)

3)

Improvement of the efficiency of the forestry machines: reduced fuel consumption, more precise control of the forwarder during driving on uneven terrain, precise documentation of vehicle movements and loads carried on skid trails Decrease of the environmental impact: reduced fuel consumption on long hauling distances, minimized rut depth and lowered dynamic wheel loads, avoided extreme ruts while extracting timber from wetlands, reduced impact of forestry in many unexploited forest regions Assure a better use by the drivers: less fatigue for the operator due to the vehicle suspension, higher concentration over a longer period

Project coordinator: Mr. Felix Fürst zu Hohenlohe-Waldenburg Hohenloher Spezial Maschinenbau GmbH & Co. KG [email protected]


Field test in Lithuania: The performance of the forwarder prototype under Lithuanian conditions After the first field tests in Saxony and Scotland and the presentation on fairs in France, Germany, Finland and Poland the Forwarder2020 prototype was tested in Lithuania. The machine was tested by the forest contractors JSC “Dzukijos mediena” and JSC „Traukmeda“ in two test sites near Kėdainiai and Alytus. On the first test site in Lančiūnava the machine was operated without tracks, while another test site was extreme, located on the slope and at the same time was very wet and boggy. The machine was operated with tracks in this location. The field tests in the first location were performed from 24th of September to 10th of October and in the second location from 15th to 23rd of October. The public demonstration of the prototype was also held in the second location. Aleksandras Stulginskis university (ASU) and prof. R. Zinkevičius coordinated the field tests in Lithuania and evaluated the machine from various perspectives. Prof. D. Steponavicius was interested in the soil disturbance measurements while assoc. prof. G. Vasiliauskas and assoc. prof. R. Butkus and master student D. Jarasiute were mainly focusing on the working comfort of the driver, i.e. whole body vibration measurements on the operator seat. Measurement of the duration of the loading cycle

The first part of the field tests was related with the time study of the machine movement. This was done in order to evaluate typical durations of every operation in order to calculate whole body vibration A(8) value for the entire cycle. A typical cycle was divided into four parts, i.e. loading of logs, loaded transport, unloading and unloaded transport back to the site. First results are very satisfying, i.e. eight hour vibration exposure stay within safe limits. The triple-bogie was used with tracks and without tracks in Lithuania. Challenge of the harvesting site Whole body vibrations seat accelerometer on the seat of the forwarder with black alder was that the site was situated on the steep slope. The triple-bogie with tracks showed outstanding results in the wettest part of the logging site near Punia. Under such extreme conditions operator gave good feedback and impressions. He was very happy with the energy recuperation of the crane system and the crane itself. The crane had always lifting capability to lift heavy logs event at full length of the crane. Another impression was also that the 10 wheel forwarder with tracks is the machine which can cope with hardest conditions where typical forwarders could not be used. Mounting of the tracks on the forwarder



Interview - Dr. Remigijus Zinkevicius, Associate Professor at the Institute of Agricultural Engineering and Safety, expresses his views on the challenges taken up by the Forwarder2020 project The Forwarder2020 project is coordinated by HSM, a forestry machines developer and builder located in Germany. In this interview Dr.-Ing. Remigijus Zinkevicius, Professor at the Institute Institute of Agricultural Engineering and Safety at the Aleksandras Stulginskis University takes time to express his views about the challenges taken up by the Forwarder2020 project and the project´s impact on the Institute’s general research activities - a great opportunity to learn more about the field tests in Lithuania. Aleksandras Stulginskis University (ASU) is a state university established in 1924. Today it is the only state university in Lithuania awarding the diplomas and degrees at PhD, MSc and BSc levels in the fields of food sciences, agriculture, forestry, water and land resources management, bioenergy and mechanical engineering, climate change and sustainable use of natural resources. ASU employs a total of 900 staff, including over 300 teaching and research staff members and has close to 5000 students studying in five Faculties. The total of 14 institutes within the Faculties include the researchers and teaching staff responsible for research and education. ASU is proud of having a very modern research infrastructure in R&D Open Access Centres, with more than 50 research laboratories in agriculture, forestry, water, biofuel and bioenergy, climate change, with equipment available for high quality field and laboratory experiments and research. The ASU Experimental station and ASU Training Farm together with the Agriculture Science and Technology Park are the academic infrastructure units serving the field experiments, practical training and dissemination of knowledge.

Short Biography Dr. Remigijus Zinkevicius is Associated Professor at the Institute of Agricultural Engineering and Safety. Remigijus Zinkevičius, associate professor in the Institute of Agricultural Engineering and Safety. He has a pedagogical and research work experience of 34 years. Research areas mainly focus on the research of work of agricultural and forest machinery, research of technological processes in precision agriculture. He is an author of 5 scientific articles in ISI Web of Science journals, participant of 3 international and 12 national projects, author of two handbooks and coauthor of 5 schoolbooks.

Prof. Zinkevicius, you are a specialist in agricultural and forestry machine work and agricultural technological processes. You are then a key partner in the evaluation of the data of the field tests in Lithuania. Why has your organisation decided to join this Forwarder2020 project? What are the main strategical objectives of ASU in working on the Forwarder2020 project? We decided to join this project because of the interest being on the newest developments of the forestry machinery. These days the complexity of technical, environmental and occupational issues is becoming more and more important, and this project focus on these aspects. Project coordinator: Mr. Felix Fürst zu Hohenlohe-Waldenburg Hohenloher Spezial Maschinenbau GmbH & Co. KG [email protected]


Our interest is also to support the project from the scientific perspective i.e. perform the whole body vibration measurements of the operator and to evaluate how much these new improvements can increase the working comfort. We are also happy to have the possibility to present the results of the project to our students.

Please briefly describe ASU´s role in the project. Main role of ASU in the project was the organization of field tests in Lithuania. As Lithuanian field tests were under extreme conditions, they revealed useful information on further development of the forwarder. Afterwards it is ASU´s role to evaluate the field tests and measurements which were conducted during the field tests in Lithuania.

Up to now, which are the main achievements of ASU in the project? ASU participated in some activities in the early stage of the project i.e. supported other partners with the information of the Lithuanian customer needs and expectations of the new forwarder. One of the main achievements was also the demonstration of the machine in the forest. This event was successful as around 50 participants arrived to see the advantages of the prototype. This shows a big interest of foresters and contractors for such machines in Lithuania. What is the connection between the Forwarder2020 project and your general research objectives? The Forwarder2020 project is an excellent opportunity for us to stay in the course with the latest technical achievements in forest machinery. As we are agricultural and forestry engineers the project is directly focused on these questions. The field tests were a good possibility for us to collect data and to see how these innovations look in real-working conditions. This is also a good chance to involve our students in research activities.

What is your view, as a scientist specialised in agricultural and forestry machines, on the future of forestry machines and forest management in Europe? What paradigms will have to be changed? Where do you see the main changes in a near future? Topics of wood production are of high sensitivity in society, so the transparency and public opinion is of high importance. Sustainable and environmentally friendly solutions will help to reduce the pressure which is usually focused on foresters from the negative side. It is really challenging, but any efforts which could help to make the forest production transparent, clear and more environmental friendly are welcome. Another thing is to make these machines more comfortable for operators by improving working conditions in order to make forest work more attractive for then. What will be the highest impact of Forwarder2020 on the forestry sector and on logging activities in general? (Added-value for foresters and wood industry) As the Forwarder2020 project aims to create a modular forwarder, there are few of the main impacts. One is related with the operation of the forwarder under extremely wet conditions. Project coordinator: Mr. Felix Fürst zu Hohenlohe-Waldenburg Hohenloher Spezial Maschinenbau GmbH & Co. KG [email protected]


We have already seen the advantages of the 10 wheel forwarder during the field tests in Lithuania where the machine showed superior wetland driving capabilities. This will help to get the wood from the locations, where typical forwarders could not operate. Another advantage and the impact will be the transparency of the wood production as the monitoring system will enable to optimize the processes which should be improved.

Events and stories Review on the Partner Meeting & Knowledge Transfer Seminar from 16th to 17th October 2018 in Kaunas, Lithuania On 16th October 2018 the 4th partner meeting of the project took place. The consortium came together in Kaunas in order to talk about the latest project progresses. Every work package was presented by the various partners and the consortium was informed where good progresses were made and where issues can be figured out. In the afternoon the exploitation workshop was held and first steps towards business plans were made with all project partners in order to define the best way to exploit the innovative forwarder after the project´s end. The second Knowledge Transfer Workshop took place on the Forwarder during its loading cycle on the demo site second day. The big importance of this event can be described at the best by presenting the huge number of participants: around 50 participants met at the historic village of Punia - the probably oldest village in Lithuania which is really proud on its more than 1000 years old pine forests. The huge number of participants was really overwhelming. Forest owners, forest contractors, scientists and forest industry were present, and not only from Lithuania but also from other countries, like Sweden. A general presentation of the project in the building of the administration in Punia opened the event. All presentations were also translated in Lithuanian. After this start all participants were invited to drive together to the demonstration site, where the machine, the machine driver and a professional film team were already waiting. After project coordinator Fürst Felix zu Hohenlohe-Waldenburg explained the technical details of the innovative modules of the Forwarder2020-prototype in front of the curious looks of the audience, everyone followed the machine which then starts its demonstration cycle. After arriving at the little hillside where the loading cycle took place, the prototype demonstrated its amazing performance on the really wet soil and the steep trail. After the demonstration the machine driver gave his first impression and highlighted the smooth processing of the energy-saving crane and the fact that other forwarders would not have been able to pass this steep and extremely wet trail. Back in Punia the consortium presented the 5 innovative modules of the Forwarder2020 project in different information points. The following networking lunch gave room for questions and answers. All in all the event the event was not only well-attended but the participants were very interested and the atmosphere was excited. Forest machine demo near Punia attracted a lot of attention



Feedback on the European Roadshow with HSM In September 2018 the first European Roadshow with the first Forwarder2020 prototype came to its end. Project coordinator, the forestry machines builder HSM, presented the prototype on several fairs to the public: from 21st to 23rd June at Euroforest in Macon (France), from 18th to 22nd July at Interforst in Munich (Germany), on 30th August to 1st September at FinnMETKO in Jämsä (Finnland) and on 7th to 9th September at EKO-LAS in Mostki (Poland). The prototype with 3 out of 5 innovative modules (energy-saving crane, triple-bogie axle, monitoring system) gained a lot of interest and coordinator Felix Fürst zu Hohenlohe-Waldenburg answered many questions from interested parties from the forestry and forest industry. People got a deep insight in the functioning and benefits of the various innovative modules. The large interest for the first prototype all over Europe indicates that the Forwarder2020 project really addresses a special need in the forestry sector: for sustainable logging and technologies which enable the sustainability.

Interforst2018 in Munich (Germany)

FinnMetko in Jämsä (Finnland)

Protoype ready to be transferred to Lithuania

Feedback on the International Symposium Forest and Sustainable development at 25 th October 2018 in Brasov, Romania Forest and Sustainable Development Symposium is a biennial international scientific event that groups together academia, leading scientists, professionals, forestry related companies and organizations as well as policy makers to debate on actual and future scientific and practical problems in forestry. This year, on 25th to 26th of October, Forest and Sustainable Development was organized together with the celebration of 70 years of higher education in Forestry at the Transilvania University of Braşov. Attendance to the event was truly international with forestry professionals coming from all the continents. Forwarder2020 was present at the symposium by a poster showing the idea and achievements in forwarder technology development that gained a lot of interest during the symposium. The contribution of Forwarder2020 to the forest operations sustainability by the main innovations it aims to develop was explained in detail to the interested attendants. The results of the field tests carried out in UK and Lithuania, backed by the information enclosed in the poster have reached the interest of many of the attendants who chose to pick a leaflet describing the project. Feedback on the FORMEC 2018 from 24th to 27th September 2018 in Madrid, Spain The international conference on forest mechanization „FORMEC“ is one of the most important opportunities for a scientific exchange in the forest sector. Within the scope of this event, a dynamic weight detection system for forwarders, developed within our project Forwarder2020, was presented by Michael Starke (BFH) to the participating international audience. Project coordinator: Mr. Felix Fürst zu Hohenlohe-Waldenburg Hohenloher Spezial Maschinenbau GmbH & Co. KG [email protected]


Together with the main developer Chris Geiger from KIT the concept has been drafted and published in the related proceeding paper to point out an opportunity for closing the information gap of the timber volume processed when other information sources like harvester protocols are not available. This system is based on an artificial neural network, that calculates the weight of the gripped logs in the grapple during the loading process almost exclusively from the commonly available sensor data of a state of art crane model.

Second prototype, project video and next Knowledge Transfer Seminar: an outlook for the year 2019 As already mentioned, the field tests with the first prototype are finished and the prototype has been presented to the public on several fairs and two Knowledge Transfer Workshops in Scotland and Lithuania. The machine is now back in Germany at the premises of HSM where further optimizations will be carried out (like further optimization of the crane system). In the meantime the work on the second prototype is continuing full speed in order to finish it at the beginning of 2019 and to start the first field tests in Saxony in March 2019. The second prototype will then present Module 1 (Hybride Transmission System) and Module 2 (suspended cabin) and will again include Module 5 (Monitoring System). We are all very excited to hear about the finalization of the second prototype - we will keep you informed, especially on Twitter and LinkedIn where we will post the very first pictures of this new prototype. Another highlight in 2019 definitely will be the publication of the project video. The production is about to start and will include scenes from the various demo sites, interviews and both prototypes; explaining the functioning of the innovative modules in detail. We will keep you up-to-date about the forthcoming of the production on our social media channels. The next Knowledge Transfer Seminar will take place in May 2019 in Romania and will present the second prototype to the public for the first time. Consortium as well as the public really can look forward to this event. Additionally a cooperation with an event of the EU-project ROSEWOOD is planned, which takes place at the same time. Therefore synergies between the best practice Forwarder2020 and the network in wood mobilization ROSEWOOD can be used.

Presentation of Forwarder2020 related initiative on EU-Level: EUSTAFOR As always we want to keep you informed about relevant forestry related networks and associations . In this context we want to pay special attention to such networks or associations that focus its work to the highly relevant matter of sustainability. EUSTAFOR is one of these associations which are highly relevant for the European State Forest Management. The European State Forest Association represents state forest companies, enterprises and agencies that have sustainable forest management and sustainable wood production as major concerns. With its 33 members it includes 22 European countries. EUSTAFOR serves as a common platform for its members to share experiences and to learn from each other. Of special interest is the European Forestry House (EFH), which was founded in 2007 in Brussels and is situated on the Place du Luxembourg opposite the European Parliament in the heart of the EU quarter. This house is famous for its competence in forest-related issues in Brussels and a centre for forest-related events. All in all it is a hub for European forest and wood experts and serves as a platform to promote sustainable forest management. It is also well-known for its excellent forest and wood research and innovation. More information can be found here.



Focus on project partners: Bosch Rexroth and SC ROTECA S.R.L. Bosch Rexroth Ltd. As one of the world’s leading suppliers of drive and control technologies, Bosch Rexroth Ltd. ensures efficient, powerful and safe movement in machines and systems of any size. The company bundles global application experience in the market segments of Mobile Applications, Machinery Applications and Engineering, and Factory Automation. Bosch Rexroth offers its customers hydraulics, electric drive and control technology, gear technology and linear motion and assembly technology, including software and interfaces to the Internet of Things. With locations in over 80 countries, more than 30,500 associates generated sales revenue of 5.5 billion euros in 2017. In the demanding market segment of mobile applications, Bosch Rexroth boasts an impressive portfolio of solutions, ranging from electronified travel drives and work hydraulics right through to assistance systems. By uniquely combining tried-and-tested technologies with new concepts, the company is able to meet the increasing requirements imposed on innovative vehicle concepts, which both guarantee that the strictest emission standards are met and improve the productivity, safety and reliability of mobile machines. Whether for excavators, wheel loaders, road finishers or concrete mixers, for tractors, agricultural machines, forestry machines or forklift trucks, Bosch Rexroth ensures that mobile machines all around the world have the best possible equipment. Thanks to its sites and production plants located across three continents, the company is also able to fulfill local requirements at all times. Within the project Forwarder2020 Bosch Rexroth supplied the two hydro-transformers for the double recuperation of the potential energy and supported the functional tests in Scotland.

SC ROTECA S.R.L. The company SC ROTECA S.R.L. was founded in 2003 and it runs its administrative and production activities in the North-West Region of Romania, in the Ardud city, from Satu Mare district. The company is axed on the production and it wants to satisfy the current and future needs of its clients by high performance products. The whole activity is subordinated to the major purpose which is assuring high quality products. Another purpose is to build a strong company, with expansion ambitions on the Central European market. The company’s management wants to increase its market value and to obtain at least a fast development like the actual one, respecting the sustainable development principles. In the centre of the company’s actions is the high level satisfaction of the clients needs. The company defines its activity by the main profile of manufacturing assemblies and parts of forestry machineries, as: cabins, front and rear chassis, clamshells, cable rolls, front shield, gearbox, forestry trail and others. Within the project Forwarder2020 SC ROTECA S.R.L. is responsible for the mechanical engineering and building of the prototypes for modules 2 (suspended cabin) and 4 (triple bogie axle).

