Drenthe contracting firm builds versatile machine park with Ufkes Greentec

A nice article about our customer Fuhler Loon- en Verhuurbedrijf from Emmen.

Click on the image or the link below to read the whole article:  Drenthe contracting firm builds versatile machine park with Ufkes Greentec or read the translation below

Drenthe contracting firm builds versatile machine park with Ufkes Greentec

With an extensive range of machinery, Fuhler Contracting from Emmen can tackle any job in the field of forestry and landscaping. One of the latest acquisitions was an Ufkes Greentec 962 Wood chipper. Fuhler was also involved in the development of the Forestcutter. Co-owner Michel Fuhler blindly trusts the expertise of Ufkes Greentec. “We do the work together. Just like with our customers, we also want to enter into a long-term relationship with our suppliers.”

“The Wood chipper makes a fine product. The chip size and the wide infeed through which all side branches and splits go in are really advantageous features of this chipper,” Michel Fuhler lists the advantages of the Greentec 962 wood chipper.

Ufkes Greentec 962 wood chipper

One and a half years ago, the ‘Wood Chipper’ was added to the arsenal of machines for forestry and landscaping. Michel Fuhler considers it an asset. The wood chipper is equipped with an integrated blower system, this in combination with the venturi discharge, results in a lot of blowing and disposing power. The large chipping drum, with a diameter of 960 millimetres, continues to shred thick wood well, even when the blades become slightly blunted.

John Deere engine in the chipper

The chipper has a John Deere 6135-600HP engine with an output of six hundred horsepower, which enables it to achieve a capacity of 225 cubic metres per hour. “It is a Stage V engine, which is also important in terms of the environment and the CO2 performance ladder. We are on step five, which is the highest step for a contracting company. We also use electric machines and hydrogen tractors. The two New Holland T5.140 hydrogen-powered tractors are in full swing. One is in front of the dumper and is used for earthmoving. The other is used with a front and rear mower for maintaining the banks of ditches for the water board. It’s all still under development, but this is the future. The world will look completely different in ten years’ time.

Fuhler Contracting

With around 270 employees, Fuhler is now a business. “My father and uncle started it together 65 years ago. It was then a purely agricultural contracting company. They did a lot of work in the moors and had a threshing machine.” Earthmoving and contracting were added over time.

“From there, forestry was also added. Woodland was removed to make earth moving possible. The necessary machines were purchased. Municipalities also called on us more and more for landscaping. Mowing ditches, brushing weeds, clearing leaves, you name it. That’s how it all grew. Cousins Bert and Michel Fuhler took over the company 26 years ago, but were already working for the company before that. “Landscaping, contracting and recycling have become more and more important since then.”

Ufkes Greentec completes machine park

Forestcutters, mulchers, wood chippers, cutters. Fuhler has a complete range of machinery and much of it comes from Ufkes Greentec. “We do all kinds of work in forestry and landscaping. Hoeing up public gardens and the like. With the machines we tackle the hedges and tree rings and we thin out forests.”

The contracting firm does a wide range of work. Agricultural contract work is still very important, as are contracting, rental, recycling, remediation, and forest and land maintenance. With the growth of the company, the bond with Ufkes Greentec also grew. “We already had contacts with Jippe Ufkes. When he started his own business, we quickly got round the table. At Ufkes Greentec they simply make the machines that we use.”

Tree head

The Greentec Forestcutter is a machine where the idea more or less originated with the contracting company in Emmen. The Forestcutter is best described as a tree felling head. It has a clamping arm for quickly gripping the sawn product. This is done with the saw at the bottom.

“Twelve years ago I was looking for something like this for behind the tractor. We developed this in-house at the time. We felled more than 250 hectares of Robinia forest with it, and after this work we wanted to develop a similar attachment for the crane. We already had tree cutters for the crane, but we wanted to work more efficiently and therefore thought of the tree saw. Jippe Ufkes already gave us the cutters and so we sat down together to work this out. Jippe made the drawings and through later use in practice, the Forestcutter became a fact. I am still very happy with the result. We use the Forestcutter every day.”

Working area of Fuhler

We work with fixed teams, but depending on the workload, the green maintenance employees are also on the cranes of the contracting company. The working area of the agricultural, forestry and green undergrowth is centred on a circle of 60 to 70 km.

For earthmoving Fuhler goes throughout the Netherlands. The recycling work, in addition to the assignments in our own country, even crosses the border into our neighbouring countries of Germany and Belgium.

Fuhler, chosen in 2021 as Drenthe company of the year, is currently building a new workshop that will be completed in mid-June and a new office that will be taken into use after the construction period. Ready for the future. Ready for all the challenges that lie ahead, for example in the field of legislation and regulations.

Text: Martin de Vries