Yorkshire-based DryadArb treats essentialARB to a demonstration of its impressive range of kit, featuring some unique, custom-built innovations.
JOHN Lawrence had always been of a mind that there had to be a better method of chipping than currently existed. But it was when his son fell ill and the two of them kept themseles entertained with hours of YouTube that he happened upon a video which helped him realise exactly what he needed – an inline chipper that minimised the amount of physical space such a machine would require, drastically reducing traffic and other disruptions, while speeding up his team’s ability to carry out their work.
Founded a little over 10 years ago, DryadArb takes its name from the mythical term of ‘care of trees’. Even its green man logo is indicative of John’s interest in the idea that a tree is more than just a tree. And given DryadArb’s North Yorkshire location, there’s certainly no shortage of them, the geographical placement ensuring an almost endless supply of work. And with Richmondshire, Hambleton and the occasional foray into County Durham offering various country estates and Ministry of Defence work, John is able to keep things within a sensible radius.
“Like many in this industry, working indoors wasn’t for me,” he said. “I had thought of farming, but agriculture was on its knees, a state of affairs that never seems to alter.
“Round about 1997 I started out in commercial forestry, doing power line clearance along with commercial and domestic arb, but always working for someone else. I always considered forestry a good career choice, but I wanted to work for myself, along with the fact I like what I refer to as ‘big toys’. And if there’s one thing forestry and arb has, it’s some of the biggest and most entertaining machinery you’ll find anywhere.”
As with all companies such as John’s, DryadArb started out small. A Land Rover, trailer chipper and a couple of chainsaws were expanded upon over time as work increased and finances permitted. In fact, his first major move was to convert the Land Rover into a tipper with the addition of a bodywork conversion.
John said: “The one thing you very quickly realise is that if you have the right equipment, not only does it speed up how quickly you can carry out each contract, irrespective of the size, but it significantly cuts down on what you might refer to as the ‘back-breaking’ aspects of it all.”
And John has certainly put his investment where his mouth is. The DryadArb equipment inventory has to be one of the most comprehensive around for a company of its size. The tilting cab Merlo Roto 4025 MCSS provides the team with a 25-metre reach and can be fitted with a variety of accessories from a remote cherry picker or crane to a Westtech CS580 Smart harvester, supplied by Pladdets UK – one of John’s favourite pieces of equipment and something he imported directly from Holland. The Bobcat excavator was modified to John’s own specifications with grab, shears, flails, a custom-built quick-attach rake and an extremely impressive safety cage, again built to John’s design by Evans Fabrications. There’s a pair of modern Valtra tractors; one set up as a forwarder with a Botex Forester trailer and grab, the other an ex-military gun carriage Boughton RB44 4x4 with a multi-purpose tipper body.
Chainsaw-wise DryadArb is mainly but not exclusively Husqvarna, running top-handle saws and the big 395s (John is rather keen they start making them again). He also uses a couple of Stihl saws, the big 880s ideal for the larger hardwood trees his team encounters, and John is looking forward to the 881 when it comes out. Another piece of kit John and his lads find extremely useful is the Sena Bluetooth communications system, which they all have attached to their protective helmets.
“The Sena system allows us to talk to one another without having to shout or mishear anything,” said John. “It also means if there’s something wrong or, as can happen, a member of the public strays a little too near, we can warn each other immediately. It really is one of the best things I’ve bought, safety-wise, and I can recommend it to anyone.”
But the star of the show has got to be the custom-built chipper, double-axle trailer and Schiesling 550ZX chipper combination, built by DRT Trailers. It is a complete one-off, although John and DRT are open to building a few more should someone decide to commission another one. But as it stands, John’s is not only unique, it also puts him in a position that North Yorkshire Highways find useful and time-saving.
“There’s actually a similar system in Germany that featured on one of the YouTube videos I found,” said John. “After investigating a little further, I approached one or two trailer manufacturers who, apart from DRT over in York, weren’t interested in making just one. The idea was to fit three-point linkages and run the power take-off shafts longitudinally through the centre of the trailer to a larger chipper, mounted on the rear. There are plenty of others, but they mount the chipper on a drawbar on the side or on another tractor, which means when they’re working on public roads they require two lanes or carriageways to be closed or they have to work on wide verges that aren’t always there. And there are many parts of the Yorkshire Dales where space is at a premium, since many of the roads are narrow country lanes. My chipper trailer only needs one lane closure since it’s narrower – eight feet across at its widest point.”
Translating John’s ideas into reality, DRT Trailers (which also looks after John’s tractors) initially built a prototype that allowed everyone to evaluate the basic premise. One of the first alterations made was to weight, the almost 2-tonne Schliesing chipper adding more than they’d originally allowed for, meaning the trailer was initially nose light. This was cured by adding 500 kg counterweights. Knowing that the basic trailer, chassis and twin axles were all relatively standard, the original linkages were upgraded to far more heavy-duty items. Now that the machine is fully balanced and hauled by the Valtra T162 tractor, John describes the driving sensation as near perfect, irrespective of whether it is empty or fully loaded. Its super single floatation tyres are actually designed for pea trailers, with a non-damaging soft footprint making them ideal, given that John’s Valtra and loaded trailer boast a rolling weight of approximately 30 tonnes.
“When we’re working off-road we do pay an initial visit to check access – since the tractor and trailer are rather large – and make sure the ground isn’t too soft, which is something our clients and customers appreciate,” said John. “Also, choosing a suitable entry point or deciding to wait until the ground has maybe dried out a little more all makes our life far easier.
“Equally, with the reach of the Merlo, there are various locations we can work in or on without having to get as close as we might have to do with other machinery. With the 360-degree rotation and tilting cab, we can often place the machine in one place and let it work round us, so to speak. The seven-tonne listing capacity is extremely useful and we don’t have to be pointing towards where we are working.”
One of the happiest gang of lads you’re likely to find, John’s team comprises three full-time staff, with various self-employed contractors brought in when needed. Watching them work closely together, it was clear to see no-one was in any confusion about what was required of them, with the ash trees they were clearing being cut and chipped in an incredibly short time, aided in no small part by the equipment they were working with. But where does John see DryadArb heading in the future?
“If anyone wants one of the chipper trailers like the one DRT and myself designed then they can let me know and we can sort that out,” he said. “Similarly, with the number of ash trees we have to deal with, I have one or two ideas in mind based around maybe a small Merlo and a larger Bobcat. It’s all in the planning at the moment, but something will appear.
“Area-wise, we’ve more than enough work to keep us going for now. It’s reckoned that 80 per cent of Yorkshire’s visible tree stock is ash and many of the trees need to be removed due to dieback. So we’ve an awful lot of work on our doorstep, which means we don’t need to travel very far.
“Nobody likes having to travel for over two hours, do a day’s work, then travel back. It also uses more fuel, which isn’t good for the environment, and that’s something we care about, doing what we do.”
John also has a ready outlet for the chipped wood felling and tree maintenance creates. All the chip is collected and goes directly into the biomass system at nearby power stations, while the firewood is sold to a firewood company less than five miles away. John does keep a little back for himself and some close friends, but in the main it’s taken care of even before it’s been produced.
John said: “I always look upon my work this way. As a kid, I always loved Lego and big toys. Designing and building the custom machinery is like playing with the building bricks, while the equipment me and the lads work with every day are some of the biggest and most entertaining toys you’ll ever have in your toy box.”
Enough said!
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