In the heart of Germany’s Black Forest, a specially modified Doosan excavator is playing a crucial role in one firm’s forestry work. 

WITH its picture-perfect vistas, straight from the pages of a Brothers Grimm novel, the Black Forest has always been the beating heart of Germany’s forestry industry. That’s as true today as it ever was, so only the best machines make the cut. 

Step forward a specially modified Doosan DX190W-5 wheeled excavator. Converted for forestry work, the machine was purchased by Kunz & Co. from Todtnau – around 30 miles east of the French border – and in just a few weeks it’s already left its mark, impressing in the timber harvesting, logging and excavation jobs carried out by the firm. 

“The forestry excavator has proven itself in a wide variety of application scenarios and has proved to be extremely reliable,” said Uli Thoma, managing director of Kunz & Co.

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“The comfort in the driver’s cab and the sensitive controls are like nothing I‘ve experienced before.”

When it came to choosing a new excavator, Uli was never in any doubt about which brand he wanted to go for – the only challenge was whether or not it could be adapted to meet Kunz & Co.’s demands. Doosan dealer Ummenhofer Baumaschinen, based in Pfullendorf/Schönau, didn’t just do that but went the extra mile. 

It had to be powerful and have a high hydraulic output. A tracked excavator was out of the question for Uli, as the excavator had to be transported using the company’s existing three-axle low-loader. The excavator also had to be particularly stable and manoeuvrable in the demanding conditions in forests. As a result, the Doosan DX190W-5 wheeled excavator was chosen. 

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In addition to the safety modifications required for a forestry excavator, such as the forestry protection shoring, a frame-mounted protective roof and the chain-shot-proof windscreen, a number of additional works were carried out in order to adapt the excavator individually to its future uses. 

These included an Oil-Quick quick coupler to change the various attachments needed, a conversion to bio-oil and 700 mm wide tyres. The core of the conversion was the P60 processor unit, including Koller Forsttechnik controls. This weighs 1.6 tonnes and delivers its optimum performance at a hydraulic output of 280–300 l/min. After the conversion, the excavator had a total weight of 24 tonnes and can now be transported on the low-loader.

Under the hood, the DX190W-5 wheeled excavator has a powerful and reliable Doosan DL06P six-cylinder engine with an output of 129 Kw. This is complemented by a high hydraulic output of 2 x 200 l/min as standard, which can be combined via pump summation. This means that an attachment with a high flow requirement can also be operated. This hydraulic output also meets the high performance requirements of processor-aggregate operations. The dozer blade and claw attachments also increase the stability. 

“We had had good experience with a Doosan excavator we owned, so when Ummenhofer became active as the Doosan dealer in our vicinity, it was a foregone conclusion for us to return to the Doosan brand,” added Uli. “We also found that our good experience is mirrored by more and more forestry companies relying on Doosan machines as their forestry excavators.” 

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Founded in 1980, Kunz & Co. is primarily active in the areas of logging, timber harvesting, excavator work and snow removal. The company employs a total of 12 people and has an extensive fleet of machinery ranging from special forestry tractors to excavators, self-propelled snow blowers and trucks.

For more on Doosan construction equipment, please visit the website: 
www.eu.doosanequipment.com