The fair season has begun, and I have visited my first one this year. The South Swedish “Skog & Traktor” (Forestry and Tractor). A small, local but nice one that I visited also last year. Here are some impressions.
Also a small fair is fair
One of the benefits of a small fair is that you cover it in a couple of hours. Compared to last year it seemed larger but that was obviously due to the increased number of trucks present. They were there for the Nordic Trophy contest on the show’s second day (I was there on the first day). The forestry part seemed to be about the same size, or maybe a bit smaller than last year.
Focus on truckers and private forest owners
The “large scale” machinery that was there was dominated by chippers. Bruks, Erjo, Jenz, and Albach showed what they had to offer. As for large-scale logging machines, only a Rottne H8 harvester was on display through a local dealer. Apart from this, there were mainly small machines, like Terri, Malwa, and Vimek, and equipment for private forest owners. 
Small scale forestry
One shouldn’t forget that small machines, or “small-scale” machines as we like to call them here in Sweden, could be used professionally. It varies between countries of course, but the combination of tractor and log loader is available in professional sizes that could compete with “large-scale” forwarders. 
Unfortunately, the small demo area just beside the runway where the fair takes place was missing this year. It’s a pity as it means that also this fair move towards becoming a “parking place for forest machines”. A worrying tendency for us that like demos in the forest.
Nevertheless, it was a nice day at a nice place meeting nice (forestry) people. A good soft start a month before the big new parking place Swedish Forestry Expo, the machine supplier’s own show in the capitol Stockholm.
A good start to the summer!
