As for news at the Elmia Wood show recently, Malwa was one of the frontrunners. The new harvester Malwa 980, and the electrical combi machine Malwa Electric Combi have both been presented before. But this was the first time a larger audience got to see them both in action.
Malwa 980
“A new era in the forest”, according to Malwa. It’s interesting that they say that about the new harvester when they just launched the first-ever 100 % electrical forest machine. That should be described as a new era in the forest if you ask me. More on that machine below. Back to the Malwa 980 harvester.
The reason the 980 was developed was several requests for a larger machine from markets where the terrain and forest are more difficult to handle than in Sweden, Malwa’s home market. More power and sturdiness were requested, and the answer was Malwa 980.
And compared to the older model Malwa 560H, the 980 is sturdier. The weight of the new harvester is 9,8 tons, compared to the 560H which weighs 5,7 tons. The width is 2,2 meters instead of 1,95 and the length 6,4 meters instead of 5,7 meters for the 560H. Both the new and the old harvester have CAT engines, 173 hp in the new 980 and 75 hp in the 560H.
Standard harvester heads for both are LogMax. LogMax 3000T, with a maxu cutting diameter of 520 millimeters, on the 980, and LogMax 2000T, with a max cutting diameter of 420 millimeters on the 560H. The Malwa 980 is equipped with Kesla 875 parallel crane that reaches 7,6 meters. The Malwa 560H has a Mowi P40 crane with a reach of 6,2 meters.
The Malwa 980 harvester will be ready for delivery during the first half of 2023.
Malwa Electric Combi
This is a concept machine. A research project led by RI.SE, Research Institutes of Sweden, where Malwa participates. The result so far is a fully electrical combined harvester/forwarder with a range of two running hours. That may seem short but bear in mind that the development of batteries is moving fast. A full-day range is not far away.
Electric hybrid machines we have seen before also in the forest. Logset presented their 12H GTE Hybrid-Electric harvester some years ago. But the Malwa Electric Combi is the first 100% electrical forest machine.
The Malwa 560C Combi has a long time been preferred in forestry operations in urban areas as it’s small, flexible, and both cuts the trees and brings them out to a landing. The electrification of the machine makes it even more desirable in urban areas.
The diesel engine has been replaced by two electrical motors. One for the drive and one for the crane and harvester head. According to Malwa there will be no compromises on the Electric Combi. The performance of both the hydraulics and the traction will be just as efficient as on the traditional, diesel-powered machines.
When the electrical machine will be ready for the market is a bit unclear. But even before the Elmia Wood several cities and communities have shown interest in buying the concept.
State financed project
As mentioned above this is a research project led by RI.SE. The project aims at finding a battery swap system that could be used within the agricultural and forestry sectors. You can read more about the project here.
Film
Here is a film of the electrical machine at the Elmia Wood show. If you wish to see the Malwa 980 harvester in action, you can do so by looking at the previous article about that machine.
And of course, you can find information about all Malwa products on their home page.
Photos: Torbjörn Johnsen and Per Jonsson
Film: Malwa
