John Deere and Dealer personnel at Demo 2008

DEMO International drew about 6,000 forestry professionals to Enfield, Nova Scotia, September 18 - 20. It was the first time in the event's eleven-year history that it was held east of Quebec.

Over 6,500 loggers, their families and exhibitors attended the show. John Deere Forestry was among twenty-seven exhibitors that gave live equipment demonstrations, and one of more than 100 exhibitors that showed their wares in a forested three-kilometer loop. At the John Deere booth, Wallace was the host dealer, and was assisted by Nortrax, Services Forestiers, and Sigma. Deere and Deere dealers hosted a customer hospitality event on Friday, September 19th, with good customer attendance.

Live Demonstrations
John Deere Forestry’s live demonstrations were set in a lush spruce forest, where the Deere 1270E Wheeled Harvester and 1490D Energy Wood Bundler caused camera and camera-phone shutters to click away rapidly during each demonstration.

The John Deere 1270E Wheeled Harvester drew considerable attention from the crowds that often filled up the two sets of bleachers outside Deere’s demonstration site, said Alexandre Viens, the Forestry Sales Consultant who provided French/English presentations about the Deere forestry equipment. As one of the new wheeled E-Series harvesters, the 1270E features a completely new cabin and TimberMatic automation system, which provide the operator with an unequaled operating environment.

Customers at the CTL bleachers during the bundler demonstration.

Deere’s 1490D Energy Wood Bundler, which can produce approximately thirty bundles an hour on a prepared site, collects the slash and residual left behind after harvesting and feeds it into the bundler, which compresses the slash into compact logs. This wood harvesting technology enables valuable biomass collection.

Chad Peyton, Manager and On-Site Supervisor of G.T. Peyton Ltd., Newfoundland, Canada, was quite impressed by what he saw at one of Deere’s demonstrations at the DEMO.

“They’re showing a good representation of the products they provide to customers and it was good to see the feller buncher in action,” Peyton said of the 753J Feller Buncher with FS20 felling head.

Peyton was also intrigued by the concept of the bundler. “It’s something we’re interested in,” he said. “It’s the new way of harvesting, and to us it looks to be the future.”

Ryan Burby, a Maine logger, was mostly interested in seeing the John Deere 753J Feller Buncher, as he now operates an older Deere G-Series feller buncher. “I’m here to take in everything at the show and like to see other operators at work during the live demonstrations,” Burby said.

John Deere Forestry Showcase
The 753J Feller Buncher with FS20 felling head was among several pieces of at-tree Deere equipment on site, including the 684H Skidder, 2054 Swing Machine configured as a processor with a HTH622B Waratah head, and a 332CT Loader with a forestry package and a grinder attachment.

Deere Cut to-Length equipment being demonstrated included the 1270E Wheeled Harvester with H480 Waratah harvesting head, 703JH Tracked Harvester with an HTH616 Waratah head, an 1110D Forwarder and a 1490D Energy Wood Bundler. The John Deere Forestry site also showcased three pieces of static equipment; including the 624K Wheeled Loader, 310SJ Backhoe and the 848H Skidder.

Bioenergy Conference
As has been show tradition, this year’s DEMO International kicked off with a conference featuring a timely theme: Bioenergy Opportunities for the Forest Industry. This year 224 individuals signed up for the conference, which provided the latest information on biomass supply, sustaining the forest resource, the economics of biomass harvesting, research and development, as well as some examples of regional facilities, timely updates on current demands (domestic and commercial) and emerging market trends.

Log a Load
John Deere customers continued a long tradition of supporting the Children's Miracle Network, and raised $5,100 for "Log a Load for Kids,” by purchasing raffle tickets for a chance to win various battery-operated John Deere toy vehicles as well as a boys bicycle, a girls bicycle and a scooter.

“I think the show went well and for the most part exhibitors were happy,” said Anne Sawyer, Administration Coordinator for the Canadian Woodlands Forum.

“It’s a lot of work for the company hosting the show; this year, Ledwidge Lumber,” Sawyer added. “They build the roads, provide the wood chips and build all of the landings to be used by the exhibitors. Ledwidge did an outstanding job getting everything ready for the show.”

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