Geoffrey Bayle transports woodchips in an Arocs 3248 8x4
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Geoffrey Bayle is multitalented. It’s just a few steps from the drum chipper to his Arocs 3248 with its 60‑cubic‑metre trough.
Geoffrey Bayle.
The green monster with its gigantic 65 R 38 tyres resembles a huge beetle, only instead of feelers it has a metre-long ejector pipe and a Palfinger Epsilon S110F104 crane. In this case, it’s a so-called self-propelled drum chipper. Geoffrey Bayle, who is sitting in its liftable and rotatable cabin, is just beginning to put one log after another on the loading table with the claws of his crane. The feed chain pulls the trunk into the drum where it is turned into chippings by the choppers with a constant, loud crunching sound.
The woodchips are expelled through the ejector pipe by the chip blower. The pipe is positioned directly above the large‑volume trough of the Arocs 3248 8x4 that is parked alongside it. “With the equipment, I process 100 tonnes of wood per hour,” the 30‑year‑old explains, who is responsible for energy at Sàrl Bayle. The family‑owned forestry business based in Selonnet, France, specialises in the production of woodchips for heating systems.
“We do everything ourselves: from purchasing the wood to felling and debarking of the trees to producing the chippings and delivering them to the end user.” The customers are heating centres, public buildings and private households. The demand varies from one truck per year to one truck per day.
Geoffrey relies on the Arocs.
Geoffrey went for an Arocs 3248 8x4 for the deliveries he does himself. Because the goods it transports are relatively light, it has an especially long wheelbase and a 60-cubic-metre trough. Thanks to the rear steering axle, the Arocs is almost exactly as manoeuvrable as a three-axle vehicle. Due to the moving floor, it’s possible not to have to use a tipping body.
One tree trunk after the other disappears between the choppers of the drum chipper. After just under a quarter of an hour, the trough of the Arocs is full. “We have six locations where the woodchips are produced. We can store 5,000 tonnes here in Seyne-les-Alpes. The locations have to be as close to the customer as possible, otherwise the transport costs of the product would get too expensive. More than 50 kilometres aren’t possible.”
Another drum chipper is mounted on an Arocs, which can be used directly in the forest where the wood is cut. A timber transporter is also available for transporting long timber – of course also an Arocs, which is additionally equipped with a Turbo Retarder Clutch and Hydraulic Auxiliary Drive. Sàrl Bayle handles around 40,000 cubic metres of wood per year, of which 25,000 cubic metres are turned into woodchips. “And it’s an upward trend,” laughs Geoffrey.
The Sàrl Bayle fleet consists of other Mercedes‑Benz trucks.
Photos: Hans Müller
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Grüße Jörg 👍👍👍👍⛟😎😷
Grüße Jörg 👍👍👍👍⛟😎😷