Testing New Zealand’s first heavy electric loader

A Volvo L120 Electric wheel loader is helping PermaPine test what sustainable equipment can really deliver in one of New Zealand’s most demanding timber processing environments.

Set on a 100-acre site outside Taupō, PermaPine is New Zealand’s largest manufacturer of timber posts and poles. The site runs 24/7, peeling up to 11,000 meters of timber per day and steaming and treating up to 11,000 cubic meters per month. Moving material efficiently across such a large site is critical to keeping production running smoothly.

At the same time, the business is on an ongoing journey to reduce its environmental footprint. Having already invested in renewable energy through a biomass boiler – which uses timber residues to produce the steam required to dry and fixate products – PermaPine saw the L120 Electric as the next step. The trial set out to determine whether electric equipment could meet both sustainability goals and the realities of industrial-scale operations.

Ian Potter, Operations Manager, PermaPine, said: “New Zealand is known for its outdoor environment, and we’ve got a great country. We need to ensure we’re protecting it. As a business, we’re always striving to improve, and sustainability is something we’re really working on. It’s part of a journey, not something you do once, but something you think about on an ongoing basis.”

A first-of-its-kind electric wheel loader trial

The L120 Electric trial marked a significant milestone, becoming the first fully electric wheel loader in New Zealand fitted with log forks and operating in a true 24/7 environment.

Rather than limiting the machine to light duties, PermaPine deliberately deployed the L120 Electric across multiple areas of the site to fully test its capability.

Potter continued: “I’ve been pleasantly surprised. The L120 Electric got passed around – it went over to our log yard, the treatment plant and did some work in the yard as well. The general feeling from everyone was positive. Moving around the site is effortless, no matter the ground conditions, it’s responsive, has good lifting capabilities, great visibility from the cab and is comfortable. It’s working well in our application, and we’re enjoying using it.”

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Source: Volvo