A mulcher and a skid steer: a winning combo for land clearing

Clearing a plot of land in the state of Alberta with an FAE UML/SSL-175

Active Environmental is a small business based in the town of Onoway, Alberta, Canada. “We provide a very complete service for our clients”, says Kyle Grantham, who established the company in 2008. “We offer wood mulching for land that needs clearing and for jobs along fences. We also build paths and do selective cutting for laying pipelines and electrical lines.” They use a small CAT skid steer and a FAE mulcher for all their jobs.

A few months ago, Kyle was contacted to clear a lot where residential buildings will be built. “We went to Gibbons for this job, about 70 km from our office,” recalls Kyle. “We had to eliminate trees with trunks up to 50 cm (20”) in diameter, all kinds of shrubs and bushes and old fencing. All of it in an area of about 700 m². It was a big mulching job for us, and I have to say that our FAE UML/SSL-175 with Sonic technology proved extremely useful. We attached it to our skid steer, a 2021 CAT 299 D3 — a winning combination for us.”

FAE UML/SSL-175 con tecnologia Sonic abbinata alla minipala, una CAT 299 D3 | #FAESTORY (CANADA)

What can he tell us about fuel efficiency?
“Working at ground level, we had to use 25 liters of fuel an hour and it took us about 6.5 hours to finish the 700 m² job. It depends on the kinds of trees and how dense they are. In our case, we were dealing with a particular type of small willow that is very common in our area. Luckily, the soil was not stony, so the job went off without a hitch.”

What does he think about the machine?
“It’s great, especially the Sonic system. It really increases torque dynamically, making the mulcher more productive and minimizing rotor stalling due to overload. The layout of the rotor plus the design of the mulching chamber equipped with counter blades provide for a fine mulch, which our clients really appreciate.”

Kyle is a forestry mulcher aficionado and very demanding when it comes to doing the jobs the right way. “We got into this business because we believe that using a forestry mulcher is the best way to perform most land management jobs. There are lots of advantages. It completely eliminates stumps without leaving holes. It doesn’t damage the soil, which means vegetation can grow back faster. It doesn’t leave big piles of vegetation for disposal. And using a tracked skid steer with rubber belts doesn’t damage plant roots. In short, it makes for clean, fast, and efficient work.”