Maintaining power lines in Montevideo with the FAE UML/EX/VT and UML/SSL/VT mulchers

Clearing the area under the power lines that supply electricity to some city districts

Martin Bianchi Movimento de Suelos is a small, privately owned company with 7 employees that performs roadwork in Uruguay. Founded in 1998, in Carmelo, Uruguay, it has a fleet of ten machines, two of which are FAE’s — a UML/EX/VT 125 and a UML/SSL/VT 150 — both purchased in 2022 from FAE’s dealer in Latin America, Recursos Organicos.

The FAE UML/EX/VT is a forestry mulcher with a fixed-tooth rotor for 14-20 ton excavators. Its size and its superior strength, reliability, and performance make it the flagship machine in the FAE forestry mulcher line. The UML/SSL, on the other hand, is a forestry mulcher with a fixed-tooth rotor for 75-120 hp skid steers. Strong and compact, it is also one of the most popular FAE models.

One of the first opportunities to use the two new machines came from the country’s capital, Montevideo. In a zone not far from the city, it was necessary to clear the area under the power lines that supply electricity to several city districts.

“We’ve been performing maintenance in green spaces and wooded areas since 2015, and with our two new FAEs, we now have an innovative system working in Uruguay,” recounts Martin Bianchi, the company’s owner. “We started clearing the area under the power lines to prevent fires and make it possible to quickly perform maintenance and repairs on the system when needed.”

Thanks to the innovation from Martin Bianchi, who started using FAE forestry mulchers, the citizens of Montevideo now have better electric service. “I chose to use this type of forestry mulcher because I needed to work in a high humidity area and because I needed to be able to move the machine around easily over long distances. I have to say, I’ve been very happy with the performance of the two FAEs in both areas.”

“It was because of them that we were able to work over 400,000 m²,” Martin explains. “We used both of the models we own, the UML/EX/VT 125 with a JCB 160S excavator and the UML/SSL/VT 150 with a JCB T330 skid steer loader.”

What does he think about the two machines?
Martin is definitely a fan. “I’m really very happy with our two FAE heads, especially their VT engines that improve productivity, with higher output in less time. We are also impressed with how durable the teeth are. They’re very strong, and they work for a lot of hours before needing to be replaced. Now, our operators can work safely, even when there are rocks and stones.”