processor hire

[landyman]

Hi Guys,

 

Looking for opinions and trying to get a feel for this one so let me know what you think. Have some cords of my own to process but not much really. Was toying with the idea of buying a road tow processor and offering myself for hire with my machine to ppl around the country who perhaps needed a bit doing. My main concern was that I really dont know whether there is any call for this cos if theres not then it just aint worth me buying a machine.

 

Let us know your thoughts.

[Alycidon]

There is an increasing demand for logs yes but most want ready to burn product. Those that are processing for themselves are tending to use a chainsaw and splitter.

 

There are some sellers that do use contractors, I saw a decent Binderberger 500 at the show this week that is ideal for contractors. At 50k though you will want some work to make it pay. Then you have to add a tractor or loader, men, fuel etc.

 

I would place an add in the local cattle market magazine and see what response you get from local farmers. Contractors of all sorts have big professional kit and they work it hard, you would need to be able to offer something the chainsaw/splitter man cannot tackle himself.

 

A

[landyman]

Good advice thanks. This is what was concerning me. The big guys will have their own kit so i can count them out of the equation. Machine wise im quite impressed with the hakki carry 25. Going to show tmw. I cant get the idea out of my head that the machine is a bloody good setup but the business man in me needs to some how justify its purchase. There must be a market for it otherwise they would never sell any but its obviously a fairly niche, tucked away market that im going to have to search for.

[Alycidon]

You wont do much more than 1 cube an hour with it by yourself, and its hard work to boot. Question is you will need to charge £25 an hour plus, makes the job expensive for the customer. Big machine will work by the cube but needs big cord to get the best production rates. A 200mm log through my little machine is just as fast as the same log through a big machine.

 

Test the water before spending the hard earned.

 

A

[Chris Sheppard]

I used to take my old HP Hawk out on hire a bit but to be honest it wasn't really worth it.

 

When you're out on hire the customer will want you to bray the hell out of the machine and all you'll end up doing is wearing out your machine faster so it's knackered when you need it for yourself.

[borderfirewood]

I agree with Alycidon, I have a Hakki Pilke 2xs carry and I average around 1 cube an hour, thats with moving the cube bags with the loader and loading the log table, I only do it on a sunday and I do around 5 cube and watch the f1 when its on. If I am honest I am not that impressed with the build Quality but it does the job fine, I will go for a Tajfun next time.