Versatile Mulching Technology Is Key to Success for Louisville Land Clearing Co.
Dedicated Mulcher Is First Equipment In, and Last Off the Project LEBANON, OH — With a slogan like “No Job Too Small, No Tree Too Tall,” it is easy to understand why versatility is important to The Bob Ray Co. This Louisville land clearing company might be called upon to clean-up a small residential building site one day, and then be tasked for 42 miles of Right-of-Way clearing the next. Having the right equipment — or equipment which is versatile enough to handle a wide variety of tasks - is vital to their success. One piece of equipment with this type of sought-after versatility is a Fecon FTX440 forestry mulcher. Operations manager Tee Ray, who recently purchased his second Fecon mulcher, has seen virtually every type of land clearing equipment on the market. Heck, he's owned many of them. After running a 400-HP Fecon FTX400 for four years, he upgraded to the 440-HP version a year ago. Its ability to handle many types of materials - including brush, stumps, logs, and standing trees - makes it invaluable to their operation. But Ray readily admits “even after 5 years, it still amazes me what they can do.” First-in, Last-Out “We use it for the first machine into a clearing job and or the last machine into a clearing job, depending upon the type of material” said Ray. “We'll thin out the material that has no market value - if it is really thick we'll mow first. Then we'll come in and fell the trees and either sell the trees or sell the wood chips from them. Then we'll stump a job and come back in with that mower and do the final clean up on the land.” While often used to clear out under story and thick brush (especially on tracts of land which have not been maintained) the FTX also serves as a “clean up” machine. According to Ray, “After you've cleared the woolliest piece of ground, you can take that Fecon and run over everything and just slick it up as nice as can be. You can also use it for a total clearing machine - there's not a tree that won't fit inside that head, or one that you can't mow up with it.” He recalled that they routinely grub out trees and grind the stumps as well as the logs and brush. Ray has a fleet of other equipment, including high-horsepower horizontal grinders. And he readily points out the need to have an excavator to feed the grinder. “As far as land clearing machines go, the Fecon is probably the most versatile single machine that is built.” That versatility allows Ray and his crews to use the FTX year round. Whether in the sweltering heat of the summer or the frigid cold of the midwestern winter, the FTX starts right up and goes to work. That is important for any piece of equipment, especially when the price tag nears $400,000. But the investment has been worthwhile. “In the five years that I've owned them, the FTX has always had plenty of work,” said Ray. “The best testimonial I can offer is that I cannot remember one job where we've had a customer complain about the value of work for the dollar that they paid — or the finished product.” Ray originally read about the FTX in a magazine article, he also saw them at shows and had one demonstrated. In addition to versatility the machine must be productive. When you process 600-800 tons of material per hour — all of which is recycled — you can't have any bottlenecks. One high-production and low maintenance aspect that Ray likes about the FTX is the direct drive. Unlike hydraulically driven machines which loose HP, the direct drive imparts more power to the cutting head, with fewer parts and less maintenance. Every machine needs maintenance, especially in abrasive forestry applications, and the FTX is no exception. Ray figures on an hour a day of maintenance, mostly checking the unit, cleaning it, and giving the teeth a once-over. He likes the fixed tooth design and is satisfied with the tooth life, even in the rocky Kentucky soil. Should the machine require factory service, he is well satisfied on that front too. “The Fecon service is excellent. If you've got a problem they've got a service tech to you the next day or maybe even the same day.” Considering the versatility to handle virtually any land clearing project, at high production rates, with acceptable maintenance intervals, it is easy to see why The Bob Ray Co. is so excited about the Fecon FTX440. T Ray calls it “the ultimate forestry mower” and added “there is not a forestry mower out there that will do what this machine will do.” That is high praise indeed from someone who has seen (and owned) about every type of land clearing equipment there is.
