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Once retired, Quebec logger and innovator Richard Dubois will be able to congratulate himself on pioneering the development and use of a combination harvester/forwarder system in North America. When he first looked into the concept of a quick-attach harvesting head/grapple combo mounted on a versatile carrier capable of efficient harvesting as well as forwarding, the machine simply couldn't be found on the continent. A few models existed in Europe, but they were neither sold nor serviced on this side of the Atlantic at the time.
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CFI has reported on his trials and tribulations with a Timbco TF-820D prototype combo machine in earlier issues. While that model worked solo as a fast-moving clean-up machine, Dubois has since changed strategies. The Timbco/Logmax combo now works in unison with another two-machine cut-to-length (CTL) system, a Tanguay harvester coupled with a massive John Deere 1758 8WD forwarder. The trio comprises Les Forestiers LF3M Saint-Felicien Inc., a company owned and run by Dubois, as well as two other shareholders - Stephane Pelletier and Jonathan Dubois.
Forestiers LF3M harvests for Abitibi-Consolidated's La Dore Division in Lac-St-Jean, about four hours north of Quebec City. Following some recommendations by FERIC...