Two mechanised wood harvesting methods currently predominate: the tree-length method and the cut-to-length method CTL.
Ponsse specialises in forest machines designed for the cut-to-length method and in the related information systems.
With the tree-length method, trunks are delimbed in the forest and transported to the mill whole or almost whole. At the mill, trunk pieces are separated according to use, e.g. sawlogs and pulpwood.
With the cut-to-length method, the trunks are cut in the forest into various log assortments for different uses. Typical types include sawlogs, lathe logs, bolts and pulpwood. There are also many other types.
|About 50% of the world's wood harvest is harvested manually, e.g. with a chainsaw. The remaining 50% is harvested mechanically, using either the cut-to-length (CTL) or tree-length method (TL).|| |
Of the mechanically harvested portion, about 60% is harvested using the tree-length method and the remaining 40% using the Nordic cut-to-length method.
This means that about 20% of the world's total wood harvest is obtained using the cut-to-length system. This amount is steadily growing.