Sawquip’s telehandler vegetation saw is a unique product that offers a simple solution to an otherwise tricky job for farmers
Manufacturing in-house can bring many benefits around production schedules and delivery times.
It can also lead to new opportunities for innovation and the creation of new products, particularly when the manufacturer is engaged with its customer base’s needs.
This is the origin story of Sawquip’s unique telehandler vegetation saw – the BranchBuster 900.
“It was actually very customer driven,” Sawquip’s technical sales manager Troy Pilcher says.
“We’ve done saws for excavators, and we had a few customers coming to us saying ‘I’m interested, but I’d be keen to put it on my telehandler for this application’.
“We thought it was a very good concept, so we did a prototype product for a customer and they loved it. We’ve just gone from there.”
Like all Sawquip products, the BranchBuster is designed and manufactured completely within Australia and is supported by local backup from a company with almost two decades in business.
Its concept is simple, but its impact for Australian farmers is significant.
The BranchBuster easily attaches to any telehandler with appropriate auxiliary hydraulics, Sawquip says, meaning its benefits can be enjoyed with very minimal effort.
“The whole concept is a bit of a game changer when you’re trying to chop high tree limbs and maintain property boundaries like fence lines, roadsides, driveways and so forth,” Pilcher says.
“Especially when you’ve got long and straight stretches and a lot to do, this makes the job a lot quicker and takes a lot of manual handling out of it as well.
“If you didn’t have something like this, you would be relying on a chainsaw, which is a very slow and tedious way of doing it, whereas on a telehandler it’s very easy and saves a lot of time.”
The BranchBuster 900 is named for its 900mm tungsten-tipped blade which helps to ensure clean and accurate cuts on whatever vegetation needs maintenance around a farm.
It is also built to withstand rigorous use, ensuring its reliability and longevity even in Australia’s harsh conditions.
The unit itself measures 2.83m wide and has a 370mm cut capacity.
Designed for telehandlers and loaders, it also requires 60L per minute of hydraulic flow.
The ease with which it can be attached to a telehandler means farmers can easily enjoy the real gamechanger of the BranchBuster – the height at which farmers can cut.
“The height and the reach of the actual saw is quite a good thing,” Pilcher says.
“Obviously a telehandler has got an extended telescopic boom, which will give you at least six metres of height depending on the individual machine.
“This is a significant advantage when you’re talking about doing long stretches, maintaining driveways, maintaining fence lines, and maintaining roadsides,” he says.
“Vegetation is always growing and it’s just a constant need every couple of years to cut it back, especially if you have got trucks driving past or vegetation intruding on fence lines and so forth.”
“It’s going to be a significant time saver for them and a labour saver as well – they would be the two main reasons that farmers are pretty keen on it.
“Most have already got the equipment as well – the majority of farmers would have a telehandler or loader – so it’s very easy to just get an attachment rather than trying to find a very application-specific machine for the job,” Pilcher adds.
The BranchBuster also features full guarding and is fitted with a safety rundown check valve to ensure operators have peace of mind when using it.
Sawquip also produces firewood bench saws and excavator saws, both of which are popular with farmers and rural contractors.
Its Australian-made products can be delivered nationwide.
The full range can be viewed online at www.sawquip.com.au
