A 735 E with timber grapple unloading a truck trailer.

Wilburgstetten, Germany – Rettenmeier, one of the largest manufacturers of DIY wood products began construction of a new sawmill at the Wilburgstetten site in the Spring of 2020. Fast forward to today: a new high-performance saw line outputting the three grades of DIY wood products and the expansion of the fleet with four new SENNEBOGEN timber handlers at the Wilburgstetten site is also underway. With this investment, the processing capacity of the plant will increase to a further 1.3 million FBM per year in the future.

Whether sawn or structural timber, glulam or beams, Rettenmeier’s product range is broad and unparalleled. Plant Manager Detlef Keuper says, “You can actually find us in just about every European construction market.” For moving logs at the site, Keuper has relied on the long-standing relationship with SENNEBOGEN and their dealer for more than 15 years now, “We’ve been relying on the strong and powerful SENNEBOGEN material handlers for a long time now and are very satisfied with the reliability of the machines.” The long service life of SENNEBOGEN machines is reflected in the considerable number of operating hours. With over 38,000 hours already on a 730 built in 2007, it is now being used as a training vehicle for new employees. “We take great care of our fleet and achieve an impressive longevity of our machines thanks to a very good maintenance and service program,” emphasizes Detlef Keuper.

Log sorting: 730 E material handlers for log removal at the sorting boxes

In addition to the expansion with an additional saw line, the sorting line will also be supplemented with additional boxes in the near future so that log lengths up to 20 ft. (6.2 m) can be easily sorted. Log removal and stacking of the logs up to a pile height of around 23 ft. (7 m) is now handled by two new SENNEBOGEN 730 E log handlers, which are equipped with a powerful 228 HP (168 kW) diesel engine. Eduard Becker is one of 17 drivers at the site and has been driving SENNEBOGEN material handlers since 2007. He explains, “You can tell that the SENNEBOGEN machines are constantly evolving. With my new 730 E, I particularly like the automatic travel and steering direction changeover. That makes work much easier. The joysticks are very intuitive for the driver.”

Truck unloading and feeding the saw line by a 735 E towing a 30 t trailer

Two SENNEBOGEN 735 E Pick & Carry machines are used for unloading the trucks and feeding the new saw line. With the help of a log grapple up to 30 tons of logs can be loaded and transported onto a trailer and brought to the new saw line. Particularly helpful here is that the SENNEBOGEN 735 E has a low rear ballast resulting in a tight turning radius. Here, too, the automatic steering and driving direction changeover proves to be a valuable helper. In between the narrow wood stacks, it is possible to drive easily and in a space-saving manner without time-consuming maneuvering, even with a trailer. This saves the company valuable time during operation.