LOG MAX 40 YEARS
A world-class harvester head emerges
IN THE BEGINNING
Five friends – Stig Linderholm, Anders Almén, Molle Messing, Micael Olsson and Hans Arvidsson founded the company Grangärde Maskin in order to build forest machines.
IT ALL STARTED IN 1980
In the early 1980s, the forest industry was expanding and evolving at a rapid pace. And the founders of Log Max were a part of this. They experimented with different solutions during the first nine years, and it was not until 1989 that harvester heads became the company's flagship product.
The company grew throughout the 1990s, even starting to establish itself in markets outside Sweden. In conjunction with this, the company also adopted a slightly more international name, Log Max.
The 2000s were highly eventful years and saw the introduction of several new models. And in 2005, the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce named Log Max its Export Company of the Year.
The 2010s saw much change at the company when the founders stepped aside and the business was acquired by the Japanese company Komatsu. This also heralded the start of the production of the Komatsu Forest S series.
In 2020, a new CEO was appointed at the company, Jon Mattson, who was previously head of aftermarket at Log Max.
25 years of Log Max
1980s
A decade of experimentation
HELGUM AND GNUTTEN
Getting to where we are today was a bit of a winding road. In the early years, the five friends assembled Logma Helgum, which by 1985 had evolved into a fully-fledged harvester. It weighed 22 tonnes and had a Scania D8 engine producing 163 horsepower.
The company then decided to complement Helgum, which was a real beast, with a small, tracked skidder called Gnutten. This was a remote-controlled, off-road skidder that was used to simplify and partially mechanise thinning work. However, Gnutten had no real future as the market moved towards fully mechanised harvesting.
FIRST SINGLE-GRIP HARVESTER
1985 saw the introduction of the first single-grip harvester. It was designated the GM 425. This model was then succeeded by the GM 525 and the GM 625.
This head had parallel feed rollers and the guiding principle was to "keep it simple" to ensure a reliable head. Moreover, our modern heads retain a surprisingly similar design!
A weight of 325 kg, 13 kN of tractive force and a working pressure of 210 bar.
A LARGER HEAD
Increasing demand for larger heads resulted in the development of a new head, the GM 650. It offered twice the performance of the GM 625.
The GM 650 weighed 1,100 kg and stood 163 cm tall.
The damped bottom plate was designed to reduce the risk of cracks in the bottom of the head, a solution that was patented and remains an option on today's heads.
More material from the 1980s
Here we have gathered a little more material from the first ten years of Log Max
1990s
Log Max goes international
INCREASED EXPORTS
Export demand for the heads increased, and during the 1990s the need to change name became apparent. Grangärde Maskin was officially changed to Log Max during this decade.
A millennium series was begun, and the aim of the project was to increase reliability, improve performance and further coordinate the company's products through shared components and functionality.
THE MILLENNIUM SERIES
The heads now found in the product line-up were as follows:
Log Max 928
Log Max 3000
Log Max 5000 (formerly GM 840)
Log Max 7000 (formerly GM 750)
Log Max 9000
Product video from 1992
2000s
Log Max grows and receives awards
EXPORT COMPANY OF THE YEAR
In 2005, the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce named Log Max its Export Company of the Year. Stig Linderholm, who was CEO at the time, travelled to Stockholm to accept the prestigious award, which was presented by Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden.
NEW HEADS
The product line-up also saw much change during this decade.
The Log Max 6000 was introduced, eventually becoming the company's most sold head by far.
The company also developed a large head in close collaboration with its dealers in the USA and Canada. The final product was the Log Max 12000. At the time, this was the world's largest head, weighing 4.5 tonnes. This head remains in the product line-up.
2010s
New organisation
KOMATSU TAKES OVER
Log Max was sold to the Japanese company Komatsu. In conjunction with this, the company also started producing the Komatsu Forest S series.
CEO Micael Olson stepped down and was replaced by Tom Sarin, who was previously stationed at Komatsu Forest in Umeå, northern Sweden.
REFINED PRODUCTS
A new version of Log Mate, our proprietary control system, was launched, with the designation Log Mate 510.
Moreover, the Log Max T series for thinning was launched, the Log Max 4000 was renamed the Log Max 3000T and a new head positioned between the 3000 and the 5000 was launched, the Log Max 4000T.
NEW CEO
In 2020, Log Max CEO Tom Sarin stepped down to assume other responsibilities, with
Jon Mattsson appointed the new CEO of
Log Max.
Jon was previously head of aftermarket at
Log Max. In other words, a familiar face to customers and employees alike.
Pictured is the management team, with
Jon Mattsson on the left.
