New wood chipper ensures excellent cost per ton

With Lansink's ladder in mind, the right ecological and economic destination is always sought for the wood, from the largest log to the smallest shred. With the recent purchase of the HG4000 wood chipper from Vermeer, Mouton is showing the way for the coming years: more commitment to biomass and wood recycling.

His education in gardening and design already betrayed his green thumb, but when Kristof Mouton began building his professional career, he still chose forestry. "Trees, wood, they are materials that give me inspiration. The entrepreneurial blood I had with me from home." When he started it in 2000, his days were initially filled with simple chores such as pruning. Today, Group Mouton and its 25 or so employees are specialists in all-round forest management with a radius of action that extends across Flanders, Brussels and Hainaut, with even branches across the border to France and the Netherlands. Among other things, the company is working on the second phase of the Oosterweel connection, but is also helping to remove twigs anchored to Ghent's Castle of the Counts. "Our aim is always to handle the environment as carefully as possible. Just taking a chainsaw is too short of the mark. If we want to build a valuable future, we must continue to recycle and recover," Mouton summarizes.

Specialized people and machines

"Our strength, on the one hand, lies in the years of experience. When I started, competitors could still be counted on one hand. It has allowed us as a company to build up a machine park step by step so that we can now carry out all the steps in-house. From the mapping of forest, trees and timber, to the follow-up of permit, the execution of all works and the recovery of materials." The common thread here is always to look for the best solution for the materials according to the Ladder of Lansink. For this reason, Group Mouton also has its own marketing channels. "On the other hand, we are also strong because of this great variety in what we can handle. We have the capacity and specialized know-how of people and machines to handle large projects in a short time. Because we also have the right machines for specific works. Two people in our workshop are permanently in charge of maintenance and repairs and how to adapt standard equipment even better to our needs."

HG4000 mobility and flexibility trump

The latest newcomer within this is Vermeer's HG4000. An investment for the future, as Mouton wants to continue to grow and sees opportunities to do so in expanding its activities around biomass processing and A and B wood recycling. "Vermeer was actually one of our first suppliers. In recent years, there was a trend to make every block of wood custom-made. Then we were forced to look across the border for machines specifically tailored to a particular stream. Often expensive investments. Today that trend has reversed again and we can look to Vermeer's machines that are affordable with an excellent cost per ton and with great confidence in the service." Mouton hesitated for a long time between the HG4000 and the HG6000. "A heavier, larger machine that ended up being a little less suited to our operations. However, the mobility and flexibility offered by the HG4000 are very strong assets. It doesn't even have to go on the road as exceptional transport."

Reliable operation assured

These are not the only strengths. "The immediate availability of the machine played an important role in our decision, as we quickly needed additional capacity. Technically, the capacity of the infeed and the accessibility of the screening surface were especially decisive. We were already familiar with Vermeer's technology and they have clearly not been idle in recent years. A lot of specifications have been improved. For example, the hammers were given additional reinforcement, the rotor is better shielded. Things that are important for continuous, reliable operation. That's why we also chose the Damage Defense system as an option. The machine has only been running for a week, but it has already prevented certain metal pieces from penetrating into the rotor. A lot of interfering elements are taken out before they can do any damage." The machine will run largely at the Lochristi site. "But also in our second plant in Bernissart that we are now starting up. We want to work locally with local people. The new location also opens up opportunities to further work the north of France."