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The new DTL35 compact track loader is the company’s first machine of its type and now available in North America. Pushing. Lifting. Digging. Land clearing. These are all tasks that the new DEVELON DTL35 compact track loader can easily complete. Source: Timberbiz The DTL35 compact track loader is equipped with a reliable D34 engine, which is also used in the DEVELON DD100 dozer. The engine helps minimize downtime, reduce maintenance costs and ensure consistent performance in demanding work conditions. Featuring one of the most powerful in-class engines a 115.3 hp the DTL35 helps operators gain traction and manoeuvrability in tight spaces. It’s equipped with features to help maximize productivity and efficiency. Two rubber track patterns are available, and both include a wide and narrow version. A wide multi-bar track comes standard, while a block pattern is optional. The wide multi-bar tracks offer increased contact with surfaces for better traction. This design increases stability and reduces vibration and the risk of slippage. The optional block pattern is designed for more durability on challenging terrains like rock, gravel or uneven ground. It also minimizes ground disturbance, making these tracks a good option for landscaping and turf management. Ride control reduces shocks and vibrations, which enhances stability for the bucket and minimizes spillage when the compact track loader navigates rough terrain while carrying full loads. The auto return to dig automatically returns the arms to the lowered position, saving operators time while delivering a more consistent digging depth. The standard 2-speed travel feature allows the compact track loader to operate at the best speed for the job: the higher speed for traveling longer distances or quickly moving between job sites, and the lower speed for stabilizing the machine during more precise and controlled movements in challenging conditions. The reversible fan protects against dust and debris, keeping the compact track loader’s engine cleaner and cooler to help extend the life of the machine. The rearview camera provides an additional view, allowing operators to easily see behind the machine. An optional around view monitor (AVM) camera system with ultrasonic proximity sensors displays a 270-degree view of the machine’s surroundings for greater confidence when operating the loader in tight work areas or busy job sites. The ultrasonic proximity sensors enhance safety by alerting operators to nearby objects as they back up the machine. The vertical lift arm configuration allows the DTL35 compact track loader to extend its reach forward, making it easier to deposit materials into high-sided trucks, bins or agriculture mixers. To help maintain the loader’s stability, a self-leveling feature automatically adjusts the attachment to remain level as the arms are raised or lowered. This stability is crucial for ensuring safe operation. The bucket shake feature helps shake loose, or release materials stuck to the attachment and facilitates quick and efficient dumping without the need to stop and manually clean the machine. The DTL35 compact track loader has a 3-foot-wide spacious interior, a large polycarbonate swing-out door, electric over hydraulic controls and a roof panel with an unobstructed view of what’s overhead. The adjustable air-suspension heated seat offers superior comfort compared to traditional seats. Air-filled cushions adjust to the operator’s weight and movement, providing a smooth and comfortable ride, especially over uneven terrain. The air-suspension system helps absorb shocks and vibrations, reducing the impact of bumps and rough terrain. The torsion suspension system also helps absorb shocks and vibrations over rough or uneven terrain. This results in a smoother ride throughout the day compared to traditional fixed-frame machines. Attachment changes are easy on the DTL35 compact track loader. It’s equipped with a hydraulic quick coupler that allows fast and tool-free attachment changes, significantly reducing the time required for manual attachments. The DTL35 is offered with more than a dozen DEVELON attachments to help operators complete multiple tasks with one machine.

A team led by Professor Erica Walker from Brown University in the US has received federal funding to conduct the first air-quality and community noise assessment of Mississippi communities impacted by the production of wood pellets. Source: Timberbiz As the global demand for clean energy alternatives surges, the wood pellet industry, often touted as a sustainable fuel option, is projected to nearly double in size by 2026. In the United States, the industry’s growth is most pronounced in the rural South, where 91 wood pellet manufacturing plants are situated, constituting 75% of US production. Mississippi alone is home to seven wood pellet plants, four fully operational and three soon to open (or in early development) that are anticipated to be the largest in the world. But this growing industry is facing scrutiny over its environmental, health and social impacts; similar to fossil fuel refineries, wood pellet plants are more than twice as likely to be located in predominantly Black and poor communities. Ms Walker, RGSS Assistant Professor of Epidemiology at the Brown University School of Public Health, and her team of researchers have received a US$5.8 million grant from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences for their investigations into the emissions from wood pellet plants in Mississippi. This work represents the first study of wood pellet emissions on human health in the United States. “It is fascinating but not surprising that predominantly Black and/or poor communities across Mississippi are being asked to undergird the shift to renewable and sustainable energy production,” Ms Walker said. “When these large wood pellet companies move into these communities, they are bringing with them environmental externalities, which may negatively impact the towns and cities nearby. This award provides us with the opportunity to actually spell out what these environmental externalities are and to what extent they may negatively impact the health and well-being of the surrounding community.” In collaboration with Dr Krystal Martin from Greater Greener Gloster Project, Dr Courtney Roper from the University of Mississippi, and Dr Sharelle Barber from Drexel University, Ms Walker is expanding her research into the emissions from the industry in the state of Mississippi specifically noise, particulate matter, black carbon, ozone, nitrogen dioxide and volatile organic compounds (VOCS), which potentially exceed the thresholds established by the Clean Air Act by up to five times. Ms Walker and her team have spent the last year enrolling families with children, collecting survey and biological information with the aim of understanding how these emissions are impacting children across the life course. They are focused on the Mississippi town of Gloster, home to 897 people, of which 71% are Black and 38.6% live in poverty, with an annual median income of $22,131. They point out that vulnerable populations and children in particular are impacted by air pollution emitted from wood pellet production. Proximity to these plants is associated with a statistically significant higher risk of hospitalization for respiratory illnesses and increased asthma-like symptoms in children. “Mississippi’s children rank 49th in overall child well-being according to a recent KidsCount report,” Ms Walker said. “I am excited about being able to consider the exposome (air, noise, water, visual and soil) pollution and follow the health of these young children until adulthood.” Ms Walker’s preliminary findings are the first air-quality and noise measurements taken in a Mississippi-based wood pellet-impacted community. She and her team measured their results against an air and noise pollution monitoring campaign in Mendenhall, Mississippi, a town with no current industrial activity. In Mendenhall, 34% of residents are Black, 35.8% live in poverty and residents have an annual median income of US$35,956. “When comparing air and noise pollution concentrations in Gloster to those in Mendenhall,” the authors write in their first report, “air and noise pollutant concentrations in Gloster are magnitudes higher, even after adjusting for meteorological conditions.” Over the next five years, and with the support of the NIH, the team will be launching a study quantifying the health impacts of wood pellet manufacturing in three types of communities: those with an operational wood pellet plant, those with a proposed wood pellet plant, and those with no wood pellet plants and no (or limited) industrial manufacturing. They will be conducting a combined noise and air pollution assessment and will use these measurements to assess their impact on children’s respiratory health and stress. They will also engage the community by providing research training for Mississippi-based high-school, community college, undergraduate and graduate students, as well as older adults – who will be using the environmental-literacy awareness tools and the app developed by Walker, NoiseScore.

Canada’s BC Council of Forest Industries Vice President & Chief Economist Kurt Niquidet issued a media statement to express concerns about the serious economic implications of the impending railway strikes. Source: Timberbiz “The BC Council of Forest Industries calls for all parties – employers, unions, and the federal government – to consider the far-reaching consequences of a railway shutdown and to work urgently towards a resolution,” he said. “Rail transportation is the backbone of our industry, enabling the movement of lumber, pulp, and paper products across North America and to global markets. The potential disruption of these services poses a severe risk to the forest sector and the economic stability of forestry-dependent communities across the province. A simultaneous work stoppage at CN and CPKC could result in tens of millions of dollars in weekly losses for the forest products manufacturing sector.” Mr Niquidet emphasized that the majority of the forest sector’s products rely on rail transport, particularly for exports to the United States. “Within the first week of a strike, we could face widespread mill curtailments, further threatening jobs and economic activity in our communities. “The impacts of a rail shutdown will extend far beyond our industry. The broader economic fallout on British Columbia could be devastating, disrupting the flow of goods, triggering job losses, and creating profound uncertainty in the rural communities that are the backbone of our sector. This situation underscores the critical importance of maintaining a reliable and uninterrupted transportation network to safeguard Canada’s competitive position in global markets. “Natural resources are the lifeblood of Canada’s economy, and our railways are the arteries that keep this lifeblood flowing. Any interruption to this essential infrastructure risks bringing our economy to a halt, with workers and communities bearing the brunt of the impact. “We urge all parties to find an immediate resolution.”