Hoists are used for many industries and applications around the world. One such industry is the forestry sector. To find out more about the role that hoists play here, be sure to read on below!

What is forestry?

Forestry is defined as “the science or practice of planting, managing, and caring for forests.” This is done to meet both the environmental need of the forests, but also the needs of humans too, such as the gathering of fuel wood or timber.

Other areas that it focuses on are:

• Wildlife habitat management
• Natural water quality management
• Recreation
• Creating aesthetically appealing landscapes
• Landscape and community protection
• Erosion control
• Watershed management
• Biodiversity management
• Helping to maintain forests as ‘sinks’ for any atmospheric carbon dioxide

Clearly, as can be seen, forestry concerns a huge range of areas. Forests have naturally grown to now be seen as the most important element of our biosphere. Alongside this, they play a big part in other areas of human life, such as attractions or technology. For example, in 2016, the UK imported £7.5 billion worth of wood-based products. Around 12.9% of the UK’s land is surfaced by wood, and this number is increasing.

Hoists play an important role in the forestry industry

Types of lifting hoists that are used in this industry

There are many factors to consider when it comes to forestry. First, workers will often be working at great heights, and for this, secure and reliable gear is needed. When you see workers scaling trees, it will often be a combination of a hoist and safety harnesses that is allowing them to work safely.

Secondly, the trees themselves must remain protected, which is again, why high-quality gear is an absolute must. When it comes to transporting or handling any heavy pieces of wood, hoists are the perfect solution for this. They are also used extensively for the transporting of tools around worksites and forests.

The most common type of hoist used in the forestry industry is a lever hoist, also known as a chain hoist or ratchet lever hoist. They are portable and lightweight pieces of equipment, making them ideal for transporting around by workers.

Another name given to this handy piece of equipment is a ‘pull lift’, given its ability to also perform tensioning or pulling, alongside lifting and lowering. This is another common task that you’ll find being completed in the forestry industry; for example, to pull tree stumps out of the ground.

Find out more about our range of equipment

As well as having uses for very specific applications, such as forestry, or even working with chandeliers in order to help clean them, you’ll find lifting hoists in many larger, industrial environments too. For example:

• Construction
• Chemical plants
• Marine and shipping
• Mining

If you would like to hear more about how this equipment could aid your own industry today, please get in contact with us here.

 

Image credit: Paula