Steve Anderson took 1st place in 2021 Forwarder Operator Challenge.
After missing last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Great Lakes Logging and Heavy Equipment Expo returned to Escanaba to celebrate a belated 75th anniversary.
Equipment operators got to test their mettle in the Loader Championship, the Komatsu America Corp./Roland Machinery Forwarder Operation Challenge, and even an excavator challenge hosted by Midway Rentals of Escanaba.
The Komatsu America Corp./Roland Forwarder Operator Challenge tests the operators’ skills in simulating normal daily tasks such as loading, unloading, and pulling logs from between trees, all while maneuvering in extremely tight spaces. But it also includes testing special hand-eye coordination skills such as placing a log between closely-spaced cones and vertically stacking log sections on end.
2021 FORWARDER CHALLENGE WINNERS:
1st: Steve Anderson, Steve Anderson Forest Products
2nd: Aaron Yoder, Lost Lake Logging
3rd: Alex Johnson, Cutting Edge Forest Products
4th: Terry Lynch, Sanville Logging
Marcus Steigerwaldt - Komatsu District Manager Forestry, Scott Dane - ALC Director, and Doug Morris - VP, Forest Machine Business Division