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Suzano has acquired the world’s largest forestry vehicles in partnership with Volvo. The pulp giant purchased 14 hexatrains, each with the capacity to transport up to 250 tons.
The impressive new Volvo FMX 6×6 trucks, designed to transport up to 250 tons in hexatrains, are now in operation.making them the largest forestry vehicles in the world. Exclusively used on internal farm roads, these giants, acquired by Suzano Papel e Celulose, transport eucalyptus logs with maximum efficiency and safety. This innovation is the result of Volvo's cutting-edge engineering, which brings even more productivity to the Brazilian off-road sector, with six-trailer configurations, the largest ever seen in operation in the country.
World's largest forestry vehicles deliver 540 horsepower
Innovations have enabled a 25% increase in maximum capacity compared to the previous 200-ton hexatrains. The largest forestry vehicles in the world are part of the transportation operations of Suzano, a giant in the sector and the largest global producer of eucalyptus pulp from planted forests.
The 14 Volvo VMX 6×6 hexatrens with 540 horsepower engines pull loads to supply the company's new factory, which is located in the municipality of Ribas do Rio Pardo, in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul.
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The Suzano unit recently began operations, continuing the forestry operations of the Cerrado Project, which received investments of R$22,2 billion. The complex combines high production capacity and several sustainability practices, such as the even more efficient use of bioenergy.
With the new purchase, the pulp company now has 47 units of Volvo's largest forestry vehicles in the world, distributed across operations in several locations. The new trains are 60 meters long, one meter longer than the previous ones.
The increase in load capacity was possible thanks to a new configuration, with reinforced axles and double side members. In addition, the hexatrens received a new front-wheel drive axle.
According to Jeseniel Valério, Volvo's truck sales engineering manager, the improvements to the world's largest forestry vehicles have allowed the vehicle to support greater vertical load and greater traction capacity, as well as an important step in Volvo's partnership with Suzano, which needs customized solutions to expand productivity, but through initiatives that do not impact the environment.
Another new feature in the hexatrens was the placement of a coupling at the front of the cabin, for possible traction assistance, which may occur in a severe application such as forestry transport.
Suzano has been using the world’s largest forestry vehicles since 2019
According to Suzano's Director of Forestry Operations in Ribas do Rio Pardo, Rodrigo Zagonel, the partnership between the pulp company and Volvo is long-standing. In the Ribas do Rio Pardo project, the company opted for Volvo as a supplier of hexatrens due to its recognition in the market and the willingness to meet its demands to develop a vehicle with a CMT of up to 250 tons.
The truck's performance has been consistent with the proposed scope, providing a cost-benefit ratio within expectations.
In use by Suzano since 2019, when they were implemented at the Três Lagoas Unit, the largest forestry vehicles in the world travel only within the company's eucalyptus farms, unlike double trailer or tri-train trucks, which helps to significantly reduce traffic on the highways.
At the Ribas do Rio Pardo unit, the company will reach approximately 50% of its forestry logistics with hexatrains, which results in lower fuel consumption in the transportation of wood and, consequently, lower CO emissions.2/m³.
The Volvo FMX has been gaining increasing ground in the vocational segment. According to Gelson Philippsen, Volvo sales engineer, in addition to being used in the forestry segment, the world's largest forestry vehicles are expanding their presence in sugarcane and mining operations, mainly due to their robustness, high mechanical availability and fuel efficiency.
Importance of Volvo hexatrains in the pulp segment
The world's largest forestry vehicles play an important role in Suzano's production chain. After harvesting, they transport the logs from the farms to the factory, where they are chopped and processed into pulp, which is then used in the paper industry, hygiene products and other consumer goods.
The Mucuri plant has an annual production capacity of 200 tons of integrated pulp, 1,4 billion tons of market pulp and 250 tons of paper. The unit is considered to have the highest productivity in the world in its segment.
Hexatrains are trucks widely used in the sugar and alcohol sector, mining and forestry. They are extremely robust vehicles and, at the same time, have a high level of onboard technology, which provides high availability and greater profitability to the transport business, according to Carlos Paulin, commercial manager for vocational trucks at Volvo.
It is important to mention that Suzano is made up of a team of more than 40 thousand employees, including its own and third parties, with world's largest producer of cellulose, one of the largest paper producers in Latin America, leader in the toilet paper segment in Brazil and a reference in the development of sustainable and innovative solutions using raw materials from renewable sources.
With 12 factories in Brazil, and others in North America and Europe, the company has an annual installed capacity of 13,4 million tons of cellulose, 1,7 million tons of paper and 280 thousand tons of hygiene items.
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