Ambassador Henrik Strömbäck

It is hard not to spot “Skalman” as he is thundering down the highway. Fully loaded “Skalman” is a 64 tonnes and 24 metres long equipage usually underway to SCA Skog with timber. Behind the wheels you find Henrik Strömbäck who just picked up the load somewhere by a narrow road in the forests close to Sundsvall in north-western Sweden.

It is difficult to imagine though that this huge vehicle, consisting of a three-axle truck with room for one stack of timber pulling a four-axle trailer that can take an additional two stacks, can drive along the narrow forest roads at all. It is impressive how easy Henrik can turn this equipage on gravel roads not wider than 2.8 – 3.5 metres.

It is no surprise that Henrik is such an experienced timber truck driver. Working in the forest is something he has done and been interested in all his life. He has driven timber trucks and other trucks for 21 years. He grew up with forestry in Haparanda where his father owned some forest and his grandfather was a log scaler.

 “The interest for the forest and forestry has always been there, so I guess that’s why I’m doing this” says Henrik and adds “It is the nature and the freedom at work that attracts”.

Henrik works for JS Frakt in Sundsvall, and they also own the truck he’s driving called “Skalman”. The truck is a 2.5 years old Mercedes that has run for 52,000 metric miles. Henrik chose to mount a JONSERED 1080 with double extensions and internal hose routing onto this. He was the one deciding what to buy a little over two years ago as he knows what is required in the forest and his employer listened to his advice to make sure they got the equipment needed to get the job done. 

“We have been satisfied with the truck and the crane has worked extremely well”  says Henrik and adds “The crane has good qualities, especially the newly developed steering system. We are extremely pleased with it. It seems to be completely insensitive to heat or cold.”

To Henrik there are other features that are important too. The reliability and that the crane responds the way he wants it to is essential. These features are also reflected in the resale value, or as Henrik puts it “I prefer JONSERED cranes simply because the quality is better. They feel more sturdily built, and they have better dimensions than other cranes. Besides, they have significant resale value that you need to take into account if some day you want to exchange your crane. We didn’t get anything for our old crane, so we keep this in mind when it is time to upgrade our equipment”.

When Henrik drives off to SCA Skog with a load of timber, he usually leaves the crane behind to save weight so that he can load more timber. At the mill the crane is not needed as SCA Skog has a separate loader equipped with a JONSERED 2990 waiting to unload what will become other cellulose based products such as diapers, tissue and toilet paper but also wood products and renewable energy. When Henrik arrives with the truck it has to be unloaded as efficiently as possible so that he can drive off to get yet another truck load of timber to the mill. Usually he drives short stretches and make three to four turns per day.

It is important that everything is correct. To Henrik quality in the delivery to his customers is important independent on whether it is a big customer such as SCA Skog or if he is driving at smaller fellings for farmers and forest owners. The timber has to be delivered correctly so that the right wood comes to the correct industry and that the landowners get paid for their wood. He also has to think about the safety of the operation so that no one gets hurt and nothing gets damaged.

Or as Henrik puts it “Above all, our customers want us to deliver service with a high level of quality throughout the value chain. The timber needs to be delivered at the right place at the right time, and we have to be professional in all parts of the chain. Quite simply, we work in a service profession. ”          

And when has he had a really good day at work?

“A good day at work would be a beautiful spring day, when you are sitting on a pile of timber in the forest enjoying lunch after you met with a customer who was very satisfied with the transportation of his timber earlier that day. That can be worth a lot. At that moment, you think that you have the best job in the world. That’s the way it is!” says Henrik with a smile.