An experienced arborist, Stephen Blair has come down from the trees to set up a new venture providing remote-controlled management of vegetation throughout the north of Scotland. It’s a business that has only been made possible with the acquisition of a Bomford Turner 50 hp Flailbot. Forestry Journal caught up with Stephen to learn more.
HAVING spent quarter of a century in the arb sector, Stephen Blair decided, in May 2023, to move into providing vegetation-management services to clients in the Scottish Highlands. His decision was driven partly by a desire to refocus the services he was offering, but also his sense that there was a potential market which could provide work for his two sons in the future.
As an existing customer of Field and Forest Machinery, based in Broxburn, he decided to speak to them about options.
“I like machines, the outdoors, being by myself, and walking,” he said. “When I spoke to Eddie Cattanach at Field and Forest, he pointed me in the direction of a Bomford Turner 50 hp Flailbot he had. I reckoned this machine would be perfect for what I wanted to do, with the added bonus of helping my bad back. I managed to work out a deal with Eddie involving the trade-in of two chippers. Then I had the machine to do what I wanted.
“My thinking was that with the ban on using Asulox for controlling bracken, and regulations coming for the burning of heather, there would be growing demand for alternative vegetation-management solutions. My aim was to be in the right position to grab a piece of that. My business model for Highland RoboFlail was quite simple, built around self-promotion and contacting everyone I thought might be interested in a demonstration.”
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In essence, Highland RoboFlail is offering what Stephen describes as “a cutting-edge remote-controlled flail service that’s revolutionising vegetation management”. He opted to equip his Flailbot with a swinging hammer forestry head. The machine has design features that make it suitable to operate on the hilly and mountainous landscapes of the Highlands of Scotland. It is remotely controlled and, in Stephen’s words, “simply breaks any woody material, up to 100 mm in diameter, that gets in its way. It can work in places where you don’t want to be sitting on a machine.”
The Field and Forest Machinery website offers this description of the Bamford Turner Flailbot: “Flailbot is Bomford’s wirelessly operated track mower for challenging terrains that offers the ultimate remotely controlled mowing capacity with zero operator risk. Flailbot is as at home on steep slopes as it is on flatter areas. Its powerful and efficient engine can reach and work on terrains angled up to 55 degrees. Robust and delivering ample power and torque, it performs reliably, under arduous or extended duty, without overheating. The whole powertrain has been designed and tested to work continuously, and being remotely controlled makes it ideal for use in difficult terrain and dangerous conditions.”
Stephen felt that combining this Flailbot with a swinging hammer forestry head would be right for the ground conditions that he saw the machine operating in. The design of this head gives it the capability to deal with thicker vegetation than the standard cutting head. This head also has swinging hammers as standard and a fixed rotor operation.
Field and Forest’s operations manager Eddie Cattanach offered his insight into the machine and the swinging hammerhead. He said: “The 50 hp variable track frame measures 1,310 mm at its narrowest and then extends to 1,810 mm. Not only does this ensure better stability, it also helps to spread the weight of the machine when working on softer or wetter ground.
“Additionally, the Flailbot has a ground pressure of 0.285 kg/cm², which reduces ground compaction, helping soil and ground structure. This, coupled with the ‘hi-grip’ rubber tracks, ensure that the machine is able to undertake work where tractors and ATVs cannot.
“The track tension is regulated automatically by the hydraulic system via a ram in each track assembly, which removes the need for the operator to ensure track tension is maintained by more traditional methods of greasing the track frame to ensure the idler wheels are tight. Each independent track speed can be individually reduced or increased, which allows the machine to maintain a consistent tracking direction while traversing side slopes.
“The multifunction remote-control unit allows the operator to undertake all functions of the machine while maintaining a safe distance. This reduces the risk of slips, trips and falls for the operator as well as nullifying any risk of hand-arm vibration symptoms. The remote signal is capable of operating up to a maximum of 150 m.”
Field and Forest Machinery supplies both the 50 hp and 60 hp Flailbots with the swinging hammer forestry head as a standard package. The swinging hammer forestry head has a 1,200 mm cutting width and is made up of 24 heavy double-sided swinging hammers, which can be operated both clockwise and anticlockwise, depending on what material is being cut. The swinging hammer forestry head is a good all-rounder for dealing with heavier material up to 100 mm, but will also cope with more grass-like ‘finer’ material just as well. There are various heads and attachments available.
Eddie added: “The Flailbot has an in-built co-axial inclinometer sensor, which will alert the operator of ground that is beyond the 55-degree limit by sounding the horn. If the same manoeuvre is attempted three times, the horn will sound and the machine will shut down and will require a re-start. Additionally, should there be any unfortunate occurrences with the operator, such as faints or falls, the remote control has a built-in safety sensor that detects if the remote becomes inverted for too long or if it is subject to sudden impact, like someone falling, and will shut the machine down.”
Some of first the jobs carried out by Stephen were in and around his home base of Carrbridge.
These included flailing of regrowth to clear saplings and wild flowers in the community orchard to improve the grounds for further planting. The Flailbot’s ability to operate on boggy ground was proven at the Carrbridge Golf Club, where a historic grass tipping area, with piles of branches which had become a thriving area for nettle growth, was mulched down with ease.
Two other jobs were carried out at Coylumbridge, near Aviemore, one on a relatively level area and the other on a steep bank, dealing with invasive water reeds on boggy ground. Once again, the Flailbot’s small size and weight distribution made it the ideal machine to work on these jobs.
Jobs like these gave Stephen an early idea of the machine’s capabilities and allowed him to get used to working with it. In essence, it allowed him to get a handle on operating the Flailbot, and was demonstrated to potential clients both in person and across various social media platforms with the posting of videos.
During the first year of Highland RoboFlail, Stephen’s eldest son Xander decided to join him in the business, immediately proving an aptitude for it (perhaps, as Stephen jokingly pointed out, thanks to all those years of playing Xbox games).
“He is very good at operating and is very patient, where I’m not,” Stephen said. “The Flailbot takes a lot of maintenance and looking after. I think he could see how much he was helping me. I was struggling with doing everything myself as well as bringing up two teenagers on my own. He just grew up and came on board to help.”
Explaining why he liked working with the Flailbot, Xander said: “It was what finally convinced me to actually work for my dad. At first I just saw it as another one of dad’s machines, but after actually doing some work with it, I loved it. I play a lot of Xbox, so using a controller to operate the Flailbot came as second nature. I was good at it and got to work in some really cool areas. Sometimes there was a frustration when a hammer broke, but that was all part of the challenge, which I do enjoy.”
By the end of 2023, Highland RoboFlail, with Stephen and Xander at the helm, had carried out seedbed trials in thinnings for Forestry and Land Scotland along with gorse removal work and riparian seedbed creation for the Spey Catchment Initiative, a project that is looking to save on fencing and plastic guards while helping to slow the flow and retain riverbanks.
“The seedbed trials for FLS were amongst the first, second and third thinnings to remove the vegetation and monitor the natural regeneration from Scots pine trees,” said Stephen.
“Navigating the stumps and getting the depth to turn over the soil did a lot of damage to the swinging hammers, but they are designed for this and, although it cost me a fair bit in replacement hammers, the results were exactly what FLS was after.”
The work Highland RoboFlail carried out with the Speyside Catchment Initiative was experimenting to see if the Flailbot could be used as a tool to help riparian regeneration. Trees had previously been planted on the riverbank, back in 2020, in an attempt to help hold it together. Stock fencing was used to protect the trees and as a result, in the four years or so that had passed, a number of young trees started to take hold.
“The main area within the protected zone is full of thick grass between 6 and 12 inches,” Stephen said. “The idea was to use the Flailbot to create seedbeds along the riverbank by mulching all the old grass down to ground level and breaking through the top layer of soil in the process. This is an innovative method designed to help kickstart natural processes by making the ground more accessible for local seed source. The long-term goal of the project is to see this area thrive with birch, bog myrtle and alder.
“I believe that in the long term, if this is successful, it will prove to be an extremely cost-effective method of rewilding the riverbank. This day gave me a chance to show the machines working to around 20 enthusiastic conservation people. It was good to chat and answer their questions. It led to me gaining work from Scottish Woodlands, Cairngorm National Park and RSPB, as well as a local farmer.”
The mulching work was to develop capercaillie habitat in an area where burning could not be carried out. In addition, as it was rank heather, all the seeds were at the top of it, and that offered no shelter for young chicks. The first job that Stephen carried out, doing this type of work was for Rothiemurchus Estate, just outside Aviemore, creating small areas to encourage new growth and shelter for the young capercaillie chicks.
This was a wetland site within an old-growth Scots pine forest. The heather was growing on sensitive ground, with a number of old tree stumps presenting challenges to access. Once again, the weight, size and especially the manoeuvrability of the Flailbot was key. In the end, the job was completed in 10 days.
As Stephen had hoped, Highland RoboFlail was soon called upon to carry out bracken-control work. This was with a local tree surgeon on the banks of Loch Tay.
Stephen explained: “The guy had contacted Field and Forest Machinery for the hire cost of a Flailbot and Eddie recommended me.”
This was a five-acre site which once again had accessibility problems, was on steep ground and had a small stream running through. Stephen was able to complete the job in less than two days, demonstrating that the Flailbot, with its low centre of gravity and small size, was able to succeed where other machines had failed
Stephen believes Highland RoboFlail offers a service that addresses two major issues, namely the safety for operators, who sometimes are not able to see hidden dangers, and the ban of Asulox chemicals.
“The hidden dangers are large rocks, cliff edges, old fence wire, and trees,” he said. “If you can imagine driving through bracken over 2 m high on a quad bike towing a bracken flail or roller, you cannot see where you are going, you hit the danger first. With a remote-control machine, you stand in a safe place. If you hit a rock or get into trouble, it is just a machine that is impacted and that can get fixed. Also, this machine has a very low centre of gravity and is very well built, with the flail head on the front, not on the rear.”
A job carried at Tomintoul Falls typified what Stephen meant. Here he used the Flailbot to mulch down Sitka regeneration for a peatland restoration project. While the job itself was not especially challenging as the Sitka regeneration was young, the site had hidden rocks within it.
Therefore, using the Flailbot meant the risk of potential injury to individuals during clearance work was mitigated.
2024 saw Highland RoboFlail hitting the ground running with two months’ work for the Flailbot outside the village on Seafield Estate.
“It would have taken two months for one machine, but just one month for two machines,” said Stephen. “So I called up Eddie and within a few days I had traded in a winch I bought from him previously. A deposit was paid, some finance was taken and we had two machines. Working in winter on the moor really was a quick learning curve. Temperatures of -12 degrees with a strong north wind and snow made the normal challenges even greater.
“The volume of surface rock was doing a lot of damage, so a quick chat with the head keeper and a lesson from burning allowed us to raise the machine’s cutting height, and we were able to replicate a first burn in traditional burning patterns on the hillside. The best value for time and area was blocks approx 100 x 40 m. Running fuel and carrying enough spares and rescue kit meant the purchase of an Argo and we soon got in the way of it.
“Thankfully, Xander had youth and strength on his side for the de-bogging days. On some days we had a huge rise in temperature, but on others we had to get through snow up to our knees. But overall it was fantastic.”
Shortly after this came a change in direction for the business, Stephen and Xander.
“As we came into early spring, tree work had picked up due a storm, so I bought a Unimog and Xander developed a taste for arb,” said Stephen. “The Flailbot work had to stop with bird nesting and it was time for a bit of a rest and to reappraise things. Xander wanted to focus on the tree side of things and I felt he would be better going and learning the ropes from a bigger company with modern techniques, away from myself. He felt it was time to fly the nest, so to speak.
“I knew Stuart Leith and Callum Calvie from Ayrshire Tree Surgeons, based back near our hometown in Largs. I spoke with them to see if Xander could get a trial and he went down to Ayrshire. I have always believed you only get your first day off the back of someone else and after that it is up to the individual to prove their worth.
“The Cairngorms are stunning, but it is an expensive place to live, with not much to do if you are younger. I didn’t move here until I was nearly 40. Xander is much happier working in the central belt with new friends and some from his old primary school days. He is only young and, like me, wants to carve out his own life. I will continue to do my thing and he can do his. If I need him, he always says that he is just a text away.”
Coming back into the Flailbot season, Stephen was back to working by himself with two Flailbot machines – an imbalanced situation
He said: “I had been back working on a digger for two months, with Apex Trees, and fell back in love with it. Also, with Xander leaving, I recognised I needed some mechanical muscle, so, once more it was another call to Eddie, and the upshot is that one Flailbot has gone back down the road and a new Yanmar SV26 digger, with full forestry specification, timber grab, and flail has come up.
“The flail on the digger will come into its own for the lighter vegetation in wintertime on rocky ground where I can sit in the warmth. If I need another Flailbot operator, I have a long list of people who are interested in learning about and using them.”
Summing up, Stephen said: “It has been a great feeling to start a new business, to work with new machinery and to now to be entering the second year of Highland RoboFlail. I am getting return customers from last year, I’m back off to Loch Tay for bracken flailing and have done my UA 1 Certificate of Competence in Utility Arboriculture, which will allow me to work in and around power lines. I feel that is the best way to keep the machines working through the summer.”
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