Belarusian forests are rightly considered a national brand and one of the country's main natural resources. It is no coincidence that Belarus is called the lungs of Europe: more than 40% of its territory is covered by forest fund lands. Such wealth requires careful and responsible treatment. The head of state has drawn attention to this on more than one occasion. Forestry equipment – harvesters, forwarders, and log loaders – plays an important role in accomplishing this task. Such machines are produced by only a little over a dozen countries, and Belarus is among them. How did domestic specialists manage to occupy such a narrow niche, and why did the President bet on the production of forestry equipment? Details – in the BELTA material.

First steps in the production of equipment for logging. Production of logging equipment in Belarus is a completely new direction, its beginnings dating back to the 2000s. Belarusian designers had no expertise in manufacturing such machines, so they had to start from scratch. The initial task was to create equipment capable of performing three main operations: felling trees, delimbing, and bucking the trunk. As a result, about 20 years ago the first domestic forwarder and harvester produced by AMKODOR were presented.

The impetus for the development of domestic logging machines was a task set by the President for the Ministry of Industry in 2006 during a working trip to the Ivacevichsky district. The goal was to provide the forestry sector and wood processing with the necessary modern domestic equipment to the maximum extent possible. The head of state did not rule out the creation of joint ventures.

"The forest is a strategic resource of our country, and we have no right to use it so wastefully as we do today," Alexander Lukashenko pointed out the need for a responsible approach to forest resources. "The forestry sector is moving to the forefront. For us, it is becoming even more important than agriculture."

In the same year 2006, the first serial forwarders

Belarus in an elite club of timber machine manufacturers Since 2013, equipment for the needs of the forestry industry is produced at the "AMKODOR-LESMASH" enterprise in the Logyisk district — the sole specialized manufacturer of high-tech full-cycle forest machinery in Belarus. The enterprise's production capacities allow for the annual release of more than 100 units — harvesters, forwarders, tractor-mounted machines. At the same time, the product line of manufactured equipment is constantly expanding.

A task that barely seemed feasible 20 years ago has been resolved. During a working trip to the Minsk region in 2014, Alexander Lukashenko noticed that the country had developed a wide range of forest machinery. Technical modernization of the industry enabled nearly doubling logging to almost 11 million cubic meters of wood in 2013. The President was shown the machines produced by the AMKODOR plant of the holding company. Overall he was pleased with what he saw, however, he ordered an increase in the degree of localization, which at that time amounted to approximately 60 percent.

It should be noted that "AMKODOR-LESMASH" successfully occupied a narrowly specialized niche. Competition for the Belarusian producer is made up by such industrial giants as the American John Deere, the Finnish Ponsse, and the Japanese Komatsu. Equipment produced at these plants is widely used in domestic forestry enterprises. There were certainly those who asked: "Why produce locally when one can buy quality imported machines?"

Time put things in their proper places and confirmed the correctness of the Belarusian leader. A few years ago, foreign manufacturers halted exports of machines and spare parts to Belarus and also ceased providing them with service support. Income for forest workers came from the equipment produced by "AMKODOR-LESMASH", which became the main supplier of forest machinery on the domestic market.

However, Alexander Lukashenko traditionally calls for not stopping at achieved results and sets the goal of completely equipping the forestry sector with Belarusian-produced technology. "All forestry enterprises must be supplied with domestic multifunctional forest machinery and supply at least 25 million cubic meters of roundwood annually," — the President declared at the session of the VII All-Belarusian National Assembly last year.

Numbers speak for themselves. To remind, in 2013 logging amounted to nearly 11 million cubic meters of timber, and by 2025 the President set a goal to double this figure. Increasing volumes at such rates became possible thanks to a well-considered strategy, careful decision-making, and an understanding that forests are among the main riches of Belarus. "Forest is a resource, raw material for many things," said Alexander Lukashenko in April 2020. "We have done a lot recently to use this renewable resource wisely. We don't have as much oil as Russia does, nor natural gas. Therefore, our land, forests, and human hands - these are resources we must use carefully."

Full localization and joint production Today the product range of the AMKODOR holding company primarily consists of heavy and medium-class machines. This choice is not accidental: exactly such technology is required by the domestic timber industry. At the enterprise, both small machines for nursery work are produced. Compact harvesters are manufactured in Belarus but on the basis of another industrial giant - the Minsk Tractor Plant. In this way, enterprises complement each other, eliminating duplication of production and unnecessary competition.