Friday, 05 February 2010
THE 11 men and women who make up the forestry harvesting crew known as RAL 86 know they are a pretty efficient unit - and now they have the title of the country’s “Top Crew” to prove it.
The team run by Eastern Bay contractor Danny Arbuckle are a fully-mechanised swing yarder operation, currently working for Matariki Rayonier New Zealand in the Omataroa forest, in the hills behind the Awakeri hotsprings.
RAL 86 have now been named the top team in the country in the Top Crew competition.
The previous two years the team have taken out the Bay of Plenty regional title and the national runners-up award.
Covering all the different individual jobs within a logging operation - from log makers, skiddies (chainsaw operators) and quality controllers to machine operators and skidder and bulldozer drivers - the competition is judged on a combination of leadership, innovation, culture and attitude, group participation and individual achievement.
As well as the top team award, RAL 86’s quality controller Sharlene Kingi was named the top in her category and was awarded $800 in travel vouchers, chainsaw chaps, a hard hat and two Polar Fleece tops.
Danny and his wife Janine were also recently approached by the producers of the Country Calendar television programme to see if they would be open to being profiled on the show.
“At that time, us and a lot of other businesses were feeling the effects of the start of the recession, and were not in the right frame of mind to do a programme.
“They approached us again, towards the end of last year to see whether or not we had a change of heart, as they were very keen to do a show on our business. We thought ‘why not’ and filming took place over five days, at the beginning of December.”
The show will screen on TV One later this year.