In the World Logging Championship, there are two chainsaws being used by the Husqvarna crew: 372 XP and 576 XP. The Loggers Blog want to give you a little bit more information about these two machines. This may very well be the two best professional logging chainsaws on the market!

 

Husqvarna 372 XP^®

The evolution of the 372 XP
Year 2000 the model 372 XP was launched worldwide. A true professional saw in the larger mid-size class, it was an evolution from the model 371 XP.  The 372 XP became very appreciated for its engine characteristics. Quick acceleration and high power spread over a wide rpm range is combined with low weight and great ergonomics. This was very suitable for pro loggers all over the world. A sign of this is that this machine has several gold and other medals in the World Logging Championships over the years. Probably more medals than any other single model!

The evolution continues
This year (2010) a new step is taken. The 372 XP is now released with X-Torq engine, with the same power to weight ratio as earlier and lower fuel consumption.

Husqvarna 576 XP^®

The evolution of the 576 XP
The 576 XP was launched late 2008, an advanced saw for demanding professional use. It is an evolution of the model 575 XP, which was the first X-Torq pro saw on the world market. X-Torq is a Husqvarna technology causing very low emissions and reducing fuel consumption. The 576 XP therefore meets all known emission standards for chainsaws. The 576 XP has a considerable increased power to weight ratio compared to the 575 XP. During the development, the goals were not just a clean engine with high torque and power. Extensive tests also resulted in improved ergonomics to enhance user convenience.  Nowadays this model is used by a lot of loggers worldwide as well as in the World Logging Championship.

The evolution continues
This year, 2010, a new step is taken. The 576 XP has now versions with Autotune, a system that automatically adjusts the carburettor accordingly to different type of fuel, altitudes, air quality and adjust for optimal performance of the engine. 

 

Many of the participants in the World Logging Championship use Husqvarna equipment. We have now got the first list of the Husqvarna crew from all participating nations. This list may be corrected before the actual competition, but it gives you a good view of the Husqvarna starting field.

 

LAND	NAME	CAT.
Ukraine	Kostyushko Vitaliy	Prof
Ukraine	Kostyushko Oleksandr	Prof
Belgium	Bergen David	Prof
Ecuador	Franco Kleber	Prof
Ecuador	Witting Elesban	Prof
Ecuador	Angulo Edison	Prof
France	Petitqueux Jean Michel	Prof
France	Caparros Yohann	Prof
Japan	Mitsugi Akita	Prof
Japan	Hitoshi Keta	Prof
Japan	Tomohiro Maeda	Prof
Japan	Hiroki Shirakawa	U 24
Luxembourg	Wagener, Claude	Prof
Luxembourg	Reckinger, Alain	Prof
Netherlands	Essenstam, Arjan	Prof
United Kingdom	Mr Dewi Willims	Prof
Finland	Joni Toivio	U 24
Denmark	Per Mortensen	Prof
Germany	Huster Florian	U 24
Latvia	Gatis Brencis	Prof
Latvia	Edmunds Krišāns	Prof
Litauen	Balciunas Romas	Profi
Litauen	Penkaitis Povilas	Prof
Czech Republic	Vorlicek Jiri	Prof
Czech Republic	Rousal, Marin	Prof
United Kingdom	Mr Alun Jones	Prof
United Kingdom	Mr Josh Russell	U 24
Italy	Massimiliano, Biemmi	Prof
Italy	Raffl, Johann	Prof
Liechtenstein	Tanner, Armin	Prof
Slovenia	Cuk, Robert	Prof
Slovenia	Krese, Domine	Prof
Slovenia	Pavsic, Bostjan	Prof
Latvia	Mārtiņš Ķepīts	U 24
Denmark	Jacob Vibe	Prof
Finland	Jukka Perämäki	Prof
Litauen	Karpavicius Gintaras	Prof
Litauen	Stasiunas Gediminas	U 24
Poland	adam Dobrenko	U 24
Russia	Shvetsov, Ilya	Prof
Russia	Sokolov, Aleksandr	Prof
Russia	Mallat, Alexander	Prof
Russia	Dashugin, Vladimir	U 24
Ungarn	Kozák, András	Profi
Ungarn	Bakó, László	U 24

 

Every national team in the World Logging Championship consists of three senior participants and one junior participant. The latter is a part of a U24 regulation, which means that no junior participant can be older that 24. The year of birth and not the date of birth determines the age in this case.

The junior participants really are the future of professional logging. WLC is a perfect forum for young loggers to get experience and expert advices in their process of becoming real professionals. Not only do they get educated in how to be precise and effective, they also achieve excellence in logging safety and ergonomics.

Here are some of the future world logging champions, the junior participants using Husqvarna or Jonsered in WLC 2010:

 

 

Florian Huster, Germany

  

 

 

 

 

 

Gediminas Stasiunas, Lithuania

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gvido Kepitis, Latvia

 

 

 

 

 

 

Joni Toivio, Finland

 

 

 

 

 

Josh Russell, UK

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lasse Kjaer, Denmark

 

 

  

 

Lazlo Bako, Hungary

 

 

 

 

 

Roland Hinteregger, Italy

 

 

 

 

 

Shirakawa Hiroki, Japan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vladimir Dashugin, Russia

 

 

 

 

 

Good luck in this years World Logging Championship!

In the latest World Logging Championship in Germany 2008, the results we're surprisingly not in Husqvarna's favor. Our expert, Anders Kragner, shares some thought about this event from a Husqvarna perspective:

Several factors influenced Husqvarna's poor results in WLC 2008, Trippsdrill Germany. Our competitor Stihl managed to win, not only the overall gold medal, but also single disciplines. Luck, experience or whatever lays behind I really do not know, but I do know that Balz Recher from Switzerland is very competent and very highly skilled. He also had the fortune of being able to perform good results in all the five disciplines, which of course gives you great chance to win the total. That´s what he did and I can only say “Congratulations!”. Our contestants using Husqvarna apparently got “the other side of the coin”. A mistake here, another one there. Then the opportunity to win is gone! There was nothing to blame in the setup or the organisation of the competition. This year, the Husqvarna participants will enter the competition more prepared than ever and I hope they will be able to perform great results!

 

The first winners of the image competition has now been selected! Congratulations to the three winners! You will all get an exclusive Husqvarna backpack sent to you.

The competition will continue! Please keep sendning us your images. Send your image(s) to wlc@husqvarna.com. Don’t forget to write your name, address and phone number in your mail.

 

Winner nr. 1: Pieter Goemaere from Belgium

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Winner nr. 2: Giulia Novatti from Italy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Winner nr. 3: Jean-Michel Petitqueux from France (Yes, the very one from the French national team participated in our competition! Read about him here.)

 

This is the first time Hannes Holaus from Austria competes in the World Logging Championship. He has chosen to compete with a Husqvarna 372, since he believes this to be the best chainsaw ever. Husqvarna wishes you all the luck in the competition, Hannes!

 

Name: Hannes Holaus
Chainsaw: 372 XP
Daily Profession: Forester
Favorite discipline: Precision bucking
Needs more practice: Bucking by combined cuts

Hobby: Skiing
Favorite sport: Skiing
Favorite food: Cordon Bleu
Favorite movie: The Hangover
Favorite band/artist: Schürzenjäger
Biggest fear: Nothing!
In 10 years I will be: Healthy and having a family

 

 

Other participants from Austria: Mayr Simon

This is the fourth WLC for the frenchman Jean Michel Petitqueux. He performed his best result in Germany 2008 and has great expectations on this year’s competition. On the Husqvarna hosted training camp in the Netherlands he impressed everyone with a score of 657 points in the tree felling discipline. The two Husqvarna chainsaws most commonly used in the WLC are 372 XP and 576 XP. Jean Michel has chosen to compete with the latter because he appreciates the great power of the machine.

Name: Jean Michel Petitqueux
Chainsaw: 576 XP
Daily Profession: Forester
Favorite discipline: Tree Felling
Needs more practice: Bucking by combined cuts

Hobby: Mountain biking
Favorite sport: Rugby
Favorite food: Belgian fries
Favorite movie: Any action movie
Favorite band/artist: All kinds of music
Biggest fear: Nothing!
In 10 years I will be: The same but younger

 

Other participants from France: Anthony Revillard

 

 

 

 

Do you want to see what a Husqvarna training camp looks like? Here's a video from the Estonian training camp, prior to the World Logging Championship 2010. The participating loggers in the film are from Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Russia, Finland, Belarus, Poland, Ukraine and Sweden. Enjoy!

Jiri Vorlicek comes from the Czech Republic. This is his second World Logging Championship and he will now try to improve his 49th place from Germany 2008. Even though he claims that he needs to practice his Limbing discipline, he actually made the top-5 in the dicipline in the previous WLC. It will be interesting to follow his results this year. Jiri competes with a Husqvarna 372 XP since he thinks that this chainsaw has the best combination of endurance and performance.

Name: Jiri Vorlicek
Chainsaw: 372 XP
Daily Profession: Technical & traning manager
Favorite discipline: Fitting another chain
Needs more practice: Limbing

Hobby: Beekeeping
Favorite sport: Ice hockey
Favorite food: Honey cake
Favorite movie: Rather watch the NHL Playoffs
Favorite band/artist: Pink and David Copperfield
Biggest fear: Nothing!
In 10 years I will be: In my forest

 

 

Other participants from Czech Republic: Jindrich Fazekas

 

 

 

On the 17th – 19th of June the third Husqvarna training camp was held in the Netherlands. There where 28 participants from eight different countries competing. It was a mix of WLC experienced loggers and professional loggers who were about to enter their first competition.

The atmosphere during the training camp was great and the experienced competitors helped and trained the less experienced loggers. The result was that the less experienced competitors made big steps forward in improving their techniques and results, while the more experienced loggers where able to fine-tune their skills.

The Japanese team (all using the 576 XP) had their first experience with the five different disciplines. It was surprising to see how they picked up the different techniques and improved their skills enormously.  The best Japanese score was made by Tomohiro Maeda, with a total of 1 207 points, which is very good if you keep in mind that he had only two days of training.

The training competition held on the Saturday was won by the Dutchman Arian Essenstam, with the remarkable score of 1 622 points. His score in the limbing discipline was the most impressive: 440 points. Olle Kjaer from the Danish team finished second and the Belgian David Bergen had his best result ever with 1 552 points when he reached the third place.

Jean Michel Petitqueux from the French team had a very good score in the tree felling discipline, only 3 cm from the target and reached a score of 657 points. Hitting the board in the precision bucking discipline kept him of a very high score. On the precision bucking, Hugo van Bijsterveldt was able to cut of the disc completely without hitting the board and the other disc was just 2 mm from complete separation. This gave him the very high score of 247 points on this event.

The Dutch training camp was the last of the three hosted by Husqvarna. Now all the participants are prepared to perform their very best at the World Logging Championship in Croatia this fall.