Avant a big lift for Ampfield Logs
For Greg Bolt, chopping wood started as a therapy after his father died when Greg was just 13. Six years later, he has turned that need into a successful business selling and delivering logs over a wide area around his home near Romsey in Hampshire.
Greg’s journey is one that Lister Wilder has been privileged to join in recent times when he has bought a series of attachments for the Avant 860 compact loader that has lifted what he still insists is essentially a hobby to a new level.
“It wasn’t something I ever planned,” he says. “When I was younger I really enjoyed cutting firewood with my Dad, and when he passed away I needed something to distract me. It was an all-round difficult time because my grandfather was ill as well, and it kept me occupied.
“I did that for about a year, and then my Mum asked if I would cut wood for some of her friends who gave me pocket money in return. The friends recommended other friends and it just grew from there. I started listing my logs on Facebook, took an ad in the local Co-op and steadily built a customer base.
He adds: “I got friendly with some of my Dad’s friends who were tree surgeons, so that’s where much of my locally sourced supply of wood comes from. As demand grew, collecting and handling all the wood became an increasing problem. I had inherited some land from my Grandad so used the money I got for that to buy the Avant.”
Greg did a lot of research into his options and talked in particular to Lister Wilder’s Arboricultural Specialist, Jack Gonyou, who he says has been “absolutely fantastic” in terms of knowledgeable advice. The company’s response to Greg’s one minor repair need and the swift delivery of parts has been at a similarly high level.
Greg opted for the biggest and strongest 57 hp Avant 860, which boasts a lift capacity of 1,900 kg and a lift height of 3.5 metres.Used across a wide range of activities, the incredibly agile machine reaches all the way to tall mixer feeder wagons and can load a truck from one side to the far edge without the need to drive around it. It is sufficiently compact to work in places where bigger machines cannot go and, as Greg proves, can be transported on a conventional car trailer, which gives him an additional income stream from hiring it when not using it himself.
“It’s absolutely perfect for what I do, and with its attachments it’s a total game changer,” he says. “The multi-purpose timber grab saves me a huge amount of effort – there is no other implement that will do what it does. I have a normal set of pallet forks that I can use for over-size wood if the grab won’t cope; the 360-degree box rotator is brilliant for handling cages of different sized logs; and I also have a bucket for moving loose materials.”
He adds: “The power-to-size ratio is fantastic and that’s the big selling point for me. I don’t have a lot of space, and when I collect the wood it is usually from people’s houses with entrances that are often narrow. It’s a very compact machine and very easy to drive. My girl friends sometimes helps me at weekends and she has no problems with it.”
While Greg insists that his log business is not something he wants to do all his life, right now he is highly committed and takes a lot of pride in the quality of his firewood, and most especially the time it is given to season and dry in his barn. It is, he says, the key to repeat business and is aiming to achieve coveted Woodsure certification.
