From the archives: A Skidder Designed For The Pacific Northwest

Sep 22, 2021 - 3 years ago

From February 1973: This is a subject close to the heart of Harold Armenau, and we are sure of great interest to our readers. We talked to Harold at the TLA Convention held in the Bayshore Inn in Vancouver, and asked him how his company’s present product, the Timber Toter Skidder had developed. Incidentally, Harold is the founder and president of Monashee Manufacturing Corporation Limited of Kelowna — a company which for the past 35 years has specialized in the manufacture of mobile equipment.

From the archives: A Skidder Designed For The Pacific Northwest — *The Monashee crew from 1973 pose with a load of Timber Toter skidders, headed for export to Malaysia.*

From its initial start in 1938 as a small repair shop, the company later went into the custom manufacturing of forklifts and in 1964 produced its first basic skidder.

Skidders, as such, came into being back in the early 60’s and were manufactured for small logs exclusively. It was soon discovered however, that the models of that time, which ranged up to 75 and 100 h.p. were not suitable for the more rugged terrain encountered in British Columbia. At this point, Harold, who was producing forklifts, saw the potential for a machine that would handle B.C.’s tougher requirements. The outcome of this was the present basic 135 h.p. Timber Toter.

As with all other successful products, it is continually being refined and improved. Harold owes much of his mobile equipment knowhow to his customers. Being a smaller company, he is much closer to his customer’s problems, and, as he says, has the advantage over the giant companies of flexibility in that he can act on a problem fast.

But problems are not new to Harold who saw his company put into receivership in 1969. “We got caught up in the 60’s boom,” said Harold. “It’s as simple as that. Our machine was selling so we stepped up production and ran smack into that proverbial brick wall when financing was curtailed in 1969. Curtailed is a mild way of putting it because financing was virtually cut off and you can’t do business with the logging industry without it.”

From the archives: A Skidder Designed For The Pacific Northwest

Now: Monashee manufactures under body plow systems and other truck and trailer components.
Image courtesy Monasheemfg.com.

“Now things are different. Our production is geared to marketing and demand. We have concentrated on providing the bets machine and the best in service.” In claiming it the best, Harold explained that his first basic requirement in design should have been lines. It would be a good-looking machine that an owner would be proud to have.

The most important feature in a skidder operating in the Pacific Northwest, he stressed, must be a very low centre of gravity, good weight distribution, long wheelbase and adequate power and gear ratios for all situations. Other important requirements must be operator comfort. This includes safety, easy cab access, grouping of controls for easy operations and convenience and all-around visibility.

With regard to his contribution to skidder operations in B.C., Harold says he has the advantage over Eastern and American companies when it comes to spare parts. He has incorporated in his design the maximum use of standard parts, and his central location — Kelowna — is well serviced by air, rail and road, which assures his customers of speedy delivery. He can boast too that his dealers in B.C. carry a full inventory of parts.

Another advantage, Harold claims, is that he came into the business at its beginning. “The crawler tractor, then in use, had too many hang-ups. Weight was a major problem and this among other things led to the designing of a skidder, but this was no simple chore,” said Harold. “Everybody was trying to find parts and a method to build them and the first ones had plenty of flaws. Automatic transmission was not in use then. Stick shifts would spin out of control on mountain slopes and they were limited as to places they could go.”

“We started out by upping the h.p. to 135 in our very first model which took 1.5 years to design. But more important, we researched all the problems that skidders were encountering in our quite different B.C. terrain and we designed a machine that was suitable to this area. Even our first machine, built in 1964, we have been continually improving on the design to what we believe is the best skidder for B.C.”

“Another nice feature of our operations,” said Harold, “is that we are an all-Canadian company and located in one of the choicest places to live — Kelowna. Our staff is here to stay and so are we.”

This article first appeared in Supply Post newspaper, February 1973.

Editor’s Update:

I had the pleasure of catching up with Dale Armenau at Monashee Manufacturing, still in business in Kelowna, BC today. While Monashee no longer manufactures their beloved Timber Toter skidder (since the early ‘80s), they are very busy manufacturing under body plows and other truck and trailer components. “We are incredibly busy right now,” said Dale. “We could easily expand our workforce by 25%.”

Retired Vancouver Island logger Gord Erwin owned three of the Timber Toters. “They were great for long-distance hauling from the spar trees,” he remembers.

Monashee made it through various crises over the last couple of years — forest fires and COVID — because of their strong financial foundation and resiliency. They continue their commitment to customer care and quality products — 80 years later and counting.

For more information, contact Monashee Mfg at 1-800-663-4365.

Edited by Linda Horn