Page 11 - OPE MARCH 2019

MARKETPLACE
Chainsaws
STIHL’s new champion
COMING IN JUNE 2019, the STIHL MS 500i is the first ever chainsaw with STIHL
Injection Technology.
STIHL says this “state of the art” petrol chainsaw boasts the best power-to-weight ratio
currently on the market at just 1.24kg per kW with a displacement of just 79.2cm3 and is ideal for the harvesting and processing of large timber.
MS 500i also features new bumper spikes, HD2 filter, captive nut on the sprocket cover for easy chain change, controlled-delivery oil pump, and tool-free fuel cap for safe and easy filling with fuels and lubricants.
If needed, no-maintenance, wear-free heating strips can also be added to the front and rear handles.
www.stihl.co.nz
Husqvarna celebrates its
birthday with new-gen
chainsaw models
HUSQVARNA NOT ONLY celebrates 330 years as a company in 2019, but this
year also marks 60 years since the Swedish brand started making chainsaws. Following on from the launch last year of the 572 XP chainsaw that some are
calling a revolutionary machine, this year Husqvarna unveiled its new generation 50cc chainsaws for professional loggers and arborists, including the Husqvarna 550 XP Mark II (pictured), which is said to deliver “outstanding cutting capacity with acceleration and torque that performs in any environment”.
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market and our environment is the absence of emission regulations here,” he says.
“With regulations now limiting the sale of non-emission compliant product in Australia, New Zealand remains one of
the only markets in the developed world without such a regulation which makes our market a target for low-quality imports
of non-compliant chainsaws and OPE products in general.”
New players emerge
Countering this, one supplier of predominately petrol products (who preferred to remain off the record) was
of the opinion that many of the more “economically priced products” that have entered the market of late are now “almost as good, if not better than, the big name expensive brands”.
This industry player went to say that dealers, landscapers and consumers alike are now buying on “value for money rather than the traditional big name brands.”
This fits in with what we’re hearing about contractors becoming increasingly cost- fixated, by the way (see page 16 for more on this), but we should add at this point that good “value for money” doesn’t necessarily follow on from low cost...
Whether you agree with this or not,
looking at the future of the category it i s
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obvious that – in the medium term at l
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e – battery is where many companies are
investing much of their R&D.
One name that is fairly new to these
pages is the Hikoki brand, formerly kn
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as Hitachi before its global rebrand in 2 0
Hikoki distributor Andrew Way says s
while there is only one Hikoki branded battery chainsaw currently available it has already generated loads of interest.
And with Hikoki (formerly Hitachi) having years of experience in battery under its belt, many are suggesting this may be
a player to watch in the outdoor power channel in the future.
We will of course keep you posted. ■
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moreat facebook.com/NZOPEmagazine
MARCH2019 NZOUTDOORPOWEREQUIPMENT 011