As little as possible, as best as possible

Belgarde reduces wood chipper to its essence

There are two ways to innovate. Either you continually add new components and functionalities to an existing concept, or you continually expand the concept to optimize its operation. Belgarde, manufacturer of the GTM wood chippers, has taken the second approach for over twenty years, continuing to produce new machines that excel in simplicity and efficiency.

Since the De Wild family expanded its business as a distributor of tools and machinery in 1995 with the development and production of wood chippers, essence and efficiency have been the highest goal. 

"A green professional does not need all kinds of technical gadgets that make the use and maintenance of a wood chipper unnecessarily complex," says Diana de Keijzer. "Above all, he wants to process the trimmed wood into chips as quickly and comfortably as possible, preferably with the possibility of using them elsewhere afterwards. These, then, are the motivations of our engineers."

The right angle

The design and development of the GTM Chippers has involved quite a bit of thinking and testing over the past 25 years, anyway. 

"Seemingly small adjustments can make a big difference," De Keijzer knows. "For example, we pay enormous attention to the angle at which branches land on the shredding system, and to the angle of the blades themselves. After all, by ensuring that shredding is perfectly perpendicular to the fibers, shredding is much faster and more efficient."

Garden contractor Boris Renders of Barborist agrees. "The GTS1800WD swallows branches like crazy. I just have to stick the material in and let it go, and in the time I have taken the next branch, it has already been processed again. That speed is very important for an independent garden contractor like me, because it determines how much work I can ultimately take on. Besides, I can always trust the chipper to do what it is supposed to do, even when I dare to push the machine to its limits for a moment in my pursuit of speed. That is unseen."

Smart combining

The wide feed and rotor shredding system of the GTM devices also contribute to the high working speed. "Because of the rotation of the rotor, the wood chips are also immediately blown out," said De Keijzer. "That means you no longer need another system for this, and so the machine remains simpler and more compact." 

Compactness is a defining characteristic of these wood chippers, even the heaviest models of which can be effortlessly guided through a garden gate. "We choose as little as possible, but good material and make very conscious use of the shape of the machine. For example, we placed the engine in the void traditionally found under the feed. That keeps the machine compact and at the same time provides a nice balance." 

"You get the power of a chipper on trailer, with the convenience of a mobile unit," Renders states. "The new Wheel Driven models take it even a step further and eliminate the need for me to strain myself at all, regardless of the surface." 

Attention to reuse

Finally, Renders notes that customers are increasingly inclined to process and reuse pruning waste on their own property. "The more beautiful and uniform the wood chips, the more inclined they are to actually do something with them," De Keijzer also knows. "Our shredding system is therefore developed and designed in such a way that it consistently produces beautiful chips. They lend themselves perfectly as ground cover or for the ecological enrichment, regeneration and protection of the soil according to the so-called RCW method (Ramial Chipped Wood)."

With two compo models since last year, Belgarde also offers the ability to chip finer and process large amounts of soft organic material. "With the simple addition of an extra grid, the wood chips are reflected back into the machine and thus sent through the rotor a second time. This allows you to speed up the composting process if desired."