Sokratis Germanos – User Opinion

Sokratis Germanos is a young and very skilled professional forester from Greece. He has been working with the forestry winch 2x85G for years. He says the most important features of this professional skidding winch are its reliability, power and safety systems that make work more ergonomic and efficient and at the same time keep the winch in good condition with a long service life and low maintenance needs.

Strength and Safety

Sokratis has been using the winch for over two years. He is amazed by the reliability and pulling force of the winch. As well as the great power and durability, he also finds the safety systems very helpful. As a professional forester he fully utilises the features of the anti-kipp system. Especially when working on the slope he can set the tractor inclination limit according to the working conditions. Most importantly, the system will keep the tractor and winch under control even when they stay out of his sight.

Another great advantage for him as an experienced forester is also the AutoStop system that prevents damages by activating the brake when the wire rope is fully wound.

The work process fully remote controlled

All functions of the unwinding device, pulling and tractor are controlled remotely. Sokratis emphasises the importance of being in control when the machine is out of one’s sight. He is able to engage and disengage the PTO, turn the tractor on and off, activate unwinding device, pulling, and controlling wire ropes - all remotely.

An extensive presentation is available in a video, filmed by the user himself:

About Sokratis and his profession in Grece

By profession he is a freelancer in road transport and logging, and also a partner in a forestry cooperative in his area. He also offers services to others forest owners when he has a vacancy from his own work (but he can hardly find a vacancy). 

Every day on the mountain is a different day for him; no day is the same, some are easier and some are more difficult. As he says himself: "This also has a lot to do with the equipment you have, the newer and more modern the machines the easier it will make your day. But again, no day is the same and that's what makes this job interesting!"

The headquarters where they work is way up in Macedonia region near the border with Bulgaria in a beautiful mountainous place, Kato Nevrokopi, which is covered all around by mountains. Socratis continues about his love for the work he does: "I have loved the profession since I was a child from my father who has been involved in forestry for years and so I decided to continue it. I believe that it is a job that you have to love otherwise you cannot do it. As I said above, my love for work started in my childhood and the love like this is forever️. 

Also what you see every day; the landscapes, the animals, nature in all the seasons and how it changes colors and its clothes is magical. The birds that are heard in the infinite silence together with the streams. Every day, I discover something new in the mountains. If you don't experience that, you cannot see them yourself from photos and videos. You can't understand this landscape, the beauty and love nature gives you easily, the beauty i see every day is priceless!"

In Greece they have very good forests and in very large areas, and with a lot of useful wood in it, but they can't use them even to 60% as they should, because of laws from 1930 that are still in force. Sokratis says, he envies many things about the work of his colleagues abroad; they work easier, smarter and faster, they have different legislation and they move much faster in our field than he can in Greece. However, at some point, he believes they will all come to the same.

We thank Mr. Germanos for his insightful presentation of the double-drum professional forestry winch 2x85 G and wish him lots of safe and successful forestry work.