Queensland’s Bush and Beach Tree Services has moved to a Merlo Roto 50.26S telehandler and Westtech Woodcracker CS750 Smart grapple saw. The company is convinced it’s the way of the future.
The hinterland to the west of Queensland’s Sunshine Coast sounds like an idyllic location for an arbor business. The scenery is magnificent and the potential for tree work is just as good.
But for a successful and hardworking arbor outfit, the area possibly has a drawback or two.
“Being one hour inland from the coast has its disadvantages,” said Luke Maher, who, along with partner Arna, owns and operates Bush and Beach Tree Services. “With competition from employers on the coast it can be difficult to get groundies and climbers to travel out here for work.”
Luke and Arna are both arborists. Luke is Level 3 and Arna Level 5, and Bush and Beach Tree Services offers a wide range of services to clients throughout the Sunshine Coast, Noosa and Gympie.
Typically, Bush and Beach will tackle all types of tree work, stump removal, storm clean-up and a much more. Recently, Luke’s been looking for a way to cope with a common problem.
Luke’s been climbing for 20 years or more and was looking for a way to deal with a common climbing problem.
“Like any climber who’s been doing it so long, the body has started to play up,” he told The Australian Arbor Age. I don’t recover as well as I used to.
“The weekends aren’t long enough anymore,” he said with a chuckle.”
It wasn’t just himself Luke was thinking of. He has a loyal group of employees and he wanted to ensure they were looked after as well.
“We have an ageing crew and we want to keep them employed,” he said. “The industry’s always hard, there’s no doubt about it. We’re trying to prolong the working lives of our people.”
The right gear
With an eye on increasing the effectiveness and longevity of the business and its employees, Luke and Arna did some research and in April 2025 took delivery of a Merlo Roto 50.26S and Westtech Woodcracker CS750 grapple saw.
The effect on business and the Bush and Beach personnel has been marked.
“From the safety side of it, there’s a major difference,” said Luke. “We’ve reduced our climbing by about 75 per cent, and it’s reduced the number of staff we need and lot of the heavy lifting they have to do. Things come down gently in a controlled manner with the Merlo and Woodcracker.”
The Australian Arbor Age had a good look at the Merlo Roto 50.26S and Woodcracker CS750 Smart grapple saw in the August/September 2025 issue. But to jog the memory, or for anyone who may have missed it, the Merlo Roto 50.26S telehandler has a five-tonne maximum load capacity and 26-metre maximum lifting height. It’s ideal for accessing tall trees, elevated worksites, and remote-canopy areas. It’s also compact and agile, built for challenging terrain and confined spaces, while state-of-the-art load-management and stability systems ensure operator safety, even when working at full extension. A spacious ROPS/ FOPS-certified cab is equipped with ergonomic controls, and other features include a hydrostatic transmission, reduced fuel consumption, and reliable performance.
The Woodcracker CS750 Smart is a little trickier to describe because it doesn’t fit neatly into the category of
grapple saw or felling saw. It’s a little of both: a robust grapple-saw package that excels in safely taking larger tree sections to the ground, thanks to a combination of strong gripping and rotator holding force.
Housed under the CS750 grapple is an advanced Hultdins saw unit with automatic chain tensioning, grease-type
chain lubrication and a 75cm-diameter maximum cut capacity.
It’s designed for tasks where site access and drop-zone space permit cutting larger and heavier tree sections. The Woodcracker gets the material clear of the tree and on the ground where it can be further processed.
An easy transition
Luke has plenty of experience operating heavy machinery and found the transition to the Merlo and Woodcracker not too challenging.
“I have my civil tickets for excavators and other machinery, and I can certainly operate most things,” he said. “The Merlo/Woodcracker combo seemed a little daunting to start with, but it just needed hours in the seat. Now we’ve learned the machine, our productivity in tree removals has probably quadrupled.
“We’ve done some very big days, and the machinery doesn’t complain after six hours of hard work. It can still do another two hours of removals, where for a climber, six or seven hours of big removals is quite taxing.”
Luke pointed out the operator can make a huge difference to a machine’s overall performance, and Bush and Beach Tree Services has an ace up its sleeve.
“I can drive it and operate the Merlo,” said Luke. “I’m steady with it.”
Then, with a glint in his eye, he went on to say, “But Arna’s 21-year-old son, Kalani, is gifted when it comes to machines, and he’s exceptional on this machine.”
Cost effective
Luke and Arna didn’t take the acquisition of the Merlo and Woodcracker lightly. It was a big financial commitment, but Luke found the mathematics made sense.
“It’s certainly not something everyone can just race out and buy,” he said. “But when we calculated what we’d be paying for a good contract climber for a week, and compared that to the repayments on the Merlo and Woodcracker, there’s not a great deal of difference. This way, at the end of the financing term, we end up owning a substantial asset.”
Looking good
Luke and Arna bought the Merlo and Woodcracker from EEA Group. EEA went to Rey Kell at Forest Centre to import and supply the Woodcracker, and Luke and Arna couldn’t be happier with the service during and since the purchase.
“Both companies have been fantastic,” said Luke.
“Ben at EEA Group probably calls once a week or once a fortnight just to touch base and see how things are going and if there’s anything we need.
“The Woodcracker came from Forest Centre, and that’s how we got to know Rey Kell.
““I’d had a bit to do with Rey through friends in the forestry game as well, and he provides them with all their saw heads and other equipment, so I knew he had a very high reputation. Since we’ve taken on the Woodcracker, we talk regularly. He’s prompt and he’s straight down the line.
“The whole process has been fantastic.”
The way of the future
Luke’s convinced he and Arna have made a sensible and cost-effective move for Bush and Beach Tree Services, but they also believe they’re just the first of many arbor businesses that will follow in years to come.
“It’s the new way of tree handling for the future,” said Luke with some conviction.
“We’re one of the early adopters in Australia, but I can see in a few years these Merlo/Woodcracker combinations are going to be a common sight.
“Once people see what they’re capable of and the speed they work at, there’s going to be a lot more of them getting about.”
To see Merlo’s range of telehandlers and equipment, log on to merlo.com/aus/en. For Forest Centre attachments, machinery and advice, go to forestcentre.com.au. or call (02) 6947 2833.