To help us understand where we are today, Ben McDermott, Husqvarna North America senior product manager, takes us back to the beginning – all the way back to 2020.
“That’s when this battery-chain-saw journey kind of started for us. It’s when we launched the (T)540i XP and 540i XP. These were our first 40cc-equivalent, battery-powered professional chain saws,” McDermott says. “There’ve been battery-powered chain saws on the market for a long time, but primarily for consumer use.”
There are obvious advantages to battery-powered chain saws, but professionals have long voiced concerns over the new tool in town. Does the battery-powered model have the juice? How long would it retain a charge? How could a climber keep it powered throughout the day?
“When we introduced the first iteration of this product, there was a lot of concern around market acceptance,” McDermott says. “It didn’t take long for the market to realize that we are providing a solution, especially for in-tree and aloft applications.”
The power of the (T)540i XP models was designed to hit the sweet spot for arborists, according to McDermott. With battery- powered chain saws, there was less noise, no emissions to be concerned with and no worry about mixing fuels. Maintenance was easier and the units needed fewer replacement parts. The technology quickly gained acceptance in the market.
Growing demand
Since that August 2020 launch, demand for the technology has grown. Arborists like the ability to start the saw with the touch of a button, avoiding the frustration that comes from trying to pull-start a stubborn chain saw while aloft in the tree, McDermott says. “I’ve heard many stories about gas-powered chain saws of all brands that won’t start while they’re in the tree, and they get thrown out of the tree and never used again.”
Gas power still leads battery by a good margin in chain-saw sales, but the battery numbers are improving.
Which brings us to Husqvarna’s latest innovation.
Increased benefits
With the launch of the (T)542i XP and 542i XP this spring, Husqvarna carries over all the benefits of battery operation that arborists have come to love, including the dependable push-
button start. The company estimates that an average takedown of a tree with a gas saw requires 40 pull-starts and the accumulated stress and strain. And it adds something new: a centrifugal clutch mechanism. The feel and operator experience of these new machines will convert skeptics who are slow to change, McDermott says, some of whom want to stick with gas just because it’s what they’re used to and comfortable with.
“With the centrifugal clutch mechanism, it’s an easier transition for them in terms of response and how the saw behaves with the throttle reaction and the throttle response,” McDermott says. “It provides the feel and experience of a traditional gas-powered chain saw. There’s a bit of familiarity there.”
Another big difference between this model and its predecessor is that the overload protection – a feature that shuts down the saw when software senses too much stress on the motor during deep cuts – is tripped less frequently. While the power output of the chain saw is the same, the centrifugal clutch provides extra torque and reduces strain on the motor, McDermott says.
AT A GLANCE
Company Name: Husqvarna Group
Global Headquarters: Stockholm, Sweden
Founded: 1689
North America Company Name: Husqvarna Professional Products Inc.
Address: 9335 Harris Corners Pkwy, Ste. 400, Charlotte, NC 28269
TCIA Member: Since 1993
Number of Employees (Worldwide): 13,000
Product or Service: Outdoor power equipment
Phone: (704) 597-5000
Email: amber.huffman@husqvarnagroup.com
Website: www.husqvarna.com/us/
Continuous innovation
Founded in 1689, Husqvarna may be one of the giants in tree, forestry and lawn-care equipment, but it prides itself on being one of the most innovative companies in the market, too.
Amber Huffman, senior brand manager for tree pro, points to innovations that Husqvarna developed, improved and/or brought to market, including the inertia chain brake, Air Injection and AutoTune.
“These are all crucial, critical safety and performance technologies that we first brought to market and, in many cases, made available to everyone in order to advance safety and performance in the industry,” Huffman says. “We do like to say that we’re on the leading edge when it comes to innovation. Those are just a couple of examples.”
The company is proud of both its innovation and its process, which includes employing product engineers with a background in forestry as well as a vast field-based testing network.
Sweden is rich in logging and forestry history and culture, and many of the members of the product’s design team have backgrounds in forestry.
“They have done the work and been educated in the work, so they understand the application” more than engineers without that experience, says McDermott. “Our heritage is chain saws, and the team in Sweden lives and breathes chain saws and has a very strong respect for the profession and the customers who use these products.”
Field tested
Husqvarna chain saws are tested around the world, at different temperatures, in different climates and with other variables, including types of wood, soil conditions and more.
The (T)542i XP saws have been field tested, and the response has been overwhelmingly positive, according to McDermott.
“Some of them have said, ‘I want it. Can I keep it?’” he recalls. “They don’t want to give it back. The overwhelming response since we’ve been testing is, ‘Wow! I never thought I would notice the difference of the power of the clutch, but this is awesome.’”
Huffman says the time spent testing these new innovations in the field with customers and their global “H Team” of active, working industry professionals is instrumental in ensuring that the products brought to market keep the customers’ needs squarely in focus.
“Everything we do and all of the innovations we bring to market, and the initiatives we’re working toward as a company, they’re (all done) with that customer in mind,” she adds. “Keeping them at the center, they’re the nucleus of everything.”
LJ Vaillancourt has been writing business articles for numerous publications for more than 30 years. He makes his home in Concord, Massachusetts, where he lives with his two springer spaniels.
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