Authorized US & Canadian Distributor — PATAS Delimbing SystemsPatas Forestry • Baker Forestry

Personalized Analysis

What does your manual
delimbing actually cost?

Enter your operation’s numbers below. We’ll show you the labor math, the productivity gap, and a personalized payback estimate — no price tag attached until the model is built around your reality.

7–10xproductivity vs. manual
8sfull cycle per tree
2person crew required
1
Your operation
2
Your results
3
Full report

Tell us about your current operation

All fields affect your model. Use your best estimates — you can adjust later.

Which market are you in?
👷 Manual crew
3
$32

Include payroll taxes, workers’ comp, insurance. Typically 1.3–1.5x base wage. BLS 2024 median for forestry/pruning workers: ~$21–22/hr base × 1.35 burden ≈ $29–30/hr. Adjust up for experienced crews or high-cost regions.

5

Research benchmark: Skovsgaard et al. (Scandinavian Journal of Forest Research, 2018) found polesaw pruning to 6.5m takes several minutes per tree depending on branch count and species. Scaled to 12–15m, 3–8 trees/hr per worker is realistic. FAO logging data shows ~4 trees/hr for combined delimbing and felling operations.

🕑 Schedule & volume
7
130

Exclude weather downtime and dormancy restrictions for your species/region.

📈 Revenue & value
$15

Estimated commercial rate for production-scale high pruning. No published market benchmark exists — verify rates with forestry contractors in your region. At 5 trees/hr with a 3-person crew at $32/hr burdened, labor alone costs ~$19/tree, suggesting $15 is tight for a manual crew. The PATAS changes this math significantly.

$8

Maine Forestry / Harvard Forest data: pruning increases stumpage value 20–25%. Actual per-tree dollar uplift depends heavily on species, stand density, and local timber prices — highly region-dependent. Use a conservative figure and verify with your forester or timber buyer.

🔩 PATAS operations
20

Manufacturer spec: 30–50 trees/hr in forest; 80–100+ in plantation. Use a conservative number until you have field data.

$30
$4,000
Your manual cost per tree --
Your annual manual labor spend --
Trees processed per year (manual) --
Productivity multiple (PATAS vs. manual) --
📄 Data sources used in this model
Labor wages
BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook — Forest & Conservation Workers (May 2024): median $43,680/yr ($21.00/hr base) BLS OES 2023 — Tree Trimmers & Pruners (SOC 37-3013): median $44,040/yr PayScale 2026 — Tree Trimmer/Pruner median: $22.06/hr base USDA DOL — Delimber Operator job postings (2024–25): $22.50–$25.00/hr base
Manual pruning productivity
Skovsgaard, Attocchi & Talbot (2018) — Scandinavian Journal of Forest Research 33(5): 511–517. High-pruning work efficiency for beech and oak: work time increases with pruning height and branch characteristics; significant variation across operators FAO Forestry Paper — Estimating Logging Unit Costs: manual felling, delimbing & crosscutting at 4 trees/hr baseline CSIRO/USPTO tree pruning apparatus prior art (2009): mechanized pruning background, manual productivity context
PATAS machine performance
advaligno GmbH — PATAS Technical Data Sheet (2021): 30–50 trees/hr in European forest conditions; 80–100+ trees/hr in plantation settings; 8-second full cycle at 12m advaligno PATAS demonstration video — field performance documentation
Timber value uplift from pruning
Maine State Forestry / Harvard Forest Bulletin — “Pruning for Profit as Applied to Eastern White Pine”: stumpage values increase 20–25% from pruning; 13.5–13.65% adjusted real-value increase in Maine studies Penn State Extension — Valuing Standing Timber: knot presence and grade are primary determinants of log value; defect-free lower logs command premium prices Carolina Forestry & Realty — Timber Pricing Guide: higher-grade clear lumber commands premium over knotty grades; knot size and distribution are primary grading factors
Equipment financing & cost methodology
Alabama Cooperative Extension / Forest Landowner Magazine — Costs & Trends of Southern Forestry Practices 2022: forestry equipment cost benchmarks and depreciation methodology ISA Arboriculture & Urban Forestry — Estimating and Pricing Tree Care Jobs: man-hour methodology for commercial tree work, crew cost structures

Per-tree service rate defaults are estimates only — no published benchmark exists for commercial production-scale high pruning in North America. Timber value uplift is highly species- and region-dependent. Verify both with your local forestry contacts before making capital decisions.