HYDRO-AX Forestry Equipment Upcoming Auctions

About Hydro-Ax

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Hydro-Ax 721E Wheel Mulcher

National Hydro-Ax was founded in 1973, but its roots date back to 1965 when a man in Owatonna, Minnesota, endeavored to construct a machine capable of clearing land for power lines. He built a brush mower attachment at that time, and it caught on, but he needed a tractor that could control ground speed and fully power the attachment. With a new tractor from Pettibone Corporation, a four-wheel-drive hydrostatic unit was finally built in 1970. Within a year, Hydro-Ax earned $700,000 in sales on the back of that one single product, the 520 Brush Cutter.

Growing Pains & Acquisitions

In the years that followed, Hydro-Ax expanded into the forestry industry by adding felling shears and saw heads to its lineup of products for tractors. Although it thrived for a time, National Hydro-Ax was unable to fund development for an updated product and in 1980 was sold to Omark Industries of Portland, Oregon. Omark was purchased by Blount, Inc., in 1985, and Caterpillar bought Blount’s forestry division in 2007. Hydro-Ax was rebranded as Prentice in 2006, and Prentice continues to make feller bunchers to this day, with many models available on ForestryTrader.com.

Continued Legacy

You’ll still find used Hydro-Ax forestry equipment for sale at ForestryTrader.com, including wheel feller bunchers (such as the 670 and 470) and wheel mulchers (such as the 721E).