Where Forst chippers come from
Forst, officially spelt Först, is a British brand, designed and built in Hampshire rather than imported and rebadged. The company moved into full-scale wood chipper manufacturing in 2013.
It has grown enough since to run Forst USA, a separate operation supplying the American market.
Being a British-built, factory-backed brand matters when you’re comparing brands on a spec sheet.
A Forst chipper isn’t a rebadged product with a UK contact number bolted on for the paperwork.
Parts, warranty support, and factory relationships run through the people who build the machine, not a distributor three steps removed.
The Forst product range at a glance
Thirteen models cover four ways of getting a chipper to the timber.
The ST6P and heavier-duty ST6P HD hitch to a van or pickup and tow straight to the job, which is why towable models are so popular.
A tree surgeon or landscaper moving between three or four sites a day needs the chipper to go wherever the van goes, hitched, driven off, and feeding within minutes of arriving.
The ST6D 42 & 24 brings diesel power to the same 6-inch capacity, handling branches up to 150mm.
The ST8D 55 steps up to 200mm for crews processing heavier timber, with the full size-by-size breakdown on our towable range page.
The TR6P, TR6D 42 & 24, TR8D 55, and XR8D Traxion drive themselves in on rubber tracks rather than being towed.
Rubber tracks cross woodland floors, soft ground, and slopes that would leave a towed machine stuck or tearing up the turf.
The 6-inch tracked models handle branches up to 150mm.
The TR8D 55 steps up to 200mm for heavier timber, and the XR8D Traxion tops the tracked range for the most demanding access conditions.
The PT6 and PT8 bolt onto a tractor’s three-point linkage and run off the tractor’s own engine, so there’s no second engine to fuel or maintain.
The trade-off is that the chipper only works while the tractor’s attached and running.
It’s not the machine for a crew jumping between vans and different sites all day.
Both run at 540 RPM, the standard PTO speed on most UK tractors.
Compact
The Cadet 6, Cadet 6TR, and TT6 sit at the smaller end of the range.
All three trade some throughput for a lighter, manoeuvrable machine, built for gardens, tight gateways, and lighter, occasional work.
The Cadet 6TR adds tracked mobility to that same compact footprint for softer, uneven ground.
Lower cost and a lighter footprint make this the usual starting point for a first chipper.
Build quality and performance in every Forst chipper
Every new Forst runs AutoIntelligence feed control, built to keep performance consistent under load.
It reads the load on the engine and adjusts feed speed automatically, so the chipper keeps pulling material through instead of stalling.
ForstGrip rollers grip branches more consistently than a standard smooth roller. The tighter grip matters most on awkward material like ivy-wrapped brash or freshly cut, sappy timber that tends to slip through a weaker feed system.
Together, AutoIntelligence and ForstGrip keep a chipper reliable under a thick branch or slippery, sappy timber that could choke a cheaper machine.
Build quality shows up in the smaller details too, from the chassis and hopper steel to how the hydraulics are routed.
New machines from ILH Groundcare carry a 3-year warranty.
Every part on the range is factory-supported too, which keeps replacement blades, belts, and rollers close at hand when something wears out.
Who runs a Forst
Tree surgeons and arboricultural contractors are the core Forst buyer, and it shows in how the range is built.
A crew felling and chipping every day needs a machine that starts first time and feeds fast without constant fiddling.
Many are already on their second or third chipper by the time they call us.
They know exactly what a bad feed system costs in downtime, because they’ve lived through it on a previous machine.
Landscaping firms chip hedge trimmings and garden clearance on site rather than bagging it by hand for the tip.
Estate and grounds management teams tend to favour the tracked and PTO models for parkland and woodland work.
Councils buy through their grounds and tree departments, usually for verge clearance and amenity maintenance.
Hire companies add Forst to their fleet because a strong warranty and ready UK parts supply keep machines earning.
Diesel or petrol
Forst builds most models in both fuel types, and which one suits you depends on how hard you’re running the machine.
Petrol versions are typically lighter, which suits residential gardens and typically keeps the towing weight under 750kg for a standard driving licence.
Diesel versions trade some of a petrol engine’s lightness for torque low down in the rev range. That extra torque pulls harder through thick or knotted timber without the engine bogging down.
Diesel models split across two engine brands depending on power. The entry-level 24hp option runs a Kubota engine. Step up to the 42hp or 55hp diesels, and you’re running Doosan DPF engines instead.
Both brands turn up constantly in tractors, excavators, and generators across the industry, so parts and know-how are never far away.
If you’re chipping for hours at a stretch on commercial work, diesel usually wins on running cost.
ILH Groundcare’s team take the time to understand your workload to correctly advise on which machine is right for your role, whether you are looking to buy or hire.
Buying, hiring, and keeping one running
We sell new Forst chippers across the full range.
We’ll ask about your site, your typical material, and how often you’re chipping, then talk you through which model actually suits your workload.
Used machines come through our used stock too, each one checked in our workshop before it goes anywhere.
If you only need a chipper for a short job, our hire fleet covers the popular towable and tracked sizes.
Every hire machine is serviced between jobs, arriving with sharp blades and a checked engine ready to work.
Once you own one, our workshop handles servicing and repairs, from blade and cylinder sharpening to hydraulic work and electrical diagnostics.
We stock genuine Forst spare parts too, so a blunt blade or worn anvil doesn’t mean a week off the tools.
Why ILH is the trusted Forst dealer to call
We’ve been family-run since 2007, with more than 20 years of hands-on experience in arboricultural machinery between us.
Twenty years is long enough to know the practical difference between models that look similar on paper, and to have opinions about which ones actually hold up.
Darren Hastie set the business up on that experience.
The same approach still runs through the team today: answer the phone, know the kit, and back up what we sell.
Official dealer status gets you faster warranty claims and direct technical escalation to Forst when something needs sorting quickly, rather than a call centre reading from a script.
Tree surgeons, landscaping firms, councils, and hire companies across Scotland call us because we’re specialists in this equipment. We’re not a general plant hire outfit that happens to stock a chipper.
Our workshop in Cumbernauld backs every sale and hire with servicing and parts under one roof.
