Here's an example of how the different needs of different countries prompt the design of entirely different vehicles.

As Germany tries to move away from coal, biomass has become a core part of the country's renewable energy mix. Organic material is pelletized and burned in biomass plants to generate heat and electricity. Wood chips are a prime feedstock.

Which raises the question: What's the most efficient way to turn forests into wood chips that are burned at the plants? You might think it makes sense to cut the trees down, haul the logs to the plant, and chip them there. But in fact, that's the most wasteful way to do it. You'd need to haul a crane out to the site, and a series of trucks to transport the logs. Those things burn lots of fuel.

The far better solution, as German manufacturers like JENZ have realized, is to create mobile chipper units and send those to the sites of the felled trees. These truck-like vehicles are equipped with both a crane arm and a chipper. By chipping the material on-site, you save on transportation costs, because wood chips are denser and easier to pack into a truck than logs are. You can fill up virtually every square inch (er, centimeter) of a container with wood chips, without any voids.

JENZ's top-of-the-line mobile wood chipper is this Hackthor.

The Hackthor is a truck containing a large chipper, a crane arm with a grapple and a crazy Skyview elevating cab. This latter feature uses hydraulics to elevate the cab so that the operator's eye level is at 4.5m (nearly 15') off of the ground, providing superior visibility for working on tall piles of logs and aiming the chute with precision.

The cab, with its panoramic views, is actually designed for three tasks: Driving to the site; operating the grapple and chipper; and waiting. That last one is an underappreciated part of the operator's job. Workers outside the truck may need to move material around; a sudden bout of inclement weather may temporarily halt the work; trucks hauling the chips off need to be loaded and new hauler trucks moved into place. The job comes with a lot of downtime.

To keep the operator happy when waiting, JENZ's designers have outfitted the cab with some cushy amenities: In addition to the ergonomic seat there's a refrigerator, a built-in microwave, a pod-style espresso machine, a stereo and infotainment system and of course, automatic heat and air conditioning.

Here's a look at the vehicle in action:

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