An equipment manufacturer and a silvicultural contractor developed and tested a two-row brushcutter in the contractor’s precommercial thinning operations with the objective of improving the work environment and worker income. In a semi- mechanized strip thinning operation, the machine removes regularly spaced corridors, and the leave strips are subsequently thinned by motor-manual crews. FERIC compared the productivity and work quality of a semi-mechanized precommercial strip thinning operation with those of a conventional motor-manual operation using workers equipped with brush saws. The machine performed well, and the workers adapted quickly to the new method and performed good-quality work. Our studies demonstrate that the semi-mechanized approach can reduce the total treatment cost in high-density stands.