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Vol. 48, No. 5

(Founded in 1972—Our 560th Consecutive Issue)

F E AT U R E S

May 2019 A Hatton-Brown Publication

Phone: 334-834-1170 Fax: 334-834-4525 www.southernloggintimes.com

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Southern Stumpin’ Executive Editor DK Knight Retires

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Tommy Johnson Logging Starting Second Crew

Co-Publisher Co-Publisher Chief Operating Officer Executive Editor Editor-in-Chief Western Editor Managing Editor Associate Editor Associate Editor Art Director Ad Production Coordinator Circulation Director Online Content/Marketing

David H. Ramsey David (DK) Knight Dianne C. Sullivan David (DK) Knight Rich Donnell Dan Shell David Abbott Jessica Johnson Jay Donnell Cindy Segrest Patti Campbell Rhonda Thomas Jacqlyn Kirkland

ADVERTISING CONTACTS DISPLAY SALES Eastern U.S. Kathy Sternenberg Tel: 251-928-4962 • Fax: 334-834-4525 219 Royal Lane Fairhope, AL 36532 E-mail: ksternenberg@bellsouth.net

out front:

Midwest USA, Eastern Canada John Simmons Tel: 905-666-0258 • Fax: 905-666-0778 32 Foster Cres.

Whitby, Ontario, Canada L1R 1W1 E-mail: jsimmons@idirect.com Western Canada, Western USA

26 The Dry Creek family of companies (Dry Creek Loggers, Dry Creek Timber and Dry Creek Trucking) has been getting it done in the tri-state area where Georgia, Alabama and Florida meet for over three decades with owner Marty Catrett (left). Recent addition and partner Tim Free (right) handles the timber buying arm. Story begins on Page 8.

(Jessica Johnson photo)

Elite Forest Products Confident In Weiler

Industry News Roundup . . . . . . . . 30 ForesTree Equipment Trader . . . . 39 Coming Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Tim Shaddick Tel: 604-910-1826 • Fax: 604-264-1367 4056 West 10th Ave. Vancouver, BC V6L 1Z1 E-mail: tootall1@shaw.ca Kevin Cook Tel: 604-619-1777 E-mail: lordkevincook@gmail.com International Murray Brett Tel: +34 96 640 4165 +34 96 640 4048 58 Aldea de las Cuevas • Buzon 60 03759 Benidoleig (Alicante), Spain E-mail: murray.brett@abasol.net CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING

Bridget DeVane

Ad Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Tel: 1-800-669-5613 • Tel 334-699-7837 Email: bdevane7@hotmail.com

Southern Loggin’ Times (ISSN 0744-2106) is published monthly by Hatton-Brown Publishers, Inc., 225 Hanrick St., Montgomery, AL 36104. Subscription Information—SLT is sent free to logging, pulpwood and chipping contractors and their supervisors; managers and supervisors of corporate-owned harvesting operations; wood suppliers; timber buyers; wood procurement and land management officials; industrial forestry purchasing agents; wholesale and retail forest equipment representatives and forest/logging association personnel in the U.S. South. See form elsewhere in this issue.

All non-qualified U.S. subscriptions are $65 annually; $75 in Canada; $120 (Airmail) in all other countries (U.S. funds). Single copies, $5 each; special issues, $20 (U.S. funds). Subscription Inquiries— TOLL-FREE 800-669-5613; Fax 888-611-4525. Go to www.southernloggintimes.com and click on the subscribe button to subscribe/renew via the web. All advertisements for Southern Loggin’ Times magazine are accepted and published by Hatton-Brown Publishers, Inc. with the understanding that the advertiser and/or advertising agency are authorized to publish the entire contents and subject matter thereof. The advertiser and/or advertising agency will defend, indemnify and hold Hatton-Brown Publishers, Inc. harmless from and against any loss, expenses, or other liability resulting from any claims or lawsuits for libel violations or right of privacy or publicity, plagiarism, copyright or trademark infringement and any other claims or lawsuits that may arise out of publication of such advertisement. Hatton-Brown Publishers, Inc. neither endorses nor makes any representation or guarantee as to the quality of goods and services advertised in Southern Loggin’ Times. Hatton-Brown Publishers, Inc. reserves the right to reject any advertisement which it deems inappropriate. Copyright ® 2019. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. Periodicals postage paid at Montgomery, Ala. and at additional mailing offices. Printed In USA.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: Southern Loggin’ Times, P.O. Box 2419, Montgomery, AL 36102-2419 Member Verified Audit Circulation

Other Hatton-Brown publications: ★ Timber Processing ★ Timber Harvesting ★ Panel World ★ Power Equipment Trade ★ Wood Bioenergy

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SOUTHERN STUMPIN’

By David Abbott • Managing Editor • Ph. 334-834-1170 • Fax: 334-834-4525 • E-mail: david@hattonbrown.com

Good Knight he Mid-Atlantic Logging & Biomass Expo in Laurinburg, NC takes place on the first weekend of this month, May 3-4. There’s a good chance it’s already over by the time you read this.

If I’m not mistaken, this is the fourth Mid-Atlantic show; it would be the fifth, but what would have been the fourth event was cancelled in 2017 due to hurricanes that September. When the show was first organized, it served as a successor to the old Carolina Log’n Demo.

It was at the first Mid-Atlantic Expo in October 2011 that I recall being present during a conversation between our co-publisher/executive editor DK Knight and one of his many industry friends. The other man asked how much longer DK expected to keep doing what he does. DK answered that his plan at that time was to hang up his hat within about two years.

Well, it’s been closer to eight years than two, but, I’m sad to say, the day has finally come.

David “DK” Knight has officially entered semiretirement status. He will remain fully employed with Hatton-Brown Publishers through May 15, during which time he will fulfill one last speaking engagement and attend one last show, as well as oversee the publication of the show program for Mid-Atlantic Expo. He then plans to take a well deserved few months off before returning to the Hatton-Brown office as a consultant on a part-time basis.

It was just about a year ago, in the April 2018 issue, that I wrote about a celebration we at Hatton-Brown held on February 27 last year to mark the 50th year since DK and his partner Dave Ramsey both came to work here in 1968.

David Knight—his boss here started calling him DK to distinguish him from David Ramsey, who had come on a few weeks earlier as an ad salesman—was just a young newspaper reporter then; eventually, he and Dave would buy the company from its previous owners.

“When DK and I first met in 1968, we came from two different worlds,” Dave reminisces; he came from Canada, and DK from Alabama. “We were about seven years apart in age, which is a greater difference than it is now. Today it’s almost like being the same. We tackled our separate jobs, he writing and me selling, to create a wonderful combination for success. It’s been 51 years and we still are great friends. Never having had a brother I couldn’t have had a better one than DK Knight.”

The other person here who has known DK longer than any of the rest of us is Hatton-Brown’s Chief Operating Officer, Dianne Sullivan; she actu-

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ally came to work here before are going to miss him and his either DK or Dave (we celevast knowledge about the brated her 50th anniversary in industry, which has been a 2014, and she’s still the first great resource for us. person here and the last to On a personal level, like leave most days). She reflects, many of you, I too have a “DK has been great to work great admiration and respect with and we have become for DK, both for what he’s friends over the many years we done for the industry and for have worked together. He has who he is as a man, not to a great following in the logging mention how he’s treated me industry and he will be greatly as his employee for the last 14 missed by not only us in the years; I remember he took me Retiring DK Knight says good-bye to his office of Hatton-Brown but in to lunch at Arby’s in Prattlogging friends. the industry as a whole.” Colville, Ala. my first week here lectively, Dianne, Dave and DK are known by their to get to know me. To the editors and other staff employees here as the “3 Ds.” here, he has been our leader, our mentor and Almost exactly 13 months after that 50th even our friend, providing guidance and a wealth anniversary celebration, on March 30 this year, of knowledge, humor, encouragement, advice Hatton-Brown sponsored another, similar event: a and high standards. He has instilled in us his own luncheon in DK’s honor, a kind of farewell party to dedication to factual accuracy, journalistic celebrate his long career. In attendance, along with integrity, editorial quality and attention to detail, DK’s family and employees, were a number of his both grammatical and technical. industry friends from throughout the South: Bobby Also like many of you, I grew up reading SLT. Goodson, Ken Martin, Chris Potts, Danny Dructor, I’m hoping to persuade him to write his memoirs, Ezell Castleberry, Crad Jaynes, Cecil Johnson and which in my mind would tell not only his personal Misty Booth among them. story but could serve as a history of SLT and of the One attendee, Virginia logger C.K. Greene, logging industry since 1968, from his perspective. I spoke at the event, bearing witness to the impact think we could serialize that with a new chapter DK’s work has had on his life and, indievery issue. I know that’s something I’d like to rectly, on the lives of his family and read, and I think many of you would too. Time will employees. Greene told the story of tell if it’s something he’s interested in doing, but how he as a child learned about for now I think he just wants to take some time logging from reading DK’s stobefore he decides what he’ll do next. ries in the copies of Southern At its annual meeting in September 2017, the Loggin’ Times he found at a American Loggers Council presented DK with a friend’s house. Fascinated, President’s Award for outstanding service to the young C.K. ordered a subscriptimber harvesting industry, and with good cause. tion for himself by pretending to His passion always has been and continues to be be a procurement man; this led for you, the logger. It was 1972 when DK and othto him becoming a real forester ers here started Southern Loggin’ Times. We call and logger. (It was at a Midour magazine “the Southern logger’s best friend,” Atlantic Expo when C.K. and but really the Southern logger’s best friend for the DK finally met in person.) last 47 years has been DK Knight.

Later at the luncheon that day, “Swamp Logger” DK will be (or will have been, depending on Bobby Goodson asked me what we here at Hatton- when you read this) at the Mid-Atlantic Expo in Brown are going to do now? “I guess we’ll have to North Carolina on May 3 and for a little while on shut down,” I answered. “Are you going to fill his May 4. If it’s not too late and you’re able to get shoes?” Bobby asked me. I laughed. You know that over to that area, go by and say hi (and bye) to George Jones song? It’s not so much his shoes as him. his hat. For years, we’ve had a joke that if the man Sadly, DK isn’t the only one to whom we’re sayhimself wasn’t here to answer our questions, one of ing good-bye. Editor Jay Donnell, who has been us would have to put on our metaphorical “DK with us since 2012, has moved on to other opportuHat” and make the decision. Well, there’s no way I nities; his feature on Elite Forest Products, page 26, can fill his shoes, or his hat. is his final logging story. So, to quote the sign-off But, I was kidding when I said we’d have to of news man Edward R. Murrow, I’ll say to both shut down without DK. The truth is, it’s a testaMr. Donnell and Mr. Knight, “Good night, and ment to the example he set for us that things here good luck.” And to that I’ll add, on behalf of all of SLT will carry on without missing a beat, even if we us, thanks for everything.

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Better Than One ■ Marty Catrett never dreamed he’d have three integrated businesses working the Ala.-Ga.-Fla. corridor.

By Jessica Johnson ELBA, Ala. urricane Michael wasn’t the first storm Marty Catrett, ★ 56, has seen in his 34 years and counting logging career in the southcentral Alabama community of Elba.

More than 100 miles (127 to be exact) separate Catrett’s hometown from where the eye first washed ashore. But over six months after the fact, his logging crews are still struggling to help the inland landowners whose timber is blown over, broken or otherwise in bad shape.

No, Michael wasn’t Catrett’s first hurricane; but unlike Hurricane Ivan in 2004, which hit Alabama, and Katrina, which hit Louisiana in 2005, where he saw wood yards everywhere and crews lining up at the stores in the morning for supplies, Michael was the first time he didn’t see mills full or crews on every corner. “They just aren’t there,” he says of Michael’s aftermath. “The logging force isn’t there to do it. There’s not a third of what we saw on the other two storms.”

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Catrett’s partner in his timber buying business, Dry Creek Forest Products, Tim Free, says, “When you go in you want to help everybody. But this is overwhelming. If you had 60 loggers down there markets wouldn’t bear it unless you long haul and then it’s problems with trucking.” Catrett owns Dry Creek Loggers and Dry Creek Trucking. Right now, Dry Creek Loggers crews are able to work storm-damaged tracts that Catrett and Free have purchased and survive long hauls thanks to the wellcoordinated trucking operation.

With persistent ground conditions, the work is harder on rubber tired crews like Catrett’s, with the added strain of travel time. At one point, Catrett had a crew driving an hour and a half to work every morning.

While he admits he had to sell his crew on it, production numbers have been higher than expected—given the 150-mile one-way haul. Catrett says he tried to stick to closer hauls, but as mills got full it made sense to haul back towards home, which protects their interests and keeps quotas up.

Free agrees, saying he always tries to keep supply steady for their main

markets no matter where the wood is coming from.

Catrett says every single day loaders have wood stacked all around waiting for the trucking fleet to catch up, but he’s pleased overall with how he’s been able to manage his seven company owned trucks.

The crews do not use set out trucks, but Catrett says he’s been kicking the idea around, thinking it might help maximize time—currently some Dry Creek trucks average 17 loads per truck a week.

Dry Creek regularly has one crew on a long haul, and one crew is kept close to home base to minimize deadheading. This way, trucks have short hauls during the day and then long hauls in the afternoon and early morning. Catrett says this gives his trucks the opportunity to run more payloads—even with the 150 mile one way haul mixed in.

“Logistics are huge. If anything, I’d say we’ve gotten better with the long hauls. Contract crews aren’t in the loop, but we can use our trucks on their crews to make the same loop,” he explains.

Dry Creek Forest Products has two full-time contract crews,

Dry Creek keeps trucks busy—pushing out as many as 17 loads of wood per truck per week, thanks to the coordination of Marty Catrett, left, and Tim Free.

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with other crews that come and go depending on wood availability and timing. Free handles the timber buying for the contract crews as well as Catrett’s three company owned crews. Both men agree that between the south-central location to the point where Georgia, Alabama and Florida intersect, Dry Creek Forest Products is able to utilize markets in a way others might not be able by leveraging the mix of contract and company crews as well as company owned trucks.

Iron Registry What would become Dry Creek Loggers started when Catrett was just 24 years old with cable skidder, chain saw, loader and a single log truck.

Within five years, Catrett saw the opportunity to grow and one crew eventually became two. As the company grew, Catrett made the decision to transition from one company to two, separating logging from trucking to better track costs—and manage liability. After a few years, and the companies continuing to be profitable,

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Catrett saw another opportunity to grow while also trying something a little different.

The opportunity for a timber dealership in his area opened up, and he seized it. Throughout the years he’s had a few different timber buyers and weathered downturns, but with the addition of a partnership with Free in 2017 Dry Creek Forest Products continues to thrive.

“From 2008 to 2012 the country and timber industry just stood still.

After that everyone had a better outlook,” Catrett believes. “We started to trade some stuff and grow a little bit. We’ve had bad weather and labor problems, but we’ve been able to stay the course and make good relationships with mills. 2008 through 2012 were the worst years we’ve ever had due to high fuel costs and wet weather. Since then we’ve done really well.”

Dry Creek Loggers operates three crews of three men (cutter, skidder, loader). One crew operates all 2019 Caterpillar equipment: a 559D loader; 535D skidder; and 573D cutter. Catrett says he’s been pleased with the performance of the new equipment so far, adding that the combination of the price, warranty and the service plans on the D series machines sold him.

The second and third crews are a mix of John Deere, Tigercat and Caterpillar, making use of a Tigercat 724E cutter, John Deere 437D loader, 724E cutter, Caterpillar 559C loader, Caterpillar 525D skidder and John Deere 843K cutter. Every piece of equipment is rubber tire. Every machine has the capability to be dualled, with three sets at the shop for whoever needs them at a given time.

Catrett also has a fair amount of older pieces parked at the shop in Elba, but because of trucking restrictions, he has not chosen to put on a fourth crew. The crew also has a John Deere 700J dozer to do roadwork as needed that will go back and forth between the crews.

Same goes for a Cat 521B tracked feller-buncher, which Catrett is the only one to operate and only sees

Dry Creek merchandizes for pretty much every market within 100 miles of their Elba homebase.

SLT SNAPSHOT Dry Creek Forest Products; Dry Creek Loggers; Dry Creek Trucking Elba, Ala. Email: drycreekloggers@troycable.net Founded: 1984 Owner: Marty Catrett No. Crews: 3 Employees: 21 Equipment: 5 cutters; 4 loaders; 4 skidders Trucks/Trailers: 8 trucks; 13 log trailers; 3 lowboys Average Production: 110 loads a week Average Haul Distance: 100 miles Tidbit: After knowing timber buyer Tim Free for 30 years, in 2017 Marty Catrett and Tim Free became partners in Dry Creek Forest Products, a timber dealership Catrett started in Elba, Ala. to support Catrett’s own crews as well as a handful of contractors.

300 hours of work per year at best.

“The machine has in a roundabout way really attracted a lot of attention. It has gotten us some help with products we probably wouldn’t have gotten, because we can supply

Marty and Pam Catrett, pictured with granddaughter Lexxie Childs

hardwood when they need it,” Catrett explains of the machine.

Dry Creek keeps one mechanic and a helper full-time at the 50 ft. by 60 ft. shop in Elba to handle truck and logging equipment maintenance.

Major engine repairs go to the dealerships, but between the maintenance staff and the veteran woods crews, machinery is well taken care of inhouse. Woods equipment is serviced in the woods on older pieces; thanks to the Caterpillar service plans on the new pieces, the dealer takes care of them. Flint Equipment in Troy, Ala. supports John Deere products; Thompson Tractor in Dothan, Ala. handles Caterpillar and Tidewater Equipment in Evergreen, Ala. takes care of Tigercat.

Catrett says his 50 ft. by 60 ft. shop is half as big as it needs to be and he’s talked about building a new one, but just hasn’t put the pieces together yet. “We’ve just outgrown it really and truly,” he says with a laugh, “When you’re this deep you might as well go all with it.”

All support products come from Home Oil Co. in Dothan—including DEF needed for four in-woods pieces and five over the road trucks.

Trucking Fleet Most of the time the trucks park at the shop each night, and some roll to markets as early at 2:30 a.m.

Catrett currently runs a mix of Mack, Kenworth, Freightliner and Western Star log trucks, but plans to convert the entire fleet to Western Star, citing lighter weight for the

Dry Creek uses iron from every manufacturer, but Catrett loves his Caterpillar pieces.

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bodies giving him more payload.

Additionally, everyone at Dry Creek prefers working with Western Star of Dothan, a dealer they say has a good mix of in stock parts with the added benefit of a service truck to help with maintenance and running parts when necessary.

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Trailers are a mix of Big John and Pitts, plus four new Kauffman built 42 ft. straight rail trailers that are not technically plantation trailers, but sit low like one. All trucks run Vulcan scales for safety and payload (so definitely not over or under). Since Dry Creek does haul in Florida, where

overweight tickets are figured by the pound, Catrett likes the added assurance he’s not likely to get a weight ticket thanks to the scales. But perhaps most importantly, Catrett says he runs scales for the liability protection. He adds, “If you do have an accident, there’s no doubt you’re

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going to get sued. That’s part of the program now; you’ve got to be as legal as you can.” All trucks are also outfitted with Fleetmatics GPS. Dry Creek trucks run Firestone steer tires and a mix of Goodyear and Michelin drive tires. Trailer tires are a ➤ 12 mix of new and recaps.

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From left, Kendall Thomas, Steven Greer and Brandon Register

10 ➤ Dry Creek hauls to every market within 100 miles. Primarily hardwood logs go to Capital Veneer in Montgomery, Ala. with the addi-

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From left, Brad Davis, Tom Ingram, Todd Haney and Andrew Harris

tion of some hardwood pulpwood; pine logs go to Georgia-Pacific or WestRock; chip-n-saw is taken to Rex Lumber in Bristol and Grace-

ville, Fla. and plywood logs to Scotts Plywood Co. in Beatrice, Ala. What poles the crews create go to Tri County Pole & Piling, Slocomb, Ala.

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From left, Derek Carter, twin Brad Carter

Catrett is anxious for the new Rex Lumber mill to open in Pike County, Ala. saying it will make a big difference in trucking productivity, changing haul distance greatly.

With the logistical coordination Catrett does, leaning on the woods crew foreman (the loader men on each crew) and trucks, he feels seven trucks get the production he needs. That’s not to say that Catrett doesn’t feel like he could use more trucks—in fact the opposite: the crews could use at least five more trucks. But the drivers just aren’t available.

Like most loggers, Catrett is really concerned about where the labor force is going to come from in the next few years—especially on the trucking side. “I don’t know where the pool of drivers we’re going to be able to tap into is,” he emphasizes. “We can’t compete with JB Hunt or Wiley Sanders with 600 trucks. And we’ve got guys who will call here, who would probably make pretty good drivers, but if they don’t have experience insurance won’t consider them, and that takes drivers away.”

While he’s concerned about the future, Catrett is thrilled with the help he now has. Each month the in-woods crew has a tailgate safety meeting, and Dry Creek has not had an injury, thankfully, in 25 years.

The woods crew is randomly drug tested, just like the truck drivers.

Dry Creek Loggers does have a Facebook page, and in the past has used it to recruit truck drivers.

They are also in the process of getting a website put together. Catrett believes it will help the company get needed exposure. “Everyone has a phone in their hands most of the time. In their spare time what are they doing? Looking at the internet. I think that would be a good thing,” he says.

Assisted by Logger’s Edge, Catrett’s wife Pam processes tickets, payroll and landowner payments Monday through Friday in the office in Elba, as she has done for nearly 20 years supporting him.

Their granddaughter Lexxie Childs helps with filing. Dry Creek is truly a family affair and Catrett is so incredibly grateful for his wife’s impact on the business, and being able to share in the hard-earned success not only with her but also with their granddaughter, whom he SLT calls his little buddy.

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Pass It On Down ■ After 20 years, Tommy Johnson has added a second crew for his son, Thomas.

By David Abbott DERIDDER, La. y now it has died down ★ somewhat, but when Southern Loggin’ Times visited Tommy Johnson’s two crews in early March, the pine pollen was thick in the Louisiana woods. It thoroughly coated the ground, truck cabs and steeltoed boots in a thick layer of yellow, begetting a commensurate allergic reaction from many in the South.

If the good Lord tarries another seven months, this December will be 20 years since Johnson, 54, started his company, Thomas Johnson Logging, LLC. Just about a year ago he expanded the operation, adding a second crew. That one is overseen by his son Thomas Johnson, 30, a fourth generation logger. Thomas started working in the woods with his dad right out of high school, and they’ve worked together most of the time since.

Tommy set up the second crew explicitly to prepare Thomas to break away with his own separate company. “I started the second job

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primarily to give him the opportunity to prove himself to companies and suppliers,” the proud dad says. “The full intent is for him to eventually buy me out.” When that does happen, Tommy will continue to log with his own crew, with no plans to retire soon, Son Thomas, left, and dad Tommy Johnson, right or ever. “We’re loggers,” he 234; two skidders, a ’17 Deere 748L says. “We work till they throw dirt and ’14 Tigercat 620E; and, as on the in our faces.” other crew, both a track and a wheeled cutter: ’18 Deere 853M and Equipment Inventory ’12 Tigercat 718. Crew 2 also uses a The two crews are outfitted with a 2004 Chambers Delimbinator. similar and pretty even mix of TigerDoggett Machinery is the John cat and John Deere, both newer and Deere dealer the Johnsons use in slightly less new models. Tommy’s Alexandria, while they turn to Patrick original crew, designated Crew 1, Miller in Many, La. for Tigercat. uses three Tigercat loaders, 234 and On the trucking end, Johnson and 234Bs from 2019, ’15 and ’12; two Johnson put five rigs on the road: ’13 John Deere skidders, ’17 model to ’19 model Kenworth W900s and a 748L and ’18 model 848L; two ’16 International 9900I. They use Tigercat feller-bunchers, a ’16 822D eight double bunk trailers, ranging track shear and ’17 718E wheeled from 1997 to 2018: two from OT, cutter; and a 2015 Chambers Delim- two from Magnolia, three from binator. For road work, the crew also Manac and one Viking. He also has has a ’19 Deere 650K dozer and ’18 two Viking lowboys.

NorAm 65E grader.

Tommy supplies all diesel, grease, On Crew 2, son Thomas uses two oil and DEF from Lard Oil in SulTigercat loaders, 2018 234B and ’11 phur, La. For tires, he runs Fire-

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stone, size 35.5 inside and 24.5 outside; he runs dual tires in thinning applications, because, he says, “We can keep it tight enough to have clearance on roads and 35.5 is just enough taller than the 24.5 that when it dries up that outside one is not on the ground, and that relieves stress off of axles.”

Dollars, Sense?

Tommy figures he has invested well over $3 million on the two crews, and closer to $4 million including trucks. The ever-escalating cost of equipment never ceases to astound him. “A track cutter was $275,000 when I started 20 years ago,” he points out. “When I bought this one last year it was $434,000, and by the time they add financing charges and insurance for five years, final cost I will have paid is $511,000.”

Back in 2001, Tommy and his wife were paying bills at the dining room table one Friday night, trying to figure out which ones they could afford to pay and which would have to wait.

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Johnson keeps a track cutter and a wheeled cutter on both crews.

He started the second crew last year for his son to eventually take over as his own.

Johnson hauls with his own trucks but also uses contract haulers, like this one.

Crew 2 was in wet, muddy conditions in early spring.

Tommy’s dad, LeRoy, a former logger, expressed confusion: “Son, I don’t understand; you haul more now than I did in first thinning, and I made money.” Tommy invited him to check the numbers to see if he was missing anything. LeRoy stopped as soon as he saw the pay rate. “That’s the exact same amount I got paid to first thin in 1979,” he exclaimed. The pay rates

but not anything like the amount equipment cost has gone up.”

He continues, “When dad did his job, he was pretty well guaranteed 50-60 cents of every dollar he made would be his. Now it is about 8 cents.

How many businessmen in the world would invest $4 million into a company for even 10 cents on the dollar?” But, he admits, not many get

had not gone in up in 22 years, but the cost was much higher.

“Dad had paid $94,000 for a skidder in the early ’90s, and I paid $170,000 for one just 10 years later,” Tommy points out. “And now it is closer to $300,000. But I was still making the same pay rate in 2001 that he was making in 1979. It has gone up a small amount since then,

into logging because it makes good financial sense: “Loggers log because they love it. If we don’t do it, who’s going to?”

Markets In early March, Crew 1 was on a 174-acre clear-cut. Tommy expected to pull 300 loads from it in about

SLT SNAPSHOT Thomas Johnson Logging, LLC DeRidder, La. Email: thomasjohnsonlogging@gmail.com Founded: 1999 Owner: Tommy Johnson No. Crews: 2 Employees: 18 Equipment: 5 loaders, 2 cutters, 2 skidders, 2 Delimbinators, 5 trucks/trailers Average Production: 80 on one crew, 50 on the other Average Haul Distance: 45 miles Tidbit: Johnson’s son Thomas, foreman of the second crew, helps John Deere by trying prototypes out. “He is pretty involved in some of it,” his dad observes. “They have tested some things here and there for them.” Techsavvy Thomas has also started using a drone to capture videos on the job site; he wants to put it on YouTube.

“These younger kids are into all that,” the elder Johnson notes. “Us older folks, we’re just happy to come out here and work.”

Crew 1, from left, Tommy Johnson, Eugene Williams, Jason Morrow, Jay Williams, Garrett Brister, Ricky Harper (in back), Gerald Maricle, James Cooley

Crew 2, from left, David Johnson (no relation), Clifton Bailey, Keith Kennedy, Matt Maddox, Thomas Johnson, Tommy Johnson, Danny Bailey, Bradley Willis

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two weeks. “This crew feels bad if they don’t haul at least 80 loads a week; that is our base target number in thinning. Last week, on this clearcut, we did 137 loads.”

Crew 1 hauls pine pulpwood mainly to the Packaging Corp. of America mill in DeRidder. “We are primarily a thinning crew; this is a rare treat for us to get to clear cut,” he says of the tract they were working in March. Hancock Forestry owns the land. Thomas Johnson Logging directly contracts through Bennett Timber.

“We are a company crew so we don’t fight quotas and markets as bad as people having to buy their own timber,” he notes. “The pay rates are not as good, so we have to move higher volume, but it is steady. Bennett keeps it lined up ahead of us.”

Average haul distance is 45 miles, but in recent years Bennett has had Johnson stretched to some 75-mile hauls. “We don’t like to go that far; it’s hard to get it trucked.” The haul distance when SLT visited, however, he calls “gravy;” it was 35 miles from stump to mill.

The crews were working 50 miles apart, but crew 1 was working in dusty conditions in a higher elevation, while crew 2 was on muddy ground in late March. “This is not our

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Crew 1 considers 80 loads a week its base target.

usual working conditions,” Johnson says. He works more often in conditions like those his son was facing, but PCA sent him here to boost their sagging inventory after a wet winter.

The second crew contracts under Hancock Forestry and hauls to the Martco (RoyOMartin) mill in Oakdale. They average 50 loads in first thinning, and 60 loads on second thinning jobs.

“Used to be you could get 18 loads and call it a good day. Anymore there’s no such thing as enough,” the senior Johnson observes, due to near-stagnant pay rates and ever-soaring costs of operation. That includes labor: “You

better pay your hands well because they have other options and they have to think about what’s best for them and their families. And you are only as good as your crew. All the equipment won’t do you any good if you can’t put together a crew that can produce with it.”

Manpower Truck driver scarcity isn’t the only labor concern, Tommy says. “The quality drivers aren’t there anymore, and the same with the work force around here in general. We have a good pool that everyone uses; there are just a select few good operators

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around so we all take turns using them and they kind of go from job to job. With all the construction work going on around here nowadays, around Lake Charles, they can go down there and make good money with benefits that not a lot of logging jobs can offer.”

On crew 1, loader man Jason Morrow acts as foreman on the rare occasion the boss isn’t on site. Gerald Maricle runs the other loader.

Tommy’s brother-in-law James Cooley drives a skidder, and has worked with Tommy since day one. Jay Williams runs the other skidder, Eugene Williams operates the wheeled cutter and Ricky Harper runs the track cutter. A newer employee, Garrett Brister trims trucks and helps wherever necessary. Another hand usually on the crew, Christopher Littleton, recently fell off a machine while pressure washing and broke his leg, but he will be back, the boss is confident.

Truck drivers are Curtis Cornwell, Tommy’s brother Keith Johnson, Jesse Burk, Kenneth Lott, and one full time contractor, Alvin Schmidt.

On crew 2, Thomas runs the track cutter, Danny Bailey runs the delimbing loader, Matt Maddox runs the other knuckleboom for loading trucks, David Johnson mans a skidder

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and Clifton Bailey trims trucks.

One company truck, with driver Bradley Willis in the cab, is dedicated to this crew, along with two contract haulers, Keith Kennedy and John Dowden.

Insurance agent is Robert Belvin, for a policy underwritten at Bitco.

Tommy changed to Bitco this year, including workers’ comp, trucks and GL. He got a better rate by putting it all through one company. Once a month they have a safety meeting, and, if issues come up between

times, they discuss on the spot.

“Worst injury we have had is the guy who broke his leg recently,” Tommy says.

History Tommy’s dad, LeRoy Johnson, had worked with his own dad in the woods growing up in Mississippi, back in the days of mules and cross cut saws. LeRoy was chasing stumps when he moved the family to Louisiana in 1960. In the early

’70s he changed from stumping to logging full time.

Tommy came along in 1964: “I was born, raised and bred right here in DeRidder, and lived here my whole life.” He followed the family tradition, working with LeRoy from a young age. Later, LeRoy had sold out his logging business and gone into trucking full time, so Tommy went to work for another local logger, Eddie Ray Havens, where he stayed for 13 years.

“I had been a saw hand, but when

everything went mechanized he put me on a loader,” Tommy recalls. “We did shovel logging and I wasn’t making enough money by the day. So I went to him and said I’d have to find something better.” Haven offered to sell Tommy a truck and hire him as a contract driver. So Tommy first went into business for himself in 1995 under Thomas Johnson Trucking. In 1999 an opportunity arose when James Hughes, a timber dealer in east Texas needed another logger, and Tommy seized his chance. Thomas Johnson Logging was born.

Personal Tommy and his wife Christine have been married 34 years. Along with Thomas, they have two daughters: Tiffany, 29, and Tera, 26.

Tiffany recently started helping Christine with the books. The couple currently has four grandchildren: Thomas’ kids Carmendee and Braylen, and Tera’s kids JoLee and Jameson. JoLee was named after Tommy’s mother, Joanne, who died in a car accident, and his nephew Andrew Lee, who drowned at just 14. Another grandchild is due in December by way of Thomas and his wife Ashley.

When he’s not in the woods, Tommy and Thomas race sprint cars, a hobby he has enjoyed since 1992. They drive Race Saver 305 sprint cars. “We do alright,” Tommy reports. “In 2018 I was

Father and son share a hobby, too: the red car (Wild Thang) belongs to Tommy (dad); son Thomas drives the blue car.

the track points champ at the local track and the Louisiana state points champ for IMCA.” The season kicks off in March and goes through October or November, depending on weather. He also rides motorcycles, hunts and fishes, “like any other red blooded American country boy,” he says.

The logger is happy with his chosen vocation. “I have a lot of friends who have gone off chasing other kinds of work, and they all seem to come back to logging,” he observes.

“I have just stayed here and kept doing it; it has been a good life.” SLT 20

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Looking Elite ■ Byron Baggett keeps building Elite Forest Products in Georgia.

By Jay Donnell CHATSWORTH, Ga. ★ hen Caterpillar, Inc. announced in August 2018 that it was selling its purpose-built forestry machinery line to Weiler, Inc., Caterpillar logging customers were left wondering what the future held for their machines.

In addition to long-standing, even multi-generational relationships with various Caterpillar dealers, many loggers had recently purchased Cat equipment and naturally they grew anxious about their recent investments. Byron Baggett was one of them.

Two years earlier Baggett had

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decided to make the switch from John Deere to Cat because of a relationship he had formed with a Yancey dealer in Calhoun, Ga. When he found out the news that Cat was selling their forestry business, Baggett says he felt “sick.”

To learn more about Weiler and its owner, Pat Weiler, Baggett traveled to the Mid-South Forestry Equipment show in Starkville last September. He was able to spend some time with Weiler and talk to him about the future of his equipment. “He gave me his undivided attention,” Baggett remembers. “He just told me that we’re going to make a really good product and make these products even better, so I just felt real comfortable.”

Baggett started logging with his

Baggett switched to Cat machines just two years before the Weiler announcement.

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father, Freddie, when he got out of high school in 1992. He eventually took over that business for several years in the 1990s. After Freddie passed away in 1999, Byron got out of the logging business for a few years before finding his way back into it with a partner in the early 2000s.

Baggett and his new partner worked together for many years and then in 2015 Baggett decided to go out on his own again. Since starting Elite Forest Products, Baggett has steadily grown the business and now has two crews with nine employees. The 49year-old continues to invest in new equipment as timber demand continues to grow in Byron Baggett northwest Georgia.

He has since bought three more Cat machines, confident that Weiler and dealer Yancey will stand behind him.

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EFP uses four company trucks and several contract haulers.

Operations Elite Forest Products (EFP) was clear-cutting a 380-acre tract on some rough and muddy terrain when Southern Loggin’ Times visited the operation. The company had been working on the tract for close to a year off and on because of the rainfall, but was just weeks away from finishing up the job. The two crews were working together because of the massive size of the job. They were pulling about 60 loads a week as they battled the rain.

The timber was mostly pine, but EFP also cuts a lot of hardwood and mixed stands. The tract was about a mile off the road which means rain is extremely impactful. The company has had to constantly work on the roads so that their log trucks can get through unencumbered. The road was already in place on this particular tract, but for the most part Baggett has to build the roads himself with a Cat D6 dozer.

EFP frequently hauls logs to Resolute in Calhoun, Tenn., W.D. Cline & Sons Lumber in Dalton, Ga., Georgia-Pacific in Rome, Ga. and J.M. Huber in Spring City, Tenn. Huber had been shut down for eight years before reopening its oriented strandboard panel mill last year, providing a big pine pulpwood boost for EFP. Many loggers in the area were fairly concerned about the pine market, but J.M. Huber coming back on-line has alleviated some of those issues.

EFP has worked with Scott Stone of Canal Wood for many years.

Stone started as a one-man office in Cleveland, Tenn., but has since built up his territory to include several logging companies.

Employees generally arrive on site at 7:00 a.m. and leave when the last truck is loaded around 5:30 or 6:00 p.m. With so much rainfall over the past several months the company has had to work several Saturdays in order to make up for lost time. They’re granted time off for all major holidays and if they’ve

Front row from left, Ben Dunn, skidder operator; Chad Curtis, contract hauler; Jason Hilley, foreman and skidder operator; back row from left, Orville White, cutter operator; Travis Sneed, loader operator; Devon Eby, foreman and loader operator; Mark Clark, contract hauler; not pictured, Jeff Dockery, skidder operator; truck drivers Michael Myers and Keith Stanley, and contract hauler Greg Planzer

SLT SNAPSHOT Elite Forest Products Chatsworth, Ga. Email: bbyron01@aol.com Founded: 2015 Owner: Byron Baggett No. Crews: 2 Employees: 9 Equipment: 3 skidders, 2 loaders, 2 cutters, 4 trucks Average Production: 30 loads per crew weekly Average Haul Distance: 75 miles Tidbit: Elite Forest Products is in many ways an interstate company. Chatsworth, Ga., where Baggett headquarters his operation, is only about 45 miles from Chattanooga, Tenn., so he hauls to mills in both states. He has also hired employees from North Carolina to man his new second crew, and keeps an apartment for them in the area.

been employed by EFP for a year they get a week’s paid vacation. The crew foreman for each crew is paid by the ton while the other in-woods employees are paid by the day. Two of the truck drivers are paid by the hour while the other is paid a percentage of the load.

Safety is very important to everyone at EFP and a safety meeting is held each month. Kelly Powers conducts the monthly safety meetings and at every meeting the workers go over a specific safety topic. Baggett has held informa safety meetings in the past, but recently went to this more organized method.

Iron Lineup EFP buys its Cat equipment from Yancey Bros. in Calhoun, Ga. The company runs a ’14 559C loader, ’12 563C feller-buncher, ’15 535D skidder, ’15 545D skidder, ’18 573D feller-buncher, ’18 559D loader and a ’18 525D skidder. Each of the 2018 machines were purchased within the

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past several months. “After I talked to Weiler I took him at his word and decided to buy three new pieces of equipment,” Baggett explains. “You can’t beat these guys at Yancey and if I call them they’ll have somebody out

on the job within 30 minutes.”

Baggett’s main contacts at Yancey are salesman Zach Walden and product support specialist Stephen Day. Baggett purchased an extended warranty on all three of

the new machines. All equipment is greased twice each week and oil is changed every 300 hours. Primex tires are preferred on the machines.

EFP also runs four trucks including two Kenworths, one Freightlin-

er and a Mack that pull Riley, Pitts, Magnolia and some shop-built trailers. Baggett also uses three different contract haulers. “They’re really getting strict about mud on the roads,” Baggett says. “The counties are really cracking down on a lot of that stuff so you have to keep your trucks in good shape.”

Properly managing your trucking is crucial, Baggett emphasizes.

“If you don’t manage what trucks you’ve got and keep some trucks close to you, you’re not going to move any wood. You’ve got to delegate those trucks.”

Baggett is looking at putting

Baggett with his son Ethan, 17

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dash cams on each one of his trucks in order to get a break on his insurance and also to have a clear view of what happened when a truck does get into an accident. Luckily for EFP they have avoided any serious accidents over the years and the only real accident that has occurred involved a contract truck that had to swerve into a ditch trying to avoid another vehicle.

In order to improve the trucking situation in the logging industry, Baggett believes there needs to be some sort of log trucking school for potential new hires. “Insurance won’t let you hire a guy with barely any experience so this could be a way for them to get experience,” Baggett believes. “There’s a big difference between hauling on the interstate and pulling out of a logging job.”

Baggett decided to start running two crews just five months ago.

He cites the lack of loggers in his corner of Georgia as a reason for his expansion because the demand for wood continues to grow. In order to start running two crews Baggett had to hire three employees, but as any logger knows, finding reliable help can prove to be quite difficult. Baggett had to get creative. Two of his new employees came all the way from Murphy, NC to start working for EFP. That’s easily two hours away from Chatsworth, Ga., where Baggett’s company is based.

In order to make things easier on his new employees Baggett rents an apartment for the two men in the Chatsworth area. They stay at the apartment during the week and return home to their families on the weekends. “If you to try to train somebody it’s going to cost you and it’s so hard to find qualified people to run your equipment,” Baggett says. “I found these two guys through word of mouth and there just isn’t enough work in Murphy for them so I told them what I would do for them.”

This goes to show just how far Baggett is willing to go for employees. He pays well and treats his employees with the respect they deserve. “When I can’t be in the woods I don’t have to worry about them because I have two really good foremen,” Baggett explains.

“This allows me to go look at timber and have tracts ready to move on the next day.”

Jason Hilley is a foreman and skidder operator, Ben Dunn drives a skidder, Orville White runs a fellerbuncher, Travis Sneed runs a loader, Devon Eby is a foreman and runs a loader, Jeff Dockery operates a skidder, Michael Myers and Keith Stanley are company truck drivers. Contract haulers are Greg Planzer, Chad Curtis and Mark Clark.

Company Future After seriously wondering whether he made a big mistake by switching to Cat equipment, Baggett believes he made the right choice. After his lengthy discussion with Weiler last fall Baggett has made more than $800,000 worth of investments into Cat forestry equipment. His service from Yancey has been excellent and he hopes that it will continue to get even better.

Baggett estimates that he has

roughly $1.5 million invested in EFP and spends close to $50,000 per year on maintenance. Trucking maintenance is generally around $20,000 per year.

Baggett believes it’s important to invest in new equipment. “If you’re working on it you’re not working with it so don’t buy equipment you have to work on every day,” Baggett says. “My dad always told me ‘the load you lose is the load you’ll never get back.’”

While the rain in 2018 played

tricks on his production at times, Baggett comments, “I can say that 2018 was one of the best years I’ve ever had,” Baggett believes this is the best time ever to be in the logging business if you can survive the elements. His biggest advice for young loggers out there is to “be patient and buy good equipment.”

EFP has definitely invested in good equipment over the past couple years and Baggett is certainly confident that it will pay off down the road. SLT

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INDUSTRY NEWS ROUNDUP

As We See It: Logging’s Future Depends On Youth

By Chrissy Kimball EDITOR’S NOTE: This month’s column was written

by Chrissy Kimball of Kimball & Sons Logging in Poland, Me. In light of the recent introduction of the Kimball Future Logging Career Act

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and the release of the report commissioned by Professional Logging Contractors of Maine, we thought Chrissy’s recent blog post offers an inspiring message on the future of logging. Kimball & Sons Logging has graciously given us permission

to share this column.

Hey there! It’s Chrissy, the supporting actress of Kimball & Sons Logging and Trucking. I tend to be busy raising the “sons” part of the operation but I wanted to take the opportunity to write a little bit about the articles I have been reading lately regarding the recent study conducted

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by the PLC of Maine citing low pay as a barrier to our industry and also the bill that Angus King and Jared Golden are introducing, the Future Loggers Career Act. I have actually never been more excited and optimistic about the forest products industry in our state. Perhaps that’s because I am a glass half full kind of person. There is amazing technology on the brink of revolutionizing how forest products can be used. Researchers in our very own state are working on technology to convert biomass into jet fuel. There is nanocellulose from wood products that are fibers used in textiles and medical products, and wood products can even give us cellulosic sugars that can be used as a preservative in foods!

With all of this technology coming down the pipes, we can’t forget that if there are no loggers and no truckers, these products can never go into production. As evidenced by the study conducted by the PLC of Maine, it is no secret that the logging contractors in Maine struggle to keep up with paying competitive wages. Trust me, it is not because we are keeping it all for ourselves.

In order to keep great employees, we might even pay them more than we make as the owners. I’m just being honest here.

However, I do know that there is a ton of work being done on our behalf, and I see a future for our industry that includes competitive wages and benefits for our employees coupled with the enjoyment that comes from working with a familyowned business. While we may not currently be the highest paying gig in the area, there are other amazing benefits to working in the woods for a small company. We are the kind of employer that cares if your children are sick, we would attend your wedding, and we truly care if you are happy in your job because we will do anything within our power to keep you. In a small business, a good employee is certainly not “replaceable.”

We frequently brainstorm about the best ways to grow our company and are often paralyzed by the fear of being unable to find quality help.

Margins are tight, and it’s expensive to train someone from the ground up, but I believe it is an investment we must make.

Everybody wants someone who already knows how to do the job.

Well, it’s not going to happen. I know there are young people who would be interested in this profession if we could give them a chance and actually teach them. Since the beginning of time we have all heard “kids these days…” followed by

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some rude comment about how they don’t do this and they don’t do that. I get it, but I still hold the optimism that our youth are teachable if given the appropriate mentor.

The future of the forest products industry is in our youth, and if we continue to sweep them under the rug as some useless gamers sitting in their parents’ basements then they will be exactly what we expect them to be. When I did my mindless scroll through Facebook this morning, I

came across something not so useless that made me excited enough to sit down and write this.

Angus King and Jared Golden are introducing a bill to allow 16 and 17 year olds to be allowed to work with heavy equipment in the woods. Part of the problem, as I see it, is that we shelter our youth from all danger. We have two young boys and a third on the way. They are naturally obsessed with logging. Randy tells me stories of when he was very young and his

dad would have to bring him and his brothers to the woods and they would ride in the skidder all day with him, play in the woods, and occupy their own time… often unsupervised. Can you imagine that now? What kind of parents would we be if we put our children in that kind of harm’s way?

I think most of us want our children to grow up and be able to actually do something. Not fear failure. Not fear risk, be it physical, emotional, financial, or otherwise. We are fortu-

nate to be able to teach our kids to respect the equipment and its dangers. They understand how to stay safe in the woods.

My long-winded point here is that not all hope is lost. I think our society is recognizing that faulty policy and over-protecting our youth is driving them to uber safe careers, sitting behind a desk, leaving no one behind to do the work. I am inspired by this introduction of the bill by Angus King and Jared Golden because I am hopeful it reflects a paradigm shift in our society to treat children as capable of learning and maintaining their own safety without the need for constant protection from danger.

It is time we, as adults, mentor our children again. Let them participate, learn, scrape their knees a bit and then and only then will we improve our work force for the future.

Chrissy Kimball is with Kimball & Sons Logging in Poland, Maine. Kimball & Sons Logging provides Maine landowners with quality timber harvesting. For more information, visit kimballandsons.com

Pitts Names Pierson As President Pitts Enterprises named JP Pierson as President effective immediately. Pierson, who also serves as President of Dorsey Intermodal, now oversees both Pittsview, Ala.based divisions.

Pierson joined Pitts Enterprises in 2006 and has been involved in all facets of the business, from sales and marketing to operations and product development. He will continue to report to owner and CEO Jeff Pitts. “JP knows Pitts Trailers top to bottom,” Pitts says. “He has been instrumental in our success, and he’s the perfect person to lead the company to the next level.”

Pierson says, “We have always been a growth oriented company, but I believe Pitts Trailers’ brightest and most innovative days are ahead of us.”

ALC Lobbies Both Sides During Fly-In Record numbers of loggers participated in this year’s American Loggers Council’s April Fly-In to the Capitol in Washington, DC. After the House went to a Democratic majority in November 2018, ALC members reached out to both Republican and Democratic lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

“Loggers understand the importance of working across the aisle and reaching out to lawmakers who may not know about our industry or have misconceptions about what we do,” says ALC Executive Vice Pres32

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ident Danny Dructor. “The small businesses in our industry provide the wood products that Americans use every day, yet we operate on razorthin profit margins, and like other industries, we are seeking to replenish an aging workforce of loggers and log truck drivers.”

The fly-in effort focused on two pieces of legislation. ALC members voiced support for the bipartisan “Future Logging Careers Act” (HR 1785 and S. 818) to extend an exist-

ing agricultural exemption allowing 16- and 17-year-olds in family logging businesses to work in mechanized logging operations under parental supervision. Another proposal ALC members backed is the “Safe Routes Act,” to allow more log trucks to utilize federal interstates for shorthaul trips as a safe alternative to state, county and local roads.

In addition, ALC fly-in participants met with Forest Service (FS) and Bureau of Land Management (BLM)

officials and urged members of Congress to fund the Forest Service and BLM with adequate dollars to ensure implementation of projects.

Cat, Weiler Move Forward On Sale Caterpillar Inc. and Weiler Forestry, Inc. have entered into a definitive agreement for Caterpillar to sell its purpose-built forest machines

business to Weiler Forestry. The closing is expected to occur in the third quarter of 2019. This agreement follows a preliminary agreement between the two companies announced last August.

Caterpillar will continue to offer forestry excavators designed for log loading, processing and other forestry applications.

Weiler will acquire Caterpillar’s line of wheel skidders, track fellerbunchers, wheel feller-bunchers and knuckleboom loaders, and operations facilities in LaGrange, Ga.; Auburn, Ala.; and Smithfield, NC. Upon closing of the sale, Weiler Forestry will design and manufacture purpose-built forestry products, which will continue to be available through the Cat dealer network.

Maine Logger Study Spells Trouble According to a report commissioned by Professional Logging Contractors of Maine, labor scarcity and an aging work force are leading factors affecting growth in the state’s forest industry.

The report concludes that Maine faces a shortage of loggers and log truckers that will get worse—if wage growth does not occur.

The employment availability and wage analysis prepared by the Maine Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Southern Maine found wages for logging equipment operators and log truckers are lower than those for comparable jobs in the state.

Profit margins for logging contractors have dwindled as costs of doing business have risen, limiting the ability of contractors to raise pay

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for workers. With low unemployment and strong competition for skilled operators of heavy machinery and trucks, logging contractors are struggling simply to keep the workers they have, let alone attract new ones. The average earnings for all employment in Maine’s logging industry has increased by 5% since 2010, an average increase of just over $2,100 per worker compared to an average increase of $5,500 in comparative industries.

Read Logging Wins Southcentral Region Forest Resources Assn. and Stihl Inc. honored Read Logging, Inc. of Warren, Tex. as FRA’s Southcentral Region 2019 Outstanding Logger at its Southcentral Region Awards Dinner in Point Clear, Ala. March 6.

Brothers Billie and Wade Read are fifth generation loggers, with additional family members working

in the Read Logging business.

Eighty percent of their employees have worked for the Reads for 15plus years.

Billie Read served on the task group that successfully achieved legislation for a higher per-axle weight variance permit for log trucks in Texas.

At the Awards Dinner, FRA’s SCR Chairman David Cupp presented Billie and Wade with a wooden crosscut saw plaque, a Stihl

MS 462 chain saw gift certificate, and $250 check from Stihl.

Screen Machine Buys Diamond Z Chipping Screen Machine Industries, LLC of Etna, Oh. has become the parent company of Diamond Z of Caldwell, Id. Screen Machine began in 1966 as a structural steel company and found its niche serving crushing and screening needs for the aggregates and coal industries in the Midwest. Diamond Z was founded with a clear focus on chipping and grinding and has enjoyed great success as a result of its affiliation with Rule Steel, a structural steel manufacturing company.

Both Screen Machine and Diamond Z will continue to operate from their respective facilities.

Biofuels Business Eyes Port St. Joe The BioCarburante Co. (TBIOCC), a Wisconsin-based energy company, wants to build a biofuel plant near Port St. Joe, Fla. to convert 2,000 tons/day of woody biomass into synthetic gasoline, diesel and aviation fuel through thermo-catalytic conversion.

Larry Hess, CEO of TBIOCC, says the technology was purchased from Shell Oil Co. The fuel is produced more cost-efficiently and with less CO2 footprint, Hess says.

The total investment into the county, according to TBIOCC, would be $450 million over 10 years while creating 564 long-term employment positions from the wood supply to the refinery.

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2016 Deere 437E Knuckleboom Loader STK# LT295787; 2713 hrs $160,000

2016 Deere 803M Feller Buncher STK# LT291767; 3469 hrs $289,000

2016 Deere 648L Skidder STK# LT674592; 5738 hrs $142,000

2015 Deere 748L Skidder STK# LT667210; 6265 hrs $150,000

2015 Deere 848L Skidder STK# LT671351; 5943 hrs $165,000

2015 Deere 948L Skidder STK# LT669026; 7801 hrs $129,000

2015 Deere 643L Feller Buncher STK# LT668473; 5094 hrs $162,000

2013 Deere 643K Feller Buncher STK# LV650889; 7894 hrs $$48,000

2015 Deere 843L Feller Buncher STK# LV669627; 4999 hrs $125,000

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FOR SALE

WANTED TO BUY

280

Cat 518 & Cat 518C skidders in TX, LA area Call Kent 936-699-4700 r_kentjones@yahoo.com 13289

Hose, Fittings & Crimpers

Want 0 Downtime?

Repair Your Own Lines In The Woods!

Start-up Kit Less than $5,000!

8309

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2016 Caterpillar HF201B sawhead. Full rotation wrist. Approx. 400 hours. Like new .........$60,000 obo

Parting out: Tigercat 720B w/5400 head, 240B, 635 and 845B. Deere 437D, 648G, 748G, and 843. Prentice 310E, Cat 522B, • Weigh boy scales, used 6 months...........................$10,500 Timberking 360, and Timberjack 735.

FOR SALE

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South AL 251-513-7001

RECONDITIONED DELIMBINATORS!!

OWNERS HAVE OVER 30 YEARS COMBINED EXPERIENCE!

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We can save you money on Saw Teeth. Hundreds of satisfied ACC OW EP customers. Rebuilt Exchange or New. We specialize in rebuild- CRE TING DIT ing Koehring 2000, Hurricana, Hydro Ax split teeth and all CARDS other brands. Call Jimmy or Niel Mitchell. Quantity Discounts!

EUREKA SAW TOOTH CO., INC.

4275 Moores Ferry Rd. • Skippers, Virginia 23879 PH./FAX (day) 1-434-634-9836 or Night/Weekends • 1-434-634-9185

In addition to new machines, CHAMBERS DELIMBINATOR, INC. now has factory reconditioned DeLimbinators. These units have been inspected, repaired, and updated as needed. Call us and we will help you select a DeLimbinator for your need.

3723

WE ALSO BUY USED DELIMBINATORS Call: 662-285-2777 day, 662-285-6832 eves Email: info@chambersdelimbinator.com 1123

FOR SALE

Call or Text Zane 334-518-9937

3939

2004Valmet 603 Feller Buncher, Cummins power, 18" sawhead, 28Ls, nice machine ...............................................$ Ask for price

FOR SALE

2815

256-479-5036

3034

• 94 450C double arch skidder, 9,000 hrs ........................$22,500 • 93 Bell Fellerbuncher .......................................$17,500

EUREKA! EUREKA! EUREKA! 7180

562

2004 Tigercat 640C Clambunk. 8200 actual hours, 30.5 front with 24.5 duals, 28Lx26 on rear including duals, bogies in excellent condition, runs great, just don’t need anymore ................................................$140,000 obo

6209

• 1995 2455 Morbark Chipper, 3412 Cat, 3306 Cat on 2 flail system, has fire suppression system installed...................$75,000 OBO • 2001 2755 Morbark Chipper, 3412 Cat, 3306 Cat on 2 flail system, has fire suppression system installed ...............................$95,000 OBO • 1996 2348 Morbark Chipper, 3412 Cat, 3306 Cat on 2 flail system, parts machine ..................................................$20,000, OBO • 2012 2570C Cutter, 28L rubber, approx. 7700 hrs, fire suppression system installed ...................................................$50,000 OBO

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A D L I N K ●

ADVERTISER American Logger’s Council American Truck Parts Around The World Salvage Bandit Industries Big John Trailers BITCO Insurance Bright Star Realty and Auctions Bullock Brothers Equipment Caterpillar Dealer Promotion Chambers Delimbinator John Deere Forestry Doggett Machinery Service Flint Equipment FMI Trailers Forest Chain Forest Pro Forestry First Forestry Mutual Insurance G & W Equipment Granger Equipment Hawkins & Rawlinson Interstate Tire Service Ironmart Kaufman Trailers Mike Ledkins Insurance Agency LMI-Tennessee Magnolia Trailers Maxi-Load Scale Systems Moore Logging Supply Morbark Peterson Pacific Pewag Chain Pitts Trailers Puckett Machinery Quadco Quality Equipment & Parts River Ridge Equipment S E C O Parts & Equipment Southern Loggers Cooperative Southwest Forest Products Expo Stribling Equipment Tidewater Equipment Tigercat Industries Timberland TraxPlus Trelan Manufacturing Tri-State Auction & Realty W & W Truck & Tractor Waratah Forestry Attachments Waters International Trucks J M Wood Auction

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COMING EVENTS May 3-4—Mid-Atlantic Logging & Biomass Expo, near Laurinburg, NC. Call 919-271-9050; visit malbexpo.com.

20-22—Forest Resources Assn. annual meeting, Oroni Amelia Island Plantation Resort, Amelia Island, Fla. Call 202-296-3937; visit forestresources.org.

June 26-28—Forest Products Machinery & Equipment Expo, Georgia World Congress Center, Atlanta, Ga. Call 504-443-4464; visit sfpaexpo.com.

July 10-13—West Virginia Forestry Assn. annual meeting, Canaan Resort Conf. Center, Davis, W.Va. Call 681-265-5019; visit wvfa.org.

26-28—Georgia Forestry Assn. annual meeting, Westin Jekyll Island, Jekyll Island, Ga. Call 478992-8110; visit gfagrow.org.

27-30—Appalachian Hardwood Manufacturers Summer Conference, The Greenbrier, White Sulphur Springs, WV. Call 336-885-8315; visit appalachianhardwood.org.

August 20-22—Florida Forestry Assn. annual meeting, Sheraton Bay Point

Resort, Panama City Beach, Fla. Call 850-222-5646; visit floridaforest.org.

23-24—Southwest Forest Products Expo, Hot Springs Covention Center, Hot Springs, Ark. Call 501-2242232; visit arkloggers.com.

23-25—Virginia Loggers Assn. annual meeting, Homestead Resort, Hot Springs, Va. Call 804-6774290; visit valoggers.org.

27-29—Louisiana Forestry Assn. annual meeting, Golden Nugget, Lake Charles, La. Call 318-4432558; visit laforestry.com.

September 5-7—Great Lakes Logging & Heavy Equipment Expo, UP State Fairgrounds, Escanaba, Mich. Call 715-282-5828; visit gltapa.org.

6-7—Virginia Forest Products Assn.

Annual Conference, The Homestead Resort, Hot Springs, Va. Call 804-737-5625; visit vfpa.net.

8-10—Alabama Forestry Assn. annual meeting, Perdido Beach Resort, Orange Beach, Ala. Call 334-265-8733; visit alaforestry.org.

20-21—Kentucky Wood Expo, Embassy Suites Newtown Pike, Lexington, Ky. Call 502-695-3979; visit kfia.org.

26-28—American Loggers Council annual meeting, Perdido Beach Resort, Orange Beach, Ala. Call 409-625-0206; visit amloggers.com.

October 2-4—North Carolina Forestry Assn. annual meeting, Hotel Ballast, Wilmington, NC. Call 800-2317723; visit ncforestry.org.

8-10—Arkansas Forestry Assn. annual meeting, Embassy Suites, Little Rock, Ark. Call 501-3742441; visit arkforests.org.

November 6-8—Forestry Assn. of South Carolina annual meeting, Wild Dunes, Isle of Palms, SC. Call 803-7984170; visit scforestry.org.

Listings are submitted months in advance.

Always verify dates and locations with contacts prior to making plans to attend.

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