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Vol. 47, No. 6

(Founded in 1972—Our 549th Consecutive Issue)

F E AT U R E S

June 2018 A Hatton-Brown Publication

Phone: 334-834-1170 Fax: 334-834-4525

www.southernloggintimes.com

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Tex Liles Three Wheel Cutting

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Chris Scott Passing It Down

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 Marketing/Media

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 Jordan Anderson

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 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

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Expo Richmond Show In Pictures

out front:

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Young gun Brett McHenry didn’t come from a “traditional” logging family background. However, since going out on his own, McHenry has grown into a multiple-crew operation that gets it done.

Story begins on on Page 8. (Photo by Jessica Johnson)

Tigercat New Leadership In

D E PA RT M E N T S Southern Stumpin’. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Bulletin Board. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Used Equipment Tips. . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Wood Bio Conference. . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Industry News Roundup. . . . . . . . . 44 ForesTree Equipment Trader. . . . . 55 Coming Events/Ad Index. . . . . . . . . 62

Western Canada, Western USA 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

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 ® 2018. 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

A Fresh View EDITOR’S NOTE: This month’s Southern Stumpin’ column was written by Alabama forester Hunter Brown, 30.

I

am a millennial timber and land man, or a forestry consultant. I graduated from college right after the economy crashed and sawtimber prices followed. I have heard stories from the glory days of $45/ton stumpage in chip-nsaw markets, but I have never sold any for more than about $15/ton. During my time working in central Alabama, our market opportunities have Hunter Brown been weak and bleak. Most of the land I manage has had one market opportunity for chip-n-saw logs, essentially forcing my clients to be price takers, not price makers.

In late 2016 there seemed to be some rustling around in the sawmilling sector. The rumor mill started running about existing facilities and planned upgrades that would allow for more production. In other words, they would be buying more wood.

Not too long after that there were a few announcements and new mills, and, boy, us guys on the management side were tickled. More markets!

In hindsight, it seems like the initial announcements of upgrades started a snowball effect. Now, two years later, I wake up half-expecting yet another announcement of another new sawmill. In the area with which I am most familiar—Birmingham southward and extending into west Georgia and east Mississippi—most of the major mills have upgraded and expanded production. The holes that used to riddle that wood basket are now being plugged with new output. Where I used to have just one outlet for my clients’ pine logs I will soon have three or possibly four, all accessible within a reasonable distance.

Upsides/Downsides The sawmilling expansion we are experiencing is unprecedented. At the surface, I can’t help but be excited. My clients put a lot into growing their wood and managing their land, and they truly deserve to be paid more for their wood than $15/ton. Perhaps it’s my training as an ag economist I received at Auburn University that frames

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my outlook, but I can’t help fretting over the downsides that people are just now comprehending.

At the beginning of this sawmill expansion program, I spoke with a close friend and major dealer/harvesting contractor in our area. He stated: “Hunter, for every 100 tons of sawmilling capacity we put on in the modern era, that effectively adds 30 tons of chips to the pulp market. And to date the projected sawmill upgrades and starts (in our area) will add five million tons of log demand. You do the math: two million tons of chips displaces about 40 full-time thinning crews.” The gravity of that statement and what the consequences were hit me like a ton of pulpwood.

I have since lost count of how many announcements there have been in my area. Furthermore, there are still whispers of yet more to come. It stirs conflicting emotions in me. Sure, I want to sell wood for higher prices, and I want the mills to face competition, but what will happen to all the wood coming on, our growing stock for the future?

I spend a lot of time talking to old gray- and white-haired timber men. Their words of wisdom give me a perspective that belies my age. There are a couple of things I have gleaned from my discussions with them and from my own observations that we should at least consider.

In the short term, after new builds and upgrades are complete, there will be intense competition in the pine log market. Because mills will have to pay to get the wood, this will trickle down to the loggers who will choose to clear-cut log tracts over thinning because they can profit from higher margins. The existing logging force will be incentivized to move the majority of its resources to clear-cutting log tracts. In the medium term, logging capacity can be built back up to meet new demand. But even if we are able to do that, issues still exist.

Consequences The paper industry, once a thriving sector carrying the wood business on its back, has consolidated and a few mills have closed. We are all too

familiar with what happens when a paper mill closes, and timber people frequently speculate about which one might be strategically shuttered next. We are taking an industry that is on a downward slope and adding an “I’m afraid to add it all up” amount of chips to the aggregate pine fiber supply.

Pine pulpwood prices have been relatively flat for years and years and could further decline. We should be preparing ourselves for a big dip. How big? Your guess is as good as mine, but it will be significant. It will change the management of our forests and the day-to-day operations of our logging sector for an indefinite time.

In the medium term we can expand logging capacity, and if we are making enough money at the end of the rotation, in theory we could afford for thinning to become an expense whereas it has always been a revenue stream. Without thinning, Alabama and surrounding areas could, over time, host the biggest bark beetle feast there has ever been. But implementing costly thinning regimens results in the biggest industry issue. If we added new loggers and decided to pay for thinning instead of receiving income, there is still the question, “How will we get it to the mill?”

When I am around academics, I try to keep them grounded and remind them that none of their professional life exists unless a truck goes across the scales somewhere. Forestry in its entirety stops dead in its tracks without the trucks. Due to regulations, litigation, and societal factors, what was once an inexhaustible resource—truckers—has been very negatively impacted. I have read that insurance carriers are requiring two to three years’ experience before they will insure a driver. Most of the wood logistics people I know say their inventory is down 30% because they are not able to fill seats. But in this new regulatory environment, how do you even add new drivers?

Interesting times these are, and I can’t help but be concerned about all the wood we have coming on. We have to be able to grow, manage, thin, and transport it. We desperately need new outlets for pine fiber and we desperately need a solution to our logistics issues, but I am not sure that either will come. With this expansion we will enter a new era surely to be marked by feast in the selling of mature pine timber and famine in the growing and managing of young forests.

Brown can be reached by email: razorpreci SLT sion8@gmail.com.

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Not Stopping ■ Since Brett McHenry got started he’s been full steam ahead, with no intention of slowing down.

Moving among the crews, the chipper produces 30 loads weekly for Enviva and Domtar.

By Jessica Johnson

near the family home in Wilson, NC, 40 miles east of Raleigh, where WILSON, NC his mother worked as a flight rett Mcattendant. He became fascinat★ Henry, 29, ed with the career path after doesn’t come from a tagging along with his father on traditional logging background. weekends and in the summers to call Growing up, his father sold Kenon customers and deliver new haul worth trucks, servicing many loggers trucks. So when he graduated high

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school, he figured the best way into the business would be with a forestry degree. After graduating from Wayne Community College in Goldsboro, McHenry went to work for Canal Wood in New Bern, buying timber for other loggers—biding his time in a way, learning even more about being a logger.

McHenry has grown his business a lot in just the few short years since he started.

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In 2014, Gator Wood (a wood dealer with offices in North Carolina, including Wilson, and Virginia) owners Hunter Stone and Wayne Hoskins called McHenry and had a proposition: they were looking for a company logger, and he was ready to jump out on his own. In late 2017, Brett McHenry Logging had two threeman crews. Now, he’s grown even further to a third crew. The markets were there, and McHenry was more than willing to seize the opportunity.

The crews mainly stick to pine clear-cuts, mostly on Gator Wood tracts, though the former timber buyer will cut some stuff he buys on his own. “With multiple crews I don’t have time to look for timber, but if old contacts come to me I will buy it,” McHenry explains. And he’s right; the three crews keep him busy. He makes a point to visit each crew every day. He also runs a track loader that feeds a chipper that is flexible between the crews, usually working behind the cutter somewhat to clean up and catch up.

Having the chipper fits in nicely with McHenry’s main markets, Envi-

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McHenry runs only Tigercat machinery in the woods, calling it the "most dependable."

va in Faison and Domtar in Plymouth, though Enviva gets the lion’s share of the 70 loads of chips the crews produce each week. Markets for the other 90 loads per week include Georgia-Pacific in Dudley, Boise Cascade in Moncure, Meherrin River Forest Products in Halifax and KapStone Paper in Roanoke Rapids.

Iron Registry McHenry sticks fairly close to home, working in a 30-mile radius from Wilson. “We’re lucky. Wilson is right on the edge of the break as far as ground conditions can go,” he says. There’s work year round, between the wetter nature of tracts in the East and red clay hills for the

Crew one, from left, Brett McHenry, River Nelson, Juan Rangel and Pedro Rangel

Crew two, from left, Storm Joyner, Hayden Murphy and Javier Sanchez

SLT SNAPSHOT Brett McHenry Logging, LLC Wilson, NC Email: bnmchenry@gmail.com

McHenry hauls his production using a combination of his own trucks and contract trucks.

Founded: 2014 Owner: Brett McHenry No. Crews: 3 Employees: 15 Equipment: 5 cutters; 5 skidders; 5 loaders; 2 chippers Trucks/Trailers: 8 trucks; 4 log trailers; 7 chip vans Production: 180 loads per week, including chips Average Haul Distance: 90 miles Tidbit: Brett McHenry serves as an “in-field expert” for logging and forestry with a business-consulting firm.

Two to three times per week he takes phone calls and answers questions about logging, equipment and what his daily operations are like to help with a research project being done for one of the firm’s clients.

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Safety is a top priority for McHenry.

wintertime to the West.

The crews use two Tigercat 724G cutters with a center post head and size 44 tires, plus a ’18 855E Tigercat track cutter and a ’12 model Tigercat 724E, and two Tigercat 630E skidders with 35.5 in. tires, with 24 in. duals added as needed.

The crews also use two John Deere skidders (a ’12 748H and ’13 648H). McHenry uses two Tigercat 234 trailer-mounted loaders with CSI delimbers and ground saws to merchandize and load trucks as well as a ’15 559C Caterpillar loader.

Maxi-Load platform scales ensure load accuracy. A 2005 240B track

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Most machines are late model Tigercats.

loader feeds the ’17 Bandit 2590 chipper, while a Morbark 50/48 microchipper. Cutters work with Quadco, Carbide-tipped teeth.

He recognizes that just having one skidder per crew can cause problems for him, citing a skidder going down as his biggest issue in the woods.

Since the crews are rarely in large hardwood, they never run a chain saw. Most stands are mixed, if not strictly pine, of 40 acres or so. While the skidders do run duals—giving McHenry the ability to be flexible in ground conditions and cut wetter stands—the operations are not set up to do full blown shovel logging.

“I run the duals on many tracts I cut, because while they aren’t shovel tracts, the ground may be wet. I don’t want to sacrifice production on account of not being able to get the wood to the deck. When the skidder comes to the deck I want him to be able to bring a full drag.

If the duals are on and we can’t bring a full pull, we’ll move somewhere drier,” he explains.

McHenry leans on Bullock Bros. in Smithfield and CTW in Williamson for dealer support as well as James River Equipment in Raleigh.

Considering all his pieces are relatively new, McHenry has relied

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heavily on the dealer for breakdowns. He does not have a shop in Wilson, so what scheduled maintenance that can be done by the crew or McHenry himself is done in the woods. A fully stocked Ford F550 with an IMT body and crane, welder and generator help transform the woods into a mechanic’s bay.

The crew is responsible for greasing the equipment every other day.

Stallings Bros. in Middlesex provides all fuel for the job—a partnership McHenry is very happy with: “I can call him on a Sunday and there will be fuel there that afternoon,” he says. McCarthy Tire

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Service in Wilson handles all forestry tire work. McHenry isn’t loyal to one brand over another, instead looking for the best price.

Trucking The crews use a combination of contract trucks and company owned trucks to handle the hauls of about 90 miles or so. McHenry doesn’t particularly like this method. “I can’t find enough suitable drivers to have all my own trucks, and I can’t

find enough good contractors to eliminate my own trucks to move the amount of wood I need to move,” he says.

McHenry owns eight trucks, seven ITI chip vans, four Pitts log trailers and a low boy for hauling equipment. The trucks are a mixed bag, most are pre-emission to avoid regen and DEF—though McHenry does have two 2018 Western Star 4900EX trucks. Day-to-day McHenry will dedicate trucks to particular crews, but he has some built-in flexibility if

he needs to make the occasional midday move based on haul distance or mill wait times.

As with in-woods equipment, McHenry tries to handle as much as he can maintenance wise in-house, though he does lean on Ronnie’s Truck Service for major repairs.

Tire work is spread out among Colony Tire in Wilson, McCarthy in Wilson and Mangum’s in Wilson.

Like many loggers, McHenry feels that trucking is the most frustrating part of owning a logging company.

“You have the most exposure in the trucking; the most liability… I really think that if the trucking power was out there that needs to be the mills would be full of wood so it’s a catch 22. There’s just not enough money in the trucking and that’s why the trucking is just not there,” he believes. One day, he’d like to be able to handle all trucking in-house to stabilize production numbers. McHenry keeps up with bookwork and tickets throughout the week, and then he passes it along to secretary Sarah Kemp.

Making It Work For McHenry, running multiple crews has had its ups and downs, but if he had the chance, he’d do it all the same. The Carolina Loggers Assn. member says he was really lucky to have found the right people to support him from the start—his biggest cheerleaders being his wife, Meredith, and young daughter Sadie. Sure, it took lots of hours and hours of hard work, he says, but if he did it again and it all worked out the same way? “I would be tickled,” he answers.

For daily operations, when McHenry isn’t on the jobs, the loader man will act as foreman—though one crew does have a dedicated foreman. In the beginning, McHenry contracted with a full-time safety director to come and handle the operation’s safety program.

Since the man retired, McHenry has taken over, following the program laid out, getting everyone together and going over certain hot topics.

While not a daily occurrence, often McHenry will gather the crew together for a morning meeting and refresh certain topics—if he sees something as it is happening, he will say something immediately. He comments, “Safety is a big issue and fortunately we haven’t had anything happen. But something can happen fast, and we have to be on top of it.”

McHenry has staffed his crew with young folks. “I like working younger people, they aren’t set in their ways. It can be hard to find someone responsible, but when you do find a young person who can handle it, you have a great employee,” he says of the crew.

Most grew up together and many are McHenry’s younger brother’s age. He has been very proud of what the crew has been able to accomplish in the short time they’ve been together.

But in all, what he’s most proud of are the simple things. Like his ’97 Peterbilt, with the motor he rebuilt completely on his own. “I’ve never rebuilt a motor in my life and now it pulls chips every day.” SLT 12

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Triple Play ■ Tex Liles is happy to have found a new three-wheel cutter on the market in DelFab’s Phoenix 703.

B&G Equipment in Iuka, Miss. is the dealer for Liles' Tigercat loader.

By David Abbott ★ RED BAY, Ala. ary “Tex” Liles, 73, is the owner of Liles Logging, which operates in northwest Alabama, near the Mississippi line and not too far from the Tennessee border. In fact, while Liles cuts most of his stumpage in Alabama, he hauls it to Tennessee and buys his equipment in Mississippi.

It’s hilly country, but full of pine, so Liles Logging does a lot of thinning.

To handle that thinning, Liles started running a 2017 DelFab DF703 Phoenix three-wheel cutter just over a year ago. “I love it,” he says. “I had a few issues at the very start, because they left some hydraulic lines a little loose and it

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A fan of three-wheel cutters, Liles bought the new DelFab Phoenix last year.

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took a little while to get that solved, but after we did that, we’ve had no problems with it. I like the machine.”

A three-wheel cutter is nothing new to Liles; in fact, that’s all he’s ever run. He started his logging career 27 years ago with two Bell cutters, of which he admits he was not overly fond. “They were just no count,” he recollects. But he soon replaced those with Valmet machines and has stuck with the threewheelers ever since. His last one, a Valmet 603, was 12 years old when he replaced it with the DelFab unit last year.

His preference for three-wheeled machines is in part due to their greater maneuverability, since he usually works in pine thinning. “I think you can get around and

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through the trees easier,” he says, adding that the machines are also faster (in the right timber) and cheaper to operate compared to the larger four-wheeled machines that have become common.

Three-wheel cutters, new ones at least, have been absent from the North American market since about 2008, which left Liles wondering how long he could keep that old Valmet running—without dealer support for it, bear in mind—and when he’d have to make the switch to a fourwheel machine. When he found out at the 2016 Mid-South Show in Starkville that DelFab was bringing the machines back, he knew right away he’d want one.

Call him an early adapter, but when Liles first bought the machine, he didn’t even have a dealer for it yet.

Instead, he bought it directly from the factory by way of Tom Hirt at FSK Equipment in Texas (see sidebar).

“Tex and I met at the Mid-South Show and he was very interested,” Hirt recalls. “So we set up a direct sale via my company, FSK Equipment & Supply. ” “Tom took care of me,” Liles says gratefully. “If we needed anything, he would call the factory and they sent me whatever stuff that I needed. They were real good about it.” Since then, a new dealer, Equipment Linc, Inc. in Maplesville, Ala., has opened and it sells and services the DelFab machines. The dealer is only a few hours south of his location, so Liles went down there for the grand opening in April. When he needs parts and service in the future, he’ll be able to turn to them now.

Along with the cutter, Liles runs a 2013 Tigercat 234 loader from B&G Equipment in Iuka, Miss., 25 miles away, and a 2012 John Deere 648H skidder from Stribling Equipment in Tupelo, which is a little further out. The loader is paired with a CSI 264 Ultra delimber. He runs three Mack trucks pulling eight Riley trailers, all of which he sources from the Mack dealer in Muscle Shoals. For road building, Liles keeps a 750C John Deere dozer. He’s had it for three years but it was used when he bought it, at a bargain he says. In all, the logger figures his equipment investment totals about $500 thousand, including trucks and trailers.

For maintenance, the crew changes oil in the woods every 300 hours.

They are careful to pour all the used oil in buckets, which they take back to Fowlers Garage in Red Bay where it is burned in a heater. They change transmission fluid once a year and grease every other day. Liles takes oil samples back to the dealers.

The crew keeps a fuel trailer with a 700-gallon tank on the site to refill machines; the tank lasts about a week before it has to be refilled.

Liles markets his pulpwood to PCA in Counce, Tenn.

From left: Tex Liles, Butch Rackard, Johnny Abel, Jeremy Abel, Murphy Gardener

Liles estimates his fuel bill every month at $2,600.

History

Liles was a truck driver for much of his career before starting a logging crew in his 40s.

SLT SNAPSHOT Liles Logging Red Bay, Ala. Email: Amandacleveland1@yahoo.com Founded: 1991 Owner: Gary “Tex” Liles No. Crews: 1 Equipment: cutter, skidder, loader, dozer, three trucks Production: 45 loads/week Tidbit: Tex Liles, a former police chief who spent years as a trucker before switching to logging when he was 46 years old, has only ever run three-wheel cutters: first Bell, then Valmet, and now DelFab.

Liles didn’t start logging until later in life; before that, he’d spent most of his career driving a truck.

His truck driving career began right after he finished school at 18. He hauled everything from watermelons to lumber, mostly up north; he even hauled some of the lumber that was used to build Disneyworld in Florida in the 1960s. Having had his fill of over the road trucking, Liles then spent five years as a police officer, two of those years as chief of police in Red Bay. He decided that wasn’t the career for him, though. “There was too much pressure and too many people wanting favors, and I didn’t like it,” he says.

When he quit the police, he started hauling logs for his friend Ezra Miller, a logger who needed a contract hauler. That was in the 1970s and Liles was in his early 30s at the time. He bought a truck and four trailers from Miller, for whom he hauled for the next 12 years.

By then it was 1991 and Liles, 46 at that time, got word that the Champion mill in Glen, Miss. needed to add another logger. Answering the call yet again, he expanded his

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trucking outfit to include a logging crew, which he promptly put to work for Champion. Later, he went to work for Southern Forestry, then hauled for W.M. Timber for a few years. Just two years ago, Liles started subcontracting under logger Howard Means, who has multiple crews in his stable. “It’s working out good,” Liles says.

Looking back, the career has

been anything but easy. Liles admits, “It has been a rough life. I work all the time, but I enjoy it.”

Operations “We just moved on this piece just this morning,” Liles said on the day Southern Loggin’ Times visited in early May. His cutter man, Butch, had already been on the 83-acre site

From The Ashes

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ust 20 years ago there were five manufacturers producing three-wheeled feller-bunchers: Bell, HydroAx, Morbark, Franklin and Valmet. By 2008, though, the last of them, Valmet, ceased production of its 603 cutter. Following is a brief history of the evolution of Valmet’s 603 into today’s DelFab Phoenix.

It was 1988 when the Valmet Corp. acquired Gafner, which had started producing its Tri-Trac three-wheeled feller-buncher the year before. In 1990 Gafner became Valmet Logging North America, and the Gafner TriTrac became the Valmet 503. The 603 was introduced in 1996. A year later, Valmet became part of Partek Forest, which was in turn purchased by Komatsu in 2003.

Komatsu Forest purchased the rights to the Valmet product line, but not the manufacturing facility in Gladstone, Mich. The plant employees eventually purchased the facility, naming their company DelFab. From the original Gafner plant in Gladstone, DelFab continued to manufacture the Valmet 603 for Komatsu until 2007, when it produced the last three-wheeler sold in the United States. In 2008, Komatsu ceased production of the 603 and ended its contract with DelFab. “They didn’t want to deal with having to upgrade the engines,” according to Tom Hirt, who worked for Valmet at the time. The recession was getting underway, and Hirt says only about 22 of the machines were being sold a year. Hirt also left Komatsu at this time, as his company FSK had started taking up more of his time.

He started doing contract work for several manufacturers and got more involved with used equipment.

It was that work that brought him into contact with DelFab at a trade show in 2013, where he asked if they

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cutting for two days before the rest of the crew joined him. By then he already had more than 30 loads on the ground, waiting for the skidder, loader and truck to catch up. It was private land, owned by Liles’ cousin Harold Strickland.

Before that, Liles Logging has been working on a 21,000-acre tract that is part of the Thomas State Wildlife Refuge. Along with another

could still build the 603. “They said yeah we can, but no we can’t,” he recalls. “They said they could build it, but Valmet still owned the name—just the name, not the design. I said well change the name.” They did so, dubbing it the DelFab Phoenix because it would be rising from the ashes, so to speak. Plans were put into motion to bring the three-wheeled feller-buncher back to the market.

The design was essentially the same as the old Valmet 603, with some natural progression of the technology, like 20% larger wheel motors and a small operator console in the cab to monitor machine performance. Other improvements included Tier III Cummins 4 cylinder engine; improved 18 in. hot saw; 250 lb. rear end counterweight; improved cooling package; and new instrumentation and comfort in the cab. “We kept everything simple,” Hirt says. A mulching head package and a directional felling dangle head with 30 in. capacity will both be available later this summer.

In October 2016, the first DF703 Phoenix sold to a customer in Oklahoma. By May 2018, when Hirt and DelFab exhibited a Phoenix 703 at Richmond Expo, eight dealers are now on board: John Woodie Enterprises, North Carolina; Smith Equipment Co., Oklahoma; Forest Pro, Virginia; Knight Forestry, Georgia; TraxPlus, Mississppi; Equipment Linc, Alabama; MidSouth Forestry Equipment, Arkansas; and FTR Equipment, Texas.

Among its advantages, Hirt says, the Phoenix is around $50,000 cheaper than the smallest four wheelers, it burns less fuel per hour, it can still use a Tier III engine till the end of the year, and it can be moved with just a 10-ton trailer and a 2-ton truck. In a pine plantation thinning application, it can lay down 15 loads a day, and causes less damage to standing trees, he says. SLT

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logger, Liles has been working on that job for a long time, but ground conditions had grown far too wet by the middle of the spring, so the logger had to move on and come back to the big job later, when the ground gets dryer. “It’s been real wet all winter, and I have lost lots of loads,” Liles laments. He estimates his crew has had to be off at least three weeks of the winter due to weather.

The loader works with a CSI delimber.

Liles says his quota is 45 loads a week, a number the crew hits consistently if weather or breakdowns don’t get in the way. His main mill outlet is PCA (Packaging Corp. of America) in Counce, Tenn., about a 50-mile drive from his stumping grounds in northwest Alabama. His trucks can generally haul four loads each per day of pine pulpwood.

Means is the one who buys the tracts and markets the timber to PCA, and since it’s almost all pine pulpwood, it mostly goes to PCA. Eli Elps is the PCS procurement man in charge of buying fiber from Alabama.

For the last 15 years, Liles has found his insurance needs well met through Hawkins & Rawlinson, which also provides signs and materials for safety meetings. “If we need anything all we got to do is

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Skidder backs each drag through a home-made delimbing gate prior to dropping off at the loading deck.

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call him and it will be on UPS.” Crew includes Murphy Gardener on the skidder (26 years on the crew); on the loader is Johnny Abel, who drove a truck for Liles for years; and Butch Rackard, who has been with Liles for 12 years, mans the cutter.

Although they are no longer married, Liles’ ex-wife Patsy still serves as the bookkeeper for Liles Logging. They were married for 25 years and raised three kids together. Their son Jason Pendergraph worked on the Liles crew for a few years but decided to pursue a different path; for the last 15 years he has worked on computers for BP in Decatur. “He’s got it made,” Liles says proudly. Daughter Amanda Cleveland works for a doctor in Russellville, while other daughter Michelle Pendergraph works for the SLT government in Russellville.

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What It Takes ■ Despite hard times, Chris Scott’s two crews get it done for timber dealer Pinecrest.

By Jessica Johnson WAVERLY, Va. hris Scott, 60, did★ n’t start logging right out of high school.

Instead, coming from a farming community, when he got out of school he wasn’t really sure what he wanted to do for a living. He bided time working at a feed store, doing hard labor.

During this time he met his wife Cindy, who worked in town as well.

For many years Scott worked at the feed store, helped on his family farm and cut firewood to help make ends meet. As the couple decided to grow their family, the job at the store wasn’t cutting it, even with added work from farm and firewood—so Scott made a change.

Not being interested in the complete seasonal gamble farming offered after watching his grandfather struggle with low prices or bad crops, Scott turned to logging. Meanwhile

C

he kept the firewood business going, a way to work the land with his hands in a slightly more stable way. That was 20 years ago.

Scott’s father worked alongside him as they grew the firewood business, often cutting at night by artificial lights. “It looked like a Christmas tree lot on the log deck,” Scott remembers. The men processed all firewood by hand, using a 15 lb. steel maul and a 084 Stihl saw. Many times the Scotts were processing firewood as a way to clean up land following logging crews working for various local companies, like Gray Lumber Co. It was contacts made with the firewood business that would help Scott first get into logging alongside his father.

After a few warm winters put the damper on firewood, and the passing of Scott’s mother, his father lost the desire to be out in the woods all day. “I lost my partner and my ability to keep logging by myself,” Scott says of his dad’s decision to slow

down and get out of the daily work.

Luckily, Scott’s uncle Keith ran a crew and had a place for him. The two didn’t see eye to eye on how to operate a logging crew, though, so they went their separate ways after a short period of time.

In 2004 Scott once again stepped out on his own and formed Chris C. Scott Logging LLC. This time, everything clicked and Scott was able to purchase some used equipment from a fellow local logger, T.M. Leatherwood. Scott’s son Justin, 37, joined the crew shortly after it formed, and according to Scott, “We’ve been going strong ever since.”

The company was going so strong that in 2013, Scott split the operation into two crews. He supervises one and trusts Justin to look after the other, laying the ground work for a succession plan.

Justin says separating the crews has given him a better grasp on how to manage operations and know what needs to be done. “I still have

to call him on a regular basis to figure some things out,” he admits.

The plan worked well, as Scott is currently in the process of leasing the second crew’s equipment to Justin as he sets up his own logging operation under the name Timber Harvest LLC. Scott says this opportunity gives him a chance to slow down and spend time with Justin’s three children, Amber, Timberly and Stihl, and his older son Joshua’s children, Graham and Andrew in nearby Charlottesville. Slowing down doesn’t mean stopping though. “As long as I can work and these guys want to work, I am going to keep running the two crews. Down the road I plan to slow down and help my son grow his business.”

Production Scott says he isn’t the biggest operation in the world, but by working for timber dealer Pinecrest Timber Co. (owner Mike Everette and After starting his logging career later in life, Chris Scott has expanded his operation into two crews, one of which is overseen by his son Justin.

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forester Chris Harris for the last eight years, both of his crews work on good ground with tract sizes running from as small as 15 acres to as large as 250. As to production, he says, “If the mills would leave us alone to do what we do, we could probably run 70-80 loads per week.” Currently, production is more in the 40-50 loads-per-week range across both crews. Mill shutdowns have held both crews back and weather has only added to the struggle.

Scott’s area desperately needs a shot in the arm to help get loggers like him off crippling quotas. In times like these Scott is grateful to have the power of Pinecrest behind him. He explains: “When things get tight you get a little bit bigger piece of the pie. If I was a contractor by myself they would just give me 10 loads per week. But working with a big supplier, we get his production up, he gets a bigger piece, and we get a bigger piece behind it. You just can’t go to these mills, being a small guy, and say you need 15-20 loads a week. They’ll give you two.

You can’t stay in business. Some mills don’t care if you come through the gate or not because if you don’t, someone else will.”

While nothing has yet been as

Scott runs all John Deere machines from James River Equipment.

bad as 2008, Scott recalls, 2018 got off to a tough start with mill outages running longer than anticipated, poor weather conditions and trucking issues—most of which are out of Scott’s control. During a period of about 90 days, Scott’s crews had over 40 loads of pulpwood laying in the woods that he was unable to sell. Still, the logger remains confident that as the mills come out of outages and the summer weather hits things will “straighten them-

The two crews combine for around 50 loads a week average.

Scott’s crew #1, from left, Chris Scott, Rick Burgess, Keith Scott and Kent Filmore

SLT SNAPSHOT Chris C. Scott Logging LLC Waverly, Va. Email: ccjjscott4@aol.com Founded: 2004 Owner: Chris Scott No. Crews: 2 Employees: 7 The Scott family at the E.K. Pittman Safety LogTrucks/Trailers: 3 comger of the Year presentation, from left, Justin, pany trucks and trail- Chris, Cindy and Joshua. ers used as fill-in; 5 primary contract haulers Production: 40-50 loads per week Average Haul Distance: 50 miles Tidbit: In 2013, Chris C. Scott Logging was award the E.K. Pittman Safety Logger of the Year award presented by Forestry Mutual at the annual VLA meeting. The award is given to those companies who have achieved an exceptional safety record and sound business practices. Scott was thrilled to have his family with him, including son Joshua who serves as the Director of Development for the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, as well as wife Cindy and son Justin, to receive the honor.

Scott’s crew #2, from left, Jerry Knight, Wade Bryant, Justin Scott and Chris Scott

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selves out.” He’s seen the worst, 10 years ago, and come through the other side, so chances are he’ll survive this as well.

Scott’s main markets are International Paper in Franklin, Va., WestRock in Hopewell and Franklin Lumber Co. in Franklin. Secondary markets include Charles City Forest Products in Providence Forge, Seward Lumber in Claremont, Enviva in Franklin, Ashton-Lewis in Gatesville, NC and Georgia-Pacific in Emporia, Va.

tas, but he says he’s just not comfortable with that next step yet.

Equipment

Trucking Scott does not run his own trucks with regularity. He uses his two Macks and Kenworth mainly to haul equipment using one of two Pitts lowboys and three Pitts log trailers for fill-in and on Saturdays. Instead, he relies on five contract trucks that have worked with the crews for several years.

The lack of trucks adds to Scott’s headaches, especially the last few months when quotas were getting smaller and smaller. Since trailers have to be hot loaded, if a market is full, Scott’s crews will have to move product back into the woods or off to the side of the deck—making double work. He does this instead of having

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Scott prefers to keep equipment relatively new and under warranty.

the added investment of more trailers that contact trucks can’t pull.

Scott would like more control over trucking, but hasn’t gotten to the point where he can justify the added equipment and labor costs with running four or five of his own rigs.

Lately, he’s found himself just getting more and more frustrated by trucking. “Some weeks the truckers have really cost me,” he laments. “We were there; we had the wood; we had the quota…and a truck broke down for three days. So, I lost nine loads.

When you’re on quota and every load counts, the man at the mill looks at you at the end of the week and says, ‘We gave you the loads; why didn’t you get them?’ It’s not like I have three more trucks sitting here with drivers to put in them. That’s the trouble with not having trucks of your own. It is what hurts me more than anything. Once you lose the loads, you can’t get them back.”

Scott knows he’s going to have to make a change at some point with trucking, especially as he battles quo-

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One thing Scott is sure of is the importance of running good equipment, which in his mind means John Deere purchased from James River Equipment in Ashland, Va. with salesman Ken Powell. The first piece Scott purchased was a John Deere, financed by John Deere. They’ve maintained a good relationship ever since, he says—maybe too good sometimes. “They’ve never said no and you can really dig yourself a hole,” he explains.

All of the equipment on the crew Scott supervises is less than two years old. Justin’s has slightly more age on it, with all pieces being under six years old. The crews use a 2015 437D loader with a CSI 2640 ultra and 4400 ground saw, as well as a ’13 437D, with a ’10 437D spare; skidders are a ’17 648L and ’13 748H with a ’11 748H spare; cutters are ’16 843L and ’12 843K cutter, with a ’11 643K spare. Grapples are Rotobec.

Scott prefers Carbide tipped Quadco teeth supplied by Neil Mitchell, Eureka Saw Tooth—despite the expense, he believes the worth is there.

Both crews also have a dozer,

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which Scott believes is a critical piece of equipment for a logging crew, giving flexibility to push out trucks and roads. It also helps keep skidder tires from chewing up the roads.

Staying under warranty is important to Scott, who does not have a shop in Waverly. Both crews are outfitted with service trucks that include hose machines, hand and air tools. At the landing of the crew Scott looks after, diesel is kept in what Scott calls his “fuel wagon,” a

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trailer his cousin built with six separate barrels that hold 100 gallons each. Justin has a more traditional fuel tank setup on his job.

Most routine maintenance (blowing out air filters, greasing, oil changes) is done by Scott and the crew in the woods. On warranty pieces, John Deere handles all maintenance. In keeping with warranty, Scott elects to use all John Deere filters and oil in the pieces under warranty. Equipment out of warranty use NAPA oils and filters

sometimes. He’s not really set on one thing over another, going more for convenience.

Scott uses Colony Tire in Suffolk, Va., preferring Goodyear tires.

James River in Ashland and Wakefield supply all parts and labor for anything that needs to be diagnosed and worked on with the computer.

Van Cleef Auto Parts, the Waverly NAPA dealer, keeps the crew going.

Sadler Oil in Emporia supplies fuel.

Parham’s Welding & Fabrication in Waverly does all metal work.

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Office Operations Cindy, always a champion for Scott’s operation, had a separate career in banking for many years. A cancer battle slowed her down significantly, and the Scotts took it as a sign to start spending more time doing the things they love: playing with grandchildren, Cindy tending to her flower gardens and Chris hunting.

Though she has stepped away from working for other entities, Cindy, with daughter-in-law Tina Scott, do all Chris C. Scott Logging’s bookwork. “They do a great job of keeping us in business and out of trouble,” Scott says of the ladies. “The company would not be here today if it weren’t for their dedication to managing that critical part of the operation. Cutting trees and running the woods is easy compared to what takes place behind that desk.”

CPA duties are provided by Mitchell & Wiggins in Petersburg, Va. Insurance is provided by Gaines & Critzer, working with agent Jason Critzer and Forestry Mutual, working with Greg Plumley and chain saw instructor Bryan Wagner.

A proud member of the Virginia Loggers Assn. and Forestry Mutual, Scott uses Forestry Mutual’s quarterly safety sheets to guide his program with the veteran crew.

Each machine has fire extinguishers and the crew uses lock out/tag out when pulling maintenance.

The operation was acknowledged in 2013 for its outstanding safety record and commitment to keeping a safe work environment with the Forestry Mutual E. K. Pittman Logger of the Year award.

In 2014, Chris C. Scott logging was inducted into the Forestry Mutual Safety Circle of Honor.

In logging, Scott can’t control everything—despite sometimes wanting to. But, as markets start to recover and Scott is able to get more loads, he still finds himself cautiously optimistic about the future. “The last piece of equipment I purchased cost me $275,000 last year. There are no guarantees,” he explains of recent reinvestments in the company right before this most recent bout of struggles.

He adds, “That’s almost a million dollars per crew and mills tell me how much I can do and what they are going to pay me for. Fuel man tells me how much I have to pay; parts man tells me how much I have to pay for parts. The man that comes to work on it tells me what the labor charge is. Then I go to the mill and this is what we’re going to pay. I have no control over anything aside from what I buy and how much we work and how long we work. I don’t have any other control SLT over any of it.”

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Showtime ■ Historic record-breaking rainfall couldn’t stop a healthy turnout at Expo Richmond 2018.

By David Abbott RICHMOND, Va. f one had to sum up in ★ a single word the 36th East Coast Logging and Equipment Exposition, held Friday, May 18 and Saturday, May 19, that one word might well be “wet.”

Indeed, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, the week of Expo turned out to be Richmond’s biggest rainstorm since Tropical Storm Gaston in 2004 and the city’s wettest week since 1955. The unnamed storm this year brought flash floods and a reported 10 in. of rain over several days in some areas. In fact, with an official 3.86 in. of rainfall, that Friday was the wettest single day ever recorded in Richmond in the month of May (records date back to 1887; the previous record was set on May 20, 1889—3.22 in. then).

Despite this, Expo Richmond, held again at the Richmond Raceway, did not appear to have suffered diminished numbers (official attendance records were not yet avail-

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able at press time). Rain was sporadic enough both days to allow healthy foot traffic at the outdoor exhibits, and the indoor exhibits

likely benefited the rest of the time.

Exhibitors and attendees alike reported a positive experience.

The exposition is co-sponsored

by the Virginia Forest Products Assn. and the Cooperative Extension Service at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. SLT

The Expo, held every other year in May, brings in a diverse crowd of logging, sawmill and equipment people to the Richmond Raceway.

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Rain was heavy but attendees were still able to visit outdoor vendors.

The 1911 steam sawmill engine blew its whistle to welcome a long line at registration.

Times were very tight in the Caterpillar loader competition, which as always was a popular draw. The top five competitors were, from right to left: in 5th place, Corey Elder of DET, Inc. in Charlotte County, Va., with a time of 2:48:97; 4th place went to Ray Nelson, Nelson Logging Co. Inc., Oxford, NC, with 2:45:62; 3rd was Paul Weaver, Weaver Logging LLC, Amelia, Va., time of 2:27:28; 2nd, Michael Gibson, Mike Gibson and Son Logging, King and Queen Courthouse, Va., 2:27:22; and the champion was Roy Reinford, Limestone Creek Forestry, LLC, Pink Hill, NC, with a 1st place winning time of 2:26:44.

Area loggers expressed frustrations with weather and mill quotas, but remain generally optimistic that things will improve.

He looks ready to go to work.

Exhibitors had a chance to meet with potential customers, and many had product specialists and engineers on hand to answer questions.

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Children & Grandparents —She was in the bathroom, putting on her makeup under the watchful eyes of her young granddaughter, as she’d done many times before. After she applied her lipstick and started to leave, the little one said, “But gramma, you forgot to kiss the toilet paper goodbye!”

—A young grandson called the other day to wish his grandma happy birthday. He asked her how old she was, and she told him 80. He was quiet for a moment, then he asked, “Did you start at 1?”

—After putting her grandchildren to bed, a grandmother changed into old slacks and a droopy blouse and proceeded to wash her hair. As she heard the children getting more and more rambunctious, her patience grew thin. Finally, she threw a towel around her head and stormed into their room, putting them back to bed with stern warnings. As she left the room, she heard the threeyear-old say with a trembling voice, “Who was THAT?” —A grandmother decided to test her granddaughter to see if she had learned her colors. She pointed out something and asked what color it was.

The girl was always correct. It was fun for grandmother, so she continued. At last, the granddaughter headed for the door, saying, “Grandma, I think you should try figuring out some of this stuff for yourself!”

The Talking Dog

50 Life Lessons The following is a column credited to Regina Brett as published in The Plain Dealer of Cleveland, Ohio.

1. Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

4. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

7. Cry with someone. It’s more healing than crying alone.

8. It’s OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won’t screw up the present.

12. It’s OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn’t be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don’t worry; God never blinks.

16. Life is too short for long pity parties. Get busy living, or get busy dying.

17. You can get through anything if you stay put in today.

18. A writer writes. If you want to be a writer, write.

19. It’s never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don’t take no for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don’t save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

22. Overprepare, then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don’t wait for old age to wear purple.

24. The most important sex organ is the brain.

25. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: “In five years, will this matter?”

27. Always choose life.

28. Forgive everyone everything.

29. What other people think of you is none of your business.

30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will.

Stay in touch.

33. Believe in miracles.

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34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn’t do.

35. Whatever doesn’t kill you really does make you stronger.

36. Growing old beats the alternative—dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood. Make it memorable.

38. Read the Psalms. They cover every human emotion.

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else’s, we’d grab ours back.

41. Don’t audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

42. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.

43. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

44. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

45. The best is yet to come.

46. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

47. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

48. If you don’t ask, you don’t get.

49. Yield.

50. Life isn’t tied with a bow, but it’s still a gift.

A guy is driving around the back woods and he sees a sign in front of a house in disrepair: Talking Dog For Sale. He rings the bell and the owner appears and tells him the dog is in the backyard.

The guy goes into the backyard and sees a fine Labrador retriever.

“You talk?” he asks.

“Yep,” the Lab replies.

After the guy recovers from the shock of hearing a dog talk, he says, “So, what’s your story?”

The Lab looks up and says, “Well, I discovered that I could talk when I was pretty young. I wanted to help the government, so I told the CIA. In no time at all they had me jetting from country to country, sitting in rooms with spies and world leaders, because no one figured a dog would be eavesdropping.

“I was one of their most valuable spies for eight years running. But the jetting around really tired me out, and I knew I wasn’t getting any younger, so I decided to settle down. I signed up for a job at the airport to do some undercover security, wandering near suspicious characters and listening in. I uncovered some incredible dealings and was awarded a batch of medals. I got married, had a mess of puppies, and now I’m just retired.”

The guy is amazed. He goes back in and asks the owner what he wants for the dog. “Ten dollars,” the guy says.

“Ten dollars? This dog is amazing! Why on earth are you selling him so cheap?”

“Because he’s full of BS,” his owner replied. “He’s never been far beyond the yard.”

Senior Password Challenge Windows: Please enter your new password. User: Cabbage Windows: Sorry, the password must be more than eight characters. User: Boiled cabbage Windows: Sorry, the password must contain one numerical character.

User: 1 boiled cabbage Windows: Sorry, the password cannot have blank spaces. User: 50darn boiledcabbages Windows: Sorry, the password must contain at least one upper case character. User: 50DARNboiledcabbages Windows: Sorry, the password cannot use more than one upper case character consecutively. User: 50darnBoiledCabbagesShovedUpYourRearIf YouDon’tGiveMeAccessNow! Windows: Sorry, the password cannot contain punctuation. User: Really TickedOff50DarnBoiledCabbagesShovedUpYourRearIfYou DontGiveMe AccessNow. Windows: Sorry, that password is already in use.

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Continuous Devotion ■ Tigercat relies on proven leadership to support the goal of additional growth.

By Jay Donnell

T

igercat’s 25th year in 2017 proved to be one of its most exciting, with the naming of a new president and an increased commitment to the international forestry industry, while sharpening its focus on the North American market. That its 25th year also included a wave of product introductions and enhancements did not come as a surprise—that’s been the Tigercat way since its inception in 1992 in Cambridge, Ontario.

Just in 2017, Tigercat launched its RemoteLog telematics system, the 1185 wheel harvester, 2160 loader forwarder 480B mulcher, 4061 mulching head, E-series 855 forestry carrier platform, 602 cable skidder and named additional sales and support personnel in Europe, Russia, Brazil and the Southeastern U.S. Today, Tigercat employs 1,650, 10% of which are in an engineering capacity, operates nine factories in southern Ontario, and maintains distribution facilities in the Southeastern U.S. and Sweden. It now has just over a million sq. ft. of manufacturing space and has built an international dealer base of more than 150 locations. Tigercat machines are operating in 43 countries.

Still leading the charge is founder and CEO Ken MacDonald, who is now accompanied by new president Grant Somerville—no stranger to Tigercat—who succeeded Tony Iarocci last fall. While Iarocci is past normal retirement age and has stepped aside as president, he has been appointed to the board of directors where he continues to negotiate with key suppliers, and is involved in product development and recruiting of team members. As one of Tigercat’s first employees, Iarocci has worked tirelessly toward the company’s rapid, ongoing product development and dynamic growth.

“The product development aspect has always been the area that I have the keenest interest in, and while we are becoming more self-sufficient and have control over our own destiny in terms of drivetrain components, we still count on business partners who supply us with

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Leaders of the Tigercat team, from left, Ken MacDonald, Grant Somerville, Tony Iarocci

engines, hydraulics and other components,” he says, adding: “The fact that I’ll continue to be involved in this amazing company certainly erases any discomfort associated with the next chapter of my life.”

MacDonald reflects sentimentally that the days of extensive travel with Iarocci are mostly over, but the change was anticipated. “We’re constantly looking, measuring and grooming so that everyone can maximize their potential,” he says.

“We have a number of candidates that could have taken the role. I first started considering Grant as far back as 15 years ago.”

Somerville has some very big shoes to fill, but he appears to be up to the challenge. He got his start in the forest industry in 1978 as a harvester operator and has been a longtime Tigercat executive. He worked with Iarocci at Koehring Waterous Ltd. in the 1980s on several projects, including the design of the company’s first purpose-built track feller-buncher.

Somerville has played a key role in some of Tigercat’s biggest projects and his responsibilities have steadily increased. He has led many design initiatives since joining the

This $12 million production facility in Paris, Ont. was completed in 2015.

original core team in 1992 and has held several positions, including product manager of track machines, advanced engineering, and most recently vice president, engineering.

One of his mentors is retired senior engineer John Kurelek. “John hired me when I graduated school,” Somerville recalls fondly. “John can be described as a deep thinker and a passionate engineer. His strength was he could solve problems down to the simplest form.”

It’s an approach that continues to characterize Tigercat’s design, engineering and fabrication bedrock.

The new president sees his role as identifying the things the company has been doing well, and not losing

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sight of them as Tigercat grows larger. “Because the intention is to keep growing,” he acknowledges.

The Early Years Tigercat’s evolution into a forest equipment giant began modestly, and specifically from MacDonald’s vision to create an equipment company that could buy from and interface with MacDonald Steel, the steel fabrication business which he had purchased years before from his father.

From the beginning, the team’s philosophy has been to treat people the way you would want to be treated. While this may seem like a simple thing, they repeat it as their first

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longstanding guiding principle, which obviously has been very effective. “Design it as if you’re going to own it,” MacDonald adds. “Design and build what your customers need.

Provide good service after the sale.”

How did the name Tigercat come to be selected? Well, it wasn’t easy, according to MacDonald. It actually stemmed from the first drawing they worked on, that of a tri-wheel feller-buncher. They considered Scorpion, Grizzly and Wolverine, but none of them stuck. MacDonald wanted something related to forestry and a word spelled with three syllables.

The oncilla, also known as the northern tiger cat, as well as the little spotted cat, ocelot, or simply tiger cat, is a small, spotted cat ranging from Central America to central Brazil. It’s a tough animal known for its strength and grace.

When MacDonald first heard the name tiger cat it seemed like a good fit, so they went with it.

After Tigercat introduced its first prototype feller buncher, a 4-wheel drive-to-tree unit called the 726, to the Southern U.S. in early 1992, the production model gradually caught on, even though the company had no history and no dealers and its unconventionally designed product was priced higher than the competition. Other models followed and more dealers were attracted to the brand. Within a few years, the fledging company that most established manufacturers blew off had become a relentless contender. Over time, Tigercat in effect set a new logging equipment standard that older and larger companies were forced to follow.

“Our customers have told us that Tigercat has done a great deal for the industry in elevating the quality and productivity of forestry machines in general,” Iarocci says.

“Those are not our words, those are the words of our customers.”

Today, the company offers more than 50 different models of various wheel and track machines and attachments, the great majority of them for forest-related applications.

To date it has produced more than 19,000 machines and attachments.

The number of developments that have come out of Tigercat is impressive. The smaller, nimble nature of the company has enabled it to take more risks than bigger corporations.

“Tigercat has tackled projects that other companies possibly viewed as too difficult,” Somerville says. “We believe that the industry and our customer base values advancement.

To make advances, we have to be willing to try new things and to persevere. Many loggers and dealers in many parts of the world have partnered and worked with us to make

these advancements possible by testing prototypes and incremental improvements and in real world conditions.”

Certainly, the drive to move forward has always been complemented by the passion of the engineerheavy organization.

“These machines are subjected to probably the most severe duty cycles of any off-road equipment, perhaps with the exception of underground mining,” Iarocci says.

“Our customers are pressed to be efficient in what they do. We wouldn’t be able to do it if we didn’t like this business. That’s the crux. You have to be devoted to it because forestry is a difficult job.”

Several developments stand out during a quick look at the Tigercat timeline. Among them are the hydrostatic drive skidder; Turnaround, for rear-facing skidder control; 6x6 bogie skidder; high capacity dual post bunching saw; high capacity bunching shear; ER boom technology for certain machines; electronically controlled hydrostatic drive technology; and RemoteLog telematics.

Research Mode Tigercat is always in research mode. Their engineers talk to the end users and try to define what it is that people like and don’t like, and how to bring something new and better to the customer base. They move ahead on some products, leave others on the shelf.

MacDonald notes that one of the areas Tigercat will go forward with is cut-to-length machine expansion.

“There is a team continuously working on product definitions and prospective designs because more than half of the machines sold in the world are cut-to-length machines,” he says. “We could quadruple Tigercat sales by both taking on extra market share for existing products and answering the cut-to-length demands.”

As for new logging systems, Somerville expects the tethered, or winch-assist techniques, to grow in certain regions. “We don’t think it’s fully evolved yet,” he says. “I can remember we were having dinner and talking about New Zealand hanging machines on cables and some of us just rolled our eyes. But it’s a great idea and it’s here to stay.”

Tigercat officials expect telematics and remote monitoring for tracking key machine performance metrics to increase in significance, as evidenced

by Tigercat’s introduction of its RemoteLog system. “Everybody wants the machine to tell them something,” Somerville says. “They want the machine to self-diagnose, so that if there’s something wrong they know right away.”

Company Structure Tigercat International is a holding company that owns Tigercat Industries, which is the principal operating entity. Tigercat Industries itself owns two corporations, including U.S.-based Tigercat Industries Corp. and Tigercat AB, which is the Swedish team.

Also under the Tigercat International umbrella is MacDonald Steel, an independent entity that gets about 40% of its revenue from sales of components to Tigercat Industries. It also designs pollution control equipment for the wood and paper industry, manufactures conveying systems, shredders and other products, is general fabricator for the power distribution industry, and even designs and fabricates malting plants and mini-breweries.

SPL Control is an engineering entity that designs and sells acoustic products such as silencers for ground based jet engines, and acoustic enclosures, and which subcontracts its fabrication work to MacDonald Steel.

The Future

ple who actually care about the corporation would be owning and running it.”

He has instilled a culture where everybody on the Tigercat team is valued and treated with respect. The company holds an annual Christmas dinner and dance, a children’s Christmas party, and throughout the year BBQs at the various plants.

They include as many of their team members as possible in the major equipment shows, and provide tour days so employees can visit every one of the plant locations.

In addition to competitive wages, Tigercat provides a comprehensive benefit plan, shared contribution retirement plan and a substantial annual profit sharing payment.

“In our industry it is essential for us to exchange ideas with the people that use the machines we build.

The shows offer us a great opportunity to spend time with owners, operators and technicians,” Somerville says. “Hearing about the successes is encouraging, hearing about the failures is essential. There is no substitute for hearing all of this first hand.”

If 25 years is considered Chapter One, for now MacDonald remains at the CEO helm as Tigercat turns the page to Chapter Two. That’s a tremendous accomplishment for the

Looking ahead, MacDonald comments, “The only guarantee we have in our business is change.

It’s just part of the evolution.”

He points to Iarocci’s stepping down as an example, and a succession plan for the CEO himself is never far from his thoughts.

He has several candidates in mind, but then again some of them may retire before he does. “I’ll have to find another set of five candidates,” he says with a smile. “It’s a constant Manufacturing space is clean, orderly, well-equipped. examination of who is developing and progressing.” man and his company. He expects Is there a long-term plan for the the business to remain mainly company itself? “Over the years forestry oriented for his remaining we’ve had numerous overtures,” tenure because of the distribution MacDonald acknowledges. “I have network in place, but he also sees to recognize that I’m not going to other off-road vehicle applications live forever and I need to protect our in other industries. Tigercat is employees, dealers and customers.” already producing specialized offHowever, he is reluctant to conroad machines that serve the utility sider selling the company to a large sector, the oil and gas industry, corporation. Many of those compalarge scale land clearing and other nies would not be suitable candiniche applications. dates for him to consider because MacDonald confidently states: they have their own distribution “We have the ability to modify and networks. “It would not be in the adapt almost anything we have for best interest of our dealers, so we a very broad spectrum of alternawill not be considering that type of tive options. There’s no end to prospect,” he says. what the people of Tigercat can do SLT More likely, MacDonald will pro- in the future.” vide an opportunity for the principal An earlier version of this article stakeholders, employees and family appeared in Timber Harvesting magmembers, perhaps taking the comazine, an affiliate of Southern Loggin’ pany semi-public “where those peo- Times.

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Not Used Up ■ Veteran specialist offers valuable insight and tips to those in the market for used equipment.

By Tom Hirt

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n my equipment career that has spanned more than 40 years, I have interacted with loggers and small business contractors—all great people—around the world. This has been key to my understanding of the many opportunities and challenges that exist in the purchasing and/or selling of used equipment. My company (FSK Equipment & Supply, Inc. in McKinney, Tex.) has focused on the used equipment market since 2007 and I have learned much about the pitfalls that exist when individual owners enter this ‘hazardous world’ on an occasional basis. I will try to highlight some of the more critical issues in this article.

DIY? Here are some answers I get when I ask owners why they want to sell equipment themselves: “I am not trading, so the only way to maximize value is to sell it myself.”

“My dealer won’t give me what it’s worth to me.”

“I need to sell it fast and my dealer or broker won’t make as much effort as I will.”

“I know as much about equipment as anyone, so I can sell it just as well as any dealer or broker.”

“I don’t want anyone else to know I’m selling some of my stuff!”

Here are some reasons why you should consider enlisting sales help: Specialists will have more contacts and will advertise your machines on websites and use other media.

You work long hours as it is. Do you want to put your phone number in front of thousands of people and receive calls at all hours?

If you find a buyer, are you prepared to document the sale properly to avoid any legal issues or conflicts after the sale?

Do you know how to price your machine fairly so you attract buyers and still get the most for your equipment?

You are most likely not an equipment buyer or seller by design. Your expertise is in your business. You 36

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Remember the old adage: buyer beware.

have a banker, an insurance agent, and a doctor. Likewise, it may be reasonable for you to have someone you trust to help you find or sell your used machinery.

Regardless if you go it alone or work with a dealer/broker, it is in your best interest to know as much about the process as possible. Here are some observations that may help you better understand the ins and outs of used equipment.

Let me emphasize that the condition of a used machine is subjective! You might consider yours to be in good condition, but the guy who wants to buy it could see it completely differently simply based on his perspective. So be aware that it is common to have differing opinions on what the actual condition might be.

What are some of the important things to know about the equipment you want to buy or sell? There are several, as follows: Do you know the history of the unit? Has it ever been damaged by fire, turned over, submerged in water or involved in a collision of

some type? Is the seller the original owner? If not, where did he buy it?

Any idea how many operators the machine may have had? The more operators involved, the greater the chance for lurking problems. It only takes one bad jockey to ruin a horse, or in this case, mistreat a good machine and cause it to begin a premature downfall.

Did the owner perform regular maintenance? Did he do it from within or enlist a dealer? What were the intervals for greasing and changing engine and hydraulic oil and filters, and were fluid samples pulled regularly for lab analysis?

What brand oils were used? Conventional or synthetic? Does he have records of repairs? You may be surprised at how many owners do not keep close track of this important information.

Check all fluids. Do they appear clean? Again, this relates to the owner’s records of regular maintenance. Is there grease showing on the pins and pivot areas? Are pins and bushings tight? If the machine has low hours, is there any warranty

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remaining? If so, is it transferable to a new owner? Remember, there are different types of warranties: standard, powertrain, and structural.

Deceptive Appearances Did it come from an auction? If so, proceed with caution! Auctions are an important player in the buying and selling of used machines, but remember that a machine with some negative history can be dressed up— think of lipstick on a pig—and made to look attractive to bidders. Despite attempts by reputable auction firms to have as much information available as possible, there are some individuals who use deception as a means of disposing of their mistreated equipment.

Auctions can be competitive so do not let your common sense and due diligence get sabotaged by your urge to win the bid. Just because some other guy is all excited about a machine does not mean he knows more than you, so do not compete.

Set your maximum price in your mind and do not exceed it. To sum

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up, do extra research on auction machines, as there are more forces at work that might cause you to misjudge a machine.

Get the serial number. If there is no serial number plate, you may find it stamped somewhere on the frame. If you still cannot find it, you may be able to locate the serial number of the engine. If it’s the original engine, the manufacturer should have that recorded number and should be able to match it with the machine serial number.

If there is no serial number, then the historical data is suspect! If the seller cannot produce the documents that he received when he bought the machine, then your purchase should be considered risky.

Talk to a professional for advice as to how to proceed…or if you should run from this machine!

What are the hours? Do they seem to match the overall machine condition? Be aware that it’s possible to change the hours on some machines, such as when a new engine is installed or a dashboard is replaced. If the hour meter is broken, you are now dealing with a total unknown. Have a dealer research the serial number to learn all you can about the history.

Where has the machine worked?

If it’s been in southern pine, those contractors do not get paid as much per ton, so they must have higher production to be profitable. The general opinion in the industry is that equipment from the South has been worked harder than similar machines from further north that work more often in hardwood.

Hardwood loggers are typically paid more, so they do not have to produce as much as their southern counterparts. This does not reflect on the quality of the contractor but rather on the demands of the job.

How does the cab look? Often, if a cab is in poor condition, it can reflect how the rest of the machine may have been cared for. The cab can be clean, but look closely for signs of neglect. Do you know how to judge an undercarriage if you are looking at a tracked machine?

Does the owner owe anything against the machine? I’m reminded of a situation in which a good contractor had a buddy who wanted to sell him his late model skidder. It was a great deal for the buyer, and since he had bought timber from the seller before, he simply wired money into his account and took ownership of the machine. As it turned out, the buyer did not know his friend as well as he thought. Unfortunately, that friend who sold the skidder was killed in an accident shortly after they made the deal. About six months later, this contractor received a call from a finance company that had loaned

There might be more to selling your used pieces than you realize.

the deceased seller money to buy the skidder new. The finance company was still owed $150,000. This buyer had no paperwork. He had a money trail, but it was not identified for the purpose of the exchange. This did not matter because the lien with the finance company had never been paid off and the company had ironclad paperwork showing it had a right to the money, or the machine. The buyer ended up having to pay a second time.

If possible, check out the seller’s other equipment and observe how it is operated. Does the seller have references? Do you know what the engine and pumps should sound like and how to determine if they’re functioning at full capacity? If the hours are over 8,000, then the machine owner may have had to replace or rebuild some major components. If he has not, be aware that pumps and engines have a greater chance for failure at this stage. They

may run another 8,000 hours, but the possibility of a major failure is greater with these higher hours.

In a nutshell, inspecting a piece of equipment is not very different from inspecting a used car or truck or a pre-owned house. If you do not feel confident in your ability to determine the condition of a used machine, don’t hesitate to seek a pro. When I buy a used car, I take it to a mechanic whom I have known for years so he can check it out.

When I have purchased a house, I was required to have it inspected by a certified inspector who knew what to look for. Likewise, engaging a qualified serviceman can provide you with greater piece of mind that the machine is in the condition represented.

‘Fair Market Value’ In the case of a late model, lowhour machine, the seller bears a much higher risk of not getting fair

Tom Hirt of FSK Equipment has years of experience in the used machine market.

market value because the seller is competing with new equipment. To help a buyer justify investing in a low-hour, late model machine, the price will have to be substantially lower than a new unit.

For example, let’s say you bought a new skidder in 2016 for $300,000 —can you believe the cost of new equipment?!— and, after putting 1,400 hours on it over 18 months, you were put on quota and can no longer justify the payment and are motivated to sell. You might calculate the value by considering that a new unit is selling for $325,000.

Most people would consider that 1,400 hours is maybe 10% of the useful life, so offering your 2016 for $260,000 would seem reasonable.

However, your 2016 no longer has warranty, and the 2018 can be offered with lower interest rates and longer terms than a 2016, so the monthly payment on the 2018 will be very close to the payment on the 2016, and it will have new warranty.

The only way you can compete with new equipment is to drop your price low enough so that a buyer can see clear value in the older model over the new one. The critical point here is that if you plan to invest in a new piece of equipment, you should have a clear plan on how long you intend to own this machine. If your plans are to depreciate the machine over four years and sell/trade before maintenance costs start building up, then you must recognize that if market conditions or your own business conditions change unexpectedly, you will face unplanned financial pain in selling a machine too soon. So be a Boy Scout and be prepared. The point is that selling a late model machine is more painful to the seller than if he was able to get greater utilization than just a couple years.

Always remember that you are buying a used machine. No matter how much research you do, or how many mechanics you have check it out, it has been run on a job you did not supervise by someone who did not work for you, so there is always a risk that something unforeseen might be wrong and it won’t show up until you have put it to work.

This singular fact about used equipment is why you always hear the phrase “Let The Buyer Beware!” In the end, the buyer bears the responsibility of knowing what he has purchased.

If you take your time, ask questions, do your research, and are not afraid to ask for professional advice, you greatly increase your chances of finding great value in a machine that SLT will serve you well.

Hirt is president and owner of FSK Equipment & Supply, Inc., McKinney, Tex. Contact him at tom@fskequipment. com or visit fskequipment.com.

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Pellets, Sustainability Take Stage Peberdy addressed in detail the four key components to an effective sustainability program. First on his list was responsible feedstock sourcing and utilization. He emphasized the importance of maintaining sourcing standards during market volatility and of ongoing supplier training and compliance monitoring.

Second was contribution to healthy and productive forest stock and demonstrating commitment through industry certifications, audit programs and landowner outreach. “The benefits of forest management aren’t obvious to people,” he said.

Third was to fully account for supply-chain greenhouse gas emissions in the biomass lifecycle, Enviva co-founder Thomas Meth expects more Enviva pellet plants in the Southeast U.S. including sourcing, manufacturing ATLANTA, Ga. and transportation. executive vice president of sales wo-hundred twenty-five indus- and marketing for Enviva, told of Fourth was to establish a social try personnel, 25 speakers and license to operate, through focus on the company’s history, and how it 60 exhibitor companies partici- was decided early on that they local economic development as a pated in the fifth Wood Bioenergy core component of the Drax misneeded to control their own raw Conference & Expo held April 11sion and to aggressively pursue a material supply. This is one of the 12 at the Omni Hotel at CNN Cenreputation for openness and transreasons Enviva has developed into ter in Atlanta, Ga. parency. Challenges persist, the largest industrial wood pellet The event was hosted by Wood Peberdy said, pointing out that the producer in the world, he said.

Bioenergy magazine, an affiliate of pellet industry is routinely Enviva will run eight producSouthern Loggin’ Times. It included targeted with false narration plants once the Hamlet, speakers from major industrial wood tives and intentional misNC facility comes on line this pellet producers Enviva, Drax, Pinna- year, pushing Enviva toward representation of science; cle Renewable Energy, Highland Pel- 4 million tonnes of production however, in response, biolets and Fram Renewable Fuels. All mass sustainability is comannually, complementing the of them painted a picture moving for- company’s four terminal plicated and a difficult, ward of increased worldwide demand assets at four ports along the long story to tell concisely for industrial wood pellets as fuel for East Coast. The company has and accurately. electricity and heating, meaning But Peberdy said it’s also announced intentions to more biomass production in store for develop additional plants in imperative that the industry the Southern U.S. effectively communicate its the Southeast.

Leading wood energy consultant role in sustaining forests and Meth noted that while the William Strauss of FutureMetrics supporting rural economies; current conventional wisdom is endorsed those projections. Noting that Europe is slowing its bio- Astec displayed a model of its turnkey pellet plant, now in and even engage the envithat the two major markets for pel- mass utilization growth and ronmental community operation at two locations in the South. lets are industrial pellets as a subthrough collaboration.

Japan and Korea are the future stitute for coal in large utility Jennifer Jenkins, vice president hot markets, “We have more optisidering other sites for new wood power stations, and premium heatmism about Europe than others, but pellet plants, Reilley said they have and chief sustainability officer at ing pellets used in pellet stoves and you need patience,” he said, adding 300 acres in hand at Stephens, Ark., Enviva, provided an overview of central heating systems—Strauss the U.S. Southeast forest landscape, that in 2017 for the first time, renew- about 100 miles southwest of the said global wood pellet demand in and addressed Enviva’s three pillars able energy sources there exceeded current plant, and also continue to 2017 was nearly 16.9 million metof sustainability: certification, care coal in power production. look at other sites. Reilley didn’t ric tons for industrial pellets and Meth concurred that Asia, mainly commit that Highland was definite- for the forest landscape, and trans13.9 million metric tons for premi- Japan and South Korea, provides parency. Enviva’s manufacturing ly building a plant in Stephens, but um heating pellets. facilities hold multiple certifications the most potential for near-term said it depends on developments Those numbers, Strauss said citthrough forest and biomass sustainrenewable energy growth and biowith off-take markets. ing various forecasts, could escalate mass power production. Meth noted ability programs. to 44.8 million metric tons of indus- that Enviva has opened a Japanese She detailed a science-based Sustainability trial pellets and 24.4 million of sourcing framework that allows office, made its first shipment to Richard Peberdy, vice president heating pellets by 2025. Most of Enviva’s procurement and sustainJapan and Enviva has entered into a sustainability with Drax, reviewed that demand is expected to come ability teams to take a given tract and contract to supply pellets to a new the evolvement of Drax Biomass, from Japan and South Korea, make individualized decisions based power plant in Japan. including most recently the startup Several speakers addressed Southon what’s best for the land. Enviva Pellet producers in the Southeast ern U.S. forests and sustainability in U.S., most especially Enviva, are in of the LaSalle Bioenergy wood pel- has refined this process over the last let plant in Urania, La., which gives few years with input from not only relation to the U.S. industrial wood good position to meet growing Drax 1.5 million metric tons of pro- the Enviva staff but also solicited pellet industry, which began exportinternational demand thanks to staduction capacity from its three ing pellets from the first plant in the academic and forest conservation ble wood costs, the decline of pulp plants in the Southeast, a substantial experts. This leads to the final pillar South 10 years ago. Today, nearly 20 and paper fiber demand and high percentage of the 2 million metric industrial wood pellet plants are in of Enviva’s approach, transparency, quality port infrastructure, Meth tons shipped annually from its port operation in the South. and specifically its Track and Trace said. Citing the pellet industry’s in Baton Rouge.

Thomas Meth, co-founder and supply chain monitoring system, in sustainability, he also noted a 24% net volume of wood fiber growth from 2000-2015 in Enviva’s procurement areas.

Thomas Reilley, founder and chairman of Highland Pellets, reviewed his career in financial investment before co-founding Highland Pellets, which started up an industrial wood pellet plant in Pine Bluff, Ark. in 2016.

“I consider myself a relative newcomer to the industry,” Reilley said.

“I got into it because I desired to do something more important. Today I’m more impressed and inspired by this industry than ever.”

He said it has been a challenging journey, but economic development and sustainable fuel make a great story. “We need to tell that story aggressively,” he said.

Reilley said National Public Radio did a piece on Highland and the pellet industry. Reilley said it was fair, but it was a challenging undertaking. “We need to put greater emphasis on cultivating our own story.”

Asked if Highland Pellets is con-

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which Enviva tracks every ton of primary wood back to its origin in the forest or sawmill. Starting in January 2017, Enviva launched a website, updated quarterly, to complement this initiative.

By utilizing this system Enviva is able to give anyone with access to the internet 100% visibility into Enviva’s biomass supply and sourcing practices. Included in the data on a given tract is the county, landowner type, forest type, harvest type, age class, harvest acreage, and percentage of the total volume to

Enviva’s facilities. By pulling this data, Enviva is able to ensure all feedstock aligns with its forest stewardship values.

Jenkins said Enviva’s source of wood includes 39% from mixed pine and hardwood forests, 35% southern yellow pine forests, 5% upland hardwood forests, 2% bottomland hardwood forests and 20% sawdust/shavings/residuals from wood manufacturing.

“The most recent data confirms that Enviva’s sourcing practices are encouraging sustainable forest man-

agement, with forests continuing to grow faster than they are harvested,” she said.

Virginia Dale with the University of Tennessee at Knoxville gave an in-depth look at research she and others at the Center for BioEnergy Sustainability at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) have been conducting as part of the effects of wood pellet production on forest conditions in the Southeastern U.S. Dale’s research focused on the two fuel sheds that supply over half of the total pellets exported to

Europe: Norfolk, Va. and Savannah, Ga. Starting in 2009 and continuing to present day, volume, area, number of dead trees, and carbon were measured in both natural stands and plantations. Findings across the board showed that as the years progressed, both fuel sheds saw increases in timberland volume, timberland area and million of metric tonnes of carbon.

Pine plantations saw a significantly smaller number of standing dead trees as well.

Dale concluded her presentation by saying, “There is no one key for effective timber management, but having a bioenergy market can help.

As demand for wood increases, net forest area typically expands.”

Rounding out the session, Amanda Hamsley Lang, COO & vice president of client services at Forisk Consulting, offered her take on wood use and supply chain implications related to pellet industry in the South. Forisk is projecting pellet capacity in the U.S. South to steadily increase before leveling off in 2020 at more than 10 million tonnes.

Lang presented Forisk’s projections of pulpwood and chip demand by the pulp & paper, OSB and bioenergy markets.

Combined, they’ve shown a gradual uptick since 2011 and will start running fairly level as of about 2020 at 225 million green tons. She noted that mill residues have surpassed pulpwood/chips in annual wood pellet feedstock.

In-Woods Chipping Clay Crosby, CEO of Twin Rivers Land & Timber in Georgia, spoke about his company’s evolvement into a major producer and supplier of wood chips and biomass, both in-woods and mill residuals. In 2016 the company secured a supply agreement with the new Procter & Gamble 50 MW biomass power plant in Albany, Ga. that generates electricity for the P&G plant and for Georgia Power.

Crosby said his company carries two to three million tons of inventory ahead of current market need.

He also announced his company’s current collaboration in the manufacture of NanoMASS biomass dust, which is sterilized in a dry powder to make it suitable for co-firing in coal power plants. Crosby referred to Malaysian-based K. Marcus Chee as the founder and CEO of NanoMASS Corp., the developer of the technology.

Jerry Morey, president of Bandit Industries, spoke on his company’s chipping and grinding lines, including new development for 40

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land clearing applications.

Morey recalled speaking in Atlanta about biomass energy in the mid 1970s, when biomass was booming and oil and gas prices had escalated. Today, Morey said, the biomass market for power generation in the U.S. is at a low point.

Morey expressed contempt for how U.S. energy policy is focused on wind and solar, especially when “wind doesn’t make any sense,” he said, adding, “Policy should be more focused on wood. Maybe we need to get Donald Trump involved.”

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Jeremy Sapp and Jerry Sapp, principals in Sapp’s Land & Excavating, discussed their company’s diversification from a traditional logging operation into a major supplier of microchips to the Enviva (formerly Green Circle) pellet facility in Cottondale, Fla. They run four chipping crews and one roundwood crew, and with 40 employees and 21 trucks deliver 250 loads weekly.

They addressed the procurementsupplier relationship and the importance of open and honest communication on matters such as planned

maintenance outages at the plant and holiday schedules.

The Sapps built their headquarters and shop at the entrance to the pellet plant. “When we built outside the mill, we committed to be there for the long haul,” Jeremy said.

Jerry said their employees appreciate such stability, which makes them feel more confident about their jobs.

This leads to greater longevity in the employment ranks, adding that it is a time-consuming and expensive exercise to train new employees just to three-quarters proficiency.

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Education Factor Looking toward the future and developing younger personnel to find skilled opportunities, the conference included a session that looked at industry’s relationship with academia.

According to Dr. Richard Vlosky, Director of the Louisiana Forest Products Development Center, there are two sides to the issue, and both need to do more. “The industry doesn’t do a good job of telegraphing their in-demand jobs, and faculty members who have spent their careers teaching can be a bit insulated,” he noted.

As employer requirements change, there needs to be a better way to update academic requirements or emphasis, Vlosky said, adding that information technology has made it easier to communicate and match faculty skills with market demands.

Improving materials technology and related new generation technologies like genetics and nanotechnology are bringing new capabilities and opportunities, Vlosky said. Areas needing more emphasis in future education efforts include manufacturing and processing systems, material sciences, environmental issues, sustainability, marketing and modification technology.

“I believe a forest products education should offer what the industry wants,” and not simply faculty knowledge, Vlosky said.

Dr. Brian Via, Regions Bank Professor and Director of the Forest Products Development Center at Auburn University, detailed a new curriculum just beginning at Auburn, “Sustainable Biomaterials and Packaging.” The new major aims to create a multidisciplinary program that incorporates forestry and wildlife, chemical engineering, biosystems engineering, architecture and design and business classes that will give graduates the knowledge to take on new industry challenges.

The curriculum follows a supply chain strategy to expose students to all aspects of the forest products industry, beginning with raw material growth and development, harvesting and supply chain management; industry processes and segments such as solid wood, composites, engineered wood products and pulp and paper for packaging; and concluding with marketing and business economics, recycling and sustainability concepts.

The next Wood Bioenergy Conference & Expo will be held March 10-11, 2020, again at the Omni Hotel at CNN Center in SLT Atlanta.

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INDUSTRY NEWS ROUNDUP price.” We were told that As We See It: Having It Both Ways? “pre-bid they really wanted us to do the sale

By Mark Turner Over the past couple of years, several CEOs of large timber companies have expressed concerns about not having enough Turner logging contractors to do the work needed. Who they are or who the concerns were expressed to are not important. They each followed a similar pattern in that they expressed deep concerns about the aging and diminishing supply of qualified logging contractors. In each case, the reply has been that “loggers don’t make enough money for the hardships they endure.” This is then followed by some blank stares and comments like “what are you talking about?”

It seems that upper management of some timber companies are quite oblivious to the details of getting their timber logged and delivered. I

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think that if they paid a little closer attention to their own processes of setting logging rates, they would see that they are trying to have their cake and eat it too: having high-quality logging contractors at rock bottom prices.

I must admit that, as a capitalist, I can completely understand this desire. The logging process is one of the major expenses of producing timber products. And, being a commodity, the value of those timber products is often set on a world market. In other words, the pie is only so big. So why not always get the lowest logging price you can? It’s been working for quite a while.

I say go for it. We loggers are big boys and girls. We just don’t ever, ever, ever want to hear another complaint about there not being enough loggers!

Some timber companies have come up with some intriguing ways to get timber sales logged at “below bid prices.” Just last year we were asked to do a job and had given a

because it fit us really well. We wanted to do the sale as well.

We were told, however, that our numbers were “too high.” We met a couple of times to try and hash things out, but in the end, we were told that we had to log the sale at their numbers. We relented and gave in. However, in retrospect, we wished we had said no. The truth was that the price we were offered was the same price we could have gotten 20 years ago.

At that time, we could have made some money at that price. However, on last year’s sale, there was precious little money to be made. Inflation has taken its toll over the years and loggers are being squeezed really hard.

Also, the price of lumber had almost doubled from the time this sale was purchased and when it was logged.

You would think that the sale purchaser could have spared a few dollars to help the logger.

Several years ago, we were asked to bid a timber sale. We were one of three bidders. We were told that the good news was that we were the lowest bid. However, the bad news was

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that our bid was higher than they had anticipated. We were then asked to split the difference between our price and theirs, or they would rebid the sale. Looking back, I wish we would have said not only no, but hell no!

There was about $50,000 difference in our bid price and the price we accepted. However, we needed that money a lot more than that timber company did. If you are going to put things out for bid, then at least make it an honest process.

Bidding a timber sale can be a very complicated process. We loggers are quite capable of coming up with numbers that are lower than they should be, especially if we feel we need a job to get us through a slow time. I think every logger out there has been, at some time or other, overly optimistic about the production they can get on a particular sale.

Sometimes it seems like we are our own worst enemies. However, I have heard many stories about loggers being asked to reduce their price, to match a “really low bid” submitted by another logger.

One of the issues that loggers run into is how timber sales are managed,

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and this can make a big difference in logging profit. One logger recently told me: “To get a nice timber sale, you have to bid it at maximum production, assuming that everything will go perfectly. Then as soon as you

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are awarded the sale, they start throwing roadblocks up that inhibit production.”

Other things loggers commonly encounter include having a sale postponed at the last minute, being told to

pull out halfway through and come back later to finish it, having to make more sorts than were originally expected, or being placed on quotas.

All of these things and many others reduce the profitability of the logger,

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and at no cost to the timber company.

Most of us loggers realize that we are not going to get rich working for timber companies. In most cases, we are just subcontractors. We have to work hard and be as efficient as pos-

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sible to just get by. However, it would be nice to be treated fairly, in an open and honest process. Some of the CEOs of these timber companies might be surprised how hard their

loggers will work for them if they were allowed to make enough profit to pay their employees what they deserve and live a decent life themselves.

With the current building boom, the pie has been getting considerably larger. If loggers were to get a little bit larger piece, those same CEOs might be surprised how little it would

hurt their profit margins. They might also find more loggers available to do the work needed.

Turner is president of the American Loggers Council (ALC) and an active leader with Associated Oregon Loggers. He and his brother Greg operate Turner Logging, Banks, Ore. The ALC is a 501 (c)(6) not for profit trade association representing professional timber harvesters and log truckers in 32 states. Visit amloggers.com or call 409-625-0206.

Exhibitor Interest High For Mid-South Show Exhibitors continue to trickle in for the Mid-South Forestry Equipment Show (MSFES), which gets underway Friday, September 21 for two days along state highway 25 a few miles south of Starkville, Miss.

MSFES, founded in the early ’80s and held every other year, will again offer a mix of live equipment demonstrations and static displays ranging from timber cutting-skidding-loading-chipping to tire and insurance options and welding services, among many others.

As well, continuing education classes for loggers and foresters will be included in the price of show admission. Caterpillar will stage its Loader Championship, a skidder contest will be offered, and two $1,000 cash door prices will be given away early Saturday afternoon. At least two major exhibitors will cook on site late Saturday morning and donate the collected funds to Log-A-Load for Kids.

Potential exhibitors can find related information at crf.msstate .edu/msfes; a listing of all exhibitors to date can be found at midsouth forestry.org.

Vicksburg FP Buys Anderson-Tully Mill Vicksburg Forest Products, LLC, headquartered in Jackson, Miss., plans to repurpose the hardwood lumber manufacturing operation in Vicksburg, Miss. formerly owned

by Anderson-Tully. Vicksburg Forest Products purchased the sawmill on May 15 and has already begun a significant investment project at the site with plans to be operational in late July 2018.

Once modifications and upgrades are complete, the mill will be capable of producing up to 100 MMBF of southern yellow pine annually on a one-shift basis. The mill will also be capable of complementing pine production with hardwood production as market conditions dictate.

Manager Billy Van Devender says the company is proud to be investing in Vicksburg, with such a 48

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Kittens Go For Wild Ride, Survive This is a cat (kitten) survival story for the books.

On a cold pre-dawn morning back in early April, when a gray sky was spitting snow, a truck driver for Bowling Logging Inc., Ridgeway, Va., hooked to a flatbed trailer loaded with eight portable steel bridges and headed for the company’s new logging site some 45 miles away.

An hour-plus later, Tim Bowling, a principal in the company, had unloaded two bridges when he noticed what he thought might be a skunk among the other bridges. Upon investigation, Tim’s son, Matt, found three newborn kittens aboard. A few minutes later, he discovThese kittens have at least eight lives left. ered three more that had slipped off the unloaded bridges and dropped to the ground. Shivering from the cold and shock, and yet to have opened their eyes, the kittens had gone through the ordeal uninjured. Matt scooped them up and rushed them to the care of his wife, Lauren, mother, Diana, and sister, Grace, all animal lovers.

They found the kittens’ semi-feral mother near where the trailer had been parked for months but were not able to catch her. Using a baited squirrel trap, they caught her the next day and reunited her with her offspring and lovingly helped nurse the kittens to a healthy, comfortable condition.

All the kittens survived and, along with their mama, have been given shots and are ready for adoption. It’s too bad they don’t remember the ride to meow about. Contact Diana or Lauren Bowling at 276-957-2942.

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talented workforce and strong sense of community.

“We look forward to having a long and prosperous future in the Vicksburg community and the Warren County area,” says Van Devender, whose family also owns Southeastern Timber Products, which operates a SYP mill in Ackerman, Miss.

Vicksburg Forest Products invites everyone in the Vicksburg and surrounding communities who is interested to apply for employment.

Angelina Forest Products Plans Sawmill In Lufkin Officials with a new sawmill planned near Lufkin, Tex. say the facility should start up by the second quarter of 2019. The new Angelina Forest Products mill is planning to move into the former General Electric Buck Creek electric pump assembly plant south of town as the site of the $100 million sawmill project. The GE facility had just closed earlier this year, and having a building ready to move in will smooth construction and startup.

According to Angelina Forest Products Executive Vice President Stephen Raley, the mill will produce 220+ MMBF annually as a full line southern pine random length mill, with plans to expand quickly if needed.

Raley was formerly with TempleInland and Georgia-Pacific, and several other key Angelina Forest Products executives are former Temple-Inland personnel as well.

“It’s the right time for the lumber industry and it’s the right time for Angelina County. The demand for lumber continues to improve while housing demand and remodeling

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markets are on the rise and the new plant site provides ample space for future growth,” Raley says.

Another National Honor For M.M. Wright, Inc. Chalk up yet another honor for the team behind M.M. Wright, Inc., a diversified business based in Gasburg, Va. that was founded 65 years ago as a logging company by the late M.M. Wright. At the annual meeting

of the Forest Resources memorative plaque Assn. in April, the comfrom FRA Chairman pany was recognized as Bill Johnson, Jr. and a FRA’s 2018 National $1,000 check from Outstanding Logger. It Stihl, represented by was the second time the Kent Hall. company, led by Since taking over the Stephen Wright and organization, Wright Frank Myers, his brothand Myers have grown er-in-law, received the the business into six award, the first recogni- Wright and Myers separate companies to tion coming in 1991. handle timber harvestWright and Myers and several ing, trucking, wood procurement, family members accepted a comequipment sales and service, mulch,

and timberland.

M.M. Wright, Inc. was named the 2016 Logging Business of the Year

by Timber Harvesting magazine and in 2015 Myers was honored as National Logger Activist of the Year by the American Loggers Council.

Chunk Of East Texas Timberland Is Sold A joint venture of timberland and institutional investors is acquiring 1.1 million acres of east Texas timberlands for $1.39 billion.

CatchMark Timber Trust, Inc., BTG Pactual Timberland Investment Group, Highland Capital Management, Medley Management Inc., and a major Canadian institutional investor that’s not identified are purchasing the property as sold

by Campbell Global on behalf of institutional owners of the property.

The transaction is expected to be completed within two months.

CatchMark Timber Trust, Inc., a publicly-traded REIT headquartered in Atlanta and which invested $227.5 million in this acquisition, reports it will more than triple the number of acres under its control and management to 1.6 million .

According to CatchMark Timber, the acquired timberland has an attractive site index and features a rapidly accelerating inventory profile, projected to grow from a current 2.8 million tons of annual harvest volume to more than 5 million tons by 2028.

CatchMark Timber states the joint venture will assume existing long-term sawtimber and pulpwood supply agreements with GeorgiaPacific and International Paper, which run through 2029 and 2027, respectively; International Paper has an option to extend its agreement until 2032.

The acquisition is one of the largest U.S. timberland transactions since the 2007 sale of 1.55 million acres, which included the acreage in this new acquisition, by Temple-Inland to the ownership now selling it.

Conifex Buys Florida, Arkansas Sawmills Vancouver, BC-based Conifex Timber Inc., a publicly trade Canadian company which operates two sawmills and a biomass power plant in British Columbia, and which is starting up a southern yellow pine sawmill in El Dorado, Ark., reached an agreement with affiliates of Blue Wolf Capital Partners and the minority shareholders of Caddo River Forest Products to purchase Suwannee Lumber Holding Company, LLC, Suwannee Timber Management, LLC and Caddo River 52

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Forest Products, LLC (collectively, the BW Group). The transaction is approximately U.S.$200 million in cash and stock and additional stock purchase options.

The BW Group ownd the Suwannee sawmill in Cross City, Fla. and the Caddo River sawmill in Glenwood, Ark., both southern yellow pine operations. The Suwannee mill and Caddo River mill each have an annual dimension lumber capacity of 185MMBF on a two-shift basis.

Both the Suwannee and Caddo River mills have had significant mod-

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ernization projects completed in recent years.

Suwannee Forest Products was a family-owned and operated business from 1954 to 2013, when it sold its majority shares to Blue Wolf Capital private equity firm. The Caddo River Forest Products mill dates back to the 1970s when Georgia-Pacific designed and built the facility. Curt Bean Lumber Co. operated it for more than 25 years until shuttering it in 2010.

Conifex Timber purchased the El Dorado operation in 2015.

LOGGING LIFE AT HOME

Golden Rule: Team Building

By Deborah Smith As I listen to my logger’s stories of things that are going on in the woods with two crews and hear of ideas from corporate America through my children’s experiences at work, I have to wonder if husband Travis and

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his brother, Keith, are “Team Building” and don’t even know it. I don’t know how exactly to use the term “turnover,” so I won’t. Let’s just say that when men come to work for Smith Brothers, they stay a long time. Their nephew and cutter operator, Tim Smith, has been with them almost from the beginning.

One of the most painful things Keith and Travis ever did was tell their three faithful truck drivers that Smith Brothers had to shut down the trucking end. That was years ago, and I know it still bothers Travis that they had to let good folks go. It was either build a huge shop, hire a mechanic, and grow a lot bigger, or get out of trucking.

For us, it was wiser to stop the trucking. We still consider those three part of Smith Brothers.

Here are some things, some standards, that Keith and Travis have done from day one that I believe are key to why men come to work for Smith Brothers and stay, even when times are hard, the site is a big challenge, or landowners are a little bit picky. (You know how it is.)

—Every day there is a lunch break. If the weather is suitable, each crew member sits on an upturned five-gallon bucket, in a circle, to eat. Otherwise, they pack into a crew cab. I know enough about humans to know that these times are when conversations happen, and conversations are what make you respect each other.

—These men show up for each other—at funerals, hospitals, wherevever.

—Work is Monday through Friday, unless they have been rained out a lot and Saturday is pretty. But that is very rare.

—Work in the woods is 8-5.

—Travis and Keith do their best to provide crew transportation.

—Everyone gets a weekly check, even if rain kept them home a day or two.

—There are different bonuses for a good week, a great week, a super great week.

As I listen to what went on in the woods, these men look out for each other. Do they have their differences? Sure. Do they get on each other’s case? Every day.

They care about their job. They care about Travis and Keith. They care about each other. Travis is my husband, and Keith is my brotherin-law, so I’m biased, but I honestly believe their company has done well, and is respected, because the owners honestly try to treat their employees and landowners the way they would want to be treated—the Golden Rule. It’s the best team building tool out there.

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APPROACHING RETIREMENT LIQUIDATING INVENTORY Call: Ted Smith

5840 Hwy 36, Russellville, AL Home: 256-766-8179 • Office: 256-766-6491 Fax: 256-766-6962 • Cell: 256-810-3190

IF YOU NEED

To buy or sell forestry, construction, utility or truck equipment, or if you just need an appraisal, contact me, Johnny Pynes with JM Wood Auction. Over 25 years experience.

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Day 334-312-4136 Night 334-271-1475 or Email: johnwpynes@knology.net

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FINAN C AVAILA ING BLE

5569

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www.equipmentandparts.com

Office : 903-238-8700 • Jason Bruner: 903-452-5290 Bill Bruner: 903-235-2805 H REDUCED PRICES H

FELLER BUNCHERS

2012 Cat 573C Mulcher – FAE 200/U-225 Mulching Head, 240 HP Cat 7.1 engine, 28L tires, Cab with air, Ready to work! 900 hours since the conversion from a Feller Buncher.

Monthly rental available!................... $159,000

2011 Cat 563 Feller Buncher – 7,400 hours, SC-57 Saw Head, 28L tires, Cab with air, Ready to work! .................$69,500

2011 Cat 563 Mulcher- FAE 200/U-225 Mulching Head, 200 HP Cat 7.1 engine (Tier 3), 30.5 x 32 tires, Cab with air, Ready to work!........................................ $129,500 2005 Timberking TK350 Feller Buncher9,100 hours, Waratah FD22 Saw Head, Cab with air, 28L tires, Cat engine with new injectors, No leaks, Serviced and ready to work! ............................... $47,500

MULCHERS 2017 Kubota SVL 95-2S Mulcher – 46 hours, Equipped with a New FAE mulching head. Rental available! Weekly / Monthly / Rent to own......... Call for price!

LOADERS 2013 Komatsu PC210 LC-10 Mulcher – NEW FAE UML/S/EX 150VT Mulching Head, Good undercarriage, Ready to work!

Monthly Rental Available!.............$185,000

2011 John Deere 437D Log Loader – Trailer mounted with Riley delimber, 3,000 hours on engine rebuild, Rebuilt hydraulic pump, Cab with air, Ready to work! ....................................................... $59,500 2015 Cat 553C Mulcher – NEW FAE 200/U225 mulching head, NEW high pressure pump and hoses, Cat 6.6 TIER 3 engine, Cab with air, Good 28L tires, Ready to work! 400 hours since the conversion from a Feller Buncher.

Monthy rental available!.................... $175,000

Late model used Saw Heads – Good used take off heads. These heads were pulled off for mulcher conversions. ......... Prices range from $7,500 - $12,500

2015 Cat 573C Mulcher – NEW FAE 200/U225 mulching head, NEW high pressure pump and hoses, 240 HP Cat 7.1 engine, 30. X 32 tires, Cab with air, Ready to work! 300 hours since the conversion from a Feller Buncher.

Monthly rental available!................... $205,000

Visa and Mastercard accepted

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2013 Deere 643K Feller Buncher STK# LT651519; 6205 hrs $52,000

2013 Deere 643K Feller Buncher STK# LT655128; 7717 hrs $52,000

2015 Deere 843K Feller Buncher STK# LT665204; 2853 hrs $155,000

2014 Deere 437D Knuckleboom Loader STK# LT258241; 9169 hrs $95,000

2015 Deere 437D Knuckleboom Loader STK# LT278170; 6545 hrs $125,000

2014 Deere 848H Skidder STK# LT655633; 9363 hrs $98,000

2015 Deere 748L Skidder STK# LT667210; 6087 hrs $165,000

2015 Deere 848L Skidder STK# LT671321; 5478 hrs $148,500

2015 Deere 748L Skidder STK# LU670157; 3986 hrs $205,000

Call or email: Charles Woolard

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252-946-9264 office 252-945-0942 cell

Washington, NC Email: easterneq@earthlink.net

Go to www.eebinc.com for details and pictures plus other equipment for sale

2016 Ram 5500 HD, 4WD, Hemi 6.4L, 2012 CAT 573C FB w/ SC57 saw, CAT 2 Tigercat 630 single & D/A function; 1500 miles, auto trans; Reading 11′ body, w/ 8719 hrs., no DEF; disc replaced, Cummins 6CTA8.3, hydrostatic drive, 5 year/ 100,000 warranty...........$57,500 cylinders packed, records......... $75,000 winch, Tires: 30.5 x 32...$30,000 each

2016 Tigercat 630E D/A w/ 21 sfg; FPT 2016 Tigercat 724G with 5702 saw- 2015 CAT 535C D/A grapple, dual tires, w/4332 hours, warranty; 30.5 & 24.5 head, dual front tires, 3600 hours winch, 5500 hours............... $152,500 tires..................................... $179,000 $185,000

2003 Tigercat 822 with 5400 sawhead, 2015 CAT 559C with CTR 426 delimber, 1980 Talbert 40-ton, non-ground bearing, 3-axle with 20' deck, hydraulic 5100+ hours, good U/C........ $135,000 4800 hours, 5055 grapple, Hyd. trailer ................................................$145,000 operated................................ $17,500

PRICE, CONDITION & AVAILABLE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE

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WANTED TO BUY

FOR SALE FOR SALE

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

280

2016 Caterpillar HF201B sawhead.

Full rotation wrist.

Approximately 400 hours. Like new $60,000 obo

945

FOR SALE

498

• 1999 Big John Trailer 42 ft. Good Condition............................................... $7500 • 1993 775 Barko Cutter 20 inch Sawhead. 34 inch tires. Cummins Engine. Good Condition $15,500 • 2 - CTR 42 inch Sawbucks. Long frame. Good Condition.................................. $5000 for both • 1 - CTR Tag Along Delimber. Good Conditon................................................ $2500 • 1 - 25 ton Lowboy. Good Condition........ $5000 • 1979 White 10-Wheeler Dump with log racks for hauling firewood logs. Good Condition ..............................................................$7500 • Parts for 275 Barko Loader

Call: 919-820-2424

Call or Text Zane 334-518-9937

3939

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2006 JD 648GIII skidder, dual arch & winch, TC type, SWEDA axles, nice job-ready skidder.

Located in Alabama...............................$65,000

Hose, Fittings & Crimpers

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Helping Loggers Save Money For Over 20 Years Contact: Chris Alligood 1-252-531-8812 email: chrisa.cavalierhose@gmail.com

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Parting out: Tigercat 720B w/5400 head, 240B, 635 and 845B. Deere 437D, 648G, 748G, and 843. Prentice 310E, Cat 522B, Timberking 360, and Timberjack 735.

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ADVERTISER American Logger’s Council American Truck Parts ATG Primex Tire Bandit Industries Big John Trailers BITCO Insurance Cat Forest Products Caterpillar Dealer Promotion Continental Biomass Industries John Deere Forestry DelFab Doggett Machinery Service Eastern Equipment Brokerage Eastern Surplus Employer’s Underwriters Equipment & Parts Equipment Linc Flint Equipment Forest Chain Forestry First Forestry Mutual Insurance G & W Equipment Harrell Ag Products Hawkins & Rawlinson Hydraulic & Pneumatic Services Industrial Cleaning Equipment Interstate Tire Service Ironmart Kaufman Trailers Mike Ledkins Insurance Agency LMI-Tennessee Log Max Magnolia Trailers Maxi-Load Scale Systems Mid-South Forestry Equipment Show Moore Logging Supply Morbark Pitts Trailers Puckett Machinery Quadco Equipment Quality Equipment & Parts River Ridge Equipment Smith & Turner Equipment Southern Loggers Cooperative Stribling Equipment Team Safe Trucking Thompson Tractor/Yancey Brothers Tidewater Equipment Tigercat Industries Timberland Tire Chains Required Titan/Goodyear® Farm Tires TraxPlus Trelan Manufacturing Vermeer Manufacturing W & W Truck & Tractor Waratah Forestry Attachments J M Wood Auction

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409.625.0206 888.383.8884 800.343.3276 800.952.0178 800.771.4140 800.475.4477 919.550.1201 919.550.1201 603.382.0556 800.503.3373 906.428.9570 225.368.2224 252.946.9264 855.332.0500 256.341.0600 903.238.8700 334.366.4661 404.859.5790 800.288.0887 803.708.0624 800.849.7788 800.284.9032 229.246.0350 888.822.1173 904.688.2247 910.231.4043 864.947.9208 888.561.1115 866.497.7803 800.766.8349 800.467.0944 360.699.7300 800.738.2123 877.265.1486 662.325.2191 888.754.5613 800.831.0042 800.321.8073 601.969.6000 800.668.3340 386.754.6186 855.325.6465 404.536.7521 318.445.0750 800.682.6409 910.733.3300 800.547.0760 912.638.7726 519.753.2000 912.283.1060 800.323.3708 800.872.2327 601.635.5543 877.487.3526 641.628.3141 800.845.6648 770.692.0380 334.264.3265

COMING EVENTS July

September

11-14—West Virginia Forestry Assn. Annual Conference, Canaan Valley Resort, Davis, W.Va. Call 304-372-1955; visit wvfa.org.

9-11—Alabama Forestry Assn. annual meeting, Perdido Beach Resort, Orange Beach, Ala. Call 334-265-8733; visit alaforestry.org.

16-18—Georgia Forestry Assn. annual meeting, Westin Resort & Spa, Hilton Head, SC. Call 912-635-6400; visit gfagrow.org.

21-22—Mid-South Forestry Equipment Show, Starkville, Miss. Call 800-669-5613; visit midsouth forestry.org.

20-22—Missouri Forest Products Assn./Missouri Loggers Council annual meeting, Old Kinderhook, Camdenton, Mo. Call 816-6305500; visit moforest.org.

28-30—Florida Forestry Assn. annual meeting, Omni Amelia Island, Amelia Island, Fla. Call 850222-5646; visit floridaforest.org.

29-31—Appalachian Hardwood Manufacturers Summer Conference, The Homestead, Hot Springs, Fla. Call 336-885-8315; visit appalachianwood.org.

August 23-26—Virginia Loggers Assn. annual meeting, Colonial Williamsburg Lodge, Williamsburg, Va. Call 804-677-4290; visit valoggers.org.

24-25—Arkansas Timber Producers Assn. annual meeting, Embassy Suites, Hot Springs, Ark. Call 501224-2232; visit arkloggers.com.

28-30—Louisiana Forestry Assn. annual meeting, Sam's Town Hotel & Casino, Shreveport, La. Call 318443-2558; visit laforestry.com.

October 2-4—Arkansas Forestry Assn. annual meeting, Hot Springs Convention Center, Hot Springs, Ark. Call 501-374-2441; visit arkforests.org.

10-12—North Carolina Forestry Assn. annual meeting, Sheraton Hotel, Raleigh, NC. Call 800-2317723; visit ncforestry.org.

11-13—American Loggers Council annual meeting, Shilo Inn, Seaside, Ore. Call 409-625-0206. visit amloggers.com.

17-19—Texas Forestry Assn. annual meeting, Moody Gardens, Galveston, Tex. Call 936-632-8733; visit texasforestry.org.

November

ADLINK is a free service for advertisers and readers. The publisher assumes no liability for errors or omissions.

7-9—Forestry Association of South Carolina annual meeting, The Westin, Hilton Head Island, SC. Call 803798-4170; visit scforestry.org.

January 2019 8-9—Missouri Forest Products Assn. winter meeting, Capitol Plaza, Jefferson City, Mo. Call 573634-3252; visit moforest.org.

February 2019 20-24—Appalachian Hardwood Manufacturers annual meeting, W Hotel, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Call 336885-8315; visit appalachianwood.org.

June 2019 26-28—Forest Products Machinery & Equipment Expo, Georgia World Congress Center, Atlanta, Ga. Call 504-443-4464; visit sfpaexpo.com.

Listings are submitted months in advance.

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

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