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Vol. 48, No. 6
(Founded in 1972—Our 561st Consecutive Issue)
F E AT U R E S
June 2019 A Hatton-Brown Publication
Phone: 334-834-1170 Fax: 334-834-4525
www.southernloggintimes.com Publisher David H. Ramsey Chief Operating Officer Dianne C. Sullivan Editor-in-Chief Western Editor Managing Editor Associate Editor Associate Editor
Rich Donnell Dan Shell David Abbott Jessica Johnson Patrick Dunning
Publisher/Editor Emeritus David (DK) Knight
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Michael Looney Grows After Loss
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Show Review Mid-Atlantic Expo
Art Director Ad Production Coordinator Circulation Director Online Content/Marketing
Cindy Segrest Patti Campbell Rhonda Thomas Jacqlyn Kirkland
ADVERTISING CONTACTS
out front:
After getting bitten by the timber bug, and graduating from NC State with a forestry degree, A.J. Keating worked as a procurement forester before starting his own company. Now, his Summit Logging crew works a mix of stands, both that Keating buys for himself and those he’s on contract with from Campbell Global. The Elizabethtown, NC logger has huge aspirations and is one to watch in coming years. Story begins on Page 8. (Jessica Johnson photo)
Southern Stumpin’. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Bulletin Board . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Industry News Roundup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Machines-Supplies-Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 ForesTree Equipment Trader . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Safety Focus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Coming Events/Ad Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
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 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 ® 2019. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. Periodicals postage paid at Montgomery, Ala. and at additional mailing offices. Printed In USA.
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: Southern Loggin’ Times, P.O. Box 2419, Montgomery, AL 36102-2419 Member Verified Audit Circulation
Other Hatton-Brown publications: ★ Timber Processing ★ Timber Harvesting ★ Panel World ★ Power Equipment Trade ★ Wood Bioenergy
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SOUTHERN STUMPIN’ By David Abbott • Managing Editor • Ph. 334-834-1170 • Fax: 334-834-4525 • E-mail: david@hattonbrown.com
Sunken Treasure I
love hearing from our readers. I especially like it when you guys and gals call in with suggestions pointing me towards whatever you think might be a good story; it makes my job, hunting down such stories, that much easier. Know a logging business you want to recommend we feature (even if it’s your own business)? Let me know! Seen something unusual or noteworthy? Send it my way. As often as not, those suggestions lead us to really great stories. Case in point: a couple of months ago, I got an email from Michele Grissett, the receptionist at Hatton-Brown’s office in Montgomery. She had just taken a call from Taylor Allen of Swainsboro, Ga. You might say Mr. Allen, 45, is a different kind of logger. Working from the water instead of the woods, he makes his living pulling long-submerged logs from river bottoms, left behind from days gone by, when early timber harvesters transported logs via nature’s downstream highway. The day he called, Allen told Michele that he had just pulled from the Savannah River what he says was the biggest, and prettiest, cypress log he’s ever seen (see picture at right). It weighed 46,500 lbs. and measured 8 ft. wide at the base. “It took us about an hour to pull it out of the water, and about an hour and a half to transport it by barge eight miles down the river,” Allen told me later. At his specialty mill, The Southern Sawmill, LLC, where he processes the recovered sunken logs to fill custom orders, Allen says he cut a little over 14,000 lbs. and 20 feet from the behemoth and sent the rest to a friend in Florida who is equipped to handle logs beyond the limits of Southern Sawmill’s capabilities. DK Knight, one of the founders and former copublishers of Southern Loggin’ Times, happened to be walking by Michele’s desk when she took the call. He was excited to see the pictures Mr. Allen sent us. (Having recently entered retirement and now serving as a consultant for Hatton-Brown’s publications, DK’s title is “Publisher/Editor Emeritus.” Incidentally, what is likely DK’s final byline in SLT, a report on the Mid-Atlantic Expo last month, appears on page 26 this issue.) After talking with Mr. Allen about the big log in question, I was very interested to learn more about the operation itself. Allen has only been in the wood business for about five years; prior to that, he had spent his career in construction, working as a welder and pipe fitter, including on nuclear power plants. The career change was inspired by his experience in building a new home. “My wife and I wanted to build an all-wood house, but we wanted it to be different, not just pine like everyone else,” he says. That quest led them to discover sunken logs salvaged from river bottoms. Taylor and his wife Stephanie ended up fishing much of
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Allen says at this point the log weighed 30,000 lbs.; that was after he had cut 15,000 lbs. off of it.
This logger spends more time in the water than in the woods.
Allen’s son and his college roommate help out by diving for logs on weekends.
the material out themselves; the home they built features nine different species of recovered river wood, including cypress, pecky cypress and black walnut, as well as antique wood recovered from a cotton gin. Fascinated with the practice of recovering sunken river logs and smelling a good business opportunity, Allen eventually quit his construction job and started his sawmill. Starting his own business had been a lifelong dream. First he had to get the proper permits to do it legally—that process took three years—then he had to teach himself how to do it. “It was a hard thing to figure out,” he admits, but he remained undeterred; his background in construction was a great help. Allen operates The Southern Sawmill on a cus-
tom-order basis and only when he has enough inventory. He spends most of his time seeking out sinker logs in multiple rivers throughout Georgia until they build up a stockpile, enough to fill orders. How does he find them? “We have several techniques,” he relates. Some are visible above the surface; he also has his two barges and tugboat equipped with sonar. They also keep eyes peeled for signs of ax-cut stumps on the river bank, or remains of a tram rail that would have led to a sawmill. They generally don’t have to look very far. “They’re in every river in Georgia,” Allen says. He and his two full-time employees will scout for a couple of days and mark logs on the sonar, then scuba dive to hook the logs up. His son, a college student, along with his roommate, also help with the scuba diving on the weekends. “They think it’s the coolest thing ever,” Taylor relates. To pull the logs up, he and his crew use two 18 ft. barges on square pontoons with a big winch tower. Allen says that, while the money ain’t bad, it’s his love of nature’s beauty and the fun of exploring history that keeps him going. “It’s more than a job. We are reclaiming logs that were lost 200 years ago, when those first loggers had a mule and ox for a skidder and the cutter was an ax,” he says. The logs are preserved because, while underwater, since there’s no oxygen, rot can’t set in. “The only thing that leaves is the sap. We pulled up a cypress that was 60 in. wide of solid heart, so imagine how big it was with the sap.” Once they have it back to the mill, the recovered logs are placed on sticks to air dry for 30-40 days, till they get down to about 20% moisture content. Then they go in a dry kiln for about a week, further drying it to 10% moisture. After that, he starts sawing with a thin kerf Woodland band saw; it can cut a 20x20 beam up to 38 ft. long. Orders are often for things like tongue-andgroove flooring panels, walls or fireplace mantles, but it varies. “I have cut veneer just under 1/16 inch thick, 20 inches wide, and the longest I cut was 30 ft.” Allen prefers word-of-mouth advertising to high-end clientele—like the businessman from Atlanta who ordered a specialty conference table that ultimately cost him around $30,000 (only some of that went to Allen for the wood; there were blacksmiths and other craftsmen involved). “We put the Lord first,” Allen acknowledges. “I couldn’t do it without Him; I wouldn’t even try.” Allen has a lot more interesting stories to tell than I have room to record here. I’m hoping someday I can pay him a visit, see his operation first hand and perhaps deliver a more in-depth article and some video. In the meantime, if you’d like to contact him, send an email to taylor SLT allen329@gmail.com.
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Something Good ■ A.J. Keating stays upbeat about his logging, timber buying and trucking businesses.
By Jessica Johnson ELIZABETHTOWN, NC popular syndicated ★ morning radio show features a segment called “Tell Me Something Good” in which listeners call in to share their good news with the hosts. These rays of sunshine range from “I just got an A on a test!!” to “I just walked out of my final round of chemo!!” No matter what, the hosts are thrilled for the listener.
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As the cutter man approaches A.J. Keating, 35, in his work truck about 60 miles from the logging operation’s home base, the window is rolled down all the way. A wave of moist air enters the truck and Keating shouts, “Tell me something good!” Both chuckle, and Barry Peterson says, “I’m about done, all I have left is to sun strip the road leading to the back deck, so we’re working on schedule this week despite the weather.” After a quick conversation Keating returns his focus to Southern Log-
gin’ Times with a shrug and a smile. He likes to start each conversation with his men, and most people in his life, with “something good.” His positive outlook has carried the man far. Keating, always an active and outdoorsy kid, wasn’t sure what he wanted to be when he grew up. He recalls seeing a brochure on a table during a career fair in high school for a two-year forest management program. Curious, he started looking into it. He enrolled in the program upon graduation—and as part of the degree was required to intern with a procurement company. He found a spot with a local timber dealer in his hometown, and knew from day one he was meant to work in the woods. He went on to NC State and got his bachelor’s degree in forestry. “I would come home at breaks and work with that company. When I graduated in May, I was working full-time three days later,” Keating says of his quick path to becoming a procurement forester. He spent four
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years with that company and three with another local dealer before deciding to strike out on his own. In 2014, he created Summit Logging LLC. When it started, the crew was equipped with “whatever the bank would let us get,” he says: a feller-buncher, loader, skidder, service truck and lowboy. The first crew worked tracts Keating and another purchased. “We moved 25-30 loads a week but (were) breaking down every day,” he says. “At the end of the day it’s numbers, whether you make it or break it.” He worked hard to replace the worn pieces with newer models. As time marched on, equipment started rotating and Summit had enough to outfit a pair of threepiece crews. “I’ve been blessed,” he shrugs. “There’s always room for improvement, and I learn something new every day I am out here. If you had asked me 12 years ago when I graduated if I would be logging, I would have looked at you like you didn’t have a clue. I am learning every day still.” ➤ 10
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SLT SNAPSHOT Summit Logging, LLC Elizabethtown, NC Email: ajkeating1@yahoo.com
Keating has enough for two full crews, but prefers to work as one large unit.
Founded: 2014 Owner: A.J. Keating No. Crews: 1 Employees: 8 Equipment: two cutters, two loaders, two skidders, two buck saws, scales and a bulldozer Trucks/Trailers: two trucks and three trailers Average Haul Distance: 60 miles Tidbit: Like many, Keating separates his trucking assets from the logging company. His wife Stephanie, who he says has been the single greatest cheerleader for his business, is a pharmacist. As a play on the two professions, Keating’s trucking company is called Tree Pharm, giving a nod to two of the things he loves most.
Crew handles as many as nine sorts at a time.
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Currently Now, Summit Logging operates one large company crew (they split in the summertime) that cuts for Campbell Global and one contract crew that works the stumpage Keating and his timber buyer Carlton Dowless purchase. The company crews focuses 95% on Campbell Global wood for volume purposes—Keating’s purchased tracts are a little too small for his sizable crew to stay productive on. The crew works within about 60
miles of Elizabethtown, but has gone as far as 90. “You do what you have to do sometimes,” Keating shrugs. “Our equipment has anywhere from 2,000 hours to 6,000 hours on it. It’s all basically brand new. Those payments are steep.” The crew typically sticks to clearcuts of 60 acres. In the summer the crew splits into two jobs, depending on trucks and labor issues. While Keating doesn’t feel like he has issues with his current crew, finding help is a bit of a challenge he is already starting to
worry about as age is going to eventually become a factor. He says, “My guys are starting to phase out. I lost a key guy in January 2019; called me up on a Sunday and said he wasn’t coming Monday. That devastated me, but I jumped on the loader the next day to keep trucks moving.” For a guy who didn’t know much about logging, Keating can run every piece on the job and estimates he spends about 30% of his time in one cab or another. The employees are all cross-trained, so while the Crew keeps steady 75 loads pace.
crew is one man away from being fully-staffed, they are still able to get high production thanks to Keating helping out. “I want to be on the job 30% of the time, because I know the job is getting done,” he says emphatically. “I want to be out more, but can’t. I trust these guys 100%; if I didn’t I wouldn’t have them working for me. There’s no way one man can do everything out here. It is a team effort.” The crews use a 2016 Tigercat 724G feller-buncher, ’16 John Deere 853M track cutter, two ’16 Cat 559C loaders, ’15 Cat 545D skidder, and ’15 Cat 535 skidder. Each loader is outfitted with CSI buck saws and the crew has one set of MaxiLoad scales—a recent addition. A trusty bulldozer that’s probably about the same age as Keating handles BMP and roadwork. “Hey, it is dependable!” Keating says of the old girl. Keating keeps two loaders busy with as many as nine separations at a time, driven by his main market: exporting logs through the port of Wilmington. Other markets include Georgia-Pacific’s plywood mill in Dudley and West Fraser’s sawmill in Riegelwood. For Summit, scales help maximize the somewhat limited trucking fleet. And Keating believes the addition of scales to the job is going to be a game changer over the next year. He elaborates, “If you were averaging 27 tons a load per week and you could get that to 28 over the course of a year, that’s huge. You’ve got to look at logging over 52 weeks, not week to week. You’ve got to average it. You’ve got to maximize everything.” After doing a number crunch, Keating says the scales will pay for themselves in a year. Keating and the crew handle all the in-woods equipment maintenance on the job. Oils are changed every 400 hours—basically splitting the difference between the old recommendation time and the new. If something major happens Keating usually calls for the dealer to the woods or uses the lowboy to 10
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From left, the Summit Logging crew: Carlton Dowless, A.J. Keating, Ray Hunt, Peter Copperton, Gonzalo Rojas and Barry Peterson
haul pieces to the shops. Dealers Gregory Poole in Fayetteville (Caterpillar), James River in Wilmington (Deere) and Tidewater in Conway, SC (Tigercat) support the machinery. Currently, Summit is not at the point where Keating can justify a full-time mechanic or a shop. “When I get to the point where I have a shop I want to have a fulltime mechanic,” he says. “If I can get a few more trucks, I am trying to ease my way into that side. I am going to need a mechanic full-time to work on them. Then, I can justify the trucking side to help pay for the full-time mechanic. But you have to crawl before you can walk.”
Trucking Summit runs one 2005 day cab Kenworth truck and one 2007 day cab Freightliner with three McClendon trailers Keating owns; assisted by three contract truckers with the crew day in and day out. Two other contract truckers are flexible. Still, Keating laments that he really needs eight full-time trucks to get production hauled, averaging about 75 loads per week. Keating likes the older day cab model trucks, which run 27,000 lbs. empty weight truck and trailer. Like many others, he’s resisting the switch to a newer truck, and the addition of DEF to his expenses. But Keating is a realist: “We’re going to have to go to DEF since you can only run a 2005 truck for so long. But I’m going to try to stay away from it as long as I can.” Keating’s aunt, Angie Smith, handles the bookwork for all three sides of the business. “She’s been a blessing for me,” he says. “She knows where every penny goes.” While Keating might not be from a typical logging family, his love for the industry is deep. As a graduate, registered forester, Keating is able to teach ProLogger continuing education courses in his area—and does so as a way to give back to the industry he’s been adopted into. Since all ProLogger certified loggers must do at least one CE course per year, Keating will gather groups of 10 to 15 together, cook a meal and fellowship while they eat and do the video courses. He says it is one of his favorite things to do, helping out other loggers in his area, while also getting a chance to get around and see everyone. He considers, “At the end of my career, I want to be able to say I did something good, I made a change in the industry for the SLT better.” 12
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Keeping It Simple ■ Michael Looney, Jr., known by all as Doc Looney, knows what’s up.
By David Abbott TEXARKANA, Ark. is name is Michael Looney, Jr., 32, ★ but everyone who knows him just calls him Doc. The owner of Michael Looney Logging says that it was his dad, Michael Sr., who gave him the nickname, and that’s what everyone has called him since as far back as he can remember. “Most people call me Doc, unless it is business related,” he says. “On a personal level, people call me Doc.” His dad, Michael Looney, Sr., started a logging company back in the ’80s, and it was on that crew that Doc grew up working. By age 20 he decided he wanted to go his own way, so he bought a log truck. “Dad helped me with that so I could step out on my own,” he recalls. “I just wanted to grow; he was at a point where he didn’t want to grow. He was happy with 25-30 loads a week and I wanted to update.” Doc started logging under his own banner for Waldo-based Deltic Timber Corp. in 2007, and stuck with that arrangement for the next eight years. After Potlatch bought Deltic, a
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friend put him in contact with Jim Thomas and Dalton Smith of Thomas Timber in Magnolia, a timber dealer with several contractors. Doc has worked for them for more than two years now. “I was nervous about the change,” he admits. “But it’s been great. They’re a good company and they keep us steady.” Michael Sr. continued to log after Doc’s departure, but they didn’t work separately very long. Just a year later, in 2008, they teamed up again, a partnership that lasted five years, until Michael got a good job offer to work as the shop foreman at Tigercat dealer MidSouth Forestry Equipment’s Caddo Valley location in 2013. He enjoyed the job, his son recalls: “He was a people person, and he loved loggers and what he did at Caddo Valley; he made a bunch of good friends from working there.” Still, you can take the logger out of the woods but not the woods out of the logger—cliché, maybe, but generally true. After a few years, Michael was ready for a change, and he and Doc were having serious discussions of him returning to the crew. “He just couldn’t get away from it; it was in his blood,” Doc says. “Even though he was still
and hit Michael around it, he head on. The boy wanted to be in survived without it. He loved loga scratch but gers but he really Michael was liked logging killed instantly. and he was just “It was really ready to get back hard on me into the woods.” because I was so Doc had two close to dad,” logging crews at Doc says. “I the time, and that spent many hours was another reawith him and it son why Michael was nothing to wanted to come Michael "Doc" Looney, Jr., left, with his talk with him back; his son dad, Michael Looney, Sr., right three or four needed some times a day.” After help. “I had so much his death, Doc took a going on,” Doc says. week off from work to grieve. “It was Bad Times hard to go back to the All the talk about woods without thinkLooney’s dad coming about him. It realing back to the ly was. I lost interest woods ended in it for a little while. abruptly, though, on But then it hit me one a Sunday afternoon day: I know he would in May 2017. want me to keep carMichael was headed rying on.” home when a car Making it even driven by an 18harder, Doc had year-old boy cross- Doc, right, with little brother already lost his mothJoseph, left ed the center line er to breast cancer
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From left: Michael Looney, Doug Hovarter, Danny Robinson, Doug Robinson, Travis Fultcher
less than three years prior, and he has a younger brother, Joseph, who was still a minor. “When mom passed, he was 13, so he lived with dad. When dad died, he was 15.” Joseph moved in with Doc and his family. Now 17, he wants to join his big brother in the woods when he graduates high school. Having lost both parents, Looney reflects on the difference between what it was like with each of them. “With mom it was slow; you knew it was coming. Two weeks after her last surgery, hospice care started and all the kids took turns staying the night with her.” Along with his brother, Doc has three sisters. “With dad it was sudden and unexpected; with mom you could prepare.” Along with taking care of Joseph the last few years of his youth, Doc and his wife Jacqueline have two children: 10-year-old son Preston and daughter Georgia, who is just over a year old. “We found out we were pregnant with her just about a month before dad died,” he says. “It made his day.”
Crew Doc started his company originally because he wanted to grow bigger than his dad did, but after Michael’s death and Georgia’s birth, he reflects, it was time for him to slow down a bit. “I try to keep it simple now,” he says. To that end, Doc sold one of his crews to a timber dealer. “The guy who bought it kept the employees, so it worked out for everybody.” On the remaining crew, loader operator Doug Hovarter, who dou-
Looney runs two trucks of his own and hires a few contractors, too.
He deals with MidSouth Forestry in Caddo Valley, where his dad once worked.
SLT SNAPSHOT Michael Looney Logging Texarkana, Ark. Email: doc.looney@yahoo.com Founded: 2007 Owner: Michael Looney, Jr. No. Crews: 1 Employees: 4 Equipment: 1 cutter, 1 loader, 1 skidder, 3 trucks, 6 trailers Average Production: 50 loads weekly Average Haul Distance: 60 miles Tidbit: Michael “Doc” Looney has suffered more than his share of heartache. His mother died of cancer just a few years ago, and just a few years later his father died in a car accident. This left him to finish the job of raising his younger brother, who is now 17.
bles as foreman when Doc isn’t on site, has been on the job for four years. “I was blessed with Doug and the crew keeping it all going while I was off,” Doc says of the week he took off after his dad’s passing. In the woods along with Hovarter are brothers Danny Robinson, who mans the skidder, and Doug Robinson, who runs the cutter. Company truck driver is Travis Fultcher, who has also been with Looney for four years. “He is one of the best, a great guy,” Doc says. “He really takes care of the truck, which is hard to find. He’s solid.” Looney also employs a part-time truck driver, Waylon Johnson, and a few contractors. For his part, Doc says, “I just load trucks and do whatever needs to be done with breakdowns and repairs. If I leave the guys alone for a bit, they can carry on.” Looney conducts tailgate safety
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meetings with the crew every month, in part to serve as a reminder; all of them have at least 20 years of experience in the business. The logger gets his insurance through Ashdown Insurance Agency in Ashdown. “Our options are narrowed down on tucking insurance, because only two companies in the state will write the policies anymore,” Doc notes. His wife Jacqueline handles all of the insurance bookwork and other office chores. She also helps out by running for
parts and oil whenever it’s needed. One could say that Preston, their son, is interested in the business; his dad says he has every logging toy there is. The kid also has good taste in reading materials: “He takes Southern Loggin’ Times to his room and I never get to see them unless I steal them back,” Doc says. “I am trying to get him out of it, but I know I won’t have any luck.”
The crew averages 40 loads a week in the winter and 60 in the summer.
Machinery Looney buys most of his equipment from Tigercat dealer MidSouth Forestry in Caddo Valley, where his dad worked for a few years. Aside from a few Cat skidders kept as backup, everything in his iron lineup is from Tigercat: 2012 234 loader, ’11 630D skidder and ’12 724E cutter. He also keeps a ’08 Tigercat 234 as a spare loader. For when creek crossings are required, the crew has a 45 ft. steel bridge they carry and lay down with the skidder. Looney uses Gator teeth on the saw head. “We’ve have good luck with them,” he says. Stihl pole saws are handy for trimming trucks, but the crew does no chain saw felling. Tires in the woods are Primex, 35.5 on skidder, 30.5 on the cutter; Bridgestone is Looney’s preferred brand for truck tires. Looney has 1,500-gallon on-and off-road fuel tanks at his shop; Red River Oil in Texarkana delivers it. He has a 40x60 shop and hires a mechanic to handle repairs on weekends when needed. The boss also does repairs and handles routine maintenance in the woods, buying oil (Shell Rotella 15W-40, and Shell grease) at Quality Petroleum, also in Texarkana. The crew
A wet winter made a muddy spring.
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drives a 2002 Ford 550 with a service bed to the job site; it is set up with air compressor, spare tires, tools and auto crane. “We take care of the trucks and run them through the shop about every weekend for routine and preventative maintenance,” Doc says. The logger has three Kenworth W900 trucks (’06, ’98 and ’94 models) pulling three double bunk McLendon and three Kent pole trailers. The trucks rotate in service; he keeps one in reserve as backup
for when one of the other two needs to go into the shop for maintenance. He also hires two contractor haulers. Looney admits he is trying to stay away from Tier 4 machines and the requirement for DEF as long as possible, but knows he will have to upgrade soon. He might add a new skidder this year, but on Looney runs all Tigercat machines.
the trucks, two of which are 21 and 25 years old, he says, “We have talked about upgrading but we have had so much good luck with these, so as long as they are doing what they are supposed to be doing, we’ll keep running them. They seem more dependable than newer stuff.”
Production Doc says 2018-19 has been the wettest winter he can remember. All the mills in the area have run out of wood a couple times this winter, he says; that is something he has never seen. “It’s been tough. It started raining early in the fall of 2018 and it hasn’t slacked up since.” The day SLT visited him in early March, mud was deep and trucks were having trouble getting out, but Doc says through much of the winter he was able to keep the crew working on higher elevation tracts. “We’ve been blessed to be able to work; there are 300 acres in here on this job so we have plenty of options for now.” The crew averages 40 loads a week in the winter but closer to 60 loads in the summer. This spring, his crew has been averaging 60 miles per haul. All pulpwood, both pine and hardwood, goes to Domtar in Ashdown. Plywood logs go to Weyerhaeuser in Emerson, and Looney has been hauling logs to Conifex mills in Glenwood and El Dorado. In March he was working in a 17-year-old first thinning pine stand with a little over 100 acres of saw logs on it. He says, “We do anything: clear cut, select cut, hardwood, pulpwood, some second thins, a little of everything,” he says. Business is going well, he reports. Markets have been good other than weather. “You can haul all you want right now because the mills are wide open and need it,” Doc says. “It is looking like it will be a good year.” Although he hit a slump after his dad’s death, Looney says he is planning to start growing again, although not necessarily to add any more crews any time soon. “The mills want more production, so we may expand some this spring. We had great guys on that second crew but I had so much going on then. Cutting back to one has been more efficient, but we want to update and add some more equipment, and maybe another SLT truck to get more loads.” 20
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Life Explained
SuperExpo 1979: A Remembrance
On the first day, God created the dog and said, “Sit all day by the door of your house and bark at anyone who comes in or walks past. For this, I will give you a life span of 20 years.” The dog said, “That’s a long time to be barking. How about only 10 years and I’ll give you back the other 10?” And God saw it was good. On the second day, God created the monkey and said, “Entertain people, do tricks, and make them laugh. For this, I’ll give you a 20-year life span.” The monkey said, “Monkey tricks for 20 years? That’s a pretty long time to perform. How about I give you back 10 like the dog did?” And God again saw it was good. On the third day, God created the cow and said, “You must go into the field with the farmer all day long and suffer under the sun, have calves and give milk to support the farmer’s family. For this, I will give you a life span of 60 years.” The cow said, “That’s kind of a tough life you want me to live for 60 years. How about 20 and I’ll give back the other 40?” And God agreed it was good. Held June 22-24, 1979 in the New Orleans Superdome, which was completed in 1975, the 15th Forest Products Machinery & On the fourth day, God created humans Equipment Exposition was promoted as SuperExpo ’79. It lived up to its billing. The event attracted 250 logging and sawmill and said, “Eat, sleep, play, marry and enjoy machinery manufacturers and service providers and was swarmed by some 15,000 visitors and vendor reps. Some of the 1979 your life. For this, I’ll give you 20 years.” logging vendors who have long since faded away (at least from the logging sector) included Beaird Poulan, Bombardier, CanCar, J.I. Case/Drott, Clark Eqiupment Co., Clark Melroe Div., Dunham Mfg. Co., Eaton Yale Ltd., Dixie Publications, Fiat-Allis, But the human said, “Only 20 years? Fleco, FMC Corp., Forest Industries Magazine, Franklin Equipment Co., Gafner Machine, Georgia Trailer, Harringon Mfg., Hiab, Could you possibly give me my 20, the 40 Homelite, Husky Hydraulics, International Payline Group, Kent Trailers, Lucky Mfg. Co., McCulloch Corp., National Hydro-Ax, the cow gave back, the 10 the monkey gave Omark Industries, Pioneer Chain Saw Sales, Rome Plow Co., Siiro Equipment, Southeastern Uni-Loader, Southern Wheel and back, and the 10 the dog gave back; that Rim, Southland Trailer Sales, and United Tire. makes 80, okay?” to have my youthful laughs be forever etched into deep grooves on my “Okay,” said God, “You asked for it.” face. So many have never laughed, and so many have died before their hair So that is why for our first 20 years, we eat, sleep, play and enjoy ourcould turn silver. selves. For the next 40 years, we slave in the sun to support our family. For As you get older, it is easier to be positive. You care less about what other the next 10 years, we do monkey tricks to entertain our grandchildren. And people think. I don’t question myself anymore. I’ve even earned the right to for the last 10 years, we sit on the front porch and bark at everyone. be wrong. I like being old. It has set me free. I like the person I have become. I am not going to live forever, but while I am still here, I will not waste time lamenting I can hit the golf ball any way I can and laugh if it goes in the lake. I’m just what could have been, or worrying about what will be. And I shall eat dessert happy I can still hit that golf ball. every single day if I feel like it. As I’ve aged, I’ve become kinder to myself and less critical of myself. I’ve become my own friend. I have seen too many dear friends leave this world too soon, well before they understood the great freedom that comes with A young ventriloquist was touring New England and putting on a show in a aging. small town in New Hampshire. With his dummy on his knee, he started going Whose business is it if I choose to read, or play on the computer until 1 through his usual dumb blonde jokes. a.m., or sleep until noon? I will dance with myself to those wonderful tunes of Suddenly, a blonde woman in the fourth row stood on her chair and shoutthe ’50s, ’60s and ’70s, and if I wish to weep over a lost love, I will. ed, “I’ve heard enough of your stupid blonde jokes. What makes you think I will walk the beach in a swim suit that is stretched over a bulging body, you can stereotype us blonde women that way? What does the color of a and dive into the waves with abandon, if I choose to, despite the pitying woman’s hair have to do with her worth as a human being? It’s men like you glances from the jet set. They too, will get old. who keep women like me from being respected at work and in the communiI know I am sometimes forgetful. But there again, some of life is just as ty, and from reaching our full potential as people. It’s people like you that well forgotten. Besides, I eventually remember the important things. make others think that all blondes are dumb! You and your kind continue to Sure, over the years, my heart has been broken. How can your heart not perpetuate discrimination against not only blondes, but women in general, break when you lose a loved one, or when a child suffers, or even when pathetically all in the name of humor!” somebody’s beloved pet gets hit by a car? But broken hearts are what give us The embarrassed ventriloquist began to apologize, but the woman interstrength, and understanding, and compassion. A heart never broken is pristine rupted him, yelling, “You stay out of this! I’m talking to that little squirt on and sterile, and will never know the joy of being imperfect. your lap.” I am so blessed to have lived long enough to have my hair turning gray and
On Growing Older
Embarrassed Ventriloquist
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M-A Expo Finished With Saturday Surge By DK Knight LARINBURG, NC endors and visitors from at least 24 states and two foreign countries turned out in good numbers to take in the fourth Mid-Atlantic Logging & Biomass Expo May 3-4 in Scotland County, North Carolina. The event was staged outside the town of Laurinburg near the South Carolina state line. ➤ 28
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John Deere/James River Equipment: Deere loader fed Morbark chipper and Deere carrier worked Waratah processor.
Caterpillar and three dealers stopped traffic with harvesting machines, chipper demo, loader contest.
Daniel Cox of Cox & Sons Logging, Galax, Va. won the Barko loader contest staged by John Woodie Enterprises. JWE debuted Barko’s new 830B feller-buncher, demoed a TimberPro tracked buncher and displayed a Del-Fab Phoenix 703 fitted with a Fecon mulching head.
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26 ➤ A very strong surge on the second day made the first day’s light turnout a faded memory and put smiles on the faces of vendor personnel, several of which reported making deals and/or establishing strong sales leads. ➤ 30
Tigercat packed its site with 17 machines, rocking chairs, and merchandise trailer.
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Tim Bowling, in hat and sunglasses, of Bowling Logging & Chipping, Ridgeway, Va., handed a symbolic check to Guke Tapscott of Forest Pro Inc., Scottsville, Va., for new Tigercat LX830D f-b. At far right: Joel Matteson, GM of Forest Pro; from left: Aaron Piper, Tony Iarocci and Grant Somerville of Tigercat, and Matt Bowling, Tim’s son and operator of the machine.
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The Lumberjack Sports competition drew lots of interest with its ax chopping and throwing and operation of superfast chain saws.
28 ➤ Dominating the attractions were logging and chipping equipment—manufacturers displayed more than 50 pieces in the park-like setting—but trucks, trailers, attachments, tires and other goods and services were also well represented. Another attraction new to the expo was a Lumberjack Sports competition put on by the South Atlantic Woodmen’s Assn. and sponsored by Canal Wood, LLC. Loader contests conducted by John Woodie Enterprises (JWE) and Caterpillar provided additional interest and excitement. JWE’s event, won by Daniel Cox of Galax, Va., generated funds for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and Shriners Hospital for Children. Winners of Caterpillar’s event were Roy Reinford, Pink Hill, NC; Corey Elder, Cullen, Va.; and Paul Weaver, Amelia, Va. That event raised $1,660 for LogA-Load for Kids. The site was provided by Z.V. Pate, Inc. and its affiliated forestry arm, Shoeheel Land Management, both of which supported the expo with outstanding generosity and cooperation, according to Jack Swanner, Expo Manager. “I want to thank Z.V. Pate, Shoeheel, Canal Wood, the Lumberjack Sports team, all the vendors, attendees and support personnel for their participation, cooperation and hard work,” he said. Sponsors were the NC Forestry Assn., Carolina Loggers Assn., and Hatton-Brown Publishers. SLT 30
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INDUSTRY NEWS ROUNDUP
As We See It: It’s Not All Politics By Danny Dructor While much of the time your state, regional and national logging organizations are busy working at the local, state and federal level on policy issues that impact your busi-
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nesses, their work does not end there, not by a long shot! Often logging associations are also engaged in training, safety and transportation issues, to name a few. They are also ensuring that the well-intended thoughts of others outside of the
logging industry who believe that they are working in the best interests of the logging industry are actually having a positive impact and not just adding another cost to the price of doing business. In 1994, members of the Dructor American Forests and Paper Assn. rolled out a program titled the
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Sustainable Forestry Initiative. At the time, it appeared to be a great idea, with one exception: they forgot to invite the logging businesses to the table. That was the impetus that brought logging contractors together 25 years ago in St. Louis, Mo.: the need to have a voice of our own representing the issues that are important to loggers. Over the past 25 years, loggers have come together in any states that did not have a trade association either as a stand-alone organization or under the umbrella of a state forestry association. Working together, loggers have addressed workers’ comp insurance rates, truck weights on state and county roads, ad valorem and sales tax exemptions for logging equipment and supplies, and other on-theground issues away from Washington, DC and state capitol buildings that have a real impact on their businesses. The American Loggers Council recently welcomed the Ohio Logging Standards Council as the newest voting member to our Board of Directors. As of this writing, we are working in Pennsylvania to assist professional timber harvesters to form an organization that would work in the best interests of their logging workforce in the state and tackle those issues that are important to loggers. We believe that all states with commercial timber harvesting operations should be organized through membership in either a state or regional logging association and
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that there is truly not only strength in numbers, but also the wisdom of many of our peers, both past and present, that can prevent us at all levels from reinventing the wheel when it comes to looking for ways to accomplish goals. Next stop: Bangor, Maine! We are “Loggers Working for Loggers!”
tation was 94%. Every three years, the Texas A&M Forest Service conducts BMP implementation monitoring on 150 randomly selected forested tracts across east Texas where silvicultural activi-
ties occurred. The program is funded by Clean Water Act Section 319(h) grants from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) through the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board and seeks to measure
the degree of BMP implementation by forest landowners, silvicultural contractors, forest industry and government agencies. The recently completed round of monitoring covered sites in 33
Danny Dructor is executive vice president of American Loggers Council. ALC is an 501(c)(6) not for profit trade association representing professional timber harvesters throughout the United States. For more information please contact ALC at 409-625-0206, or americanlogger@aol.com, or visit www.amloggers.com.
Logging BMPs Are Strong In Texas A 28-year program to monitor logging Best Management Practices (BMPs) implementation on east Texas timber harvest sites shows overall 93.8% BMP implementation in 2018 across all land ownerships. That’s a solid improvement in the last 20 years—the implementation rate was 87% in 1998—and remains at a high rate since the last survey in 2015 when overall BMP implemen-
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counties between March 2017 and December 2018. Averaging all 150 scores, overall BMP implementation on the sites was 93.8%. In general, implementation was highest on sites under public ownership, with an overall implementation of 99%. Corporate lands (commercial landowners without wood processing facilities) scored 95.3% overall, and family forest owners scored 91.1%. As the program has consistently shown since its inception, the sites with the highest rates of BMP implementation were those where a forester was involved, the contractor had attended BMP training and the landowner was already familiar with BMPs. Other factors that boost BMP implementation are having BMPs in the sale contract, the timber purchased by an SFI mill, and a landowner forest management plan. Overall BMP implementation has remained steady the last several years, the report says. The last time overall Texas BMP implementation fell below 90% was in 2000, at just under 89%. The highest recorded implementation rate so far in the program was 94.1% in 2011 According to the report, most impressive is the considerable progress demonstrated by family forest owners since monitoring began in the early 1990s. This year, the 91.1% BMP implementation rate on family forest owner sites represents a 31% increase since 1992. This improvement demonstrates that ongoing education and training strategies geared towards loggers, landowners and foresters were the driving force behind the increases in BMP implementation.
Lumbermen Aren’t Quite As Upbeat For the first time in 10 years, U.S. softwood lumbermen aren’t as optimistic as they were the previous year. Coming out of the recession at the beginning of the decade and continuing to last year, softwood lumbermen had gone from very guarded—if any—optimism to “recordsetting” optimism in 2018 when 89% forecasted their lumber busi-
ness situation as excellent or good. But in this year’s Timber Processing Sawmill Operations and Capital Expenditure Survey, 69% forecast their lumber business situation for 2019 and moving in 2020 as excellent or good, which would be their lowest optimism since 2012. Of that 69%, 54% said their situation is good and 15% said excellent, while 30% said fair and 1% said poor. While 54% said their situation was good in last year’s survey and
Rotochopper Names Brinkerhoff As CEO Rotochopper, Inc. has appointed Tosh Brinkerhoff as CEO. Brinkerhoff has more than 20 years of industry leadership experience with an impressive track record in heavy equipment manufacturing. “I am excited to join Rotochopper and I look forward to building on the legacy of leadership, innovation and customer service that has been established at the company,” Brinkerhoff comments. Brinkerhoff holds a bachelor’s degree from Southern Utah University, and an MBA from Duke University. He was hired into a leadership program at John Deere, where he gained experience in operations, business development, public affairs and marketing. His experience widened when he joined Geringhoff North America as president and CEO in 2015. 34
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also in this year’s, 35% had said their business was excellent last year compared to only 15% this year; and last year only 9% said it was fair compared to 30% this year. Still, the 69% optimism of this year is a strong number, especially when compared to the 25% at postrecession. Some of the current optimism may be lingering because of substantial gains made in recent years and still felt, when in reality lumber prices and skittish new housing starts could dampen the
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current optimism by year-end, unless new housing shows the signs of surging that everyone has been expecting for several years. One-hundred U.S. lumbermen— owners, presidents, VPs, general managers, corporate executives, regional managers, plant managers and other supervisory personnel— completed the on-line survey in April-May, representing more than 200 individual sawmills. More than half of those mills produce mostly 2 in. lumber, with timbers coming in
strong at 18%, followed by 1 in. lumber at 16%. A crucial question in the survey asked how much new capital investment in machinery and systems their mill has committed to since the beginning of 2018. Three percent said more than $100 million, no doubt indicating these are new groundbreaking sawmills. Another 4% said $30-$50 million; 11% said $10-$30 million; 12% said $5-$10 million; and an impressive 23% said $1-$5 million; 11% said $500,000-
$1 million; and 19% said $100,000$500,000, no small potatoes. The survey gave respondents a list of 45 pieces of equipment or technologies and asked them to select any that are part of their capital investment. Lumber handling forklifts led the way with 36% of the respondents. Next was dry kilns at 27% and wheel loaders at 26%. An open-ended question asked what they’re most concerned about with regard to their lumber markets. Charles Thomas III, vice presi-
dent of Shuqualak Lumber in Mississippi, emphasized his concern as: “the lack of a quota type system to control the amount of lumber coming into the U.S. from Canada. With all of the new mills being built in the U.S. South, a quota type agreement with Canada is paramount.”
Underwriters Firm Offers Coverage Forest Specialty Underwriters announces a new occurrence Commercial General Liability and E&O facility for forestry and land management professionals in all states except California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska and Hawaii. Classes of business include foresters, timber buyers, loggers, environmental consultants, land management professionals and contractors who perform prescribed burning. Chris Rigdon, President of Forest Specialty, states, “This new facility gives us a tremendous opportunity to expand our coverage reach that was begun in 2008. Many companies only have limited coverage for forestry operations, particularly prescribed burning.” Licensed brokers are invited to call at 331-249-0001 or access the web site at forestspecialty.com
Nacogdoches Facility Isn’t Done Yet Austin Energy, a publicly owned utility and a department of the city of Austin, Tex., reached an agreement with Southern Power, a wholesale energy operation and subsidiary of Southern Company, to acquire the Nacogdoches Generating Facility, a wood biomassfueled power plant at Sacul in east Texas, for $460 million. The 115 MW plant, which commenced commercial operation in 2012, was established with the capability to provide 100 MW of renewable power to Austin Energy under a 20-year power purchase agreement. The transaction, which is expected to close in mid-2019, will allow Austin Energy to avoid approximately $275 million in additional costs it would have incurred over the remaining term of the power purchase agreement (PPA) through 2032. While Austin Energy will take ownership of the plant, no immediate changes to the operation of the facility are expected, and its long-term status will be addressed in Austin Energy’s future resource planning efforts. Austin Energy will transfer all the acquired plant assets to the city of Austin immediately after the Southern Loggin’ Times
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close of the transaction and will likely contract operation of the plant to a firm that specializes in this type of work. In 2008, the Austin City Council approved a 20-year PPA to buy 100 MW of renewable energy from a 115 MW biomass power plant to be constructed near Nacogdoches. At the time, the price of natural gas was at an all-time high and projected to go higher due to supply concerns and the possibility of a cap on
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carbon emissions. Since then, according to Austin Energy, several factors have changed, dramatically lowering energy prices. The widespread adoption of hydraulic fracturing technology increased natural gas supplies which, in turn, drove prices down. Also, the cost of other forms of renewable energy like wind and solar saw significant reductions. The effect of lower prices for natural gas and renewables has been that energy prices
have fallen from their 2008 highs to much lower levels.
C. Arthur Howard Jr. Dies In Statesboro Claude Arthur Howard Jr., who served as president of Claude Howard Lumber in Statesboro, Ga. from 1975 until his retirement in 1998, died at home on April 29. He was 77.
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In 1962, Howard joined his father’s business, Claude Howard Lumber, and continued a family tradition dating back to 1898. Howard’s father, Claude Howard, founded Claude Howard Lumber Company in 1946 at its present location. Howard was named the Statesboro-Bulloch County Chamber of Commerce Man of the Year in 1988 and the Statesboro Business Leader of the Year in 1995.
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MACHINES-SUPPLIES-TECHNOLOGY Barko Offers Feller-Buncher Barko Hydraulics now offers its 830B wheeled feller-buncher. Equipped with smooth, responsive controls, Barko wheeled feller-bunchers operate with exceptional performance and feature optimized weight distribution that ensures maximum stability when handling large loads. The machine is powered by 300 HP Cummins QSL9 Tier 4 Final engine, delivering the highest-rated horsepower of any wheeled fellerbuncher. With a dedicated attachment pump and Quadco 24CP felling head, the 830B gets the job done faster. Simple ergonomic controls, a large touchscreen display, polycarbonate windows, A/C and a comfortable seat with ample legroom and storage space make it easy to tackle tough jobs. Rearview and skylight cameras with in-cab display come standard to enhance visibility while operating the machine. Visit barko.com.
available for tub and horizontal grinders. If the mill comes in contact with metal while grinding, Damage Defense system will alert the grinder control and automatically initiate the shutdown process. The system idles the engine down, reverses the infeed or tub and disengages the clutch. Once the contaminant is cleared, normal operation
can resume. “The optional Damage Defense system is ideal for any tub or horizontal grinder operation that may encounter metal mixed in their incoming material,” says Jeff Bradley, Vermeer product manager for Recycling and Forestry. “The system can be factory-installed on new Vermeer grinders, and is avail-
able as a refitted option for many older Vermeer grinder models.” Operators can easily adjust the sensitivity settings for job site conditions to help reduce nuisance shutdowns. It is integrated into the grinder’s controls system, and features robust components and a weather-resistant box. Visit Vermeer.com.
Vermeer Damage Defense To help reduce the likelihood of major machine damage caused by certain metal contaminants entering the hammermill, Vermeer has introduced Damage Defense system—an option now
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PRINT CLASSIFIED AD RATES: Print advertising rates are $50 per inch. Space is available by column inch only, one inch minimum. DEADLINES: Ad reservation must be received by 10th of month prior to month of publication. Material must be received no later than 12th of month prior to month of publication.
Click. Connect. Trade.
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CONTACT: Call Bridget DeVane at 334-699-7837, 800-669-5613, email bdevane7@hotmail.com or visit www.southernloggintimes.com
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Hose, Fittings & Crimpers
Want 0 Downtime? Repair Your Own Lines In The Woods! Start-up Kit Less than $5,000! 8309
Contact: Chris Alligood 1-252-531-8812 email: chrisa.cavalierhose@gmail.com
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2015 Deere 643L Feller Buncher STK# LT668473; 5258 hrs $162,000
2016 Deere 803M Feller Buncher STK# LT291767; 3470 hrs $289,000
2016 Deere 843L Feller Buncher STK# LT674120; 4524 hrs $159,000
2014 Deere 643K Feller Buncher STK# LT663991; 6440 hrs $55,000
2016 Deere 437E Knuckleboom Loader STK# LT295787; 2713 hrs $160,000
2011 Chambers CD1 Delimber STK# LTD10321; 4413 hrs $32,000
2013 Deere 748H Skidder STK# LV656182; 8680 hrs $99,800
2016 Deere 648L Skidder STK# LT674487; 4123 hrs $155,000
2017 Deere 748L Skidder STK# LT680160; 4007 hrs $185,000
2965
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Ready To Place Your Classified Ad? Call 334-699-7837, 800-669-5613 or email class@southernloggintimes.com for print ads.
DELIMBINATORS!! WANTED TO BUY RECONDITIONED In addition to 280
Cat 518 & Cat 518C skidders in TX, LA area Call Kent 936-699-4700 r_kentjones@yahoo.com
FOR SALE
new machines, CHAMBERS DELIMBINATOR, INC. now has factory reconditioned DeLimbinators. These units have been inspected, repaired, and updated as needed. Call us and we will help you select a DeLimbinator for your need.
WE ALSO BUY USED DELIMBINATORS Call: 662-285-2777 day, 662-285-6832 eves Email: info@chambersdelimbinator.com 1123
2004 Tigercat 640C Clambunk. 8200 actual hours, 30.5 front with 24.5 duals, 28Lx26 on rear including duals, bogies in excellent condition, runs great, just don’t need anymore ................................................$140,000 obo
South AL 251-513-7001
13189
562
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.
Day 334-312-4136 Night 334-271-1475 or Email: johnwpynes@knology.net
770
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. 945
7393
2016 Caterpillar HF201B sawhead. Full rotation wrist. Approx. 400 hours. Like new .........$60,000 obo
EUREKA! EUREKA! EUREKA! OWNERS HAVE OVER 30 YEARS COMBINED EXPERIENCE!
N
EUREKA SAW TOOTH CO., INC.
7180
We can save you money on Saw Teeth. Hundreds of satisfied ACC OW EP customers. Rebuilt Exchange or New. We specialize in rebuild- CRE TING DIT ing Koehring 2000, Hurricana, Hydro Ax split teeth and all CARDS other brands. Call Jimmy or Niel Mitchell. Quantity Discounts!
4275 Moores Ferry Rd. • Skippers, Virginia 23879 PH./FAX (day) 1-434-634-9836 or Night/Weekends • 1-434-634-9185
6209
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BENT SAWDISK? FOR SALE
13289
I specialize in the straightening, balancing and repair of FELLER BUNCHER SAWDISKS.
566
FOR SALE
2014 648H John Deere, dual arch & winch, 8k hrs, BRAND NEW ENGINE, BRAND NEW TIRES,VERY NICE!!...........................$122,500
Call or Text Zane 334-518-9937
3939
Call Carlton Carver Carver Sawdisk Repair 543 Havens Street Washington, NC 27889 (252) 945-2358
2013 Komatsu 445-L Track feller buncher with 4600 hrs., has new track chain bought new and only one operator, very good condition
2010 Bandit whole tree chipper, 3590XL with 1700 hrs., one owner, great condition
Call Bill at 931-260-7259 or 931-260-9764 3233 Visit ForesTreeTrader.com for online listing opportunities.
Winch/Tiedown Bar Strikes Driver’s Face BACKGROUND: On a dry summer morning in the Appalachians, a log trucker was binding down a load of pine pulpwood at the landing.
ACCIDENT: When the driver pushed down with the weight of his body to apply the final turn to the spindle, the winch bar popped out of the spindle hole and catapulted backward. The end that was near the spindle struck his face. INJURY: The log trucker suffered a bloody nose and black eye. He received medical treatment and lost two days of work.
PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS: The 57-year-old driver was a contract trucker with 30 years of bus driving and contract log hauling experience. He was considered capable and had no physical disabilities. He was wearing gloves as he began tightening one of the binder straps on a tri-axle truck.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CORRECTION: Ensure that the winch/tiedown bar stays fully inserted into the spindle when tightening a binder strap. Make sure the cranking mechanism is working properly, and ensure that the ratchet pawl is fully engaged in the ratchet wheel. Always keep head and body away from the strike zone of the bar/handle. Wear the required PPE—gloves, hard hat, and eye protection—when binding a load. Give full attention to the task at hand; stop if distracted.
UNSAFE ACTS AND CONDITIONS: The trucker was distracted as a crewmember talked to him. He took his eye off the winch/tiedown bar and did not fully insert the bar into the ratcheting-wheel spindle as he was tightening the strap. His face was directly above the travel path of the winch bar.
Supplied by Forest Resources Assn.
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A D L I N K ●
ADVERTISER American Logger’s Council American Truck Parts ATG Primex Tire Bandit Industries Big John Trailers BITCO Insurance Bright Star Realty and Auctions Bullock Brothers Equipment Caterpillar Dealer Promotion Chambers Delimbinator John Deere Forestry Doggett Machinery Service Eastern Surplus Flint Equipment FMI Trailers Forest Chain Forestry First Forestry Mutual Insurance G & W Equipment Granger Equipment Hawkins & Rawlinson Interstate Tire Service Ironmart Kaufman Trailers Mike Ledkins Insurance Agency LMI-Tennessee Magnolia Trailers Maxi-Load Scale Systems Moore Logging Supply Morbark Peterson Pacific Pitts Trailers Puckett Machinery Quadco Inc Quality Equipment & Parts River Ridge Equipment Southern Loggers Cooperative Southwest Forest Products Expo Stribling Equipment Tidewater Equipment Tigercat Industries Timberland TraxPlus Trelan Manufacturing W & W Truck & Tractor Waratah Forestry Attachments Waters International Trucks 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 574.825.0704 800.248.1052 919.550.1201 800.533.2385 800.503.3373 225.368.2224 855.332.0500 404.859.5790 601.508.3333 800.288.0887 803.708.0624 800.849.7788 800.284.9032 318.548.5977 888.822.1173 864.947.9208 888.561.1115 866.497.7803 800.766.8349 800.467.0944 800.738.2123 877.265.1486 888.754.5613 800.831.0042 800.269.6520 800.321.8073 601.969.6000 800.668.3340 386.754.6186 855.325.6465 318.445.0750 501.224.2232 855.781.9408 912.638.7726 519.753.2000 912.283.1060 601.635.5543 877.487.3526 843.761.8220 770.692.0380 601.693.4807 334.264.3265
COMING EVENTS June 26-28—Forest Products Machinery & Equipment Expo, Georgia World Congress Center, Atlanta, Ga. Call 504-443-4464; visit sfpaexpo.com.
July 10-13—West Virginia Forestry Assn. annual meeting, Canaan Resort Conf. Center, Davis, W.Va. Call 681-265-5019; visit wvfa.org. 26-28—Georgia Forestry Assn. annual meeting, Westin Jekyll Island, Jekyll Island, Ga. Call 478992-8110; visit gfagrow.org. 27-30—Appalachian Hardwood Manufacturers Summer Conference, The Greenbrier, White Sulphur Springs, WV. Call 336-885-8315; visit appalachianhardwood.org.
August
27-29—Louisiana Forestry Assn. annual meeting, Golden Nugget, Lake Charles, La. Call 318-4432558; visit laforestry.com.
September 5-7—Great Lakes Logging & Heavy Equipment Expo, UP State Fairgrounds, Escanaba, Mich. Call 715-282-5828; visit gltapa.org. 6-7—Virginia Forest Products Assn. Annual Conference, The Homestead Resort, Hot Springs, Va. Call 804-737-5625; visit vfpa.net. 8-10—Alabama Forestry Assn. annual meeting, Perdido Beach Resort, Orange Beach, Ala. Call 334-265-8733; visit alaforestry.org. 20-21—Kentucky Wood Expo, Embassy Suites Newtown Pike, Lexington, Ky. Call 502-695-3979; visit kfia.org.
20-22—Florida Forestry Assn. annual meeting, Sheraton Bay Point Resort, Panama City Beach, Fla. Call 850-222-5646; visit floridaforest.org.
26-28—American Loggers Council annual meeting, Perdido Beach Resort, Orange Beach, Ala. Call 409-625-0206; visit amloggers.com.
23-24—Southwest Forest Products Expo, Hot Springs Covention Center, Hot Springs, Ark. Call 501-2242232; visit arkloggers.com.
October
23-25—Virginia Loggers Assn. annual meeting, Homestead Resort, Hot Springs, Va. Call 804-6774290; visit valoggers.org.
ADLINK is a free service for advertisers and readers. The publisher assumes no liability for errors or omissions.
2-4—North Carolina Forestry Assn. annual meeting, Hotel Ballast, Wilmington, NC. Call 800-2317723; visit ncforestry.org. 2-4—2019 National Hardwood Lumber Assn. Convention & Exhibit Showcase, Sheraton New Orleans, New Orleans, La. Call 901-377-1818; visit nhla.com. 8-10—Arkansas Forestry Assn. annual meeting, Embassy Suites, Little Rock, Ark. Call 501-3742441; visit arkforests.org. 16-18—Tennessee Forestry Assn. annual meeting, Crowne Plaza Hotel, Knoxville, Tenn. Call 615883-3832; visit tnforestry.com.
November 6-8—Forestry Assn. of South Carolina annual meeting, Wild Dunes, Isle of Palms, SC. Call 803-7984170; visit scforestry.org. Listings are submitted months in advance. Always verify dates and locations with contacts prior to making plans to attend.
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