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A Hatton-Brown Publication Co-Publisher David H. Ramsey Co-Publisher David (DK) Knight Chief Operating Officer Dianne C. Sullivan PUBLISHING OFFICE Street Address: 225 Hanrick Street Montgomery, AL 36104-3317 Mailing Address: P.O. Box 2268 Montgomery, AL 36102-2268 Telephone (334) 834-1170 Fax 334-834-4525

Foremost Authority For Professional Loggers Browse, subscribe or renew: www.timberharvesting.com

Executive Editor David (DK) Knight Editor-in-Chief Rich Donnell Western Editor Dan Shell Senior Associate Editor David Abbott Associate Editor Jessica Johnson Associate Editor Jay Donnell Art Director/Prod. Mgr. Cindy Segrest Ad Production Coord Patti Campbell Circulation Director Rhonda Thomas Marketing/Media Jordan Anderson ADVERTISING SALES REPRESENTATIVES SOUTHERN USA Randy Reagor (904) 393-7968 • Fax: (334) 834-4525 E-mail: reagor@bellsouth.net

Vol. 66, No. 3: Issue 668

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OurCover South central Oregon’s Wampler family has made its mark on Klamath County for more than 100 years of woods work, starting with the great-grandfather of today’s logging company owners who moved to the region in 1905. Paul & Robert Wampler Inc. has won state forestry awards for logging expertise and performance, and also operates a ranching business. Begin reading on PAGE 8. (Dan Shell photo)

OurFeatures

MIDWEST USA, EASTERN CANADA John Simmons (905) 666-0258 • Fax: (905) 666-0778 E-mail: jsimmons@idirect.com WESTERN USA, WESTERN CANADA Tim Shaddick (604) 910-1826 • Fax: (604) 264-1367 E-mail: tootall1@shaw.ca

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CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING Bridget DeVane 334-699-7837 bdevane7@hotmail.com Timber Harvesting & Wood Fiber Operations (ISSN 21542333) is published 6 times annually (January/February, March/April, May/June, July/August, September/October, November/December issues are combined) by HattonBrown Publishers, Inc., 225 Hanrick St., Montgomery, AL 36104. Subscriptions are free to U.S. logging, pulpwood and chipping contractors and their supervisors; managers and supervisors of corporate-owned harvesting operations; wood suppliers; timber buyers; businesses involved in land grooming and/or land clearing, wood refuse grinding and right-of-way maintenance; wood procurement and land management officials; industrial forestry purchasing agents; wholesale and retail forest equipment representatives and forest/logging association personnel. All non-qualified U.S. subscriptions are $50 annually; $60 in Canada; $95 (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.timberharvesting.com and click on the subscribe button to subscribe/renew via the web. All advertisements for Timber Harvesting 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 Timber Harvesting & Wood Fiber Operations. 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.

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MyTake DK KNIGHT dk@hattonbrown.com, 334-834-1170

Southern Softwood Lumber Explosion Output of Southern softwood lumber has increased for several years now and it appears production will advance to record levels this year and next, and probably beyond, provided there are no serious economic, political or terrorist-related setbacks.

Last year the region’s pine sawmills processed roughly 100 million tons of logs in manufacturing 18.2 billion BF, a gain of 5.1% over 2016. That was 54% of national output and 29% of North American production. Western U.S. output was 14.1 billion BF, up 3%. Canada’s total, 28.3 billion BF, was virtually unchanged from 2016.

Capital investment is pouring into numerous projects—new mills, expansions, process refinements, additional shifts, etc. This unprecedented expansion should help propel production to a record level this year, breaking the modern output of 19 billion BF set in 2005.

According to the Southern Forest Products Assn., founded in 1915, it is unclear if a higher volume was produced in any previous year in the 20th century.

Production should easily exceed 20 billion BF in 2019, assuming the economy takes no serious hits, housing starts remain solid, remodeling spending continues, and exports remain strong. For the 2017-2019 period, projects that have been completed, along with those ongoing and those recently revealed, represent some 3 billion BF of additional annual lumber capacity. What’s more, additional expansions and a few more greenfield mills are a good bet as manufacturers anticipate a developing lumber

mega-market.

Here is a general summary: —Interfor is spending $46 million for a major upgrade at its Monticello, Ark. facility and lesser amounts to tweak its other multiple works in Georgia. It has also identified a site in the central region for a new 200MMBF operation.

—Canfor has announced a new 275MMBF plant for Washington, Ga. and committed $125 million for modernization and refinements at several mills that will increase annual capacity by another 75MMBF. —At Talladega, Ala., Georgia-Pacific is nearing completion of a new 230 MMBF capacity mill and has upgraded an existing plant at Belk, Ala. Earlier this year G-P told it would build a new 350MMBF mill to replace its existing facility, now producing about 110MMBF per year, at Warrenton, Ga. G-P has indicated other projects will be forthcoming, and some speculate the next one will involve the restart of its idle mill at Buna, Tex. —Rex Lumber Co. is building a new mill near Troy, Ala. that will have a capacity of 240MMBF. —Two Rivers Lumber Co. last year completed a new 200MMBF plant near Demopolis, Ala. —Although it has yet to officially reveal the location of the facility, Westervelt Lumber recently announced it intends to erect a new 250MMBF capacity plant in Alabama. Speculators point to a site near Thomasville.

—Elsewhere in Alabama, Weyerhaeuser is converting its stud mill at Mill-

New ‘Shepherd’ For Timber Harvesting

Effective with this issue, I have handed off Timber Harvesting’s editorial planning and execution duties to Western Editor Dan Shell, a key performer on the team since 1988. His work will appear here going forward, but I will still be on the sidelines, waiting for a chance to substitute.

An animated forest lover and outdoorsman, Dan is very knowledgeable about the forest industry and brings new ideas and enthusiasm to the job. He will handle it well. Let him hear from you: Email dan@hattonbrown.com or phone 334-834-1170.

As I glide toward retirement—the runway is in sight but the landing gear is not yet down—I am pondering new ways to serve here at Hatton-Brown and need extra time to come up with a plan. Later…

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port to a more conventional sawmill, greatly increasing log intake and lumber output. Also, the company is expected to finally officially start up its gigantic new mill at Dierks, Ark. —LaSalle Lumber Co., a joint venture involving Louisiana’s Hunt Lumber Co. and Canada’s Tolko Industries, has a new 200MMBF capacity mill going up near Urania, La. At least two more companies are each said to be considering a new mill in the state.

—Biewer Lumber in early 2017 opened its new 230MMBF facility in Newton, Miss. and reportedly has indicated it may erect another in either Mississippi or Arkansas.

—Two idle mills in Arkansas were upgraded and restarted last year: Conifex with the mill once owned by Georgia-Pacific at El Dorado (180 MMBF capacity); and Caddo River Forest Products with the former Curt Bean Lumber Co. at Glenwood (100MMBF).

—Jordan Lumber Co. added a third green line to its already big mill at Mt. Gilead, NC, making it the largest capacity single shift mill in the region.

—Sooner or later, Klausner, or another company, will start up that long since finished but still idle mill at Enfield, NC. —West Fraser typically does not announce its construction plans, but 18 months ago did reveal it would expand production at its Newberry, SC mill by 37%. Last year it spent millions to significantly increase output at mills in Opelika and Maplesville, Ala. The company may be considering building its first ever greenfield sawmill in the region, possibly in central Alabama.

All this new and expanded production will mean a heightened annual log demand that could push 13 million tons.

The timber is certainly available, as is logging capacity. What about mill labor? That could be an issue. What about trucking capacity? That could be a serious issue.

New and expanded mills will produce abundant quantities of chips and other residues, all of which will require more trucks, trailers, and drivers. However, this increased chip production will trim roundwood demand at some paper, OSB and pellet plants in certain locations, so the net trucking demand will be offset to TH a certain extent.

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NewsLines Biofuels Plant Will Convert Biomass Red Rock Biofuels, a Colorado-based company established in 2011, is moving forward to construction of a renewable energy biofuels plant in Lakeview, Calif.

The facility is expected to convert 136,000 tons of woody biomass and forest byproducts into 15 million gallons of renewable fuels annually.

“Red Rock Biofuels LLC is pleased to announce that after many years of development, we are commencing construction on our planned biorefinery in Lakeview,” says Jeff Manternach, Chief Financial Officer for Red Rock. “We appreciate the support from all of our project partners and are planning a ground breaking ceremony for later this summer.”

Construction is expected to take 18 months, with operations planned to start in 2020. By using a combination of gasification, hydro-processing and the Fischer-Tropsch method of combined pressure, heat and water, wood raw materials will be converted into jet and diesel biofuel.

The company was created in response to widespread and devastating wildfires in the Western U.S. caused by forest debris and the rising demand for drop-in, cost competitive renewable jet and diesel fuels.

Funded through bonds, equity and already established contracts with FedEx, Southwest Airlines and the U.S. military, the project received a major boost in January when Oregon Gov. Kate Brown approved $245 million in bonds for Red Rock Biofuels.

Wood-Fueled Biocoal Plant Makes Progress Biomass Secure Power Inc. has entered into an exclusive licensing agreement with River Basin Energy Inc., which gives Biomass Secure Power the rights for technology that will be deployed at BSP’s Natchitoches, La. plant for the manufacture of biocoal (torrefied biomass briquettes).

Biocoal is a sustainable fuel replacement for power generators currently burning coal. BSP believes that this patented process will be a major game changer for power companies currently using coal to generate electrical power.

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fluid bed reactor at its plant in Louisiana. The product of the reactors is a continuous stream of torrefied wood chips that will be formed into briquettes, which will be used to generate electrical power.

BSP plans initially to install equipment that will produce 240,000 tonnes per year at the end of phase 1 construction. BSP plans to continue the development of the Natchitoches plant in two further phases, increasing production by 400,000 tonnes per year for each added phase. The plant is expected to meet its capacity of 1 million tonnes per year within 36 months.

Biomass Secure Power Inc., which is incorporated in British Columbia, reports it has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with a power company market located in the U.S. The MOU states that Biomass Secure Power will commence shipping of biocoal in the third quarter of 2019 and agrees to ship up to 200,000 tonnes in 2019, up to 300,000 tonnes in 2020, and up to 400,000 tonnes in 2021 or as adjusted by further agreement.

The Natchitoches facility will process forest residuals, cull, thinnings, slash, tree tops, wood chips, lumber mill residuals and branches.

Westervelt Plans New Sawmill In Southeast The Westervelt Company plans to construct a sawmill in the Southeast.

Specific location and design of the new Westervelt lumber facility are being prepared for final approval by Westervelt’s Board of Directors.

The new mill will complement the company’s flagship lumber facility in Moundville, Ala., which Westervelt reports is the second largest southern yellow pine production facility in the U.S. The expansion will take advantage of the proximity of the company’s timberland and pellet facility, as well as workforce and existing customer bases.

The new mill will produce 250MMBF annually and create more than 100 jobs.

“The Westervelt Company has a long history in lumber manufacturing and environmental stewardship,” says President and CEO Brian Luoma. “The expansion of our lumber business will continue to build on that legacy. Our customers are growing, and we are doing our part to grow our lumber busi-

ness to support them.”

The Westervelt Company, a privately held company headquartered in Tuscaloosa, Ala., was founded in 1884. The company is currently under the fourth generation of family leadership.

Westervelt’s announcement is the fifth announcement in recent months for construction of greenfield southern pine lumber sawmills.

Rex Lumber Co. plans to invest $110 million to build a sawmill with a minimum 240MMBF annual production capacity near Troy, Ala. Hunt Forest Products, based in Rushton, La., and Tolko Industries of Canada will partner and build a $115 million sawmill in Urania, La. It will produce 200MMBF annually and operate as LaSalle Lumber Company LLC. Georgia-Pacific will build a sawmill at Warrenton, Ga. on property adjacent its existing lumber mill. The $135 million sawmill will produce 350MMBF annually. GP is currently constructing a sawmill in Talladega, Ala. Canfor Corp. announced its plan to build a sawmill in Washington, Ga. with an investment of $120 million and with a production capacity of 275MMBF annually. The mill will be located near the company’s glulam facility in Washington.

More SYP sawmill announcement are expected in the near future.

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 Wright and Myers years ago as a logging company by the late M.M. Wright. At the annual meeting of the Forest Resources Assn. in April, the company was recognized as FRA’s 2018 National Outstanding Logger. It was the second time the company, led by Stephen Wright and Frank Myers, his brother-in-law, received the award, the first recognition coming in 1991.

Wright and Myers and several family members accepted a commemorative plaque from FRA Chairman Bill Johnson, Jr. and a $1,000 check from Stihl.

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Forest Family Series

Family Ties Help Boost Wampler Logging Success Wampler family has worked in Oregon’s Klamath Basin more than 100 years.

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DANShell

ooking back on 50-plus years of running the same logging company—and more than 100 years of family involvement in the forest products industry in Klamath County in south central Oregon—the Wampler family knows the success of its past and present are guiding a bright future as a new generation begins taking over.

Formed in 1964, the 58-year-old Paul & Robert Wampler Inc. is based in Klamath Falls and operates two logging crews. Family ownership and involvement has long been a strength of the company, which is led by brothers Mike, Scott and Joe Wampler (Robert’s sons, see sidebar). Mike’s son, Josh, and Joe’s son, Chris, are crew supervisors. The newest generation is also involved, with Joe’s grandson,

Chance, working in the shop and running the service truck to the woods when needed.

Under the Wampler family’s guidance, the company has evolved from a high of four crews in years past to its current two-crew configuration. Mike, 65, spends all his time looking at potential jobs, bidding potential jobs and all the meetings and networking that go with it. Scott, 61, operates either a loader or feller-buncher, and when TH visited he was doing contract log decking for the Columbia Forest Products plywood plant in town. Meanwhile, Joe, 62, manages the shop and equipment maintenance and repair activities.

With the three brothers getting up in age, Mike says they’ve made a conscious effort recently to find and train

younger employees. The company has 20 employees—a few more in the busy summer season—and more than a few are reaching their mid 50s and will be looking to retire in 10 years or so.

“We’re training more younger guys,” Mike says, noting the company’s two processor operators are in their early 20s and doing well. Having Josh, 40, and Chris, 41, leading their respective crews also reflects a younger outlook. “We’re very fortunate to have them in the family to keep it going,” he adds.

Woods Work The company operates near-identical logging crews when it comes to machinery, which helps streamline parts

Two-crew company is shown working a Forest Service stewardship project last fall near Beatty, Ore.

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Near-identical woods iron lineups streamline the crews’ parts inventory needs with Quadco sawhweads, Waratah processors, Deere loaders and processor carriers.

inventory: Josh’s crew has a Caterpillar 522B feller-buncher with Quadco head; two John Deere 648 skidders; a 2454 Deere landing machine with Waratah 623C processing head; and a Deere 2154 for loading trucks and decking logs. Chris’ crew has a Deere 859 tracked feller-buncher with Quadco sawhead; two Deere 648 skidders; Deere 2454 with 623C Waratah head; and a Deere 2154 for loading.

Cat 527 and D6 machines are used as spares, and when TH visited in fall 2017 the two skidders had been working with firefighting operations in the area. “We had three pieces of equipment on a fire near Klamath Falls for about a week and we just got released,” Mike said at the time. The company works with state forestry fire officials and is on a list of contractors to call if extra equipment is needed.

“If we have the equipment available we’ll go work with them, and it happens at least once a year,” Mike says.

Last fall, Chris’ crew was working a tract near Beatty that Paul & Robert Wampler Inc. had bought, part of the large Black Hills Stewardship Project in the Fremont-Winema National Forest. The thinning job included 4.5MMBF spread over 1,100 acres. A big goal of the project was removal of white fir, which doesn’t do well in the area and has been dying out with increased drought conditions the past 10+ years. The project included allowing harvest of white fir up to 39 in., which was generating some oversize logs, and thinning the pine.

Most of the logs coming off the tract were going to Columbia Forest Products’ Klamath Falls plywood plant, while some of the oversize logs were

going to Swanson Group’s sawmill at Glendale. A small amount of under-size sawlogs were going to a Fruit Growers mill in Yreka, Calif. that’s since closed.

Mike notes that the tract doesn’t include chipping or grinding but does require all chipper or grinder material to be skidded and decked.

The other crew, headed by Josh, was working almost twice as far away on another stewardship tract, part of the Oats Stewardship Project near Silver Lake. The sale, purchased by Interfor’s sawmill in Gilchrist, included a challenging four-hour round trip to the mill and back. The crew had been working on the sale since the winter of 2016-17 and was close to finishing up.

The sale objectives are similar to the other tract: Remove the white fir and thin the pine, cut and skid unmerchantable timber that will be either

Stewardship project called for white fir removal and pine stand thinning.

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Chris, left, and Josh Wampler, right, are respective crew supervisors.

Full service shop is managed by Joe Wampler. Each piece of equipment goes to the shop for complete maintenance and service at least once a year to ensure machines stay in good condition.

chipped or ground in the future. The crew had begun by removing the fir over the previous winter and was thinning the pine during TH’s visit, almost finished with the 8MMBF project.

Noting the “to-be-announced” plan for handling the chip and hog fuel material, Mike explains that the in-woods

residuals market in the area is tough: The closest paper chip markets are all the way over on the Coast. Boise Cascade has the largest forest products complex in the area at Medford but creates its own boiler fuel, as do the other facilities in the region for the most part. Biomass One is a large bio-

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mass power producer based in White City, but long hauls make that market unfeasible much of the time, he adds.

Top customers for the Wampler crews include Columbia Forest Products in Klamath Falls, Murphy Veneer in White City and Interfor’s sawmill in Gilchrist. The company also does a

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good amount of work for J. Spear Land & Cattle, a major private landowner in the area that is also FSC-certified in its timber operations. Murphy also recently bought a large timberland holding in the region and the company has been doing a good amount of work there.

Mike notes that one thing he tries to do when lining up work for the future is to save jobs on pumice-type soils

for the late winter and early spring.

Pumice-rich ground holds up better in wet conditions, he says. He notes that with the generally milder winters of the recent past, the crews are closer to working year-round and usually get at least 11 months in, and good planning keeps them in the woods.

The company has also been awarded several citations by the state for work

above and beyond what’s called for in the state’s Forest Practices Act. In 2005 Paul & Robert Wampler Inc. was named Eastern Oregon Operator of the Year by the Oregon Dept. of Forestry for its operations on a tough harvest near Swan Lake that involved removing dying and diseased timber near a non-fish bearing stream below a sharp canyon. The harvest included the use

Wampler Family’s Deep Local Roots S

panning Northwest logging history from the era of “oat-powered” horse skidding to the latest state-of-the-art digital and hydraulic technology, the Wampler family has made its mark on Oregon’s Klamath Lake Basin for more than 100 years. Marion Wampler from Indiana, a trapper, horse logger and great-grandfather of the three Wampler brothers now running the logging company, homesteaded a place on the west side of Klamath Lake near Odessa, Ore. in 1906.

Marion’s son, Paul Wampler, was born in 1897 back in Indiana before the family moved West. He washed dishes in area logging camps in his early years and was hired by Pelican Bay Lumber at age 18. Paul also cut firewood for the many steam-powered boats running the waters of Klamath Lake back then. He was also a horse logger for the many mills in the area in the early 1900s.

In 1938, Paul Wampler homesteaded a place on Seven Mile Creek on the northwest side of Klamath Lake. That’s where Robert, father of current operators Mike, Joe and Scott, was born. Along Seven Mile Creek, Paul established a large ranching operation that continues to this day. He also kept working as a logging contractor.

Paul eventually moved his family to Chiloquin to be closer to the school system. Robert graduated high school in 1950 and went right to work in the woods with his father. A few years later they became partners, and in 1964 they formed Paul & Robert Wampler Inc., that’s still in operation today and includes the logging company and ranch.

Paul died in 1988, and Bob passed the logging operation to his sons in 2007. He continued working daily with the ranching business until he suffered a stroke in 2012. Bob died peacefully in February 2017 at his beautiful home on the Williamson River where he had raised his three sons and their sister Kristi with his wife Alice, whom he asked out on her 18th birthday to begin a relationship that lasted just under 67 years.

Among many sterling qualities, Bob’s obituary mentioned his generPaul Wampler, below, began logging in 1915. In 1964, ous spirit, love of the outdoors and animals, that he almost always cried he and son Bob, above, formed Paul & Robert Wampler, at graduations, wedding and funerals—and he had a fondness for bringInc., which continues to this day under family ownership ing home strangers in need. and guidance and includes a ranching operation.

The obit also mentioned Bob’s volunteer and heavy sweat equity work with the Collier Logging Museum and Collier State Park. A true gem of the Northwest forest products industry, the logging museum and state park near Chiloquin was founded in the 1940s on land donated specifically to showcase the region’s logging industry.

Many loggers can point to landmarks in their communities—tracts cut, replanted and cut again, schools or other facilities they helped build—but not many loggers can point to as indelible an impact as Wampler’s work with the Collier Logging Museum and state park.

As far back as the 1950s, Wampler and a handful of other local individuals were the ones who actually turned the Collier family’s vision into reality. And since Bob was based out of Chiloquin at the time, he and his brother Bill, who ran a trucking operation, donated trucks and equipment many times to move museum pieces from their final resting places to the museum grounds. They also donated pieces of equipment to the museum itself.

The result is a stunning monument to the region’s logging industry, featuring machines and components that date to the earliest horse- and steam-powered forest products technology. The museum now includes several real logging camp buildings that were moved to the site, along with a cookhouse and modern interpretive center.

When he retired in 2007, Bob Wampler was named an honorary life member of the Oregon Logging Conference, at TH the time one of only 15 individuals to receive such an honor.

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Company works with state fire officials.

From left: Joe, Mike and Scott Wampler

of two temporary stream crossings and sloped skid trails that protected water quality and streamside vegetation.

Managed by Joe Wampler, the full-service shop in Klamath Falls keeps the woods equipment and trucking rigs running smoothly. Maintenance and equipment service starts in the woods, where the crews have 30 minutes scheduled in at the end of every day for operators to do inspec-

tions, debris cleaning, greasing and anything else that needs looking after.

“For work that’s more involved, Joe or Chance will come out to the woods, or we’ll take it in to the shop or one of the dealers,” Mike says.

Each piece of equipment is taken to the shop at least once a year for more detailed maintenance and service, and the company uses the local Paterson Machinery and Pape dealerships for

the Cat and Deere equipment, respectively. The company runs three trucks—all Kenworth—that are 2018, 2015 and 1989 models with General trailers. Two of the trucks are used mostly for low-boy work, but also do some log hauling. Major regional hauler R.B. Browns does much of the Wampler crews’ log hauling. Basin Tire & Service and Les Schwab get the company’s tire business.

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Foremost Authority For Professional Loggers

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Robert Wampler was a major supporter of the museum near his home.

Wamplers Keep Museum Role Family helps maintain history.

EDITOR’S NOTE: When Timber Harvesting visited the Wampler family last year, Mike Wampler mentioned the Collier State Park as a local attraction. It’s got a real neat logging museum, he said. Talk about an understatement!

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overing 146 acres on both sides of U.S. Hwy. 97 about 30 miles north of Klamath Falls, the park and museum are located along the banks of the beautiful Williamson River.

The Collier family donated the land to the State of Oregon in 1945

Equipment spans decades of logging technology.

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DANShell to create a park in honor of their parents and showcase the region’s logging history. The museum traces the evolution of logging, from axes and two-man saws to railroad logging and on to trucking and the modern hydraulic area.

Robert Wampler, whose company, Paul & Robert Wampler Inc. is featured this issue, was a long-time supporter of the museum before he died in 2017, one of a handful of local individuals who helped lead the work to make the museum a reality. The Wampler family remains involved,

and recently donated a mid ’80s truck for display.

Pieces date to early horse-drawn high wheel skidding arches and steam donkey engines and include some true rarities such as a Baldwin logging locomotive, 1923 Clyde track-laying machine and a self-powered McGiffert log loader.

A variety of truck-mounted loaders and cable skidding machines show early innovation and daredevil designs. The coolest is no doubt the Michigan T-24 truck-mounted log loader, poised to place a ghost log on a Mack truck with four-bolster short log trailer and rebar headache rack.

The newest piece? A Beloit Tree Harvester that dates from the 1970s80s, with its bulky boom, cable-activated delimbing knives and s-shaped shear jaws.

Collier Memorial State Park Logging Museum is a fascinating look at logging history and development in the U.S. West, a great visit for anyone willing to make the time.

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Museum covers 12+ acres of ground, includes interpretive center.

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Event Focuses On Wood Energy

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wo-hundred twenty-five industry personnel, including executives from the leading industrial wood pellet producers in the world, and 60 exhibitor companies participated in the fifth Wood Bioenergy Conference & Expo held April 11-12 at the Omni Hotel at CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. The event was hosted by Wood Bioenergy magazine and Georgia Research Institute.

It included 25 presentations on a range of topics and included speakers from industrial wood pellet producers Enviva, Drax, Pinnacle Renewable Energy, Highland Pellets and Fram Renewable Fuels. All of them painted a picture moving forward of increased worldwide demand for industrial wood pellets.

Leading wood energy consultant William Strauss of FutureMetrics noted that almost exactly 20 years to the day of the conference, in April 1998, the first trans-ocean bulk shipment of wood pellets from North America arrived at the port of Helsingborg, Sweden.

Strauss—noting that the two major markets for pellets are industrial pellets as a substitute for coal in large utility power stations, and premium heating pellets used in pellet stoves and central heating systems—said global wood pellet demand in 2017 was nearly 16.9 million metric tons for industrial pellets and 13.9 million metric tons for premium heating pellets.

Those numbers, Strauss said citing various forecasts, could escalate to 44.8 million metric tons of industrial pellets and 24.4 million of heating pellets by 2025. Most of that demand is expected to come in Japan and South Korea, as opposed to the United Kingdom and Europe where demand will flatten out after 2020.

Strauss said the power grid needs steady, reliable low-cost baseload carbon power, as opposed to the potentially dramatic fluctuations in wind and solar renewable energy.

He said the net carbon added to the atmosphere from the combustion of wood pellets is zero, and that the foundation for zero carbon emissions is the sustainability of the forest resources.

“As long as the growth rate equals or exceeds the harvest rate, the next stock of carbon held in the forest land-

Several experts addressed forest sustainability within the wood energy industry.

Sixty exhibitors set up in the Grand Ballroom of the Omni Hotel in Atlanta.

scape is held constant or is increasing and the atmosphere sees no new net carbon dioxide,” Strauss said.

Several speakers addressed Southern U.S. Forests & Sustainability in relation to the U.S. industrial wood pellet industry, which began exporting pellets from the first plant in the South 10 years ago. Today, nearly 20 industrial wood pellet-for-export production plants are in operation in the South.

Jennifer Jenkins, vice president and chief sustainability officer for Enviva, addressed the company’s Track & Trace supply chain monitoring program in which Enviva tracks every ton of primary wood back to its origin in the forest or sawmill.

“The most recent data confirms that Enviva’s sourcing practices are encouraging sustainable forest management, with forests continuing to grow faster than they are harvested,” she said.

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. He also announced his company’s current collaboration in the manufacture of NanoMass biomass dust as a co-firing fuel in coal power plants.

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 wood chips to the Enviva pellet facility in Cottondale, Fla. They run four chipping crews.

Several speakers spoke about the need for the industry to do a better job of presenting its case to the public, emphasizing the industry’s attention to forest management and sustainability, and the benefits gained by timberland owners because of the emergence of biomass energy markets.

The next Wood Bioenergy Conference & Expo will be held March 1011, 2020, again at the Omni Hotel at TH CNN Center in Atlanta.

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Research Reveals Pellet Sustainability After a decade, export pellet industry is sustainable with little environmental impact.

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DANShell

emember those heady days a ported by the U .S . D ept. of Energy’ s decade ago, when Green CirOak Ridge N ational Laboratory Center cle and Dixie Pellets were the first two for BioEnergy S ustainability and other export pellet mills to start up in 2008? groups has shown the pellet industry, A nd soon after a stream of similar projafter a decade of operation and growth, ects were announced, kicked around and is quite sustainable. in some cases greenlighted, leading to One paper, “S tatus and prospects for today’ s industry that features almost 20 renewable energy using wood pellets export pellet mills scattered from Virfrom the southeastern U nited S tates,” ginia to Texas in close proximity to Gulf covered a mountain of scientific studies and Mid A tlantic ports. The industry’ s and literature related to the question. annual production is approaching 5 milFindings show that pellet produclion tons with a collective annual capacity of 6 million tons.

A s with any major natural resourcebased industrial expansion, there’ s bound to be critical assessments from environmental groups, and the pellet industry has seen its share of ginned-up controversy from groups such as the D ogwood A lliance, which has made the most noise over pellet industry harvesting practices.

“For as long as I ’ ve Timber inventories have actually increased in major pellet harvest areas. been in the business, we have had these groups that hate the idea tion accounted for only 2% of total of industrial forestry,” says D ean Mctree harvest removals in 2014. A ddiCraw, consulting forester and owner of tional data shows pellet exports acMcCraw Energy, who’ s worked in count for less than 1% of U .S . forest Southern fiber management for decades. products by weight and less than .5% “I never understood their campaign of of total export value. lies and hatred for the industry, as the alThe research also shows that the ternative to forestry is what? ” biggest threat to S outhern U .S . timber Y et despite such environmental coninventories isn’ t logging, it’ s land concerns, recent research shows that after a version to other uses. W hile logging decade of operations and rapid expancan produce short-term loss of carbon sion, the wood fuel pellet export indusstock and habitat alteration, responsitry has had minimal impact on S outhble management is always preferable eastern U .S . timber inventories and even to non-forest conversion. less discernable impact on environmenP ellet production also provides a tal quality. key market input by creating demand Research released in 2017 and supfor lower value timber, which in turn 16

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gives landowners more incentive to manage for timber.

W ith the Forest S ervice projecting up to a 10% decline in forest area in the S outheastern U .S . by 2060 due to population growth, urban development and conversion to agricultural use, it’ s important for landowners to have motivation to retain forested land, researchers say.

Researchers note that in response to future forest product market conditions landowners could go to shorter rotations, higher density planting or more frequent thinning that could affect carbon stock levels, but to date there’ s no evidence of any change in stocking density trends, according to Forest S ervice data for counties in areas of high pellet production.

Researchers also report that prices for bioenergy feedstocks are unlikely to increase enough to drive major shifts in forest management because low-cost biomass is plentiful across the globe.

One indirect benefit of pellet demand is closer review of current practices by all involved in the industry, and an ongoing monitoring of the effects of pellet industry harvests to ensure confidence in forest and habitat management systems.

In its final conclusion on the prospects of using S outheastern wood pellets for renewable energy, the research team stated, “The balance of evidence... suggests that current levels of wood pellet production in the S E U S A have had a benign effect on forest ecosystem services.”

A nother research study supported

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by the same groups looked at Forest Each program requires regular audits by S ervice Forest I nventory and A nalysis independent, third-party auditors. This annual survey data for two timber reinformation, plus the greenhouse gas gions supplying pellet wood to mills emissions calculations for sourcing, profeeding the ports of Chesapeake, Va. duction and transport, are then reported and S avannah, Ga., from 2002-2014. to European regulators who determine Both recorded timcompliance with laws ber inventory inand regulations. creases during that I n addition to sus“Landowners respond time, including more tainability certificato strong markets for timber and plantation tion programs, involume on the Chesadustry also relies on forest products by peake area, and larger an extensive network planting more trees.” carbon pools and of state and federal —Jennifer Jenkins forestry and environmore areas with large Enviva mental laws to entimber in the S avannah area. A ccording sure sustainability to the study, “These and limited environresults show that benefits accrue when mental impact. I n the U .S ., both indussustainable forest management provides trial and non-industrial private landwood pellets for energy that keep fossil owners operate and manage their forfuels in the ground.” ests according to state forestry best management practices ( BMP s) and are also subject to federal, state and local Certification laws and regulations, including the Jennifer Jenkins, Enviva Vice P resiClean W ater A ct, Clean A ir A ct, and dent and Chief Sustainability Officer, Endangered S pecies A ct. notes the S outheastern U .S . provides one-sixth of the timber used globally Supply Chain Transparency every year. P ellet producers source raw material as part of a much larger forest A s the world’ s largest industrial products market, and lower-grade matewood pellets producer, Enviva is makrial used for pellets generally takes a ing major investments in sustainabilbackseat to other landowner objectives. ity. The company has developed a raw “Landowners don’ t manage and harmaterial tracking program that proves vest forests for the lowest value product, to industry detractors Enviva is sourcwhich is biomass, and pellet demand ing sustainably. does not drive harvest and management A ccording to Jenkins, “Our Track & decisions,” she says.

Trace ( T& T) supply chain transparency A ccording to S eth Ginther, Executive program is a one-of-a-kind system that D irector of the U .S . I ndustrial P ellet makes it possible for us to track every A ssn. ( U S I P A ), “S ustainability is the ton of wood we buy back to its origin in cornerstone of our industry. A s providthe forest or at a sawmill.” ers of renewable fuel, it is critical that The T& T program is audited by N S F we not only utiliz e sustainable raw maI nternational ( an independent third terial, but that we are able to demonparty) and provides stakeholders with strate sustainability to our customers unmatched supply chain transparency. throughout the entire supply chain.”

The program features a Forest Trend Map based on time-series data I ndeed, maintaining sustainable raw material procurement operations and certifying them through a third-party auditing system is crucial to European power markets, where most pellet exports are destined, and also to define fuel pellets as sustainable in global markets as well.

“European sustainability regulations apply to every shipment of wood pellets for energy that cross the A tlantic,” Ginther says, noting that the U .S . industry uses internationally-recogniz ed forestry certification programs for chain of custody and supply chain certification, inLook for more transparency efforts in the future. cluding FS C, S FI , P EFC, and S BP .

from the U .S . Forest S ervice that displays changes in overall forest conditions in the S outheastern U .S . and in each of Enviva’ s forest supply areas.

T& T also features the Enviva W ood S upply Map, which provides detailed information on actual timber harvests around each of Enviva’ s facilities, including harvest site, landowner type, forest type, harvest type, years since last harvest, number of acres harvested and the percentage of the harvest volume provided to Enviva for wood pellet production. The information is available at www.envivabiomass.com/ sustainability/ track-and-trace/ .

Looking ahead, it’ s important to maintain and expand efforts to promote sustainability.

McCraw notes that pellet producers need to be proactive and not reactive in the face of increased scrutiny. H e cites the landowner assistance programs that were popular during the era of integrated forest industry companies. Landowners would sign right of first refusal contracts with mills that would in turn offer landowners forest management assistance, discounted seedlings or other benefits.

“This would assure that the harvested stands are regenerated, which is the real backbone of sustainability,” McCraw says.

Jenkins believes an emphasis on transparency reflects a sustainability commitment, as evidenced by Enviva’ s Track & Trace program, and she’ d like to see more producers adopt similar systems as a boost to overall industry.

U sing Track & Trace, “W e can now provide stakeholders with unmatched supply chain transparency and are able to continuously monitor our feedstock sourcing in order to ensure that we are sourcing wood in a way that is consistent with the value we place on people TH and forests,” Jenkins says.

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Forest Family Series

Kimball Family Maintains Tradition

Nearly 400-year tradition continues for Minnesota’s Kimball family.

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Justin, left, and Kelly, right, Kimball with two of their Deere machines.

istory tells us that it was 1607 when Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in what would become the United States of America, was established along the banks of the James River in the Colony of Virginia. Thirteen years later, the Pilgrims arrived aboard the Mayflower in modern day Cape Cod, Mass. and founded the Plymouth Colony. In 1634, 27 years after the Jamestown settlement and 14 years after the Pilgrims landed, Richard Kimball left his home in a small town north of London and sailed to Plymouth Harbor. There he began cutting down white oak trees to make wagon wheels and other parts, establishing himself as a “wainwright,” a term used for a trades person skilled in the making and repairing of wagons.

During the next three centuries birth and death records for the Kimball family follow a track that leads north to Maine, west to Wisconsin and eventually into Minnesota.

Almost 400 years later, Kelly Kimball, 56, now operates Kimball Sawmill & Logging Inc. based in Park Rapids, Minn. He has personally seen four generations of his family operat20

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JORDAN Anderson

ing sawmill and logging businesses. His grandfather, Brad Kimball, operated a sawmill in Akeley, and his father, Ben Kimball, operated a sawmill and later moved into logging in the Osage area. Kimball, along with his two brothers, Terry and Ben, Jr., purchased his father’s sawmill in 1978. Together the three ran the sawmill From left to right, Tyler Henry, Zach Kimball, Sam Yliniemi, Kelly Kimball, Justin Kimball and Donny Pachel are ready to move. for several years, averaging production of about 15 MBF of hardwood lumber pressed any interest in logging careers. per day. In 1982 they purchased their However, two of Kimball’s three sons, fathers’ woods equipment and started Justin, 36, and Zach, 33, work with logging to supplement the sawmill their father in the woods. Justin operbusiness. The sawmill remained in opates a 2015 John Deere 843L felleration until 1991 when the brothers er-buncher and purchases most of the shut it down to focus on the logging timber that the company cuts by bidside, because it had become more time ding on tracts at county and Minnesota consuming and profitable.

DNR auctions. Zach operates a 2016 Terry and Ben, Jr. have since left the Barko 495B loader with a ground business and moved on to other things, slasher and oversees the five trucks and none of their children ever exowned by the company, and coordiTIMBER HARVESTING & WOOD FIBER OPERATIONS

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nates contract trucks when needed during the busy winter months.

Kimball’s youngest son, Cory, 28, went to work for the Minnesota DNR’s forestry office in Detroit Lakes and plans timber sales, although he’s not allowed to administer any that his father’s company buys. Cory purchased the shuttered family sawmill from his father in 2016 and runs it on the side doing custom sawing, and he’ll occasionally do some work with his father’s woods crew. Kimball has a succession plan in place for his sons to eventually assume control of the business.

job sites. In his John Deere equipment lineup he has an ’07 653G tracked feller-buncher, two ’14 648H skidders, ’15 843L feller-buncher, ’16 648L skidder, ’11 700J dozer, and a ’12 2154C equipped with a 2100C Risley delimber.

All Deere equipment and parts come from Nortrax with locations in BemiMichele Kimball tackles the administrative work. dji and Grand Rapids.

Kimball’s ’16 495B Barko loader equipped with a ground slasher came from Northern Timberline Equipment in Little Fork. His ’13 Chambers Delimbinator came from Ziegler Cat in Brainerd. Kimball menOperations, Markets tions that he’s giving The company currently emsome thought to moving ploys 10 including Kimball towards a CTL system and his three sons. Tyler for his logging operaZach Kimball handles the Henry, Sam Yliniemi and tions. Kimball mentions Donny Pachel operate equip- loading, coordinates trucking. that he’s giving some ment in the woods, while thought to moving toMike Reichling and Duane Hensel wards a CTL system for his logging drive trucks. Kimball’s wife Michele operations. handles all the administrative work.

Kimball owns five trucks: three PeKimball typically works within a 30terbilts, one a ’98 with a center-mount mile radius of his shop, office and wood trailer, a ’16 Kenworth, and a ’13 yard in Park Rapids, cutting tracts that Freightliner that pulls a TowMaster average about 40 acres in size, producdetach trailer. Trailers are a mix of ing 800 to 1,000 cords of wood.

Prairie, H&H, Sta-Lite and Savage. He Pine plantations are plentiful in his also utilizes three or four contract area, according to Kimball, and tracts trucks during the busy winter months. that he works are a mix of clear cuts During the spring and summer months and thinnings. The majority of the timthe company focuses on logging ber they cut is mature hardwood, inequipment and truck maintenance, and cluding Aspen, oak, ash and birch. they will devote some time to hauling Some of the hardwood goes to mills wood stockpiled at their wood yard and some is sold for firewood in 8-foot and will do some road building and relengths. They also cut some Norway pair as ground conditions allow. pine, spruce and balsam. Wood that is hauled to mills goes to Norbord and Economic Impact PotlatchDeltic, both in Bemidji, UPM Not only is logging a noble profesBlandin in Grand Rapids, Sappi in sion, but it’s also a key component in Cloquet, Two Inlets Mill in Park Rapthe economic chain, Kimball says. He ids and some to small family-owned points out that there are four industries and Amish mills. that drive the U.S. economy: forestry, Aside from the timber Kimball cuts mining, oil and agriculture. While from county and state timber sales, the mining and oil aren’t sustainable, and company also harvests some private only some agriculture is, the timber intimberland, mostly for landowners dustry is the only one that’s 100% suswanting to manage their wildlife. Kimtainable, he asserts. “There’s no reaball says they’ve seen a lot of beautiful son several generations from now they wildlife over the years: deer, bear, timshouldn’t still be doing it on the same ber wolves, grouse, eagles and other ground, if it’s done right,” says Kimvarieties of birds and animals. ball. He adds that leaving younger There’s a lot of green on Kimball’s

trees to mature and clearing out old dead trees in an effort to sequester carbon released into the atmosphere are great environmental benefits that are unique to the industry.

“I’ve been told that every $1 Minnesota mills spend on stumpage is multiplying to $41 added to the state’s economy. In perspective, three medium-sized logging companies like mine can bring as much money into the state’s economy during a year as this year’s Super Bowl played in Minneapolis,” Kimball says. He adds that his markets following the 2007 recession have been “really great” overall.

Kimball Sawmill & Logging is a member of the Minnesota Timber Producers Assn. and the Associated Contract Loggers & Truckers of Minnesota. Kimball is also a big supporter of the Minnesota Logger Education Program. He served on the board of the program from 2010 to 2016. He believes that staying involved in the industry through organizations like these is a big factor in keeping his company running sustainably and profitably.

When asked what contributes to the 380+ years of the Kimball family’s success of working in the timber industry, he doesn’t mince his words.

“Good workmanship, providing quality product, maintaining a good reputation and always being a man of your TH word,” Kimball says proudly.

Cory Kimball works for the Minnesota DNR and owns and operates the family’s sawmill.

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Deere’s CAG Process: Great Design Avenue Customer Advocate Groups help company design tomorrow’s machines today.

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KEVINOrfield

uilding a better logging machine starts with talking to loggers, and John D eere is good at doing both.

For example, John D eere’ s popular L-S eries skidders were developed over six years in a continuous process of engaging customers through formal Customer A dvocate Groups ( GA Gs). This invaluable customer input and response were blended with on-the-job feedback gathered by engineers and product marketing managers. A dditional information was obtained from sales and support teams. Engineers devoted 250,000 hours to designing prototypes based on this input.

Before reaching the assembly line, the skidders were refined and proven during more than 11,500 hours of testing in real-world conditions. This process was the same for the company’ s latest generation of feller-bunchers, harvesters and swing machines.

D eere began using the CA G process beginning in the mid-1990s for its H -S eries crawler doz ers. The process is very intensive and helps validate the design.

“I t drives the direction of the product to the value proposition that customers have identified productivity, uptime, and low daily operating costs,” says Brandon O’ N eal, D eere’ s P roduct Mar-

During the CAG process, Deere meets with customers regularly during product development.

keting Manager. “Those are the key things customers are looking for. W e want to build machines that meet customer needs, and the CA G is a great avenue to do that.”

James Faulk, of H ill Logging, I nc., Jeffersonville, Ga., a CA G member for the G-S eries swing machines, is impressed by the amount of time and detail that goes into the CAG process “There’ s good interaction between D eere and the customer— the end user.

Loggers like the way Deere engineers go about getting feedback through CAG interaction .

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D eere works hard to integrate the customer’ s input into the design.”

No Holds Barred The CA G process is one of give and take. It’s about finding the right balance of meeting customer needs at the right price point. The process helps ensure D eere is delivering the maximum value in a product, according to engineer Chris H arwood, D eere’ s Manager, Product Engineering “If you over-deliver, the product won’ t be affordable. I f you under-deliver, it won’t sell. The CAG helps you find that perfect point of value.”

P roduct design is a matter of delivering the amount of value the customer is willing to pay for. “That’ s why we bring customers in at intervals throughout the development process to ensure we are not under-designing or missing features they really want,” says O’ N eal.

John D eere goes out of its way to hear what its customers have to say. Everything is on the table, no holds barred.

“D eere wants to hear the negatives, not just the good things,” says Rick Cun-

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neen, P lantation H arvesting, Victoria, A ustralia, a member of the CA G for M-S eries tracked feller-bunchers and harvesters. “I t’ s an awesome process to be involved in.”

I n the CA G process, D eere meets with customers regularly to collect input. First, engineers present an initial design concept in electronic form, either CA D -based or virtual reality. This allows them to collect customer feedback and make adjustments. I nitially, D eere wants to understand the business opportunity in the eyes of the customer. Then it’ s a matter of going back and formulating potential solutions from that. Before anything is built in steel, D eere must articulate those solutions back to the customer. H yper-real virtual-reality tools are getting better and better at articulating this vision.

The next stage is to present a “mule” machine—a physical prototype. More feedback is gathered after machine walkarounds and some seat time in the new concept. Customers then review actual production machines. CA G members provide further feedback and final tweaks are made before the machine goes to the production line.

Rob Thorndike, of Main-ly Trees, based in S trong, Maine, a CA G member for the L-S eries wheeled skidders and feller-bunchers, describes the machine walk-around: “There are a bunch of guys with notebooks asking you questions,” he says. “They’ ll have a list a mile long and keep prodding and prodding. A nd when you think you’ ve answered every question, they give it to you in a different context.

They want to make sure they get the answer right—t hey’ re very good at that. The next time you see the machine, half your ideas are on it.”

“They are totally open to anything,” adds CA G member Oz Thorndike, Rob’ s brother. “‘ H ow can we make it better? ’ I t’ s nice to have people like that; it’ s what you want in a company.

That’ s why we have John D eere equipment.”

Getting feedback at an actual logging site is key. Forestry is different than other industries. I t is so remote.

Key design decisions can’ t be made only from an office. They must be based on first-hand observation. “You really need to get out to the woods and see what customers need in their machines and in terms of support,” says Jim O’ H alloran, P roduct Marketing Manager, tracked feller bunchers/ har-

vesters and disc saw felling heads.

“That’ s the best part of the CA G. A fter all of the customer input is gathered and applied to a design, we take what we think they want out into the woods so they can run it.”

Loggers are the best judges of whether a concept has succeeded. M-S eries CA G member Mark Maenpaa, of K& M Logging, Thunder Bay, Ontario, has run feller bunchers for 11 years and has 25,000 hours of seat time in them:

L-S eries CA G member Jack McFarland, of McFarland Timber, I nc., W innfield, La., compares the process to raising a child “You want to see your child grow and mature, and you have an idea of what you’ d like it to become. W e’ ve seen what began as a child, a brainstorm, an idea, transformed into a machine that conformed to the high standards that we’ ve set.”

The challenge is sorting through the wish lists of these varied customers

Deere personnel want to hear it all—even the bad stuff—in order to develop a better product.

“I ’ ve owned four of them, and I think it’ s great I ’ ve been asked to provide input about what I want changed. The resulting machine is very well built and reflects what we asked for,” he says.

Big Bang Solution CA Gs typically comprise 10 to 15 customers representing a mix of regions and applications. The CA G for L-S eries skidders, wheeled-feller bunchers and wheeled harvesters, for example, included customers from the U .S ., Canada, N ew Z ealand, Braz il, Chile, and Russia. On the John D eere side are vehicle performance engineers who turn customer requirements into engineering solutions, as well as product marketing managers who oversee a specific product line, such as wheeled machines or tracked machines.

Customers enjoy being part of the process. “They take pride in being part of the development of the next generation of logging machines that will be used all over the world,” says O’ H alloran.

and coming up with changes that are meaningful to the whole group. Engineers prioritiz e by what customers really want, what is nice to have, and what is fluff.

I t’ s not black and white, according to Greg Miller, D eere’ s Engineering Manager, skidders and wheeled feller bunchers “You collect the data, you ruminate on the data, and you try to figure out what is most valuable,” he says. “S ome are realistic expectations. S ome are pipe dreams. A nd some are kernels of an idea that could be tweaked and turned into important features.”

For example, skidder CA G members wanted a rotating seat to help alleviate neck strain and fatigue. The original solution included a rather cumbersome mechanism for releasing and rotating the seat. This evolved into a push-button release which was much more automated and convenient for the operator.

Engineers and customers have to work through some of these problems as a collective team and try to find the ultimate solution.

For the process to work, CA G

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members need to understand there are tradeoffs for every design decision.

Engineers help the customer to understand that choosing one feature probably means compromising another feature. If they want more reach, they may sacrifice a bit of lift capacity. Or if they want high lift capacity to handle larger timber, they probably won’t have zero tail swing. If there’s good communication, the CAG team will understand that the machine can’t be the highest in every category, or it will

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be too expensive or not very efficient.

They need to find the middle ground.

They need balance for the best overall solution.

An important part of the CAG process is delivering something the team never even thought of, what Miller calls the “big bang” solution. An example of this is the continuously variable transmission on the skidder, which combines the smoothness and operating ease of a hydrostatic powertrain with the fuel efficiency of a lockup torque converter.

“CAG members rejected this initially because they had this mental image of the transmission on a compact car—not a pleasurable driving experience, Miller relates.” But once they got that it was for a heavy-duty application and understood the advantages, they were on board. They said, ‘This is what we’ve got to have.’”

Machine DNA With customers defining what they want to see improved, John Deere can identify key new features they may not have imagined. Customers often know what they need but aren’t always able to articulate that in the form of specific features. “We know what would help them be more productive or get more uptime—especially technology like JDLink telematics or TimberNavi jobsite mapping,” says O’Neal. “We just have to demonstrate it for them. For example, we can show them how JDLink can dramatically reduce downtime by giving them a fault code, so they can catch an issue like a blocked filter before it becomes a major machine failure.”

John Deere technology solutions such as JDLink and TimberNavi will continue to become easier to use.

“Telematics will become part of a machine’s DNA,” says Miller. “There’s a huge emphasis right now on taking machine data and turning it into information the customer can use to become more productive. That and continuing to make the operator interface more intuitive and easy to use.”

Telematics and machine information are the future. Loggers want to know how to manage their machines and their business better to lower ownership and daily operating costs.

What else does the future hold for forestry machines? Functions will continue to become more automated, like the Rapid Cycle System on John Deere M-Series feller-bunchers, which provides push-button, automated felling-head arm cycling and simple boom control.

Whatever the future holds, John Deere will continue to listen to its customers’ voices. “It’s a good process,” says L-Series CAG member Neil Duncan, a skidder owner-operator from British Columbia. “I really enjoyed it.

I’m very passionate about skidders, and I’m glad I contributed to the latest generation of machines in some posiTH tive way.”

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Master Logger Certification: Why Loggers Need Program Seeking to bring greater recognition of achievements and a more positive outlook.

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TEDWright

ogging has an image problem in America, and every logger knows this. It wasn’t always this way.

Not so long ago, nearly every family in timber-rich areas of the country had at least one member working in the woods. Logging was understood and accepted, and loggers honored and celebrated as members of a vital and respected profession Today, with mechanization the number of loggers has fallen dramatically, relatively few families are in the business, and this once accepted industry is many times overlooked, misunderstood or, regrettably, vilified by the public.

Changing this image will not be easy, but it may be one of the most important tasks the logging industry must confront if it is to survive. Wood markets ultimately depend on the public, and when the public starts to question where, how or even whether wood is harvested, the image of logging becomes something we all need

to consider. This is where Master Logger Certification can make a difference, not just for individual loggers, but for our industry as a whole.

Master Logger Certification is about achieving professional standards and third-party verification. It is a program built not on taking classes, attending workshops or training sessions, but by demonstrating high quality work in the woods every day. In many cases, businesses that achieve this certification are already meeting Master Logger standards. Certification is a means of documenting this ongoing commitment. For these logging enterprises, it provides recognition of the high-quality work they already do. For loggers who do not yet meet the benchmarks and want to improve, it raises the bar for the industry.

Other industries have implemented standards that have elevated their reputation with the public. My wife is a registered nurse and relative newcomer to the logging industry. Many

Third-party performance audits make loggers more competitive.

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times, she is asked by coworkers or patients about what I do. She often explains the Master Logger Program by using an analogy about the medical field. Patients will always prefer using a board-certified physician. Certification in the health field has ensured upto-date and evidence-based knowledge and practices. The success of the program has led people to expect this level of professionalism.

The same is true for the forest products industry. By growing brand recognition of Master Logger, the consumer (mill, landowner, or general public) will know their choice of timber harvesting business meets the seven responsibilities of the certification program. The consumer will recognize a Master Logger company as doing the very best for the environment, the forest, the community and their employees.

Implementing these benchmark measures also allow state and federal regulators to look at our industry as being able to self-regulate, which can lead to the lifting or lightening of external regulations and red tape. This has already begun to happen in certain states. Increased awareness and understanding of Master Logger Certification will only bring greater recognition of our achievements and a more positive outlook.

In 2017, the American Loggers Council (ALC) decided the time was right to revitalize and promote the Master Logger program nationally to build on the success it has seen in areas of the country where it is already established.

This effort is being undertaken to help the

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logging industry receive recognition for the high-quality work so many loggers are already doing and to reinforce standards that will enable it to improve its image with the public and maintain healthy forests.

American loggers are doing the best work in the world. The public should know this and value it. Wood buyers should reward it. In an industry where

most of us are working long hours and often six or seven days a week, we have little time for anything that does not get the job done. This is why we must let the work we do stand for itself, and why the work must be recognized. This is what the Master Logger program seeks to accomplish.

In the coming months, this national effort will gain momentum. Existing

Master Logger Group Forms National Committee The organization tasked by the American Logger’s Council (ALC) with revitalizing and promoting Master Logger Certification© has formed a national committee to guide the effort and hired a program coordinator to administer it.

The first Master Logger program, Northeast Master Logger Certification, was created in 2001 by the Professional Logging Contractors of Maine (PLC) as the world’s first point-of-harvest certification program, offering third party independent certification of logging companies’ harvesting practices. In 2003, PLC created The Trust to Conserve Northeast Forestlands (TCNF) to administer the program with the broader goal of “enhancing the health of working forest ecosystems through exceptional accountability” in the northern forest region.

In 2004, the ALC adopted the program as a national model. Since then, 18 states have approved templates for implementation of the program, with several currently implementing it. In August 2017, ALC decided to launch a

national effort to promote the program and appointed the TCNF to lead it.

TCNF began the effort in January and has now formed a committee with representatives from the logging industry from 17 states. Members include: Myles Anderson, California; Perry Sawyer, Connecticut; Richard Schwab, Florida; John Lane, Georgia; Dennis Aucoin, Louisiana; Andy Irish, Maine; Brian Tetrault, Massachusetts; Brian Nelson, Michigan; Mike Hill, Minnesota; Shannon Jarvis, Missouri; Rocky Bunnell, New Hampshire; Paul Mitchell Jr., New York; Bruce Zuber, Oregon; Robert Thurber, Rhode Island; Crad Jaynes, South Carolina; Sam Lincoln, Vermont; Ed Bryant, Washington.

In late February, the Trust hired Jennifer Hartsig of J Piper Consulting, LLC in New York to coordinate the effort and provide administrative support and implement nationwide technical support, expansion, branding, standardization and outreach.

Hartsig specializes in working with rural, natural resource dependent or-

Quality logging operations should be rewarded.

Master Logger programs will be expanded, and new efforts launched. If there is not a Master Logger program in your area now, there will be soon.

TH Ted Wright is Executive Director of the Trust to Conserve Northeast Forestlands. For more information on the Master Logger Program, contact Wright at (207) 532-8721 or executivedirector@ tcnef.org.

ganizations, businesses and municipalities to help design, fund and manage projects. After gaining more than two decades of experience in public and private sector program coordination, she formed her own company.

Since 2012, she has been working directly with loggers and other forest industry stakeholders in New York State as the Coordinator for New York Logger Training, Inc., and project consultant with Empire State Forest Products Assn. She and her forestry consultant husband, two daughters and a son live in the western Adirondack Mountains of New York.

TCNF Executive Director Ted Wright says the pieces are now in place for the next steps of the effort to begin.

“With our committee members and a program coordinator with Jennifer’s credentials onboard we are ready to begin the serious work of promoting the Master Logger program nationwide,” Wright says. “We are confident that the time is right and the industry ready for what the Master Logger program can offer not only to individual loggers, but to the industry as a whole.

Raising the bar in logging is what Master Logger is all about, and that is a win-win scenario for our forests, our industry and our economy.”

Landowners in areas of the country where Master Logger programs exist are increasingly seeking Master Loggers for harvests on their property, Wright says, and many end-users of wood are also seeking assurances that the wood they buy is being harvested sustainably and responsibly.

ALC’s national Master Logger Certification program template is built on seven areas of responsibility that meet the performance standards of the program, but allow each state participant to tailor their program based on existing state regulations and forest practices acts. Independent third-party verification is key to the program. TH

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PeoplePower!

WENDY FARRAND wendyfarrand@gmail.com, 207-838-4435

Be Mindful That Mindfulness Holds Safety Initiatives In Place There are many things that help strengthen safety in the woods, including PPE, bright colored vests, chaps, separation of duties, eye contact, meetings, best practices and lockout-tagout procedures. All of these and more are vital to creating a safe work environment and combating complacency.

Even so, one of the most important tools loggers have when it comes to safety is that beautiful gem that fits snuggly under a hardhat, the brain. Utilizing that tool effectively can make the difference between life and death.

Mindfulness is an activity that simply means placing one’s attention squarely on the present, in the moment, and the immediate surroundings. It’s a very hard thing to do in the best of circumstances, let alone under the stressful work environment loggers endure. Regulations, fuel prices, payments, lining up jobs and quotas can pull your thoughts out of the moment and into dangerous distraction.

As you read this, stop and make yourself aware of your immediate surroundings. Become mindful: Clear your head of the chatter, the future, the past, kids, family members and bills to pay. Be present in the sound and the light and the activity around you. You may hear a car going by or a bird calling out—sounds you most likely wouldn’t notice during the most hectic parts of your day.

It’s not an easy thing to do, is it?

Our minds are swirling with all sorts of information that takes us out of the present, but mindfulness can grow stronger the more you do it.

Once I finished a safety presentation and a retired cutter came up and told me how he had been working in the woods since he was 14. On one of his first days on the job, his boss gave him a stern lecture: “Boy! You ever find your mind wandering while you’re cuttin’, you stop! Ya hear me? Put that saw down and sit on a stump until your

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mind is ready to focus on cuttin.’”

What an incredible amount of insight that old-time boss had. He taught that young logger a lesson and gave him a beautiful gift burned into his memory that stayed for his entire career—scaring a young logger into mindfulness so he could live to retire.

Mindfulness in any profession is key to employee engagement and self-awareness, and for those who risk their lives, it is critical for safety. Let employees know that mindfulness is expected while they are operating your equipment.

And the retired cutter who told the story remembered the lesson like it was yesterday.

Alerting crew members to the danger present when their minds wander draws attention to how important mindfulness and employee engagement are. Let employees know that mindfulness is expected while they are operating your equipment.

Supervisors are responsible for cultivating a mindful crew. Being mindful is an activity, a conscious choice, and should be discussed daily to raise the level of safety awareness. Mindfulness in any profession is key to employee engagement and self-awareness, and for those who risk their lives, it is critical for safety.

Know Your Crew Take the time to know each employee, their tendencies, work habits, strengths and weaknesses. Knowing those things can alert you when something is going on, leading to an employee not fully engaged in their

job. Does an employee seem stressed, distant, sick or worried about a loved one? These types of things take us outside of the moment and sidetrack the brain to think of things that have nothing to do with the immediate task at hand.

Leaders can sometimes shy away from what they might label “touchy feely” stuff, and trust me, you are not alone in your thinking. I have heard that from a lot of people I have worked with, regardless of the industry and level of danger. I have also seen the results of a leader who pays close attention to these things, and the positive impact that it has on safety and production.

It’s your job to notice when a typically reliable employee starts to show signs of waning engagement on the job. A good leader will not judge these changes before asking some important questions of that crew member to get a feel for what might be going on. The more questions you ask, the better.

Yes, there are a lot of things that go into creating a safe job site, but maintaining mindfulness serves as the foundation for all the other things that you and your company have in place. How effective is a hardhat if the employee forgets to put it on in a moment of distraction?

How effective are those chaps if a frustrated employee says, “I’m not walking back to Joe’s truck to get the chaps.” How effective is separation of duties when an employee is on the phone making decisions for a sick loved one, or pacing distractedly around dangerous equipment?

Mindfulness is the glue that holds all the other safety initiatives in place, for without a mindful employee a distracted moment can cancel the effectiveness of the most effective PPE. Step up to the leadership plate and remind employees every day that a mindful crew is a safer crew. Emphasizing mindfulness can strengthen employee engagement and may someday save a life. Share the importance of mindfulness early and share it often, so your crew members can live to TH thank you for it!

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EquipmentWorld Equipment Linc Demo

Part of the group attending grand opening festivities for Equipment Linc LLC on April 7 take in the allied equipment demo arranged by the company. Located near Maplesville, Ala., Equipment Linc’s demo featured a Barko 595 loader coupled with a CSI 496 delimber and a DF703 Phoenix tri-wheel feller-buncher. Equipment Linc opened its doors last fall. Long-time equipment rep Tommy Moore is the president.

Mid-South Show Draws 70+ Exhibitors, Brands As of early May, more than 70 exhibitors representing more than 100 brands of products and various services had booked space for the Mid-South

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Forestry Equipment Show (MSFES) in Starkville, Miss. Set for September 2122, MSFES is the nation’s longest running live demo event and the South’s premier venue of its type.

Those who most recently reserved space included Alliance Tire Ameri-

cas, Manac Trailers, MDOT Law Enforcement, Mississippi Forestry Commission, Midwestern Insurance Alliance, TRAX Plus, Renasant Insurance, Lumbermen’s Equipment Digest, Southern Safety Solutions, LMI-Tennessee, Timber Clothing Co., Waters International Trucks, Loftness Specialized Equipment, Quadco, Artistry In Wood and MSU College of Forest Resources.

A listing of exhibitors to date can be found at midsouthforestry.org; information for potential exhibitors can be found at crf.msstate.edu/msfes.

In addition to featuring the latest in harvesting equipment and transportation products and technology, the event this year will again incorporate the Caterpillar Loader Championship and a separate show-sponsored skidder contest. As well, it will include two $1,000 cash door prizes, continuing education sessions for loggers and foresters, LogA-Load for Kids fund raising efforts, a biennial tie-in meeting of the Mississippi Loggers Assn., and on-site cooking by certain vendors on Saturday.

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InnovationWay Caterpillar Forest Machines

Tigercat Cable Skidder

Caterpillar has produced two Cat Forest Machine models, the 548 and the 548 LL which meet U.S. EPA Tier 4f emission standards and feature outstanding fuel efficiency and optimized work tools while increasing horsepower, swing torque, lift capacity and tractive effort.

The Cat 548 forestry excavator is configured for tasks ranging from road building and site preparation to processing logs roadside or at a landing. The 548 LL is configured as a log loader and can perform log handling tasks, such as shovel logging, loading, power clam/butt-n-top applications, and mill yard activities.

An almost 20% boost in swing torque, depending on the model, provides more power to move trees, increasing production and efficiency. Heavy lift mode and other updates enable greater lift capacity to handle larger payloads with improved control, and tractive effort has improved by as much as 13% to allow efficient maneuvering.

Visit cat.com/forestry.

In 2017 Tigercat developed and released its most compact skidder platfrom, the 602 series. The prototype 602 skidder was sent to France last summer to be fitted with a Belgian designed and manufactured swing boom for use in mountain regions of Europe.

Now, the 602 is available as a cable skidder suited to pockets of North America and other traditional winch skidder markets. The 602 cable skidder is ideal for high value selective hardwood logging and for retrieving timber from steep slopes and gullies.

The 602 is equipped with the Tigercat FPT Tier N45 engine, which provides full emissions compliance for Tier 2 and Tier 4f, along with excellent fuel economy. Both engines deliver 168 HP at 2,200 RPM. The machine has a fixed front axle with an oscillating center section to achieve a very narrow overall width of 106" .

Visit tigercat.com.

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Southstar Purpose Built Processors Southstar harvesting/ processing heads QS 450/500/600/630 Series incorporate a patent pending independent “side stepping” feature allowing for independent control of two stems. The 4x4 extra-wide feed rollers provide increased surface contact with the log and large diameter wheels deliver increased control speed.

The Southstar FD750 model heavy duty directional felling head is designed for falling stems with an optimum operating size of 5-55" diameter. Dual Harvester tilt cylinders with complete with harvest down activation enable optimum control and increased safety when falling.

A ¾" Southstar saw unit with an advanced chain auto tension system allows for tool-less chain change. Also incorporated is a clever spin back feature permitting the chain to continue spinning when the saw bar is returning - allowing the saw bar to cut through any undergrowth that would otherwise cause the bar to jam.

Southstar Grapple Processors QS 505/605/635 series are designed and built for production processing and log handling. They include a powerful tilt with locking system with float for heeling logs and handling; powerful dual rotate motors with special Southstar-designed spool, to allow the head to follow log when processing. A powerful 4x4 drive system provides amplified torque in large wood when processing while increasing productivity with the ability to multi-stem small wood.

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InnovationWay Ponsse Forwarder Loader Ponsse presents a new loader, the K121, for its Elephant and ElephantKing forwarders.

The loader combines high slewing torque and lifting power, increased reach, and a new type of loader geometry that is easy to control. It enables shorter loading and unloading times, facilitates working in conditions where load handling takes up a large proportion of the working time, and makes it easier to work on sites where large trees must be handled and on slopes that demand increased power.

The improved geometry of the K121 loader, easy control system, and the ability to install a grapple with a surface area that is 16% larger adds up to significantly increased load-handling performance. The tilt stand available for the K121 has a larger tilt angle, guaranteeing that the loader works at the right angle even in steep environments.

Visit ponsse.com.

Peterson Pacific Drum Chipper Peterson Pacific Corp. offers the 3310B drum chipper, a smaller and lighter model that can operate on tighter landings for biomass and land clearing operations. With a 540 HP Tier III or Tier 4 Caterpillar engine, the 3310B has the power to handle up to 24" diameter logs.

With large access doors on both sides of the machine for serviceability, the fully enclosed engine compartment keeps things clean.

The 3310B’s transverse design allows for a much smaller operations deck, providing flexible production configurations in diverse terrain. With 230˚ rotation, the end-load or optional top-load spout design allows trailers to be loaded in a variety of positions.

Visit petersoncorp.com.

Deere-Waratah Control System John Deere is integrating Waratah’s TimberRite H-16 Control System on John Deere tracked harvesters and tracked swing machines equipped with Waratah 600-Series harvesting heads. This provides the ability to configure settings to exact application needs. Loggers can choose from two systems. The preselection prioritization system follows preset logic and prioritizes based on operator selection, length and diameter, while the optional value-based optimization system uses log grade, assortment value, stem prognosis, length and diameters matrices, and demand inputs.

Visit johndeere.com.

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SelectCuts Coming in July-August TH:

Steep Slope Logging Technology

As We (ALC) See It

Having It Both Ways?

BY MARK TURNER During the past couple years, several CEOs of large timber companies have expressed concerns about not having enough logging contractors to do the work needed. Who Turner 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 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. Us 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 “pre-bid price.” We were told that they really wanted us to do the sale 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

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SelectCuts 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 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. Us loggers are quite capable of coming up with num-

bers 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, 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 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, 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 possible 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.

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SelectCuts Georgia’s Eley Frazer Was Forestry Leader Eley C. Frazer, III, co-founder of F&W Forestry Services, Albany, Ga., and a well-known and highly respected forestry leader, died on January 29. His Eley Frazer health had been in decline for several years. He was 91.

A native of Lafayette, Ala., Frazer completed high school and joined the Navy at 17, serving in the Pacific Theater in World War II. While attending the University of Florida, where he earned a degree in forestry, he owned and operated a logging business that he continued to run for four years after his graduation.

He served for three years as manager of Blackwater River State Forest, then worked for five years as assistant unit forester for Georgia lands for St. Joe Paper Co.

In 1962 he helped launch F&W Forestry Services, first serving as operating partner. Five years later he became president of the company. In 1988 he became Chairman of the Board. Today F&W is one of the nation’s oldest and largest forest consulting and management firms, operating 15 offices in nine states.

Along the way, Frazer served as an officer in numerous professional and business organizations. He testified on forestry issues many times before Congressional committees and became a recognized expert in rural real estate and forest appraisal.

Last Rites Held For Tommy Glancy Thomas (Tommy) Glancy II, 55, owner of Glancy Logging of Pinetown, NC, was memorialized April 14 in Washington, NC. He died at a Greenville hospital on April 9.

A native of Craven County, Glancy was a 1980 graduate of Washington

High School and was respected for operating his successful logging business with a hands-on, low profile style.

B&G Equipment’s Bates Memorialized March 14 Memorial services for W.J. Bates, a former logger who became a successful logging equipment businessman, were held March 15 in W.J. Bates Philadelphia, Miss. Bates, 83, died March 12 from injuries sustained in a tractor accident on his property. According to his family, operating equipment was one of his favorite things to do.

A native of Neshoba County, Bates and partner Donald Grantham, Jr. cofounded B&G Wood Products more than 40 years ago and in 1976 cofounded B&G Equipment, Inc., which over time grew into a 46

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SelectCuts 43 major logging equipment sales and service organization in Mississippi and Alabama. Bates bought out Grantham in 2005 and in recent years had stepped back as his children, grandchildren and in-laws assumed day-to-day business responsibilities.

A major dealer for Tigercat and other companies, B&G operates four stores in Mississippi and one in Alabama, which it opened just a few years ago.

Bates was a former board member of the Mississippi Forestry Assn.

Forestry Mutual’s Lemire Recognized By FRA John (J.J.) Lemire was honored earlier this year with a special “Safety Recognition Award” by the Southeastern Region of the Forest Resources Assn. (FRA).

According to the FRA, Lemire exemplifies the safety leadership that his company fosters. As Director of Loss Control for Forestry Mutual Insurance Co., Raleigh, NC, he has authored

many FRA Safety Alerts and Technical Releases aimed at improving logging and trucking safety awareness.

Lemire has also served as the Chairman of FRA’s Timber Harvesting and Transportation Safety Foundation and its Southwide Safety Committee.

Lemire and Forestry Mutual are playing a key role in the current efforts of TEAM Safe Trucking (www.teamsafetrucking.com) to elevate the safety performance of the log trucking sector.

Hancock Named Timberlands Mgr. Roseburg named Pete Hancock as Roanoke Timberlands Manager, Hancock will oversee the day-to-day harvest and land management activities on Roseburg’s recently acquired 158,000-acre fee land base in North Carolina and Virginia.

A 2001 graduate of Virginia Tech where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Forestry, Hancock joins Roseburg from GFR Forestry Consultants, where he has provided

Listings are submitted months in advance. Always verify dates and locations with contacts prior to making plans to attend.

May 18-19— Expo Richmond 2018, Richmond Raceway Complex, Richmond, Va. Call 804-737-5625; visit exporichmond.com.

May 18-19— Montana Logging Assn. annual meeting, KwaTaq Nuk Resort, Polson, Mont. Call 406-752-3168; visit logging.org.

June 12-14— Forest Products Society annual meeting, Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center Madison, Wis. Call 855-475-0291; visit forestprod.org.

July 15-18—Council On Forest Engineering annual meeting, Williamsburg Lodge, Williamsburg, Va. Call 240-3822633; visit cofe.org.

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

July 20-22—Missouri Forest Products Assn./Missouri Loggers Council annual meeting, Old Kinderhook, Camdenton, Mo. Call 816-630-5500; visit moforest.org.

August 23-26—Virginia Loggers Assn. annual meeting, Colonial Williamsburg Lodge, Williamsburg, Va. Call 804677-4290; visit valoggers.org.

MAY/JUNE 2018

Livingston Named Exec Director Of MLA David Livingston is the new executive director of the Mississippi Loggers Assn. He steps into the position for former executive director Cecil Johnson, who stepped down late last year after heading the MLA since 2007.

Livingston, a forestry graduate of Jones Junior College in Ellisville, Miss., has 28 years of experience in the timber industry. This includes running his own company, Forest Technologies, Inc. (FTI), since 2003. FTI buys and sells timber and fields one logging crew.

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clients in northeast North Carolina and southeast Virginia with timber sale, forest management, strategic harvest, and land use planning services for the past 12 years. During college, Hancock spent his summer months interning for International Paper. After graduation, he leveraged that experience into an area forester position in the Roanoke area.

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