MACHINERYROW

“We are thrilled to have Jeremy take on this new role of Vice President at Con-Vey,” says Dave Larecy, CEO and President, “His vision, commitment and strengths make him the right guy for the job, and we are confident he will help us achieve our strategic initiatives and continue to grow Con-Vey into the future.”

As Vice President, Goebel will continue to lead the sales team, while also managing other department operations. This promotion is part of Con-Vey’s growth plan and the next step in expanding its management team.

Büttner Expands Product Range

As a globally operating supplier of burners as well as drying and energy plants, Büttner—a member of the Siempelkamp Group—is taking the next logical step by establishing a new environmental technology competence center in Kaiserslautern, Germany, and expanding its product range in the field of environmental technology.

Büttner will now be designing and manufacturing dry electrostatic filters to separate ash from hot flue gases in energy plants and wet electrostatic precipitators (WESP) to reduce particles and volatile emissions from the waste air emitted by drying and press systems.

This gives new customers the opportunity to focus on energy efficiency and the reduction of emissions during the planning and design stages of their plants. But the new competence team will also be able to help current customers in regard to the modernization, conversion and extension of their existing plants.

Brett Paved Way For H-B Abroad

Alan Douglas Brett, who in the latter half of his career led the international advertising sales growth of the forest industry trade magazines produced by HattonBrown Publishers, Inc., and whose vigorous life included professional motor cycle speedway racing as a young man and a long stint as sales manager with the Daily Telegraph in London, died January 16 following health issues at his villa at Aldea de las Cuevas, Benidoleig, Alicante, Spain. He was 86.

Brett sold magazine advertising space for Montgomery, Alabama, U.S.-based Hatton-Brown Publishers, Inc. and its ber Processing, Panel World Harvesting magazines from 1984 to 2006. He worked from his office and home residence in Box Hill, Surrey, just southwest of London, until in 1993 he and his wife, Rita, purchased their dream home in years of dealing with sales people who were the complete opposite,” recalls David Ramsey, publisher of HattonBrown Publishers, Inc. who hired Brett. “He was a happy man and lived his life as such. He came from a tough childhood but lived his life his way. I shall miss him.”

Hatton-Brown Editor-in-Chief Rich Donnell remembers, “In 1989 I met Alan at the Ligna show in Hannover, Germany, long before Hatton-Brown had its own booth there, and we set up shop on one of the tables of the Hall 2 restaurant and walked the aisles for a week. I soon discovered he was a very persuasive salesman who could close the deal. He also had a great personality and sense of humor that won over his clients.”

Brett was born in Kingston Hospital on December 23, 1936. He was raised by his mother and in his late teen years by an aunt and cousins in New Malden South London.

Brett was a “war baby” and due to the heavy bombing of South London he went to stay with a mining family in Nottingham, but experienced bombing in the industrial Midland as well. The war experience contributed to Brett’s lifelong passion as an amateur historian of World War II, complemented by his lifelong power of memory.

Brett became obsessed with Motorcycle Speedway Racing, as tracks were springing up everywhere due to the wasteland available after the war. In his teen years Brett raced cycle speedway and attended high school at Wimbledon Technical College.

In 1954 he started to race competitively as a professional motor cycle speedway rider and in 1955 he represented Eastbourne and Wimbledon before big crowds throughout Europe. He mixed with many of his childhood heroes and champions— Ronnie Moore, Barry Briggs, Ivan Mauger, Ove Fundin and Peter Cravan.

But in 1956 Brett’s highly promising speedway career was cut short due to a terrible leg injury. He suffered it during a practice session when the bike in front of him crashed, sending Brett from behind over the top of his bike before a third rider rode over Brett’s leg. However, while in the hospital Brett met Rita Hammerton, who was a professional dancer working at The Windmill Theatre in Soho and they were married in 1960.

His dream of racing motorcycles shattered, Brett entered the newspaper industry and his career progressed to Classified Sales Manager at the Daily Telegraph were he would work for 20 years.

Brett left the Daily Telegraph and set up his own company, selling advertising for various trade publications, eventually landing with Hatton-Brown Publishers. Brett was a pioneer of “remote working,” running his British business from Spain.

Brett enjoyed his life immensely in Spain, especially helping out the elderly and was a big supporter of the local Careline Theatre, holding the position of Front of House.

Brett’s wife Rita died in 2021 and Brett chose to continue his life in their villa until his peaceful passing, surrounded with love by his family and caregivers. He is survived by his sons and their spouses, Neil (Simone) and Murray (Liz), five granddaughters, and a sister, Jill.

RoyOMartin Goes Back 100 Years

RoyOMartin is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the founding of Roy O. Martin Lumber Co., which was legally organized and incorporated in Alexandria, La. in 1923. Led by Indiana native Roy O. Martin, Sr., the company was born after the entrepreneur’s purchase of an older sawmill and began without a single acre of land. Today, the trade name RoyOMartin represents a group of vertically integrated companies owned by the Martin family, focused on sustainable land and timber management and wood product manufacturing.

“For 100 years, the Martin family has built a business model demonstrating corporate responsibility benefiting its shareholders, stakeholders, team members and our families,” states Roy O. Martin III, grandson of Martin Sr. and Chairman, CEO and CFO.

In addition to being a leader in responsible forest-management practices and overseeing 550,000 acres of highly-productive timberland, RoyOMartin and its subsidiaries operate three manufacturing facilities supported by nearly 1,300 employees: an oriented strandboard plant in Oakdale, La.; plywood and solid wood products plant in Chopin, La.; and an oriented strandboard plant in Corrigan, Texas, which is currently expanding by constructing a second mill at the site.

In 1923, after working in the lumber industry in Indiana, Illinois and Tennessee for 11 years, 33-year-old Roy Otis Martin Sr. wanted to go into business for himself and wanted to buy a sawmill in an area where lumber was reasonably inexpensive. His search took him to Alexandria, where he and his wife, Mildred Brown Martin, purchased the nearly dilapidated Creston Sawmill for $32,000. On November 10, 1923, the Roy O. Martin Lumber Co. was officially organized and incorpo- rated, with Roy O. Martin as its president.

The company has thrived through a variety of changes and challenges in its 100 years—from sawmills and lumberyards to retail outlets, creosote treating, real estate, and wood product manufacturing—to become a timber-and-manufacturing industry leader.

In 1929 Martin Sr. made his first land purchase when he bought 6,500 acres in the Black Lake swamp area in northwest Louisiana. Since then, timberland hold- ings have grown exponentially to become one of the largest private landowners in the state.

Throughout three generations, the Martin family has remained in management roles. In 1962, company leadership passed to the second generation, with Roy O. Martin Jr. serving as president, followed by his brother Ellis Martin in 1978. The third generation took the helm in 1994 when Jonathan Martin (Ellis’ son) and, later, Roy O. Martin III assumed the top positions of president and CEO.

Today, organizational leaders still abide by the same principles held by the company’s founder: Respect, Integrity, Commitment, Honesty, Excellence, and Stewardship. Those values, known by the acronym RICHES, guide everyday decisions.

“We will continue to demonstrate respect for each person uniquely created by God; integrity in what we do; commitment to our business, shareholders and stakeholders; honesty in our interactions with others; excellence in our processes, including world-class safety, product quality, employee benefits, training and manufacturing; and stewardship and generosity of our assets,” Martin affirms.

Local Hires Strengthen RVL Weldon Team

Roseburg’s Roanoke Valley Lumber, which will employ 140 once the new mill is up and running in Weldon, NC, announced two new members with local ties to the team.

Brandon Majors joins RVL as an area coordinator for the new mill. A graduate of Roanoke Rapids High School, he comes to Roseburg from Enviva Biomass in Raleigh, where he spent 10 years first as an operator, then as a shift supervisor, and later as an area manager for the chip mill. He brings experience managing daily operations and helping set longerterm strategy, while meeting production numbers.

Cody Fortier, another Roanoke Rapids High School graduate, joins RVL from Lowe’s Distribution, where he served as an operations supervisor for the past two years. He previously worked as a production supervisor for Georgia-Pacific in Emporia, Va. A U.S. Navy veteran, Fortier spent more than three years as a law enforcement officer in the Halifax County area.

Campbell Global Adds

Timberland In South

Timber investment manager, Campbell Global, has acquired more than 250,000 acres of high-quality, commercial timberland across three properties in the Southeastern U.S. valued at more than a half billion dollars. Campbell Global, which was acquired by J.P. Morgan Asset Management in August 2021, has managed more than 5 million acres worldwide for funds and investors.