IN-WOODS OPERATION

Learning To Modify

By Patrick Dunning

ZIRCONIA, NC

It was only a matter of time before 35-year logger Noble Capps Jr., 55, came back to what first distinguished his family’s reputation: whole tree chipping.

He remembers sitting perched on a pine stump hearing stories from his father, Noble Capps Sr., who would hoist 5 ft. logs over his shoulder and tote them out of the woods one by one. Business was slow moving at first for Capps Sr., hauling logs when he wasn’t farming or working at a cotton mill. He joined forces with his

brothers, Frank and Francis, and began their legacy as loggers in 1976, hauling “dirty” chips to Champion Pulp & Paper Mill in Canton, NC.

Merely a year after purchasing new equipment in 1985, allowing the Capps brothers to produce 100 loads per week, Champion banned whole tree chipping entirely: accepting “clean” chips only.

The brothers decided to establish their own chip mill, Capps Bros. Woodyard in Landum, SC, in 1986. Adding a new drum debarker to the existing Morbark whole tree chipper put the brothers new venture into clean chips. And with it, the Capps were on the map.

At 21 years old, Capps founded Noble Capps Jr. Logging Inc. in 1987 to supply Capps Bros. “My dad and his brothers had just started the chip mill and needed wood,” he remembers. “Dad co-signed on an old truck, loader and a skidder and I started cutting wood.”

Capps regularly hauled mixed hardwoods and pulpwood to Capps Bros. until the 2008 downturn tightened his local markets, leaving him frustrated. A combination of mill curtailments and a shortage of truck drivers forced him to pull back production and weather the storm.

That same year, he established a lasting relationship with Faith Harvesting forester, David Gardner, whom he still works with today. Gardner was able alleviate some of the tension Capps was feeling by increasing the number of sawmills he delivered logs to, to avoid quotas and keep his men working.

Though outwardly, Capps was trying to keep his glass half full, he internally thought that his logging days were numbered. “What I lost in truck drivers I was saving in fuel cost, drivers and workers’ comp. But I wanted to move more wood because I always have,” he admits. “I liked sticking a little bit here and there and stay profitable but it was hard to find that happy medium.” Capps had to roll the dice; he has a 21-yearold son, Holt who operates a loader. The plan is for Holt to take over the business and Capps wants to pass down a blueprint on adapting to market changes.

After Enviva acquired Colombo Energy’s wood pel-

let plant in Greenwood, SC, in early 2018, Capps began doing cost analysis and considering if buying an inwoods chipper was economically feasible. He found a deal in July 2019 on the used market: a 2009 Bandit 3090 chipper with 2,000 hours.

“My markets changed and it was getting hard to get rid of product. The opportunity came up and I had always wanted to get into chipping because my dad and uncles were in the woods chipping when I was growing up,” Capps says. “I knew chipping was a good way to go because you don’t waste anything. It’s a productive way to log so I took the gamble.”

New Markets

He delivered his first load of 5⁄8 in. chips to Enviva Greenwood in late 2019 and shifted his crew to focus largely on chipping. “Right now we’re chipping everything except hardwood logs,” Capps explains. “On a lot of tracts we cut all the logs and chip everything else and it adds up quick.”

His single crew of five averages 25 loads of chips per week, with the majority being hauled to Enviva Greenwood. One skidder sorts pine and hardwood logs on the tract. Any roundwood pulpwood is hauled to New Indy

Two John Deere feller-bunchers are an exception to Capps’ exclusive in-woods Caterpillar line-up.

24 Wood Bioenergy / October 2021

Container Board, Rock Hill; hardwood roundwood to International Paper in Silverstreet. Hardwood saw logs are hauled to Associated Hardwoods Inc. in Gaffney. Truck drivers David Bowen and Mathew Holland haul the company’s woody biomass material and logs.

Both the company’s chip vans, a Peerless and ITI, are hitched at 3 a.m. to deliver the day’s first loads at Enviva. On top of a lengthy turnaround time that aggravates Capps, a limited pool of available truck drivers has affected his production despite Enviva’s demand for raw material. “I’ve been looking since October of last year and can’t find any truck drivers. It’s killing me,” he says. “We have plenty of wood here and they (Enviva) would take more if I had the drivers.”

Capps is confident after Enviva finishes installing an additional hydraulic end tipper in the next couple months he’ll be able to squeeze in two extra loads per day. Until then he’s looking to fill the vacant seats in two of his four trucks. The company’s trucking fleet is composed of three Peterbilts with glider kits and a 2007 Kenworth. D&B Equipment, Glasgow, Ky., installed the Peterbilt glider kits.

The Verizon Connect fleet management application is installed on smartphones to track daily operations and productivity. “All my drivers have its GPS on their phones so I can see where they are in case they have a problem on the road or break down and don’t have service,” he explains. “It helps us make sure we have a load ready when they’re almost back.”

Equipment

Noble Capps Jr. Logging operates using Caterpillar equipment purchased through Carolina Cat and John Deere from James River Equipment, both located in Asheville, NC.

Capps grew up using Franklin equipment and was familiar with Timberjack in the 1990s; so, when he prepared to trade in his Franklin skidder, Caterpillar offered a financing package he couldn’t refuse. Capps bought his first Caterpillar machine in 2001 as the equipment manufacturer began putting more emphasis on its forestry product line.

Now, Capps Jr. Logging runs Cat exclusively aside from two John Deere feller-bunchers. Having bought his first John Deere feller-buncher in 1997, Capps liked the machine’s dependability and hasn’t found a reason to look anywhere else.

Carolina Cat and James River are within a 30-mile radius of Capps, making it easier for warranty servicing and parts. The crew uses a 2011 525C skidder, 2012 545C skidder, 2019 535D skidder, 2013 579C loader, 2007 843J feller-buncher, 2012 643K feller-buncher and the 2009 3090 Bandit chipper. His log trailers are Whites and McClendon.

Chipping for biomass gave the crew new life. From left, Noble Capps, Jr., Tekoah Heatherly, Holt Capps

Maintenance

Woods equipment and trucks are serviced every 250 to 300 hours using Rotella 15W-40 at the company’s 40x60 shop. Capps started using Rotella 20 years ago and says his equipment has always responded well to it. He purchases his fuel from Lutz Petroleum in Spindale, NC.

The Bandit chipper is serviced every 250 hours and air filters replaced as needed due to the dust. Knives are changed every 10 to 12 loads but Noble says sometimes as frequent as six depending on the sandy dirt. He ran across an online deal this summer and purchased a Michigan Knife Co. grinder and grinds his knives on the jobsite. “It’s easier now with my grinder. You don’t have to beat the knives up and sharpen as much,” he explains. “I’ll put a set in the grinder and sharpen them for five minutes and have them ready to go again. Saving money all around because you’re burning less fuel and not wearing the chipper out.”

Capps is a member of the South Carolina Timber Producers Assn. and Carolina Loggers Assn.

October 2021 / Wood Bioenergy 25