North Carolina

North Carolina Forestry Association

Dr. John Hatcher, Executive Director, North Carolina Forestry Association

It is teamwork that remains the ultimate competitive advantage, both because it is so powerful and so rare. - PATRICK LENCIONI

The North Carolina Forestry Association’s (NCFA) partnership with Forestry Mutual Insurance Company (FMIC) began in 1971 with the inception of the North Carolina Forestry Association’s Self-Insured Fund. The mission then was to provide affordable workers' compensation insurance for the forest products industry and develop safety programs to keep loggers safe and stabilize insurance rates. Over time the Self-Insurer Fund evolved to become Forestry Mutual Insurance. While their structure has changed over time, their mission and partnership with NCFA has remained the same.

In 1994 the NCFA and FMIC teamed up with the North Carolina Department of Labor, the North Carolina State Highway Patrol, and the North Carolina Forest Service to develop the ProLogger Program, which promotes business, safety and environmental stewardship in the logging sector. The ProLogger Program continues to be first in class thanks to the data-driven insights that FMIC brings to the table each year. Their analysis of claims and current incident

trends in the industry helps guide NCFA’s development of content that is timely, relevant and will help our members reduce accidents and costs every year. The ProLogger Program adds approximately 100 new members to its ranks and provides continuing education to 1500 loggers per year. It would not be the great success that it is without FMIC’s involvement.

In addition to FMIC’s contributions to the ProLogger program, their team remains active on the NCFA board of directors, safety, logging and transportation committee and they have played a huge role in the production of the Mid-Atlantic Logging, Biomass and Landworks Exposition.

The partnership that NCFA and FMIC has embodies Lencioni’s quote because it takes every aspect of the forestry supply chain utilizing specific strengths and working together in order to be successful in moving the forest products sector forward.