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Vol. 51, No. 6
(Founded in 1972—Our 597th Consecutive Issue)
F E AT U R E S out front:
June 2022 A Hatton-Brown Publication
Phone: 334-834-1170 Fax: 334-834-4525
www.southernloggintimes.com Publisher David H. Ramsey Chief Operating Officer Dianne C. Sullivan Editor-in-Chief Senior Editor Managing Editor Senior Associate Editor
Rich Donnell Dan Shell David Abbott Jessica Johnson
Publisher/Editor Emeritus David (DK) Knight
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Virginia Forest Resources Forestry Consultant, Logger
Southern Stumpin’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Bulletin Board . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 From The Backwoods Pew . . . . . . . 18 Industry News Roundup . . . . . . . . . 20 Machines-Supplies-Technology . . . 30
Josh England, left, stands with his dad, Gerald, center, and his nephew, ForesTree Equipment Trader . . . . . 33 Jacob Bouldin, right. Josh never Coming Events/Ad Index . . . . . . . . . 38 intended to follow in the footsteps of his dad and granddad, who were both farmers and ministers, but over time he changed his mind. Be A Part Of After cutting timber on his family’s Our Historic farmland, he became a pastor, splitting time between his life’s twin Anniversary callings. Story begins on Page 8. Issue (Patrick Dunning photo) (See page 37 for more information)
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ADVERTISING CONTACTS DISPLAY SALES Eastern U.S. Kathy Sternenberg Tel: 251-928-4962 • Fax: 334-834-4525 219 Royal Lane Fairhope, AL 36532 E-mail: ksternenberg@bellsouth.net Midwest USA, Eastern Canada John Simmons Tel: 905-666-0258 • Fax: 905-666-0778 32 Foster Cres. Whitby, Ontario, Canada L1R 1W1 E-mail: jsimmons@idirect.com Western Canada, Western USA Tim Shaddick Tel: 604-910-1826 • Fax: 604-264-1367 4056 West 10th Ave. Vancouver, BC V6L 1Z1 E-mail: twshaddick@gmail.com Kevin Cook Tel: 604-619-1777 E-mail: lordkevincook@gmail.com International Murray Brett Tel: +34 96 640 4165 +34 96 640 4048 58 Aldea de las Cuevas • Buzon 60 03759 Benidoleig (Alicante), Spain E-mail: murray.brett@abasol.net CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING
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Southern Loggin’ Times (ISSN 0744-2106) is published monthly by Hatton-Brown Publishers, Inc., 225 Hanrick St., Montgomery, AL 36104. Subscription Information—SLT is sent free to logging, pulpwood and chipping contractors and their supervisors; managers and supervisors of corporate-owned harvesting operations; wood suppliers; timber buyers; wood procurement and land management officials; industrial forestry purchasing agents; wholesale and retail forest equipment representatives and forest/logging association personnel in the U.S. South. See form elsewhere in this issue. All non-qualified U.S. subscriptions are $65 annually; $75 in Canada; $120 (Airmail) in all other countries (U.S. funds). Single copies, $5 each; special issues, $20 (U.S. funds). Subscription Inquiries— TOLL-FREE 800-669-5613; Fax 888-611-4525. Go to www.southernloggintimes.com and click on the subscribe button to subscribe/renew via the web. All advertisements for Southern Loggin’ Times magazine are accepted and published by Hatton-Brown Publishers, Inc. with the understanding that the advertiser and/or advertising agency are authorized to publish the entire contents and subject matter thereof. The advertiser and/or advertising agency will defend, indemnify and hold Hatton-Brown Publishers, Inc. harmless from and against any loss, expenses, or other liability resulting from any claims or lawsuits for libel violations or right of privacy or publicity, plagiarism, copyright or trademark infringement and any other claims or lawsuits that may arise out of publication of such advertisement. Hatton-Brown Publishers, Inc. neither endorses nor makes any representation or guarantee as to the quality of goods and services advertised in Southern Loggin’ Times. Hatton-Brown Publishers, Inc. reserves the right to reject any advertisement which it deems inappropriate. Copyright ® 2022. 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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Other Hatton-Brown publications: ★ Timber Processing ★ Timber Harvesting ★ Panel World ★ Power Equipment Trade ★ Wood Bioenergy
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SOUTHERN STUMPIN’ By David Abbott • Managing Editor • Ph. 334-834-1170 • Fax: 334-834-4525 • E-mail: david@hattonbrown.com
Closing Time F
amously, the last two years have been good times for wood products mills, by and large. Good for them. But does a rising tide truly lift all boats? Apparently not if the wood that built the boats came from Southern loggers. While mills might be doing better than ever, their raw material suppliers seem to be doing worse than ever. Case in point: if you’re at all active on social media, you may well know that Bobby Goodson, who became something of a timber industry celebrity years ago when his North Carolina based operation, Goodson’s All Terrain Logging, was featured on the popular Discovery Channel program Swamp Logger, has decided to cash in his chips. As you can imagine, this wasn’t an easy decision for Goodson and his family, and it certainly wasn’t his preference. But in view of the current situation, they decided that this was the best bad option left open to them. Though they may be more high profile, I suspect that the Goodsons are far from the only logging family making such tough choices this year. Bobby and his wife Lori were gracious enough to spend about an hour talking to me about it at the Richmond Expo in Virginia on May 20. “I’ve been doing it 37 years,” Bobby says, noting that he was a fourth generation logger; his son Justin was the fifth, and some of their grandkids were interested. “It was a legacy we worked on for generations to pass on, but they have made it so hard there is nothing to pass on. This was not when I wanted to call it quits.” So, I wonder, why now? The easy answer is skyrocketing fuel costs. “A couple of years ago I paid $1.99 for fuel; now it is $5.50 a gallon. Our trucks are burning 68% of the profits in the fuel tank. And we are still two years away from an administration change. We knew we couldn’t survive another year or so at the rate we were losing money, so it’s better to go out when it is on our terms and some of the equipment is still in good shape. ” But Goodson says fuel was just the last straw, not the only factor. There are more fundamental concerns: the labor shortage, for one. “We pay the highest rate we possibly can, but I can’t compete with the federal government paying people to stay at home.” And then there’s…
The Elephant In The Room In Bobby’s estimation, it all comes back to one underlying problem: “The biggest thing that hurt us is that the mills are way too slow to react to the fuel situation,” he says. “A logging job the size of mine—and there’s a bunch of jobs bigger than mine—will lose hundreds of thousands of dollars waiting on mills to react. And by the time they do react, it has increased again. We went through this in 2008 when it got over $4.80 a gallon. I stressed to them that I am not going through that again. I 6
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North Carolina's "Swamp Logger" Bobby Goodson and wife Lori at Expo Richmond in May
am too old, too far down the road. I’m not losing that kind of money again.” The bottom line is that if big mill companies— especially in the context of those highly publicized record profits—would pay enough to keep their suppliers healthy, loggers could afford fuel and labor increases. “The mills have got way more resources than any logging operation and they know exactly what it costs us to operate; all we are asking for is our fair share,” Bobby says. “When you have a $2-3 million investment and are trying to operate at a 2-3% profit margin, there’s no room to give there,” he explains. “Any business I know of—including some of the pellet mills in our industry—won’t look at anything less than 15% profit; in retail stores, it’s 25-30%. You have got to have a profit to make a business work. If you’re making a decent return on investment, when hard times come you can weather through it. But unfortunately that’s not the case this time.” This is nothing new; I’ve heard it my whole life, and so have mill people. Goodson says it always falls on deaf ears, though. “One mill manager looked through the window and said, what do you see? Of course there were a lot of trucks lined up waiting to get in. He said as long as he sees trucks lined up, there is no trucking shortage issue, not from their perspective.” Obviously mills, especially multinational, publicly traded corporate entities, are in business to make as much money as possible…within ethical limits. Gordon Gekko famously declared, “Greed is good” in the ’80s, but remember, good ole Gordon went to prison at the end of that movie. He was intended as a villain, not a role model. Sure, nobody wants to pay more than they have to…but seems to me a company should want their suppliers, their partners, to succeed along with them. It seems like not only the proper thing to do, but the most sustainable long-term strategy as well. If I do business with someone, I want them to tell others that I’m going to treat them fairly, not rip them off. Clearly, however, not everyone thinks this way, and hey, maybe that’s why I’ll never be a billionaire (which, if that’s the trade-off, is more than fine with me). Those with different values than mine
must have a different perspective. To wit, Bobby relates a story he heard: at a meeting of a large paper company, a leader told his procurement team that if they didn’t put 10% of their loggers out of business every year, then they were paying them too much. That’s a hell of a benchmark, if you ask me. Gordon Gekko would be proud. Does it have to be this way? Apparently not, at least not everywhere. “I talked to a mill manager at a big sawmill in New Zealand where they actually figure in a 20% profit margin for their logging contractors,” Bobby shares. Novel concept: structuring your business so that the contractors you rely on can maintain financial viability, and figuring that in as a cost of doing business. Imagine that! Thing is, it’s not hypothetical; that is what happens on the opposite end of the infeed, is it not? Bobby thinks so. “When the flat bed comes in to haul the paper off, that company tells the mill this is our rate, this is our fuel surcharge; nothing is questioned. But it’s not like that with us.” Any industry requires a solid foundation, but right now, he fears, the forest products industry’s foundation is on shaky ground. “We are the foundation to this $300 billion industry in the United States. In North Carolina, it is a $32 billion a year industry, with a little over 400 loggers holding it up. Until they recognize what an integral part of this industry we are, it’s not going to change.”
Change It isn’t just mills. Politics has a lot to do with it, he says; it affects everything, for everyone. “People need to vote for the people who will help us,” he advises. “This is a great country. If we all work together we can get something done.” His wife Lori agrees. “We encourage other loggers to get involved,” she says. “One squeaky wheel here or there won’t change. You need to come out of the woods and get active in the associations and somewhere down the line we really believe it will make a difference. Maybe the industry could turn around and be what it used to be.” The Goodsons aren’t sure yet what comes next for them; one step at a time. “It hasn’t hit me yet because I am still busy cleaning up equipment and getting it ready to sell, but the day that last piece of equipment leaves the yard, it’s going to hit me.” Lori says it breaks her heart because she knows how much this is going to hurt her husband. “This is an industry that Bobby loves. It’s our way of life. It didn’t have to be this way. It could have been different.” Even on their way out, they hope to be of service to the industry. “I’m not sitting home and I don’t like fishing,” Bobby laughs. “I like logging. So we do want to stay involved in our industry, as much SLT as they will let us, because I love it.”
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Come Together ■ Rural Tennessee pastor finds success in logging after humble beginnings. By Patrick Dunning CLARKRANGE, Tenn. he Lord’s ★ favor has been on England Logging since its founding in 2010. That’s what owner Josh England believes. England, 37, never envisioned the day he would be using his platform as a logger to spread the gospel. In fact, there were two things he was sure of as a young man growing up on his family’s cattle farm in Sparta: he didn’t want to be a farmer and he didn’t want to be a pastor, like both his father and grandfather had been. England’s grandfather purchased around a 100-acre farm in 1955, harvested some of its hardwood once in 1959 and never touched it again. The extent of England’s logging experience was observing his father, Gerald England, who wasn’t a logger by trade, harvest his own timber from time to time (his dad and granddad together would eventually own about 450 combined acres of farmland and timberland). The England farm primarily cultivated and harvested burley tobacco, row crops, corn and soybeans. After graduating high school, England worked for the Tennessee Dept. of Corrections as a vocational instructor teaching residential wiring to inmates. He had no interest in timber harvesting. Then a spring storm damaged a small section of virgin timber on the family farm in 2009, changing England’s career trajectory forever. “We had some timber blown down in a storm and a local logger was going to come clean it up, but he never got around to it so me and my dad cleaned it ourselves,” England recalls. “It was big virgin timber probably 36 in. plus. It wasn’t but maybe 10 loads of wood but in the process of doing that a tornado came through a few miles from us about one year later and blew down nearly 90 acres that joined my father-in-law.” The gentleman who owned the adjoining property lived in North Carolina and asked England’s fatherin-law if he knew someone interested in cleaning up his 90-acre tract in Crossville. England was; he went to look at the timber and struck a deal with the man. “That was our first
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England switched from chain saw felling to feller-bunchers after an injury years ago.
The young logger is sold on Tigercat's reliability.
job,” he says. The rest is history.
First Cut England and his dad hand-felled timber with a couple of two-stroke Stihl 044 chain saws, trimming into no larger than 8 ft. logs, and used a ’76 John Deere 4030 two-wheel drive farm tractor with a three-ft. hitch and log chain to skid wood. They used the tractor’s front-end loader to load logs into a ’92 GMC TopKick singleaxle truck. England befriended a local logger who loaned him a deuce-anda-half military winch on a three-point hitch box blade engineered to run off the hydraulics of the tractor, which allowed them to reach trees in tougher topography.
Not long into his first logging job, England began to consider harvesting timber as a career. For the next year and a half he only logged on the side while maintaining his position with the Dept. of Corrections until he stepped down to establish England Logging full-time in the latter part of 2011. England admits he was nervous to leave his stable job with the state, so at first he worked second and third shift at Crossville Tile and Stone on top of logging during the day. The company’s first skidder was a ’70 Timberjack 225D with a 353 Detroit engine under the hood. “You could hear us five miles away,” England says. “The transmission broke down our first day using it so we had to replace the transmission. I didn’t
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know anything about logging and the way we started was feast or famine.” He adds, “I got a call from a farmer in Mayland, Tenn., and to this day I have no idea how he got my number. I went and met him; he had a substantial amount of wood and that was the second tract of wood we did as a business. During that time my grandfather decided timber prices were on the move and wanted to harvest the timber on both of his farms. I had the privilege of cutting right where I grew up. All the places I hunted and fished and it was as near virgin timber as I’ve ever got to cut. It hadn’t been harvested in my lifetime.” Loading logs with the farm tractor was rough on the machine and England knew he needed an actual loader but didn’t have a lot of money left over to invest. He says at the time he had never even sat in the cab of a knuckleboom, let alone learned how to run one. He found a mid-’80s Prentice 180C loader in foreclosure sitting in a bank’s parking lot in Spencer. The Bendix system in its starter was broken so the machine wouldn’t crank. “Me and dad are out there looking at it, and of course I have no idea what we’re looking at,” England recalls. “All I knew is we needed something.” A banker came outside holding the note, got a gentleman to put a new Bendix in the starter and the loader
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fired up immediately. England, with limited funds, negotiated a deal to get the knuckleboom home. “I had $4,000 in my pocket, which was all the money I had at the time,” he recollects. “I told him I’d give him three (thousand) for it and he laughed. I said, ‘Sir this is all I have.’ He needed to move the piece of equipment so when I pulled out another thousand he took me up on the offer.” England would cut and top in the mornings while his dad ran the skidder, pulling two drags at a time. They’d saw logs at the landing and haul using their GMC single axle. The truck had a five-speed plus two-speed rear end and a 366 engine. England says it was a reliable vehicle but they wanted to haul more wood faster. The new logger came across a former logger selling his last piece of equipment, an ’87 Ford L9000 tandem axle truck, with a log bed already attached and a 300 Cummins. The gentleman was in the cattle business and England happened to own near 100 head; he traded a cow-calf pair for the L9000. “It was a great truck; we ran it for several years,” England says. “That’s what got us started was those pieces coming together. What kept us going is we were cutting good wood and had to market it, which was a learning process. Took us a while to cut all the timber my grandfather had on both his farms. The first three years we had plenty of wood and didn’t have to look back.”
Crew from left to right: Archie Newport, Josh England, Gerald England, Jacob Bouldin, Tyler King, Tanner Stephens
Without a closer Tigercat dealer, England works with Forestry 21 in Alabama.
saw’s power head and air filter and the tree, splitting his liver, breaking his leg and causing internal bleeding. “That night at Vanderbilt hospital when I went to visit him I made up my mind I was going to quit logging because I never wanted it to come to the point that I had to tell someone their family wasn’t coming home or they’re hurt so bad they can’t enjoy the rest of their life,” England says. “He made a full recovery, but I felt so bad he got hurt doing what we love, knowing firsthand how fast it can happen. I called my dad and told him I was buying a cutter.” Not even a week later England got acquainted with Ricky McConnell, sales manager at Forestry 21, who had a ’13 Tigercat 724E feller-buncher for sale. Not even knowing how to operate such a machine, England made the purchase. Forestry 21 delivered the machine and the company cut its first tree with a mechanized cutter; the change qualified them for workers’ comp through Forestry Mutual. Jacob made a full recovery in six weeks without needing surgery. His internal bleeding stopped on its own, his liver healed and he had a boot on his leg for a stint. Jacob now serves as the company’s cutter operator.
Call To Ministry
The crew averages 30 loads weekly.
England grew up in rural White County with three older sisters, a stay-at-home mom and dad providing for the family. “The most important things growing up in our life was faith, family, then farming,” England remembers. “Mom stayed at home most of my childhood and took care of us, hauled us all to school. Always for certain with Dad, though, no matter what needed to be done on the farm, we were always at church on Sunday.” England became born again when he was 17 at a tent revival meeting. Two years later the Lord began dealing with his heart about preaching while attending Dripping Springs Baptist Church. Having grown up around pastors, England naturally ran from the idea. His grandfather pastored New Union Baptist Church for 27 years and his dad pastored Dripping Springs Baptist Church and Temple Baptist throughout England’s childhood. “I was nervous and didn’t want to stand up in front of people,” he admits. “You have to divide the scripture right because you’ll have to give a great account. I was still being
faithful to the church, just not the call Safety First to preach. I told the Lord I would if England Logging was a chain saw he’d help me understand the scripture operation until six years ago when and meet me in the pulpit. I surrenEngland’s nephew Jacob Bouldin, dered to preach, told the church and who was 18 at the time, sustained preached my first message that Wednesday night. The rest is history.” major injuries felling a chestnut oak Operations with a partially uprooted tree leaning “Brother Josh,” as he’s known, England Logging operates mostly has shepherded Mount Union Baptist against it. When Jacob finished flat land within the Cumberland Church since 2011 and has a congre- notching the tree and turned to exit, Plateau, but go one county to the east the half-uprooted tree turned loose gation near 125 people. The church or west and there’s a fair amount of and drove him into the ground while sponsors youth events, revivals and he was carrying a high top 372 Husq- steep ground. England knew at some runs a bus ministry that transports between 40-60 foster children to and varna. Jacob was pinned between the point, to stay in good timber, they’d have to expand from only from youth gatherings. Engclear-cuts and rubber-tire land believes logging plays machines. Two years ago he a big role in allowing him to began shopping for a be an active pastor. “What I tracked feller-buncher and didn’t know then, and I last year bought a ’16 Timwant to give credit where berPro 735C with a ’17 it’s due, the Lord was Quadco 2900 intermittent allowing me to have a head from John Woodie career that would let me be Enterprises, Inc., Statesville, a pastor. He set this up from NC. the beginning. I was just “At the time we were working; I didn’t know the working a lot of steep greatest benefit would be ground and our rubber tire working for myself,” he couldn’t cut it,” England says. “What logging affordsays of the purchase. ed me to do as a pastor is to “We’ve been tickled by it. be able to go when needFrom left: Jacob Bouldin, Josh England, Bransford England We’re able to do what we ed.” (Josh’s grandfather), and Gerald England (Josh’s father) Southern Loggin’ Times
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need to. Not limited to one type of ground, we can work flat or steep.” He adds, “We still like that rubbertire machine on the ground because it’s fast, more cost efficient to run and cheaper on fuel. When we get in steep ground and have to shovel a road for a skidder to get onto steeper ground we like the intermittent head to shovel and top with. We do a lot of processing in the woods.” England Logging has retired its chain saws entirely and leans on its fleet of Tigercat equipment to be safe and productive, despite lacking a
nearby Tigercat dealer in Tennessee—their closet being Forestry 21, 285 miles south in Lafayette, Ala. “After we bought our first cutter I learned Tigercat is the most dependable equipment to run,” England believes. “There’s a reason they’ve come so far in 25 years. They listen to loggers and make equipment that lasts. All machines break down, it doesn’t matter what color they are or the brand. What matters is who can get you back up and running and has good parts availability, and for us that’s Forestry 21.”
England Logging’s equipment inventory also includes: ’13 dual-arch 630D skidder, ’18 630E skidder, ’11 234 knuckleboom loader, ’06 John Deere 700J dozer and ’06 Prentice 280 loader. Engine oil (Mobil Delvac) is changed every 250 hours in woods equipment, and hydraulic oil every 2,000 hours. Hydraulic filters are changed every 500 hours and greased daily using Chevron grease. England Logging looks to Philips Distribution, Crossville, and DND Auto Parts, Jamestown, for Shell
hydraulic oil; they get bulk oil and tools from Southern Petroleum and fuel. Most repairs are done in the woods or at the shop of England’s friend Derrick Copeland. Forestry 21 is available to troubleshoot major breakdowns on site when necessary. When Southern Loggin’ Times visited England Logging in March, a single crew was converting an 800acre tract into pastureland for a private landowner in the cattle industry. England says they frequent stands that have been high-graded over the past 30 years with chain saws. This gives them an opportunity to do timber stand improvement (TSI), going into places and harvesting any remaining saw logs and removing non-valuable species like persimmon and buckeye. “We put emphasis on leaving those young savannahs, white and red oak, hard maple,” he explains. “In removing those low-grade species, it gives the forest an opportunity to regenerate something in 40 years that’s valuable to the landowner. This gives the ground a chance to grow high valued timber.”
Markets England Logging averages 30 loads weekly and hauls to six hardwood outlets. The company’s hardwood pulpwood goes to Evergreen Packaging, Pioneer, and WestRock in Knoxville. White oak stave logs and other grade logs are hauled to Southern Stave, Sparta. Red oak, lower-grade white oak logs and other species larger than 12 in. DBH are delivered to Plateau Pallet in Clarkrange, Betty Lumber in Jamestown and James Ritter Lumber in Byrdstown. England recently sold his ’90 Peterbilt and is looking to acquire a newer used Peterbilt. He currently runs one truck of his own, a ’99 Peterbilt 379, and contracts two trucks from K&M Trucking. He works with Archie Newport on a regular basis. When it’s all said and done England doesn’t want to be remembered for anything other than having been a good and faithful servant. He believes his reward is in heaven. “The Lord’s work is the most important thing in life,” the pastor proclaims. “When my life is said and done, I have logged and loved the industry and enjoy working outside through all the hurdles and hardships, but I don’t want to be known as a logger who did a good job tending to the earth. I want to be known for my love for the Lord and what he did in saving me to give me a chance to live for him and in the end, go to SLT heaven.” 10
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Full Circle ■ Dan Hockenberger’s path to logging began in forestry as a technician and then in procurement. By Tim Cox BARHAMSVILLE, Va. an Hockenberger didn’t start ★ his career with any ambition of becoming a logging contractor. His interest was in forestry, but, plans change, and he wound up in logging. His company, Virginia Forest Resources LLC, is based out of the office in his home in Barhamsville, a small community in New Kent County about 17 miles east of Williamsburg. He has two crews that operate in the region surrounding West Point, which is at the head of the York River and home to a WestRock paper mill. He also has an affiliated trucking business, VFR Hauling LLC. Hockenberger is equipped with two useful tools that may distinguish him from many other logging contractors, tools that have helped him operate his logging company: an associate’s degree in forestry and a bachelor’s degree in business administration. The future logger came to Virginia by way of upstate New York. He grew up in the Adirondack Mountains in the small town of Jay, ending up there when his father was stationed at Plattsburgh Air Force Base. There was a lumber business and sawmill nearby, Ward Lumber Co. The father of Hockenberger’s best friend owned an affiliated business, Bill Ward Logging. “I spent a lot of time traipsing through the woods and enjoyed spending time with the Ward family,” he recalls. He soon
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realized that “forestry was where I wanted to be.” He served four years in the Marines, then returned home and went to work at Ward Lumber. Soon he enrolled in the State University of New York 1+1 program in the College of Environmental Science and Forestry. He took core classes at a local community college his first year, and his second year took forestry concentration classes at the New York Ranger School in Wanakena, where the college’s forest technology program is located. After earning his associate’s degree in forestry technology, Hockenberger came to work in Virginia as a technician for a forestry consulting company in 1995. He continued his education by taking night classes at Averett University’s satellite business program in Richmond and earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration. He left the forestry consulting firm after nine years to work as a procurement forester at a sawmill, a position in which he “felt at home working directly with the logging crews,” he recalls.
Happenstance “I got into the logging business out of happenstance when the sawmill I worked for went into bankruptcy,” Hockenberger says. After returning to work in 2012 following the Christmas and New Year’s holidays, the mill employees were told the company was closing. “I had three contract logging companies that I worked with in my role
crossroads, trying to decide whether to go back to work for them or to try to keep things going on my own.” He pulled some funds out of his 401(k) retirement account to buy some timber. “With some success buying and cutting timber and having a few logging companies and clearing contractors running their pulpwood through my company to the paper mill, it became clear to me I could make a go at it.”
Starting Up
Dan Hockenberger and his wife, Colleen. She does the company’s books and payroll and some other administrative tasks.
with the sawmill and felt I could keep them going through this uncertain period,” Hockenberger recalls. The first thing he did was call on the Smurfit-Stone (now WestRock) paper mill in West Point to ask if they would take him and the three logging companies on as a supplier, and they agreed. The sawmill that closed eventually was bought by a capital investment group and reopened, and a couple of the logging contractors working with Hockenberger went back to harvesting timber for the mill. “I was at a
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In 2014 Hockenberger was approached by Paul Gibson, a fourth generation logger and former contractor, about starting a crew. “After some thought, I decided we were a good match for making this happen,” Hockenberger says. “He came to work for me as the foreman on the job.” Paul’s nephew, Chris Allen, also came on to run the loader; he is now running the other crew. “I am fortunate to have good people working for me that know how to run things in the woods,” Hockenberger says. “It is a collaborative effort between me and everyone on the job. You have to respect and trust your people to do it right. At the same time, you need to have people who are willing to listen to your ideas and buy into doing it the right way.” Hockenberger spends most of his time scouting timber to buy, preparing bids and overseeing the business. He works with a few consulting foresters and also directly with some landowners. “My experience on the consulting side of the business gives
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From left, crew foreman Chris Allen, who operates the loader, skidder operator Walter Wise, truck drivers Charles Cowden and Jeff Leigh, and cutter operator Ben Tomes.
me the unique perspective as to what the landowner’s expectations may be,” Hockberger says. “I treat this side of the job as if I was still in the consulting role. I look after my own logging operations as I would if they were contracted to log my client’s property.” He also has the role of “putting the jobs to bed,” Hockenberger says. “I feel this part of the job is important to ensure landowner satisfaction. Logging has a huge impact on the landscape. For some landowners this is the only time in their lives that they will have a logging operation on their land. We take pride in making the job as clean as possible and ensuring all roads are left in the best possible condition and all best management practices are addressed.” His wife, Colleen, does the company’s books and payroll and some other administrative tasks. The company has an office in Barhamsville in New Kent County, where the Hockenbergers live. A shop in King and Queen County that belongs to Gibson is used for servicing equipment and trucks, and the company also uses a lot just outside West Point—the site of a future shop and office—for spotting trailers and parking trucks. Southern Loggin’ Times visited Hockenberger at a job in New Kent County—53 acres of mixed hardwoods and pine. The tract belongs to John Poindexter, a Texas businessman who in recent years has been buying up land and old homes in New Kent and neighboring Charles City County and restoring them to landscapes of the 1800s. For this job Hockenberger’s crew leaves about 40 trees per acre, creating a savanna-like landscape for pasture and wildlife management. The site has produced about 70% sawlogs and 30% pulpwood. The work included chipping the laps and slash into boiler fuel for WestRock and Dominion Energy, a power-generating utility company. Working on the job was a crew equipped with a 2021 John Deere 843L-II feller-buncher, ’18 Tigercat 610E skidder, and a ’20 Tigercat 250D loader. The company’s Mor-
From left, crew foreman Paul Gibson, cutter operator Quinton Woods, and skidder operator Kenny Green. Two truck drivers not present: James Phillips and Michael Walker
Cutting pine with a 2021 John Deere 843L-II feller buncher; the other crew is equipped with a similar machine, a 2016 John Deere 843L feller buncher.
bark 3036 whole tree drum chipper also was on the job. The foreman is Chris Allen, who operates the loader; Ben Tomes runs the cutter; and Walter Wise mans the skidder. The second crew, which launched in 2021 and is supervised by Gibson, was at work on a job in a neighboring county, equipped with a 2016 John Deere 843L feller-buncher, 2022 John Deere 848L-II and ’21 John Deere 748L skidders, and a Weiler K560 loader. Gibson operates the loader, Quinton Woods the cutter, and Kenny Green the skidder. Hockenberger plans to use the Tigercat 610E as a spare skidder after buying the 2022 John Deere 848L-II.
He also keeps the crews equipped with good board mats and steel bridges. “I want to take on anything anyone wants to throw at us any time of year.” The crews normally work on separate jobs. Hockenberger also contracts with another company, Johnson’s Logging, headed by Linwood Johnson, to do most thinning jobs. Johnson’s business, along with his brother, J.T., and his company, JT Johnson Logging, were featured in SLT a few years ago. Linwood bought his brother’s job last year, and they are now operating together as Johnson’s Logging. Hockenberger’s affiliated business,
VFR Hauling, is equipped with five tractor-trailers—three Western Star, one Mack, and one Kenworth—and currently employs two drivers. Drivers include Charles Cowden in a 2020 Western Star 4900, and Jeff Leigh in a 2006 Kenworth W900. Two more drivers haul wood for the second crew: James Phillip drives a 2002 Western Star 4900, and Michael Walker drives a 2005 Western Star 4900. Hockenberger also relies on three other trucking contractors to haul his wood. He has a mix of Pitts, Fontaine and Big John log trailers while he uses trailer vans and box trailers that have been modified to haul chips. Hockenberger is looking for more trucks as he wants to expand his trucking business.
Operations Hockenberger’s company normally works within about 50 miles of West Point. “We rarely have to haul more than 60 miles,” he says. Beside supplying pulp to WestRock, the company supplies several sawmills in the region. Mill customers include Clancie Lumber Co., Charles City Timber and Mat, Carlton-Edwards Lumber Co., O’Malley Timber Products, Stella-Jones, and Leslie P. Rigsby Lumber. Another market is James River Timber Export. Hockenberger also harvests timber for Blue Ridge Lumber, which has a log yard and dry
Chris Allen sorts logs at the landing with a 2020 Tigercat 250D knuckleboom loader. The company’s other loader is a Weiler K560.
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kilns in King and Queen County. The feller-bunchers can handle a 26 in. diameter tree. “Bunching heads are more versatile,” Hockenberger notes, as they also can be used for thinning pine plantations. Nevertheless, he is planning to buy a “tower head” cutter in the future for harvesting large timber. Unusually large trees are felled by hand. For that work the company uses an assortment of Stihl 460 and 461 chain saws as well as the new 462C model. “Those suckers hum,” Hockenberger says.
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Hockenberger prefers to invest in new equipment. Most of his machines are still under warranty. “I don’t like downtime,” he says. “Even with new equipment you have downtime, but you have good support from the dealers and service departments.” He deals primarily with James River Equipment, which represents John Deere, as well as Tigercat dealer Forest Pro and Carter Cat for Weiler. Crew members perform routine maintenance on equipment. Gibson, who used to do mechanical work at his shop, services the machines for
his crew, and Allen takes care of the equipment on his job. They also do maintenance on the trucks, and sometimes the drivers take them to a shop for service. “That’s been one of the biggest challenges—having trucks worked on,” Hockenberger says. Parts are scarce, and repair shops are full of trucks with waiting lists. Most employees are certified under the Virginia Tech SHARP Logger training program. In addition, on a rainy day Hockenberger will review with the crews the latest safety updates and recommenda-
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tions from his insurer, Forestry Mutual, and various trade organizations. Forestry Mutual also sends a chain saw safety specialist to meet with them annually to provide a refresher on safety and to perform a safety audit. Hockenberger shoots for each crew to produce 40-50 loads per week, and that is what they typically average. On an occasion when both crews worked on the same job, they produced 170 loads in one week and 120 in another. He was restricted by quotas with some mills, not unusual for this time of year because the mills typically take some downtime in the spring for maintenance. Also, some sawlog markets had higher log inventory than usual coming out of winter. “But I have enough markets,” Hockenberger says. “We spread everything out. We try to send what they want, the way they want, so during quotas they’re still taking logs from us. I understand,” he says, since he used to work in procurement. Like other loggers and just about everyone else, Hockenberger is not fond of the price increases for fuel earlier this year. “I don’t like ’em. Nobody likes ’em.” WestRock is helping by paying a fuel surcharge. It’s a “double whammy”—higher prices for off-road diesel for the machines and also higher prices for on-road fuel for trucks. Hockenberger has noticed his bottom line has been shrinking. “One thing you can do is keep jobs closer to your markets so you’re burning less fuel,” he notes, and he also tries to lay out job sites in such a way as to reduce the drag distance for skidders. Hockenberger works 60-70 hours per week. In addition to scouting timber and preparing bids, he works on the roads when a job is done, moving mats and cleaning up. For those tasks he has a John Deere 550H dozer and John Deere 329 skid steer. A member of the Virginia Loggers Assn., he also is an active member of the Virginia Forestry Assn.; he has served as treasurer of the latter organization for the past three years and currently is vice president-elect. Hockenberger enjoys deer hunting in the fall, notably bow hunting. It’s his favorite time of year, he says. He also has a KTM 890 Adventure motorcycle that he enjoys riding on off-road (gravel road) trips. His plans for the future include investing in a cutter with a center post head for big timber and expanding his trucking operations so he has enough vehicles to haul his SLT wood.
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The Amazing Tenacity Of Trees
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FROM THE BACKWOODS PEW
Words in the Woods
only damage being to my ears from the fellow in the passenger seat screaming.
Here are a few things sure to be heard in the woods that will change your day.
“Never saw the first yellow fly.” It’s what a competing forester will tell you about the swamp you are going out to cruise the next day. It echoes in your mind even as the flies cover you by the thousands. He never saw the first one because they came in numbers beyond his ability to count!
“Go ahead, you can make it!” I didn’t. While I am tall and in times past athletic, hot Antill summer days will cause you to think that you can fly when you can’t, and your cruising partner in need of a break and a good story to tell at lunch tomorrow, will seriously try to encourage you to make a jump that an Olympic athlete would walk away from. “The log over that canal looks good and sturdy.” It wasn’t. Halfway across on a cold winter morning, it collapsed under my weight, leaving me treading air for what seemed like an eternity, only to succumb to gravity and plunge into a deep water-filled canal. “Your truck won’t stall, and besides the water isn’t that deep.”
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When trying to find places to log after a Category 3 hurricane—unless you like climbing out of the windows—turn around, because it will stall and it is deep. “I thought you brought the compass!” This statement after a five-minute hike from the truck required a twohour hike back to the truck. (Which, by the way, the engine still running and the doors open with the air conditioning still blowing, was right where we left it.) Somehow, we walked right past the end of the old logging road and before we knew it, we were lost. “TREE!” While driving the old logging roads after a Category 4 hurricane, we rounded a curve to see a tree across the road, but we were traveling too fast to stop and plowed into it. It was an old hollow tree, which went to dust as we hit it, with the
“Oh my!” This spoken by the consulting forester as he opens your bid—guaranteed to tighten up your innards like a five-year-old can of potted meat. As he adjusts his glasses to again look at the bid you have turned in, you know he is calculating the amount of commission he has just made, thanks to your generosity. Meanwhile, you are trying to figure out how you left so much money on the table and maybe the yellow flies really did affect your estimate. “That’s Virginia creeper, not poison ivy, go ahead and measure that tree.”
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Do I really need to go into detail here? Obviously, Virginia creeper is an old Indian word for “scratch all night.” From a tree: “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do…” (Luke 23:34) Even in death Jesus loved us; he wanted us to still have a chance to come to the Father. From a tree: “It is finished!” (John 19:30) With His last breath, His last deed was for us. Because it was finished, He sacrificed His life for our sins, so we have a chance to say, “It has begun.” Our chance for eternal life, to fulfill the purpose God has for us, lies in front of us. From a rocky grave: “He is not here, but is risen!” (Luke 24:6a) Thus we have hope; we have a risen Savior, longing to have a lifelong relationship with us. How will you respond? Excerpted from Faith, Fur, and Forestry, Bradley W. Antill, Author. See more at www.onatreeforestry.com
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INDUSTRY NEWS ROUNDUP Goodsons took the opportunity to As We See It: Canary In The Woods the publicly announce their decision via By Scott Dane Like the proverbial “canary in the mine” that alerted miners to dangerous conditions, loggers are the “canary in the woods” regarding the timber and forest products industry. Loggers and truck- Dane ers are “dropping” like canaries. This should be a warning to the timber and forest products industry. If a tree falls in the woods and no one is around to hear it, does it
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make a sound? Well, a large tree recently fell in the woods, and it made a sound! Bobby and Lori Goodson of the acclaimed series “Swamp Loggers” recently announced that after more than 40 years they have decided to shut down their logging and trucking businesses due to the fact that it was no longer profitable under the current conditions. Instead of “not making a sound”
a YouTube video from their kitchen counter. Making this decision was obviously a very difficult personal choice, but like always Bobby and Lori put the timber industry above their personal privacy and shared this publicly in an effort to bring the current overwhelmingly challenging business environment threat to the attention of those controlling the markets and policies. The Goodsons are the canaries warning the forest products industry that the logging and trucking sector is not sustainable under the current model.
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The forest products industry and the public policymakers can heed the warning that the Goodsons have shared or ignore it and live with the consequences. Fuel costs have proven to be the “straw that broke the camel’s back.” Some mills have been professional and responsive in providing fuel adjustments, but most have not, and many have only provided a portion of the actual increase in production and transportation costs. Those who feign that they don’t fully know what the additional costs are, employ a tried and true negotiating strategy of requesting that you provide a breakdown so that they can better understand your costs. This is merely a delay tactic that usually results in a response that is: A day late and a dollar short In order to provide loggers and truckers with the resource to respond to this ongoing strategy, the Virginia Loggers Assn. worked with Dr. Joseph Conrad from the University of Georgia to provide an objective analysis of the incremental (10 cents per gallon) additional costs for production and transportation. Unfortunately, this information has not resulted in consistent or adequate fuel adjustments for loggers and truckers from many of the mills. Ironically, the mill inbound supplies and outbound transportation fuel surcharge is not debated by the mills. The vendor tells the mill what the fuel surcharge is going to be and the mills pay it, otherwise the vendors don’t provide the service. The mills just incorporate that expense into the end product cost which has resulted in record profits for many mills. The timber industry is the only industry that allows the “buyer” to dictate the price even when it results in the supplier losing money. That has to change. Timber unity in the Northwest demonstrated the effectiveness of the timber industry rallying together. If loggers and truckers would practice this unity regarding what they get paid (not in collusion or in violation of antitrust practices) for their services and products, based on what it costs them, things could change. Loggers and truckers are not indentured servants (although it may seem so with the amount of debt you carry). It is your business, your logging operation, your truck. Nobody can force you to work. The timber industry model is the same as it has been for 100 years with loggers and truckers, whether in lumber camps or independent logging/trucking companies: being told what to do and if they don’t
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they will be replaced by a logger or trucker who will. Those days are over; there aren’t enough loggers and truckers to play against one another. If someone wants to work for less than it costs, let them; they won’t be around long. As the old saying goes, “don’t kill the goose that lays the golden egg.” This refers to killing something that brings one wealth. The loggers and truckers are the “Golden Goose” that has brought record wealth to many in the forest products industry. Those who are benefitting are risking killing the goose that lays the golden egg. Since there is a proverbial theme to this As We See It column—the Goose that Lays the Golden Egg, the Straw that Broke the Camel’s Back, the Tree Falling in the Woods, and the Canary in the Mine—I want to close with a Biblical Proverb: “A false balance is an abomination to the Lord, but a just weight is his delight.” Proverbs 11:1 Meaning: one should use an honest scale and pay someone a fair amount, because a laborer is worthy of his wages. Scott Dane is Executive Director of the American Loggers Council. Visit www.amloggers.com.
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Caterpillar Expands Engine Program Caterpillar is expanding its service replacement engine program for owners of equipment powered by Cat engines, giving new alternatives to major engine overhaul. These options give users the opportunity to replace engines in a timely and cost-effective manner in comparison to a complete machine replacement. The program consists of four options, including new replacement engines, Cat Reman engines, short block engine replacements and heavy-duty long blocks. Available now, Cat offers a broad range of replacement engines for equipment using engines up to a Cat C7.1, or 320 HP. The range provides quality results for a wide variety of heavy-duty applications, such as chippers, grinders, pumps, and compressors. New replacement or Cat Reman engine solutions are faster and easier than a complete rebuild and deliver enhanced uptime and productivity. Additionally, the program helps equipment owners
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reach their sustainability goals by utilizing remanufactured components that may otherwise be sent to landfills. To get started, customers can contact their local Cat dealer.
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Timber Growth In South Holding Steady For Now Amanda Hamsley Lang, COO & VP of Client Services with FORISK
Consulting, addressed timber supply and outlook during the Wood Bioenergy Conference & Expo Held March 29-30 at the Omni Hotel at CNN Center in Atlanta. Lang, who was one of the event keynoters, said that FORISK forecasts pine sawtimber inventories to increase through 2027 before declining through 2035 in the South. Deferred harvest during the Great Recession (2007-2009) along with improved genetics and silvicultural practices, which have increased timber growth rates by an average of 1% per acre per year for the past 10 years, lead pine sawtimber inventories to peak in 2027 at a level nearly 75% higher than in 2007 for the region. Lang added that the supply story varies across the region, with some states projecting continued increases in inventory while other states begin to see contraction much sooner depending on local market dynamics. She added that decreased harvesting activity during the Great Recession resulted in fewer replanted forest acres, leading to a dip in the forest inventory for pulpwood-sized trees. Lang said the average pine growth-to-drain ratio for the South in
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2020 was 1.31, indicating a general oversupply of pine growth relative to demand in Mississippi, Alabama and northeast Georgia, though with tighter or more balanced markets in north Florida and south Georgia, areas of coastal South Carolina and North Carolina, central Texas and Louisiana. But fast-forwarding five years to 2025, the timber supply becomes more balanced across the region, with an average pine growth-to-drain of 1.04, a period during which 10 sawmills and 11 pellet mills come online in the region.
Logging Show Set For Mississippi Mississippi logger T.O. Richardson’s GGKATM Promotions has announced the 1st Annual Central Mississippi Logging Expo to be held at T.O.’S Plaza at 111 Mount Moriah Road in Edwards, Miss. on June 25, 2022. Gates will open at 7 a.m. Mississippi Forestry Assn.’s John Auel will be offering continuing education hours for loggers and foresters. There will be three sessions at 9 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Refreshments will be available, live
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music is planned and there will be activities for the kids. Richardson, whose T&T Logging, LLC also posts professional logging videos on his YouTube channel T&T Logging Show, admits he could spend his time more profitably logging than producing a show. However, for him, it is not about the money; as a man of faith, he believes he’s following a higher plan with this endeavor. T.O. says his goal for the expo is to bring peo-
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ple together in the local community in a spirit of unity and positivity. Admission is $10. For more information contact T.O. at 601339-1652.
Claw Announces New Sawmill Plans Claw Forestry Services, LLC announced that its affiliate will build a 250MMBF southern yellow pine
sawmill in Gloster, Miss. within Amite County. The project represents an investment of nearly $200 million and will create 131 direct jobs and support an additional 200 indirect jobs when operating at full capacity. The new mill will require in excess of 1 million tons of timber annually to produce the stated lumber output. The facility will be located on 65 acres of land, which includes the former Georgia-Pacific site. In connection with the new sawmill facility,
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efforts are under way to resume operation of the Gloster Southern Railroad. Mississippi Development Authority is providing assistance for infrastructure improvements and site development. Amite County also is assisting with the project. BID Group reports it has received the turnkey order from Claw Forestry Services to provide the greenfield sawmill. BID will manage, design, build, equip and provide full startup services. Claw CEO Billy Van Devender comments: “This project will employ the best complement of modern technologies to meet our growing consumer demand for the highest quality product, in a region where we own significant timberland acreage.” Work at the site will begin late in 2022 and startup of the sawmill is scheduled for the first quarter of 2024. Claw Forestry started in 2000 as a natural resource manager and has evolved as a major timberland owner and investments firm in the U.S. South. Its affiliate companies operate two sawmills in Mississippi—Vicksburg Forest Products in Vicksburg, and Southeastern Timber Products in Ackerman.
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MACHINES-SUPPLIES-TECHNOLOGY Deere Harvester IBC John Deere announces its latest operator assistance control feature, Intelligent Boom Control (IBC), for the 900 MH-Series tracked harvester. The development of this model is a result of global collaboration between the John Deere wheeled cut-to-length and full-tree forestry teams, aiming to implement IBC’s field proven technology into
MH-Series of tracked harvesters. With IBC, operators no longer need to control each independent boom function separately. One joystick moves the boom tip horizontally, while a second guides it vertically, for faster cycle times and more precise control. IBC’s smooth and fluid motion actively dampens functional change of directions, protecting boom structures and increasing wear life. IBC also auto-
matically controls swing speed based on the overall position of the attachment. “The continuous product development, new features, and the updating of systems and solutions are an integral part of John Deere’s way of operating,” comments Jim O’Halloran, product marketing manager, John Deere. “Intelligent Boom Control is an example of an important operator assistance fea-
ture that we will continue to evolve throughout full-tree forestry. IBC is an example that helps the overall productivity and profitability for the whole machine life cycle.” Improved productivity, compared to the same machine without IBC, is another benefit for customers. IBC allows the operator to focus on controlling the attachment, helping improve efficiency. The controls used for reaching and securing trees for harvest intuitively mirror how the equipment might function if it were the operator’s arm. IBC is now available on the 953MH and 959MH. Visit deere.com/en/trackedharvesters
Tigercat Swing Boom
The capabilities of the 6-wheel drive 635H in steep terrain and cable assist applications have been taken to the next level with the integration of a Tigercat designed and built swing boom system initially introduced on the 635G series skidder. The additional working envelope and ability to position the grapple well outside of the working track of the machine increases productivity in applications where skidder travel is restricted or limited by terrain characteristics. With the ability to lock the seat and operate the machine from any position with full drive controls, the Tigercat Turnaround 220° seat is an important advantage for swing boom skidding applications. It allows the operator to position the seat at any rearward-facing angle to align the field of view to the working area of the grapple. The slew system at the base of the boom is field-proven, using components that are common to Tigercat track machines. In addition to the increased working envelope, the boom has a more powerful lift30
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ing capacity compared with a conventional dual function arch. For cable assisted applications, the skidder can be factory-equipped for tethering with optimally positioned frame lugs and through-theblade cable routing. The lugs attach to the frame structure behind the front axle, closer to the payload. Visit tigercat.com.
Diamond Drum Mulcher
Diamond Mowers, a leading manufacturer of industrial mowing, mulching, and brush cutting equipment for the municipal, skid-steer, and excavator markets, has announced an increased commitment to the professional mulching market by heralding “a new generation of Diamond drums” starting with the introduction of a revolutionary open drum mulcher that combines the best performance fea-
tures of depth control and open drum designs into one powerful and versatile attachment. The new SK Drum Mulcher OD Pro X is the first in a series of high-performance mulching tools set to be launched by the attachment leader this year. First out of the gate is the new Drum Mulcher OD Pro X, an innovative design that fuses open drum versatility with depth control precision. Ideal for users requiring power and flexibility for harsh mulching needs, this easy-to-operate tool is made for a wide range of heavyduty applications from land clearing and vegetation management to utility and roadside maintenance. It is strategically engineered to allow heavy ground engagement for maximum productivity while producing a smaller finished product than conventional open drum models. Designed to process material up to 9” in diameter continuously, this new drum is differentiated in the marketplace by its optimized infeed system. Directional rake tines deflect vegetation back to the rotor and shredding chamber for smaller mulch after the first pass. Optimum shredding performed in the drum chamber reduces the need for backdragging and produces a uniform mulch with a smaller particle size
than typical open drum options. Available in 60" and 72" cutting widths, the OD Pro X accommodates three tooth options, allowing users to interchange teeth for different applications, all while maintaining drum balance. The drum attaches to most skidsteers and compact track loaders. Upon purchase, the attachment is factory-set to match each carrier’s specified pressure and flow. Diamond Mowers’ dealers have the ability to fine-tune the motor settings to achieve peak performance. Visit diamondmowers.com.
TCi Forestry Dozer
Tigercat Industries has developed a forestry dozer. The new TCi 920 will be making the rounds at several U.S. forestry industry trade shows this year. The dozer will be branded under the new TCi badge, as Tigercat Industries continues to design
machines for applications beyond forest harvesting systems. All products falling under the TCi brand are and will continue to be designed, manufactured and supported by Tigercat Industries. Seeking to overcome shortcomings that harvesting professionals have experienced when applying standard-build, mass production dozers to forestry operations, the new 920 is designed specifically for use in logging applications. The 920 is powered by the Tigercat FPT N45 Tier 4f engine rated at 101 kw (135 HP). It is equipped with a 190 mm (7.5") pitch heavy duty undercarriage, a responsive and efficient closed loop track drive system, strong, impact-resistant belly pans, and durable structural components throughout. The 920 provides the power, durability and versatility for deck clearing, road building and cleanup activities on logging sites. The carefully designed forestry cab offers the operator clear sightlines augmented by the sloped front hood and rear-mounted exhaust. The cab is quiet and comfortable with a heated and cooled air ride seat, ergonomic armrest mounted joysticks, and a large touchscreen machine control system interface. Visit tigercat.com.
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PRINT CLASSIFIED AD RATES: Print advertising rates are $50 per inch. Space is available by column inch only, one inch minimum. DEADLINES: Ad reservation must be received by 10th of month prior to month of publication. Material must be received no later than 12th of month prior to month of publication.
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CONTACT: Call Bridget DeVane at 334-699-7837, 800-669-5613, email bdevane7@hotmail.com or visit www.southernloggintimes.com
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RECONDITIONED DELIMBINATORS!! In addition to new machines, CHAMBERS DELIMBINATOR, INC. now has factory reconditioned DeLimbinators. These units have been inspected, repaired, and updated as needed. Call us and we will help you select a DeLimbinator for your need.
WE ALSO BUY USED DELIMBINATORS Call: 662-285-2777 day, 662-285-6832 eves Email: info@chambersdelimbinator.com 1123
LOGGER’S BEST FRIEND!
8309
Repair Hoses in the Log Woods Crimper Start-up Kit Less than $5,000 Contact: Chris Alligood 1-252-531-8812 email: chrisa.cavalierhose@gmail.com
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FOR SALE 3939
MIG welding is the incorrect way to repair cracks in saw disks according to a major welding rod manufacturer. I weld all cracks with TIG and air hammer “Peen” the welds. Disk straightening and balancing is a specialty. 566
CARVER SAWDISK REPAIR 252-945-2358 Washington, NC 27889 visit us online: southernloggintimes.com
JOHN DEERE 648L SKIDDER Dual arch & winch, VERY NICE SKIDDER, NEW 35.5’s ..................................asking $95,000 Call or Text Zane 334-518-9937
6209
EUREKA! EUREKA! EUREKA! OWNERS HAVE OVER 30 YEARS COMBINED EXPERIENCE!
N
EUREKA SAW TOOTH CO., INC.
7180
We can save you money on Saw Teeth. Hundreds of satisfied ACC OW EP customers. Rebuilt Exchange or New. We specialize in rebuild- CRE TING DIT ing Koehring 2000, Hurricana, Hydro Ax split teeth and all CARDS other brands. Call Jimmy or Niel Mitchell. Quantity Discounts!
4275 Moores Ferry Rd. • Skippers, Virginia 23879 PH./FAX (day) 1-434-634-9836 or Night/Weekends • 1-434-634-9185
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A D L I N K ●
ADVERTISER
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PG. NO.
PHONE NO.
American Loggers Council
20
202.627.6961
American Truck Parts
28
888.383.8884
Around The World Salvage
35
936.634.7210
Bandit Industries
17
800.952.0178
Big John Trailers
5
800.771.4140
BITCO Insurance
27
800.475.4477
Caterpillar Dealer Promotion
15
919.550.1201
Commercial Loan Solutions
22
256.415.0019
Eastern Surplus
24
855.332.0500
Flint Equipment
29
229.888.1212
FMI Trailers
14
601.508.3333
Forest Chain
28
800.288.0887
Forestry First
34
803.708.0624
Forestry Mutual Insurance
39
800.849.7788
G & W Equipment
28
800.284.9032
Hawkins & Rawlinson
30
888.822.1173
Interstate Tire Service
36
864.947.9208
Kaufman Trailers
3
336.790.6807
Komatsu Forestry Division
21
888.285.7478
Mike Ledkins Insurance Agency
18
800.766.8349
LMI-Tennessee
23
800.467.0944
Loadrite Southern Star
24
256.270.8775
Logger Associations
22
Magnolia Trailers
25
800.738.2123
Maxi-Load Scale Systems
10
877.265.1486
McComb Diesel
22
601.783.5700
Midsouth Forestry Equipment
29
870.226.0000
Moore Logging Supply
26
888.754.5613
Morbark
1,11
800.831.0042
Pitts Trailers
40
800.321.8073
Ponsse North America
19
715.369.4833
Prolenc Manufacturing
20
877.563.8899
Quadco Equipment
31
800.668.3340
Quality Equipment & Parts
36
386.487.3896
Southern Loggers Cooperative
24
318.445.0750
Stribling Equipment
35
855.781.9408
Tidewater Equipment
33,34
912.638.7726
7
519.753.2000
Tigercat Industries TraxPlus
27
601.635.5543
W & W Truck & Tractor
32
843.761.8220
Wallingford’s
26
800.323.3708
Waratah Forestry Attachments
2
770.692.0380
Waters International Trucks
36
601.693.4807
Yancey Brothers
26
800.282.1562
ADLINK is a free service for advertisers and readers. The publisher assumes no liability for errors or omissions.
COMING EVENTS June 25—Central Mississippi Logging Expo, Edwards, Miss.; visit youtube.com/watch?v=flEvE CLjdV0
July 13-14—The Warnell Logging Cost Analysis Course, Flinchum’s Phoenix, University of Georgia, Athens, Ga. Visit conted.warnell.uga. edu/courses/lca_2022. 25-27—Appalachian Hardwood Manufacturers Summer Conference, The Homestead Resort, Hot Springs, Va. Call 336-885-8315; visit appalachianhardwood.org. 29-31—Georgia Forestry Assn. Annual Conference, Hilton Head Island, SC. Call 478-992-8110; visit gfagrow.org.
August 11-14—Virginia Loggers Assn. annual meeting, Williamsburg Lodge, Williamsburg, Va. Call 804-677-4290; visit valoggers.org. 23-26—IWF 2022, Georgia World Congress Center, Atlanta, Ga. Call 404-693-8333; visit iwfatlanta.com. 29-September 2—Louisiana Forestry Assn. annual meeting, Golden Nugget Hotel & Casino Resort, Lake Charles, La. Call 318443-2558; visit laforestry.com.
30-September 1—Florida Forestry Assn. Annual Meeting & Trade Show, Omni Amelia Island Resort, Amelia Island, Fla. Call 850-2225646; visit floridaforest.org.
September 9-10—Great Lakes Logging & Heavy Equipment Expo, Resch Expo, Green Bay, Wis. Call 715282-5828; visit gltpa.org. 11-13—Alabama Forestry Assn. annual meeting, Perdido Beach Resort, Orange Beach, Ala. Call 334-265-8733; visit alaforestry.org. 16-18—Virginia Forest Products Assn. Annual Conference, at the Hilton Virginia Beach Oceanfront, Virginia Beach, Va. Call 804-7375625; visit vfpa.net. 22-24—American Loggers Council annual meeting, Branson, Mo. Call 409-625-0206; visit amloggers.com. 24—TEAM Safe Trucking annual meeting, The Hilton Branson Convention Center, Branson, Mo. Call 207-841-0250; visit teamsafe trucking.com. 28-30—North Carolina Forestry Assn. annual meeting, Grandover Resort & Conference Center, Greensboro, NC. Call 800-2317723; visit ncforestry.org.
October 11-13—Arkansas Forestry Assn. annual meeting, DoubleTree, Little Rock, Ark. Call 501-374-2441; visit arkforests.org. 26-28—Texas Forestry Assn. annual meeting, Texas A&M Hotel and Conference Center, College Station, Tex. Call 936-632-8733; visit texas forestry.org. Listings are submitted months in advance. Always verify dates and locations with contacts prior to making plans to attend.
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