SLT 0316 Digimag

SLTmar16pgs_SS.qxp_SLTtemplate 3/1/16 4:22 PM Page 1

CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!

SLT_0316_ASM_SLTtemplate 2/25/16 12:12 PM Page 2

CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!

SLT_0316_ASM_SLTtemplate 2/25/16 12:12 PM Page 3

CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!

SLTmar16pgs_SS.qxp_SLTtemplate 2/29/16 8:00 AM Page 4

Vol. 45, No. 3

(Founded in 1972—Our 522nd Consecutive Issue)

F E AT U R E S

March 2016 A Hatton-Brown Publication

Phone: 334-834-1170 Fax: 334-834-4525 www.southernloggintimes.com

14

Burnie Dykes Father Son Team

32

SCTPA Meeting Focus On Trucking

Co-Publisher David H. Ramsey Co-Publisher David (DK) Knight Chief Operating Officer Dianne C. Sullivan Executive Editor David (DK) Knight Editor-in-Chief Rich Donnell Western Editor Dan Shell Managing Editor David Abbott Associate Editor Jessica Johnson Associate Editor Jay Donnell Art Director Cindy Segrest Ad Production Coordinator Patti Campbell Circulation Director Rhonda Thomas Marketing/Media Jordan Anderson 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

40

Ray White Lumber Family Pine Mill

46

out front: Diversification is key for enthusiastic young logger David Greer. After experimenting with the CTL method and experiencing personal tragedy, Greer reemerged with a renewed resolve and a focus on expanding into new markets. Story begins on Page 8. (David Abbott photo)

Gilbert Gladson Swamp Logging Startup

D E PA RT M E N T S Southern Stumpin’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 CTR/CSI History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Cat Remote Controls. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Bulletin Board . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Industry News Roundup . . . . . . . . . . 50 Safety Focus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 At The Margins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 IronWorks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 Coming Events/Ad Index . . . . . . . . . . 70

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: tootall1@shaw.ca International Murray Brett Tel: +34 96 640 4165 Fax: +34 96 640 4022 Aldea de las Cuevas 66 Buzon 60 • 03759 Benidoleig (Alicante), Spain E-mail: murray.brett@abasol.net CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING

Bridget DeVane

Tel: 1-800-669-5613 • Tel 334-699-7837 Email: bdevane7@hotmail.com

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 nonqualified 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—TOLLFREE 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 ® 2016. 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.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to:Southern Loggin’ Times, P.O. Box 2419, Montgomery, AL 36102-2419 Member Verified Audit Circulation

Other Hatton-Brown publications: ★ Timber Processing ★ Timber Harvesting ★Panel World ★ Power Equipment Trade ★ Wood Bioenergy

4 ● MARCH 2016 ● Southern Loggin’ Times

CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!

SLT_0316_ASM_SLTtemplate 2/25/16 12:12 PM Page 5

CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!

SLTmar16pgs_cs.qxp_SLTtemplate 2/29/16 8:52 AM Page 6

SOUTHERN STUMPIN’ By David Abbott • Managing Editor • Ph. 334-834-1170 • Fax: 334-834-4525 • E-mail: david@hattonbrown.com

Hog Wild n January, my first business trip of the year took me to Louisiana, where I met logger David Greer (see his story on page 8 this issue). Mr. Greer has several crews working in the area, and I was able to visit one working on a kind of a hilly tract—steeper ground than they normally worked. After spending the morning there, I left around noon to make the long drive back to Montgomery. From the woods I got back out on the main highway (I can’t remember now which one), and only a couple of miles from the log road turnoff, I saw this big boy, featured in the picture below, on the side of the road. I guess a car hit him? As much time as I have spent in the woods all over the South for the last 20 years, this is actually the first time I’ve encountered a wild hog, dead or alive. But I’ve heard and read stories for most of that time about what a growing problem these animals have become. It’s an expensive problem, too. According to the 2015 annual report of Mississippi State’s Forest and Wildlife Research Center, annual cost in the U.S. is over $1.5 billion from wild hog damage. According to an October 21, 2014 article in Scientific American by Amy Nordrum, the USDA is spending $20 million in an attempt to solve the problem nationwide. The program aims to halt and reverse the trend by eliminating all pigs from two states every three to five years.

I

Phenotype A feral pig, or hog, or wild boar, or razorback—take your pick of names—by definition is one that was once domesticated and has then gone into the wild. What I always found fascinating is that a domesticated pig physically changes after going into the wild. Its appearance actually changes. It grows hair and tusks. How is that even possible? The phenotype of any creature is the physical manifestation of its genetic code. How that genetic code is expressed can, in some animals, change depending on the environment, a phenomenon called epigenetics (presumably the “pig” in that word is coincidental). Another phenomenon, called neoteny, means that a creature continues to express juvenile characteristics in a certain environment, and then matures quickly when the conditions warrant. This is why pigs lack tusks and dense body hair in captivity. They don’t have to hunt for food and they’re safe from predators (well, till someone wants some bacon, at least). Because the genetics of the pig don’t sense a need for it, testosterone levels are low. When the same pig goes into the wild and becomes starved for nutritents, survival instincts kick in and the body starts producing testosterone—causing the tusks and hair to grow.

Aggressive Expansion Feral hogs are not native to the U.S. Evidently they were brought here by the European invaders, especially the Spanish, in the 16th century. Many of those pigs were raised free range or simply escaped captivity, so ever since there have been some wild pigs roaming around. But that population has grown by leaps and bounds in the last three decades, and expanded into new territories. It used to be that feral hogs were mostly in Texas and Florida, but are now reportedly established in 39 states. And even within those states, there are more of them. In 2004, 25 Texas counties had no feral pig population; 12 years later, only one of those counties remains free of the pests.

searching for something to eat. That’s why they cause so much damage to agricultural and forestry interests: damaging soil. They also spread disease, of course; 400 streams segments in Texas are infected with bacteria from wild pig’s defecation. They’re basically machines designed to do only two things: eat, and when they’re not eating, that other thing that most living creatures do. They procreate, and they do it year round. They reach reproductive maturity in four to six months in the right habitat (hint: the South is the right habitat). They can give birth twice a year, with litters of four to eight piglets (some sources say up to 12 piglets to a litter). Do the math on that. If 70% of the pigs in one region are killed, the 30% that remains can repopulate fast enough to completely replace all the lost pigs in under three years.

Hunting

The other white meat...

Louisiana, where I found Mr. Piggy there, is supposed to have one of the most rapidly growing feral hog populations, with an estimated 500,000 wild hogs total. South Carolina also has one of the largest feral hog populations in the country, but Texas—not surprisingly, since everything is bigger there—is home to the largest feral hog population in the U.S., with an estimated 2.6 million of them. That represents slightly more than half of the estimated 5 million total wild hogs in the U.S. Some believe the explosive growth in the feral pig population since the ’80s was at least partially cased by sportsman transporting them for the purpose of hunting them on private lands. That’s illegal, by the way—not the hunting, but the transporting.

Survivors One of the reasons they survive is that they are very good at adapting. They are—like (most) humans—omnivores. They can and will eat basically anything they can fit in their mouths. They’ll scavenge dead carcasses, or eat underground vegetation, or bird eggs, or smaller amphibians or uncovered garbage. What habitat do they prefer? Dense brush, hardwood trees (because they like to eat the nuts and acorns), and swamps. Their natural eating behavior is to root in the ground…that’s what the tusks are for…and they can dig up to three ft. with their snouts while

Wild hogs have no natural predators to limit their population growth; humans are the only limiting factor. To that end feral hog hunting is legal and encouraged in almost all southern states, according to hogmanoutdoors.com. Missouri is the only state in the region that bans hunting them. While wild hogs are not prevalent in West Virginia, it is legal to hunt them. In many states, not only is it legal to kill wild hogs—it’s actually illegal to catch one and NOT kill it. Most of the states where a large feral hog population exists list them as nuisance animals, a destructive species detrimental to natural resources. Problem is, though they may look dumb, these animals are noted for their intelligence—some say they’re as smart as dogs. They’re smart enough to learn their territory and avoid danger. Shooting or trapping a wild pig might feel satisfying, but experts warn that only catching one pig in a group actually makes it harder to catch the rest. They travel in groups of 8-15, called a sounder, and if you don’t trap the whole sounder, the ones who escape will learn to avoid future traps. Some states have gotten creative in dealing with the problem. Aerial shooting from helicopters accounts for half of the 25,000 pigs killed annually in Texas. In New Mexico hunters have tried attaching a radio transmitter to one pig and then following it to the rest of its sounder to destroy the entire group—they call it a Judas pig. Neither of these methods work well in the forests, though. Some in Louisiana, Texas and Alabama have suggested using poisons—like the sodium nitrate used as an effective form of pig population control in Australia. That probably works well, but shooting them SLT from a helicopter sounds a lot more fun...

6 ● MARCH 2016 ● Southern Loggin’ Times

CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!

SLT_0316_ASM_SLTtemplate 2/25/16 12:12 PM Page 7

CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!

SLTmar16pgs_cs.qxp_SLTtemplate 2/25/16 5:18 PM Page 8

On The Rise ■ David Greer has established himself as one of the area’s most promising young loggers.

At 35, David Greer, inset, has six crews under his company, DG&E Logging, is half owner of a seventh crew, and is a partner in a third business that develops timberland.

By David Abbott JONESBORO, La. ★ he calendar said January, but Mother Nature was in more of an April mood. It was warm, and wet. In the woods with one of his seven logging and chipping crews, David Greer was on the lookout for snakes and mosquitoes, and when he got in his truck, he had to roll down a window and turn on the air conditioner. Greer, 35, is the owner of DG&E Logging, Inc. The letters stand for David Greer and Elizabeth, his 13year-old daughter. He’s a third generation logger, but that didn’t mean he was able to slip right into the boots filled by his grandfather and father. By the time he came of age, there was no family business for him to join. Greer had learned to run a skidder for his uncle by the age of 8, but when he was 13, his father lost both of his legs due to complications caused by diabetes. He didn’t let that stop him. “That’s what I

T

Equipment is an even mix of multiple brands, including Caterpillar, John Deere, Tigercat, Barko and Morbark.

remember about my daddy,” Greer observes. “He just never stopped.” Even without legs, the elder Greer still managed to do some dozer and tractor work, including for his good friend Travis Taylor. He used prosthetics to help with the foot pedals. “He was a very well-liked man in

the county,” Greer recalls of his father. “Everyone knew him.” It was actually those connections his father had made in the industry that ultimately led the young Greer back to his family heritage—but it took a while. Like a lot of experienced loggers, Greer’s father discouraged his

8 ● MARCH 2016 ● Southern Loggin’ Times

CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!

children from following in his footsteps. He hoped they wouldn’t log. When Greer graduated high school in 1999, he honored his father’s wishes. Instead of the woods, he went to work on a farm, and later as a millwright at the former Willamette (now Weyer-

SLTmar16pgs_cs.qxp_SLTtemplate 2/25/16 5:18 PM Page 9

Greer became interested in chipping after connecting with Halley Timber Co. in 2010.

haeuser) plywood mill in Dodson. By 2002, though, he knew he had to embrace his true nature—he was a logger at heart. “I knew it was in my blood, and I couldn’t get it out of my head,” he recalls. “So my daddy gave in and supported me.” It was with the encouragement and suggestion of the late Travis Taylor, who had been a good friend to both Greer and his dad, that the young man finally started his own crew—originally a cut-to-length job, a system of which Taylor was a proponent. “Mr. Travis talked me into trying CTL and it evolved from there,” he explains. Tragically, Greer lost both his parents in a span of just four months in 2006. His mother died of a lung cancer, and his father was killed in a four-wheeler accident. Rather than focus on the negative, though, Greer prefers to look at the plus column. “I got something a lot of people don’t get,” he says. During Greer’s high school years, his father was home a lot due to the amputation of his legs. “We didn’t have a lot of money coming in, we had no rich lifestyle, but I got to spend a lot of time with my dad. He taught me how to weld. I learned my mechanical skills from him. There was nothing he couldn’t fix or build.”

CTL Transition That year when his parents died was one of change for Greer, both personally and professionally. In the midst of his tragedy, he was making the switch from CTL to conventional logging, after four years of trying to make the former method work. “I think CTL is not ready for this country,” he says. “Just like Mr. Travis, I loved the idea of CTL, but it is not right for our terrain. Our underbrush is too thick.” There

CTR and CSI delimber and groundsaw packages are in prevalent use.

The crews work in a variety of timber and terrain.

were other factors as well—most notably, he adds, the lack of dealership support in the area. “Ponsse machines are good, they didn’t break down—but when they shut down their location in West Monroe, that’s when I decided to get rid of it.” Finally, there was the simple cost aspect. “You can’t produce enough with it to cover the cost. It’s too slow, and the economy was going down at that time, in 2006, so no mills wanted to pay the extra it costs to run it.” Still, Greer may not be done with

CTL yet. “I like the equipment; it’s good equipment. If we ever get our markets back really strong, I have always wanted to try it again.”

Diversification Having been on a lease agreement with Ponsse North America, Greer let his CTL machines go back to the manufacturer and set about starting over. He did some skidding for Taylor, and then with a full crew worked for International Paper and Plum Creek for several years. A

downsizing came with the crash of ’08, but things had picked back up enough by 2012 that he was able to start adding crews. The real turnaround for Greer began in 2010, when he started working for Halley Timber Co., Inc. in Farmville, La. “Kenneth Halley (the owner) was kind of the savior for me in the logging business,” Greer states. “He showed me the markets for fuelwood and guided me in that direction. It’s a really good company and they keep us in good timber.” Milton Roberts is the Halley timber buyer who works closely with Greer. “I wanted to get into different markets,” Greer says. It was with Halley that he expanded into fuel chipping and grinding. He eventually took over Halley’s pre-existing fuelwood business, and says his company is now the main fuel supplier to the Graphic Packaging mill in West Monroe. DG&E now performs a variety of chipping and grinding jobs, in addition to thinning and clear-cutting. A track hoe and grinder team follow the roundwood crews, taking care of brush and residuals. “There is no waste when we get through,” Greer asserts. Along with the six main DG&E logging and chipping crews, Greer is a partner in two other businesses. His younger cousin and long-time employee, Josh Gandy, wanted to start his own crew, so Greer partnered with him to form another conventional roundwood crew, under the banner G&G Wood, LLC—that’s Greer and Gandy—in January 2015. Together with another partner, Coy Purkey—a local realtor and forester—Greer also purchases timberland specifically to develop and sell it. For instance, they often build or repair roads on a tract, set up electricity for camps and sell or

Southern Loggin’ Times ● MARCH 2016 ● 9

CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!

SLTmar16pgs_cs.qxp_SLTtemplate 2/25/16 5:18 PM Page 10

lease the property to deer hunting clubs. Currently, they are developing about 500 acres. Being diversified, the logger believes, is a key to his success and stability. “When one thing is bad, another is good,” he says. “It levels out.” A typical tract for DG&E is about 80 acres of first thinning— that’s what Greer calls his main priority, although clear-cuts and underbrush jobs are also on the list. “Being diversified, we can pick what application it needs,” he says. “If it means removing undergrowth for fuel and saving merchantable timber, putting smaller wood to the clean chipper and bigger trees in the roundwood sort, we can do that.”

Crew 1: Foreman Jacob Evans 2014 Caterpillar 559 loader (with CTR delimbers/groundsaw), 2014 Tigercat 620E skidder, 2014 John Deere 843K cutter.

Crew 2: Foreman Ronnie Jiles 2015 Cat 555D skidder, 2015 Cat 553 cutter

Crew 3: Foreman: Jeff Bass 2013 Tigercat 234 loader (with CTR delimbers/CSI groundsaw), 2015 Deere 643K cutter, 2013 Tigercat 620D skidder, 2006 Tigercat 230B loader

Machinery The equipment across Greer’s several crews is a pretty even mix of John Deere, Caterpillar, Tigercat, Barko and Mobark machines—and even a few old Timberjack pieces— with CTR and CSI delimbers and ground saws. In all, he figures his equipment investment at $3 million. (See sidebar.) Dealers include Midsouth Forestry Equipment (Tigercat) in Warren, Ark., Louisiana Cat (Caterpillar) and Doggett Machinery (John Deere), the latter two in Monroe. Also in Monroe, Greer looks to Bruckner Truck Sales for his trucks (he has four Mack CH613s from 2000-2015, and one 2000 Freightliner FLD120) and truck parts, and Walker Trailer Sales for his Pitts trailers. Greer describes his experience with the newer, Tier 4f machines as hit and miss. “Some do really well, some have been a nightmare,” he says. “Some have never seen the shop and some seem like they never see the woods.” He adds that this Tier 4 inconsistency is consistent across the board—with logging equipment and trucks. Moreover, he lists this among his chief concerns for the immediate future. “The cost is outrageous— equipment took a big hike.” Beyond the purchase, maintenance on Tier 4 is a concern. “People like me can’t work on it with all the new stuff. You have to have computers to tell what’s wrong. The shade tree mechanic is about over with.” Operators generally handle routine maintenance on rainy days and weekends, changing oil and fuel filters every 4-500 hours, and hydraulic fluids every 1,000 hours. About 70% of his machines are under warranty, so repair jobs on those pieces return to the dealer. For most other major repairs, Greer has a service team—Ben Jiles and Kenny Wayne Kelley. These two usually work out of a service truck and do repairs in the field, handling things like packing cylin-

Greer runs five company trucks and 21 contract haulers.

Crew 4: Foreman: Justin Job 2008 Morbark 40/36 fuel chipper, 2010 Tigercat 718E cutter, 2013 Tigercat 630D skidder, 2013 Cat 559 loader

Crew 5: Foreman: Hunter Futch 2006 John Deere 200C track hoe, 2010 Morbark track grinder, 2009 Tigercat 718E front end loader

Crew 6:

After trying CTL for a few years, Greer switched to conventional logging.

Foreman: Ben Jiles, David Greer 2012 Tigercat 610C skidder, 2002 Tigercat 630B skidder, Barko 595ML loader, Morbark 30/36 fuel chipper, 1995 Timberjack 603 track cutter, Timberjack 724E cutter

Crew 7 (G&G): Foreman: Josh Gandy 2015 Tigercat 610E skidder, 2015 Cat 559 loader with CSI ground saw, 2013 Deere 843K cutter

This '14 Deere 650K and a '09 Deere 750J play a crucial role.

ders, bearings, hydraulic pumps and swapping tires. They also take care of the substantial amount of maintenance chippers require. For engine work, Greer looks to Joe Robinson at Industrial Diesel Services in Ruston, La. For hydraulic work, Greer goes to Tim Olson

at Hydra-Tech Systems in West Monroe. When stocking up on spare parts, Greer prefers to shop at Crow Burlingame auto service center in Jonesboro for Wix oil filters and Gates hydraulic hoses. Goodyear is his tire brand, from GCR Tire Cen-

10 ● MARCH 2016 ● Southern Loggin’ Times

CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!

ter in Monroe—he buys 35.5x32 and 30.5x32 for skidders and 28L26 for cutters. RelaDyne (Hill Oil Co.) distribution service in Farmerville delivers oil, fuel and DEF to Greer’s 40x80 shop. There, he has two 10,000 gallon tanks, one for onroad and one for off-road diesel. For chipper maintenance, Greer sends knives to U.S. Blades in West Monroe for sharpening. He says it varies as to how long a set of knives can go before it needs to be changed out—sometimes 10 loads, sometimes only four in areas with excessive mud. The chipper crews keep five extra sets of knives on

SLT_0316_ASM_SLTtemplate 2/25/16 12:12 PM Page 11

CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!

SLTmar16pgs_cs.qxp_SLTtemplate 2/25/16 5:18 PM Page 12

hand, and it takes about 10 minutes to change out a set. For all maintenance, repairs and parts combined, Greer estimates that he spends an average of a half million dollars annually.

Markets Still early in 2016, Greer reports that market conditions have been somewhat tight, and he attributes it to more than just weather. Despite the level of rainfall, Greer says that many of his mills were putting sup-

pliers on quota as the new year was getting underway. He suspects this was not due to full log yards, but to not running at full capacity. “I don’t understand it,” he says. “It must be market driven, not weather.” DG&E hauls chips, clean and otherwise, along with pine roundwood to Graphic Packaging in West Monroe. Larger pine logs go to Martin Companies’ mill in Chopin, while small pine logs head further to West Fraser in Huttic, Ark. Some pulpwood goes to WestRock in Jonesboro La., while most of Greer’s hardwood pulp pro-

duction goes to various International Paper mills or to Georgia Pacific in Crossett, depending on which is closest at the time. Proximity to market has a big impact on where and how Greer will tackle a tract. For instance, for pine logs he doesn’t mind hauling 120 miles, but on pulpwood, he tries to keep a crew within 50 miles of the mill, saying that the price of the product doesn’t make it financially wise to haul it further. “We had hoped the pellet mills would be our salvation, but that is a

slow process,” Greer admits. Even so, he still calls German Pellets in Urania and Drax Biomass in Bastrop the most promising developments in his area. Greer says 2015 was the best year he’s ever had. It was the first year in his career when he feels that his business profit, after taxes, was comparable to his investment. This was in large measure due to reduced cost of petroleum products—both fuel and tires. If the situation remains as is, he wouldn’t want to get any bigger any time soon, but he would be interested in updating some of his equipment.

Manpower Lower fuel prices have given him some relief, Greer says, in more ways than one. Aside from his diminishing fuel bill, there is a greater availability of qualified workers on the labor market, he says. Tumbling oil prices have put many from the nearby oil fields out of a job and back to the woods seeking employment. DG&E employs 21 in the woods and five company truck drivers. Greer also hires 21 contract haulers. Greer and his crew leaders conduct safety meetings once a month in the woods to highlight areas of concern and remind employees about best practices. “I don’t hound them but I try to remind them about things, especially with the chipper—it is where most accidents happen, during the maintenance, in my experience.” The reminders must be working, because DG&E has had no major accidents. Pace Insurance in Spring Hill and Lasyone Insurance in Winnfield provide coverage for the company. Greer’s wife Roxanne helps with the paper work, and one employee, Michael Gilliam, gathers all the delivery tickets. He looks to CPA firm Kenneth Folden in Jonesboro for payroll taxes and stumpage checks. Gena Smith is his accountant. Greer has two sisters and three brothers, one of whom, Kent Greer, also followed the family tradition and went into the logging business. Along with his daughter, Elizabeth, 13, Greer and Roxanne have two sons: Timber, 4, and Kayson, 3. So, that next generation of the Greer legacy is already in training and, in one case, named for the job. “Mainly I log seven days a week,” Greer says, but when he finds a spare minute, he does a little cattle farming. His real pastime, he says, is developing land. Leave it to a logger to have work SLT for a hobby. Contact David Greer by email: davidgreer0955@gmail.com

12 ● MARCH 2016 ● Southern Loggin’ Times

CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!

SLT_0316_ASM_SLTtemplate 2/25/16 12:12 PM Page 13

CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!

SLTmar16pgs_cs.qxp_SLTtemplate 2/25/16 5:18 PM Page 14

Best Year Yet ■ Lower fuel prices have things looking up for the Dykes family business. By David Abbott RICHTON, Miss. appy days are here again? Well, maybe so, according to the head honchos at Burnie ★ Dykes Logging Co., Inc. That would be dad Burnie, 59, and his son Eric, 42. Calendar

H

year 2015, they agree, was a pretty good one for them. “It’s the best we’ve done in the last 10 years, or at least the last seven,” Eric says. That specific number, a sevenyear minimum, isn’t just an educated guess. It was seven years ago, in 2008, when things got so bad, Burnie decided to park everything. Logging is always tough but the

thing that really started the downward spiral in his case, he says, was the cost of fuel. “Fuel just got so high, to the point that there was no money in it,” the elder Dykes recollects. “It’s never enough, but still, you have to turn some kind of a profit.” During the shutdown, Burnie got by building ponds with his dozer,

CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!

while Eric went to work in construction. At that time the fatherson team were contracting for G-P. Following the purchase of that company by the Koch brothers in 2005, Burnie recalls, the logging situation in his area was in disarray, specifically at the Leaf River mill in New Augusta. “They were shuffling all of us around wherever

SLTmar16pgs_cs.qxp_SLTtemplate 2/25/16 5:18 PM Page 15

Dykes leases all his Caterpillar machines, stating that this option has served him well.

and it was hard to find something to work on,” he says. That confusion, coupled with the fuel price increase that started in 2005, prompted the decision to just cut his losses. “If you can’t turn a profit, it’s better to just stay home,” he says. The shutdown lasted for about six months before Georgia-Pacific approached him about renewing his supply contract. “They wanted me to go back, so I did,” he sums up simply. “I never did want to get out completely anyhow.” They kept going from there, and finally turned a corner last year. In fact, Eric says 2015 might have been the first year ever when the company’s after-tax profit was really on par with its investment (he says 8% is a reasonable return on investment). The reason, they say, again comes down to fuel price, this time going down. That alone has made it possible for the business to turn a fair profit. “Our fuel bill is half of what it used to be,” Eric says.

Equipment If things continue in this way, Burnie says, he doesn’t have any interest in expanding the size and scope of his operation—but he wouldn’t mind updating a few older pieces of equipment he’s been holding onto for quite a while. The current machinery lineup includes a 2003 Caterpillar 535B Cat skidder, ’05 Tigercat 230B loader, ’10 John Deere 643K cutter, ’13 Cat 559C loader and ’14 Cat 545C skidder. For delimbing, the company uses both a Chambers DeLimbinator and CTR 426 pullthrough unit. Dozer is a ’09 Cat D6K, and spare pieces include ’04 Tigercat 720D and ’04 Cat 525B Cat. Dealers Puckett Machinery (Cat), B&G Equipment (Tigercat) and Stribling Equipment (Deere) are all located in Hattiesburg. Burnie and Eric estimate their equipment investment at somewhere in the range of $1.5 million. Every machine was bought new except for the Tigercat cutter, purchased at

DeanCo Auction Co. in Philadelphia, Miss. “Payments are better than repair bills,” Burnie believes. On the three Cat machines, Burnie makes use of that company’s lease option. “At the end (of the lease term), you have the option to buy or turn it back in and get a new piece,” he explains, adding that this practice has worked out very well for him. “I lease for four years. Sometimes I keep it, sometimes I turn it in and get a new one. It is just according to how everything is going, how the economy is.” The Dykes crew runs six trucks— five Peterbilt models ranging from 2001-2016, and one ’12 Western Star. Burnie and Eric also supplement their company-owned hauling capacity with one truck from contract hauler Tallboy Trucking, based in Purvis, Miss. A mix of pole trailers and four bolsters, mostly Magnolia, pair with the trucks. Two lowboys, one Magnolia and one Vulcan, come in handy at moving time. Operators generally handle most repair jobs and routine maintenance

Burnie Dykes, left, and his son Eric, right, report that 2015 was their best year in a long time, in large measure thanks to lower fuel costs.

Southern Loggin’ Times ● MARCH 2016 ● 15

CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!

SLTmar16pgs_cs.qxp_SLTtemplate 2/25/16 5:18 PM Page 16

on their own machines, servicing equipment every 250 hours on the older pieces and up to every 500 hours on the newer ones. They grease every other work day, and Eric says they generally prefer to buy replacement parts from the manufacturer. Burnie has a 40x50 shop near his house, where, along with R&M work, the crew periodically uses a pressure washer to thoroughly clean the in-woods equipment and especially the trucks. The company has averaged $81,000 a year for repairs, maintenance and parts, according to the precise records kept by Burnie's wife Lynn. That comes out to around 6.5% of gross income, she says. Most of his machines were purchased new, but he has kept several running for a long time. For tires, Firestone is the logged, both before and after a stint graduated high school. He followed preferred brand and 30.5 the preworking for St. Regis Paper Co. Burnie to the new company two ferred size for skidders—with 24.5 Burnie grew up working for his years later. Today, their partnership on the outside when adding dual dad’s crew and, at times, for other appears to be equal and seamless. tires in wet conditions. Dykes runs loggers. Back when the Leaf River “Eric pretty much handles every28s on one cutter and 34s on the mill was still under Great Northern, thing,” Burnie says. “If I have to be other. “On the 30.5, we like the 26 gone, he has the say-so out here. It’s ply,” Burnie notes. “The heavier ply that company offered Burnie the opportunity to strike out on his own just a family business, I guess you it has, I think they hold up better.” with a thinning crew in 1993. could say.” “It’s basically all Eric has ever And that family business includes Background done, too,” the elder Dykes adds. more than just these two. Burnie’s “I grew up in it, it’s all I’ve ever Eric started working for his grandother son, Eric’s brother Grant done,” Burnie states. His father father initially in 1991, when he Dykes, also drives a truck for the

16 ● MARCH 2016 ● Southern Loggin’ Times

CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!

company. Shane Dykes, a cousin, works on the crew, as does—normally—Burnie’s grandson Phillip Dykes. However, when Southern Loggin’ Times visited the crew in midJanuary, Phillip was working a pipeline job in Des Moines, Ia. “He misses the woods,” Burnie notes. And don’t forget Eric’s son, Peyton. He’s only 13 but so far he shows every indication of joining his dad and granddad in the woods someday.

Markets Decreasing fuel prices may be the main ingredient to increased profitability for the Dykes crew, but it doesn’t hurt that the mills are buying wood, too. Eric describes the market situation as fair. “There has been a little bit of quota on logs, but other than that it has been pretty good here lately,” he says. “We are able to shuffle it around so we haven’t really missed any time,” Burnie adds. The logger has enough outlets for his products that even if he gets cut off at one spot, he can still haul to another. “Maybe if Hood at Wiggins goes down, maybe we can carry a load or two to

SLT_0316_ASM_SLTtemplate 2/25/16 12:12 PM Page 17

CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!

SLTmar16pgs_cs.qxp_SLTtemplate 2/25/16 5:18 PM Page 18

Beaumont, and between the Hood mills, keep us going,” he continues. And there appear to be more outlets on the horizon. In a promising development, there are reports that Biewer Lumber Co. is locating a sawmill in Newton soon. “That will help us down here, by taking some of the pressure off our log yards here having to haul from up there,” Burnie is confident. “Even though it’s not too close, our timber buyer said he thought it would help.” Primary outlets for the Dykes crew include a Masonite Corp. mill in Laurel for hardwood, Hood Industries in Wiggins for logs, Georgia-Pacific in Monticello and New Augusta (the Leaf River mill) for pine pulp, Jones Lumber Co. in Bay Springs for hardwood logs, Joe N. Miles & Sons in Silver Creek (recently purchased by Hood Industries) for chip-n-saw and DeSoto Treated Materials in Wiggins for poles. Dykes contracts under timber dealer Raymond Revette Logging, Inc., based in Waynesboro. Keith Hulsey and Gary Manning are the timber buyers for Dykes. Burnie doesn’t seem too particular on what kind of tracts they send his way. “Whatever kind of wood they can buy, we work it. Mostly we cut logs and hardwood. It is fairly level

The single crew hauls an average 60 loads a week.

ground here, with a little bit of rolling hills in it and sometimes slight bottoms. When it gets wet we just run duals on the skidders.”

Safety The crew holds a safety meeting at least once monthly, and employ-

ees are corrected on the spot if they ever do anything in an unsafe manner. “The boys…are all good about being cautious, but it doesn’t hurt to have an occasional reminder,” Burnie states. “We try to stay as safe as we can.” The crew uses all requisite safety gear, from hardhats and saw chaps

18 ● MARCH 2016 ● Southern Loggin’ Times

CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!

to high visibility vests. There is usually no one working on the ground. On the rare occasion when chain saw felling is called for, Burnie himself typically tackles it, as the most senior and experienced operator. Another safety key, Burnie believes, is constant communication between truck drivers and workers

SLT_0316_ASM_SLTtemplate 2/25/16 12:12 PM Page 19

CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!

SLTmar16pgs_cs.qxp_SLTtemplate 2/25/16 5:18 PM Page 20

in the woods. All the machines and trucks are equipped with CBs. Eric and his dad also make sure to stay up to date on their continuing education classes. That includes 10-12 hours every two years, which they usually get either at the Mid South show in Starkville (generally held in the late summer or early fall of even-numbered years, including this August) or whenever Mississippi State University, also in Starkville, offers classes. Davis Garvin Insurance Agency in Brandon, Miss., covers the Dykes crew, with general liability falling under Indemnity Insurance Co., auto coverage under CE Property and Casualty Insurance Co. and workers' comp under Falls Lake National Insurance Co. When asked what are among his chief concerns these days, Burnie’s first response is insurance. “It is just getting higher all the time.” For Eric’s part, he thinks of another problem: labor. Not the quality of labor currently on the crew, but the availability of interested candidates. “Most of ours have been out here a few years, but it’s just getting harder to find people who want do this kind of work,” the son expounds. “They want a bigger, easier check.” More money for less work is something few would refuse, and another

Daniel Garris, Shane Dykes, Eric Dykes, Burnie Dykes, Brandon Edwards

common demand among many in today’s labor market is health insurance. Like many loggers, the Dykes men have to date been unable to offer that, but Burnie tries to take care of his men in other ways. For instance, even if they can’t work for a whole week due to rain or for whatever reason, he still pays the employees for about half the missed time, so that they have some kind of paycheck. “I can’t afford to give them a whole week’s pay on no production, but I want them to have

something, at least.” On the crew, Brandon Edwards alternates with Eric on the cutter and loader. Daniel Garris and cousin Shane Dykes man the skidders. Burnie drives a truck and runs the dozer, both in the woods and on the side—he still builds ponds or does road work for other individuals and companies occasionally. He also has a track hoe to help in that regard. Company truck drivers include Robert Lassiter and J.W. Settle. Burnie’s wife Lynn may be the most

20 ● MARCH 2016 ● Southern Loggin’ Times

CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!

important member of the team—she handles the paperwork, the permits and, most importantly, the paychecks. When they’re not in the woods working, they’re in the woods for fun. Their only hobby, Burnie and Eric agree: hunting, of all kinds, be it deer, ducks, turkeys, whatever is in season. Most of all, Eric says, they enjoy working with hunting dogs. “We hunt and we work— that’s about it,” Burnie admits. SLT Contact Eric Dykes by email: dykes.eric@ymail.com

SLT_0316_ASM_SLTtemplate 2/25/16 12:12 PM Page 21

CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!

SLTmar16pgs_cs.qxp_SLTtemplate 2/25/16 5:18 PM Page 22

Innovative Spirit ■ North Carolina family continues the ‘built it right’ tradition of CTR/CSI founder. By DK Knight UNION GROVE, NC t all began in ★ the late 1970s in a small building situated atop a hill in the countryside, some six miles from this community and about an hour’s drive north of Charlotte. Calvin Johnson, 51, wanted to distance himself from his past connections with illicit moonshine and hungered for a more gratifying way to channel his considerable metalworking talent. Enter Ralph Metcalf, a western North Carolina logging equipment salesman that Johnson had heard of but didn’t really know. Metcalf proposed that Johnson fabricate a bar/chain log slasher that would operate off the hydraulic system of a knuckleboom loader. Metcalf insisted there was a growing market for the labor-saving device and that he could sell what Johnson could build. Johnson gave it deep thought, and after several discussions, agreed. Johnson and Metcalf became partners in an effort that included two of Johnson’s sons, Tony and Ronnie, and his wife, Mary. This was the beginning of CTR (Calvin-Tony-Ronnie) Mfg. Co. The year was 1979. Never one to cut corners, Johnson fabricated a strong, dependable product that the market readily

I

Loaders await mounting and attachment hookup, a duty led by brothers Danny (left) and Johnny Shew.

accepted, but after a couple of encouraging years, sales slowed, thanks largely to a numbing recession. Even so, Metcalf kept traveling extensively, promoting the slasher and signing up more dealers. Along the way, in late 1981, Johnson was converted to Christianity, a transformation that he insisted turned his life around and positively impacted the future of the family’s business interests. As the recession dragged on,

Johnson refined his product, contrived additional models and mulled possible expansion, the latter two steps taking place after things began improving in 1983. It wasn’t long before CTR was moving more slashers out the door than its more established main competitor.

Pull-Through Delimber

Veteran Ralph Metcalf continues as CSI sales manager.

Around 1985, some years after Ralph Metcalf had become a de facto member the Johnson family, North Carolina logger Tommy Hamby developed and eventually patented a pull-through delimber, another hydraulic attachment designed to work in conjunction with a knuckleboom loader. Mounted on a fifth wheel, Hamby’s product was rather crude. Hamby approached Johnson and they worked out a deal in which CTR purchased the manufacturing rights to the delimber and manufactured and marketed it while Hamby joined the company and helped promote it. CTR refined the mechanism and mounted it on a

22 ● MARCH 2016 ● Southern Loggin’ Times

CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!

cradle, vastly improving its dependability and productivity. The CTR 314 delimber, the industry’s first pull-through delimbing device, was introduced in 1987. A top saw option came later. At least four other manufacturers would eventually offer a similar product. Both the slasher and pull-through delimber became productive mainstays in the typical Southern logger’s equipment arsenal. Other products CTR developed in the late ’80s and early ’90s included a heavy bar/chain directional felling saw—it was withdrawn from the market after a couple of years—a tri-wheel fellerbuncher known as the Stumper, and a firewood processor. After ignoring several overtures to let the bustling business go, Johnson and associates eventually agreed to come to the table, in 1994

SLT_0316_ASM_SLTtemplate 2/25/16 12:13 PM Page 23

CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!

SLTmar16pgs_cs.qxp_SLTtemplate 2/25/16 5:19 PM Page 24

Dennis Sharpe, parts manager

John Johnson, plant manager

Corey Miller, parts department employee

signing a deal with Blount that incorporated a six-year non-compete agreement. Blount dropped the Stumper, opting to build its own Hydro-Ax tri-wheeler. Johnson was not one to rest. He formed another company, Cutting Systems, Inc. (CSI), erected a building just down the hill, and began developing equipment for spotting mobile/manufactured homes. By 1998 Blount had relocated CTR attachment manufacturing to its Forestry & Industrial Div. headquarters at Zebulon, NC and in time put the Union Grove plant up for sale. Soon after the non-compete agreement with Blount had run its course in the first half of 2000, the Johnson family began offering several models of slashers and pull-through delimbers under the CSI brand. Johnson eventually purchased the former CTR factory and reoccupied it in 2001. Meanwhile, Blount developed a skidder and branded it the Prentice 450 and the CTR 950. In 2007 Blount’s forest machine business was acquired by Caterpillar, which discontinued those machines but continued to offer CTR slashers and delimbers. Today Caterpillar’s CTR branded products include delimbers but not slashers. In the early years, mating a slasher and/or a delimber to a knuckleboom was an involved task that required some expense, several hours, and a lot of know-how. Dealers, or the Johnsons themselves, were often the installers. The emergence and popularity of the loader-driven slasher and delimber forced loader manufacturers to design and build machines so that they now leave the factory equipped and plumbed for quick, convenient coupling with these attachments and to construct loaders to withstand the increased operating stresses brought on by delimbing. It’s now a common practice for loader dealers to route loaders to the CSI plant to have them mounted on dedicated loader trailers, with slasher and/or delimber packages installed as well. The 24 ● MARCH 2016 ● Southern Loggin’ Times

CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!

SLT_0316_ASM_SLTtemplate 2/25/16 12:13 PM Page 25

CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!

SLTmar16pgs_cs.qxp_SLTtemplate 2/25/16 5:19 PM Page 26

completed machines are then shipped to dealers.

Tragic Accident Calvin Johnson, the tall, shy, gifted family linchpin, was killed in a car crash on April 1, 2010, some five miles from CSI headquarters. He was 82. Wife Mary was injured but recovered. Following several days of grieving, the Johnson family and CSI team regrouped and resumed the productive rhythm, knowing that the found-

Bar shop crew, from left: Bobby Puritt, Bill Staley, Dean Staley

26 ● MARCH 2016 ● Southern Loggin’ Times

CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!

ing father would have wanted it that way. After enduring the deep downturn of 2009-2010, CSI moved on to enjoy record years in 2014 and 2015 and continues to dominate the slasher and pull-through delimber markets. Exports now make up a growing percentage of sales. Thousands of slashers and pullthrough delimbers have been built by the Johnson businesses. The plant occupies 125,000 sq. ft. of space for manufacturing, parts, and administration. Still owned and managed by the Johnson family—Mary, Tony, Ronnie, Danny and others—CSI today employs about 100 and has 125 dealers with some 350 locations. Ralph Metcalf continues as sales manager. Today CSI’s products include four models each of slashers and pull-through delimbers, a gate delimber, dangle felling head, firewood processor, a remote slasher power unit, and three devices for precisely positioning mobile/modular homes. CSI manufactures its own saw bars, makes custom bars, and offers bar repair service. Through its parts division it carries a complete line of bars, OEM, and aftermarket parts, representing CSI, CTR, Hudson, Risley, Hultdins, Carlton, Multitek, Timbco, L-M, Timberline, Riley, Holtec, and FEC. It still gets calls for CTR and FEC products made in the ’80s. Calvin Johnson shunned watches and clocks, viewed the plant as his office, and took little time off from the business that drove him. He did not spend a lot of time talking, particularly if he did not know you that well. According to Metcalf, he was a perfectionist who could see more with his hands than with his eyes. He set standards that others sought to equal. In an interview with Southern Loggin’ Times in 1992—it was the first and probably only interview Johnson ever granted—he reflected on the company’s success to that point, crediting God first, family second, supervisors third and personnel-at-large fourth. He proudly pointed to standout corporate workmanship, an exceptional work ethic and limited employee turnover. “The Lord has blessed my life and our company ever since I surrendered to Him,” he said. “Our growth has surprised us. None of us had any idea the company would grow to this extent.” “We’re trying to maintain and grow on the ideals and innovation that dad started,” says Tony. “Customer satisfaction is our number one priority. That’s the SLT reason for our success.”

SLT_0316_ASM_SLTtemplate 2/25/16 12:13 PM Page 27

CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!

SLTmar16pgs_cs.qxp_SLTtemplate 2/25/16 5:19 PM Page 28

Clearing The Way For Remote Control? C aterpillar forestry machines were recently operated via remote control for the first time in a project that ultimately could lead to a wider application of the technology in a more conventional setting. In a project that required months and was recently completed at Fort Bragg, NC, three 521B tracked fellerbunchers removed trees and other vegetation. One of the machines felled large timber with a disc sawhead; the others cleared smaller trees and brush with mulching heads. The work was being carried out on the site of a former gunnery range, an area littered with unexploded bombs and other military ordnance. Because of the risks involved, the machines were equipped to allow workers to remotely operate them. Although remote operation has been used in Cat mining and construction equipment in the past, this was the first Cat forestry equipment application. Situated in an air-conditioned trailer nearby, machine operators did their jobs via laptop computers and controls. They had several video screens to observe the work—multiple cameras were mounted on the machines with

Operators guided felling/mulching machines via remote control.

magnets to enable good visibility— and control the machines. The cameras zoomed, panned or swept over an area when additional visibility was needed. Also, the site, 980 acres, was constantly monitored with drones to provide a bird’s-eye view of the work zone in high definition video, allowing operators to be aware of obstacles beyond the vision of onboard cameras. “Success in this project will lead to more near-term opportunities at Army sites in Georgia and Louisiana, as well as longer term oppor-

tunities globally,” says Kevin Thieneman, President of Caterpillar Forest Products. “Caterpillar is on the cutting edge of technology,” says Kolin Kirschenmann, Product Manager for Cat Forest Products. “This technology helps Cat customers work more productively, efficiently, and safely in the most demanding applications and environments.” “This is an incredibly important range because we don’t have an aerial gunnery range currently,” says Wolf Amacker, chief of operations

for Fort Bragg range control. When the entire project is completed—the land cleared, ordnance removed and range facilities constructed—Army aviators will be able to train onsite instead of traveling to other installations. The range also will be used for training by military aviators from other bases. The Army selected Environmental Chemical Corporation (ECC) to be its contractor on the project. ECC, a global business that specializes in site remediation work for the military and government agencies, has done similar work at Fort A.P. Hill in Virginia and Fort Polk in Louisiana. To provide the equipment and the know-how for the project, ECC turned to another firm, Applied Research Associates (ARA), to supply the remote control system and work with the primary equipment vendor, New England-based dealer Milton Cat. ARA reached out to Mike Mangin, leader of the track feller-buncher product team for Caterpillar Forest Products, to collaborate on a solution that would leverage the electric-over-hydraulic controls of the tracked feller-bunchers. ARA brought the latest version

The Fort Bragg project involved input from Caterpillar Forest Products, Milton Cat, Environmental Chemical Corp. and Applied Research Associates.

28 ● MARCH 2016 ● Southern Loggin’ Times

CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!

SLTmar16pgs_cs.qxp_SLTtemplate 2/25/16 5:19 PM Page 29

of its tele-operation system to the project, a kit that can be mounted on the machine in as quickly as 1520 minutes, depending on the technician and experience. ARA worked with Caterpillar Forest Products so the company’s remote control kit essentially “would plug in and play,” says Greg Hewitt, ARA unmanned systems group leader. The control kit plugs into a data port, and the machine can be operated remotely at a distance as far as two miles. ARA has utilized a similar system in other applications, mainly for the military, including other Cat equipment. ECC workers had not operated feller-bunchers before but were accustomed to the machines after four hours of rudimentary training provided by ARA. The project illustrated the importance of the collaboration of Cat dealers. Milton Cat was not the first equipment dealer that ARA approached, noted James Egan, a forest products sales representative for Milton Cat at the company’s location in Hopkinton, Mass. “They got shot down by other people who were not willing to go down this road with them The biggest thing was Milton Cat’s ability to look outside the box and look at new options,” he adds.

Caterpillar is advancing remote control technology to develop a steep slope package for feller-bunchers.

Steep Slope Package Caterpillar Forest Products is advancing this technology to develop a purpose-built steep-slope package. (Caterpillar is a sponsor of the Steep Slope Logging Conference planned for Richmond, BC on March 2. Visit steepslopelogging. events.) The benefit of the technology in such an application parallels the Fort Bragg application: it removes the operator from a hazardous environment and ensures his safety. Instead of working in the cab of a machine navigating steep terrain or manually felling timber with a chain saw, the operator would be located nearby and operate the machine remotely, completely safe. Safety for operators is the paramount concern. “Remote control definitely eliminates danger,” agrees Egan, who notes that whether it is steep slope logging, demolishing buildings, removing toxic waste or unexploded ordnance, mining or other tasks, any application that can help eliminate hazards to an operator “is a good place for remote control.” Aside from using remote controlled machines to mitigate hazardous work environments, the technology may have wider applications in the forestry sector, which has difficulty recruiting, training, and retaining good equipment operSLT ators. Southern Loggin’ Times ● MARCH 2016 ● 29

CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!

SLT_0316_ASM_SLTtemplate 2/25/16 12:13 PM Page 30

CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!

SLT_0316_ASM_SLTtemplate 2/29/16 8:03 AM Page 31

CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!

SLTmar16pgs_cs.qxp_SLTtemplate 2/25/16 5:19 PM Page 32

Trucking Issues Dominate SCTPA Meeting By DK Knight MYRTLE BEACH, SC rucking issues dominated the ★ program and conversation at the 17th annual meeting of the South Carolina Timber Producers Assn. (SCTPA), held here February 5-7. There was also lots of talk about excessive rainfall and muddy conditions seen in the state of late, and poor working conditions may have actually boosted attendance. Some 415 members, family reps, associates, and friends turned out for the event, which attracted record sponsor participation, according to Crad Jaynes, CEO of the organization. A three-part presentation titled Log Truck Safety—The TEAM Approach, featured Jimmie Locklear and Keith Biggs of North Carolinabased Forestry Mutual Insurance Co. and Randy Hervey, veteran manager of BITCO Insurance Co.’s Forest Products Program. Last year Biggs and Locklear took the lead in pulling together TEAM Safe Trucking (TST), a broad-based effort seeking to stabilize and improve the forest industry’s deeply troubled transporta-

T

Attendees tune in to one of several speakers. More than 400 registered for the meeting.

resulting in increasing mishaps and multiple forms of disruptive, traumatic, costly fallout. In addition to injuries and the occasional fatality, such fallout includes property damage, loss of income, legal entanglements, negative pub-

Story photos provided by Cred Jaynes tion sector, which Locklear described as the most serious problem now confronting the wood fiber supply chain. Locklear stated that while many loggers and log truckers do a commendable job on the highway—“the nation’s most dangerous work zone”—the industry’s trucking segment overall is performing poorly,

lic perception, and higher insurance premiums. All this is forcing some truckers to the side of the road and causing some insurance providers to abandon the market, he said. At the hub of the trouble is the driver, the most important trucking element, Locklear asserted, pointing

Big crowd at Saturday’s luncheon awaits remarks of SFI’s Kathy Abusow.

32 ● MARCH 2016 ● Southern Loggin’ Times

CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!

out that conscientious ones are aging and new candidates are hard to find. He noted that willing drivers often cannot pass a drug test or meet insurance/government requirements, and some are simply not capable of handling a loaded log truck. Other driver stumbling blocks include relatively low pay that can be impacted by weather, markets, and long lines at the mill; low freight rates; few if any benefits; inherent health issues (limited physical activity); little opportunity for advancement; unforgiving off-road conditions; and high workers’ comp costs. Biggs noted that new drivers tend to have the most accidents, “then it levels out for a few years before trending up again as experienced drivers become somewhat complacent.” He pointed out that many employers pay drivers by the load, tempting some to speed, and that a majority of truck accidents are related to speed. On the workers’ comp front, he said 23% of Forestry Mutual’s claims involve truck drivers, noting that not all claims stem from traffic mishaps. Hervey encouraged business owners to be diligent in hiring—“don’t hire your next workers’ comp claim; ask questions; call previous employers; do a careful MVR review”—and to be selective in assigning new hires to a vehicle. “Don’t put a new hire in a ’15 Peterbilt if you have a ’99 Mack available.” He pressed for continuous training, reducing speed in relation to existing conditions; improved visibility of both tractor and trailer. “Screen subcontractors

SLTmar16pgs_cs.qxp_SLTtemplate 2/25/16 5:19 PM Page 33

and insist they comply with insurance coverage and government regulations,” he said. “Make sure they have your business covered as an additional insured party on their policy, and hold insurance agents accountable.”

Driver Training Focus Still evolving, the TEAM Safe Trucking coalition seeks to emulate the success of TEAM Fire, another cooperative effort created 20 years ago that eventually drove down logging equipment fire incidents and claims, lowered insurance premiums and helped make automatic fire suppression systems more affordable, according to Locklear. TEAM Safe Trucking is formulating a program that will embrace awareness, education, and training, one that will be available to those who have log/chip transportation operations or are exposed to such operations. The group consists of logging companies, paper/wood products manufacturers, truck and trailer manufacturers, insurance companies and logging and forestry associations. TST’s work is being guided by newly elected president Rick Quagliaroli, who owns Swamp Fox Agency, Inc., an established South Carolina-based organization with

Austin Logging Inc. received SCTPA’s 2016 Gene Collins Logger Activist Award. From left, Danny, Frank (retired) and Joey Austin

close ties to the forest industry. Now regional in scope, TST expects to expand its program nationwide. According to Locklear, the program will intensely focus on the training of new drivers and the ongoing training of experienced ones. Forest/Loggers/Mauck Insurance Agencies, based in Newberry, Mich., has committed $5,000 to the program. Quagliaroli plans on appealing to various other companies for financial support and a push will soon be underway for grants. “TEAM Safe Trucking’s goal is to set a high standard for driver training and continuing education, and we’ll focus the training program specifically on hauling logs and chips. It will be tweaked for use in different areas

and regions,” explained Locklear. “The TST program will be designed to help make the industry’s log and chip trucking segment safer and more efficient, but every party that has an interest in trucking will need to ‘buy in’ for it to be truly successful, and it will take some time. For the good of the industry as a whole, we’re asking for support up and down the line.” (For more information, email or call Quagliaroli: rick@swampfox agency.com, 843-761-3999; or Locklear: jlocklear@forestrymutual.com, 910-733-3300.)

Other Speakers Next up was Mike Lucas, president of The Lucas Group, a Lancast-

er, SC-based transportation safety company. He briefed the group on trucking safety and regulatory matters and answered questions. Earlier in the opening session, Richard Schwab, current president of the American Loggers Council and director of procurement for M.A. Rigoni, Inc., a Perry, Fla.based logging-trucking-wood fiber brokering business, updated the group on ALC’s national legislative agenda and appealed for more loggers to participate in ALC’s April 14-16 Washingon, DC Fly-In. He also encouraged loggers to support the TEAM Safe Trucking initiative and to look expectantly beyond the soggy conditions that continue to prevail in much of South Carolina. In her remarks about the 20-year history, accomplishments, and relationship-building successes of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI), Kathy Abusow, SFI president and CEO, promised that a logger representative would be added to the governing SFI board this year.

Awards & More SCTPA bestowed its highest honor, the Gene Collins Logger Activist Award, on Austin Logging, Inc., Gaston, SC. Headed by brothers Danny (Stump) and Joey Austin,

Southern Loggin’ Times ● MARCH 2016 ● 33

CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!

SLTmar16pgs_cs.qxp_SLTtemplate 2/25/16 5:19 PM Page 34

Danny McKittrick, left, and Frampton Ferguson, were honored by Forestry Mutual Ins. Co. and Swamp Fox Agency, respectively.

Cam Crawford, left, leader of the SC Forestry Assn., and Michael Rushton, retired Boise forester, each received a President’s Award.

the company goes back 60 years to the short pulpwood days and their grandfather. The Austins, who help make up a crew of eight, took over the business in 2000 when their father, Frank Austin, retired. “Danny and Joey are not the biggest loggers around, but they are safe, efficient, conscientious, and professional, and they do it right,” said Crad Jaynes in making the award presentation. In accepting the award, Joey Austin challenged fellow loggers to engage the people they encounter and educate them about

guson Forest Products, Luray, SC. Re-elected to the SCTPA board of directors were Billy Walker of Walker & Walker Logging LLC, Laurens, SC; and Donnie Lambert of Leo Lambert Logging, Inc., Georgetown, SC. SCTPA sold tickets for various prizes and gifts. The winners were as follows: shotgun, Tommy Bailey; generator, Ricky McKinney; Myrtle Beach lodging package, Tommy Barnes; side-by-side ATV, David Cox. Sponsors included Swamp Fox Agency, Forestry Mutual Ins. Co.,

forestry and logging. Jaynes recognized two stalwart supporters of the association with his President’s Award: Cam Crawford, SC Forestry Assn., and retired Boise forester Michael Rushton, Saluda, SC. Singled out for Forestry Mutual’s annual E.K. Pitman Safety Award was McKittrick Timber LLC, Heath Springs, SC. The company was started by Danny McKittrick in 1986 and deploys three crews. Selected to receive Swamp Fox Agency’s Timber Industry Leadership Award was Frampton Ferguson, president of Fer-

34 ● MARCH 2016 ● Southern Loggin’ Times

CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!

Pioneer South Carolina, Flint Equipment Co., John Deere Forestry, Palmetto State Ins. Agency, CRTS, Norbord South Carolina, Resolute Forest Products, Pinnacle Trailer Sales, WestRock, Southern Loggers Cooperative, Vermeer Mid Atlantic, Colony Tire, Tidewater Equipment Co., Hawkins & Rawlinson, Triple T Truck Centers, Shealy’s Truck Center, O’Donavan & Associates, TimberSure, BITCO Insurance Co.’s, Carolina International Trucks, American Loggers Insurance, and Worldwide SLT Equipment Kenworth.

SLT_0316_ASM_SLTtemplate 2/25/16 12:13 PM Page 35

CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!

SLT_0316_ASM_SLTtemplate 2/25/16 12:13 PM Page 36

CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!

SLT_0316_ASM_SLTtemplate 2/25/16 12:14 PM Page 37

CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!

SLTmar16pgs_cs.qxp_SLTtemplate 2/25/16 5:19 PM Page 38

State Snapshot: Arkansas Admitted to Union June 15, 1836 as the 25th state Estimated population: 2,966,000 (2014), 32nd among all states and second most sparsely populated southern state Largest cities (2013): Little Rock, 197,357; Fort Smith, 87,650; Fayetteville, 78,960; Springdale, 75,229; Jonesboro, 71,551; North Little Rock, 66,075; Conway, 63,816; Rogers, 60,112; Pine Bluff, 46,094; Bentonville, 40,167 Capital: Little Rock Land area: 52,068 sq. mi. Geographic center: In Pulaski County, 12 miles southwest of Little Rock Number of counties: 75; largest/smallest county by population: Pulaski, 391,284 (2013); Calhoun, 5,214 (2013); largest/smallest county by land area: Union, 1,039 sq. mi., Sebastian, 532 sq. mi. Highest elevation: Mt. Magazine, 2,753 ft. Hottest/coldest recorded temperature: 120°F, August 10, 1936, Ozark; -29°F, February 13, 1905, Pond Community names that stand out: Apt, Bauxite, Ben Hur, Blue Ball, Buffalo City, Crows, Delight, Dogpatch, Fifty Six, Figure Five, Hempwallace, Hooker, Ico, Little Flock, Number Nine, Oil Trough, Okay, Peel, Possum Grape, Ragtown, Rob Roy, Smackover, Stamps, Strawberry, Three Brothers, Vandervoort, War Eagle, Whisp, Y City

young. Ah, being young is beautiful, but being old is comfortable.

Joe & Jim: True Pals Joe and Jim, two good ole boys, friends since the sixth grade who usually hunt and fish together, often stop by a local tavern after work to have a few cold beers. One day after their ritual was well under way, Joe poses this question to Jim: “If’n I was to sneak over to your place one day while you were fishin’ and make love to your wife and she got pregnant and had a baby, would that make us kin?” Jim appeared to be in deep thought, then smiled and answered: “Well, I don’t know if that would make us kin, but it would make us even!”

Great Surgical Debate Five surgeons were taking a coffee break and discussing their work. The first said, “I think accountants are the easiest to operate on; you open them up and everything inside is numbered.” The second said, “I think librarians are the easiest to operate on; you open them up and everything inside is in alphabetical order.” The third said, “I like to operate on electricians; you open them up and everything inside is color-coded.” The fourth surgeon said, “I like engineers because they understand when you have a few

parts left over at the end.” The fifth one said, “I like to operate on lawyers; they’re heartless, spineless, gutless, and their heads and their butts are interchangeable.”

Present Value A rich man once asked a friend, “Why am I criticized for being miserly? Everyone knows I will leave everything to charity when I die.” His friend responded, “Let me tell you about the pig and the cow. The pig was lamenting to the cow one day about how unpopular he was. ‘People are always talking about your gentleness and your kind eyes,’ said the pig. ‘Sure, you give milk and cream, but I give more. I give bacon, ham, bristles. They even pickle my feet! Still, nobody likes me. Why is this?’ The cow thought a minute, then replied, ‘Well, maybe it’s because I give while I’m still living.’”

Cajun Humor Boudreaux was in New Orleans. He was patiently waiting and watching a traffic cop at a busy street crossing. The cop stopped the flow of traffic and shouted, “Okay, pedestrians.” Then he’d allow the traffic to pass. He’d done this several times, and Boudreaux still stood on the sidewalk. After the cop had shouted “pedestrians” several times, Boudreaux went over to him and said, “Ain’t it ’bout time ya let the Catholics across?”

Don’t End Up In A Heap

Chinese Proverbs A child’s life is like a piece of paper on which every person leaves a mark. A filthy mouth will not utter decent language. A fool judges people by the presents they give him. A diamond with a flaw is worth more than a pebble without imperfections. A gem is not polished without rubbing, nor a man perfected without trials. A nation’s treasure is in its scholars.

The Aging Process Eventually you will reach a point when you stop lying about your age and start bragging about it. Some people try to turn back their odometers. Not me, I want people to know why I look this way. I’ve traveled a long way and some of the roads weren’t paved. When you become dissatisfied and think you would like to go back to your youth, think of algebra. You know you are getting old when everything either dries up or leaks. One of the many things no one tells you about aging is that it is such a nice change from being

According to insurance company statistics, log truck mishaps are increasing, and a lot of accidents can be traced to driver behavior. This includes going too fast for prevailing conditions, speeding to get in that extra load or to make up for lost time at the mill, running off the road, misjudging the load center of gravity effect, or distracted driving (eating, using cell phone, reaching for something, etc.) Conscientious drivers realize they work in the most dangerous work zone there is—the highway—and behave accordingly. For your own sake and that of your family, and in consideration of the motoring public, be a conscientious driver!

38 ● MARCH 2016 ● Southern Loggin’ Times

CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!

SLT_0316_ASM_SLTtemplate 2/29/16 8:04 AM Page 39

CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!

SLTmar16pgs_cs.qxp_SLTtemplate 2/25/16 5:19 PM Page 40

Right On Course ■ The Ray White Lumber family says its SYP operation is right where they want it to be. By David Abbott SPARKMAN, Ark. ay White Lumber Co. has been ★ around a while. The southern yellow pine board mill started operations in 1945, when Ray White first moved to Sparkman from Pine Bluff. At the time it was called Sparkman Lumber Co., and White was one of the partners and managers involved in it for most of the next 40 years. In 1984, White bought out all of his partners and became sole proprietor of the mill, which he renamed after himself. His son, Don, had worked at the mill since 1960, and remains actively involved today. Don took over fol-

R

Kockums debarker follows the buck saw and precedes Rens metal detector.

lowing Ray’s death in 1997. Even before the family bought the mill outright, its third generation was already on board. Don’s son Donny started working at the mill in 1981. After earning a business degree from Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, Donny joined the family business full-time in ’86. He now serves as its manager and is one of the owning partners, along with other family members. Donny had his own side business, Donny White Trucking, for a few years. With a half dozen rigs, his company hauled lumber from the mill and picked up loads of steel in backhauls. Donny shut it down in the mid ’90s, deciding it was too much to manage both companies. Donny’s son, Joseph, has already

White stores as much as 5MMBF under sprinklers.

40 ● MARCH 2016 ● Southern Loggin’ Times

CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!

SLTmar16pgs_cs.qxp_SLTtemplate 2/25/16 5:19 PM Page 41

Infeed deck near the storage yard leads directly into the sawmill.

been working at the mill part-time, and will represent the first member of the fourth generation when he joins the business full-time after he completes his degree at Ouachita Baptist this spring. Like the family behind it, much of the mill’s machinery has been at

work there for a long time. A major upgrade between 1998-2001 brought with it optimization and lumber handling equipment, but there have been no significant changes since. “We run old equipment, but it works,” Donny White says.

Incoming Ray White Lumber makes 1 in. boards, from 1x4-1x12. Because the mill is aiming for grade lumber, it generally targets bigger grade logs. The longest length it takes is 33 ft. On average the mill takes in 25

Donny White, third generation partner in the company.

Southern Loggin’ Times ● MARCH 2016 ● 41

CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!

SLTmar16pgs_cs.qxp_SLTtemplate 2/25/16 5:19 PM Page 42

loads a day, though sometimes as many as 50 loads. It saws 18 loads a day, and banks the rest in wet storage so that the mill can keep running in the winter or in rainy seasons, when the incoming log traffic sometimes grinds to a halt for days at a time. Log inventory is always at least a half million board feet; at full capacity, the wet yard can store as much as 5MMBF. The mill employs two procurement foresters to keep the log supply flowing steadily. White buys timber deeds and fields contractors and three company logging crews to harvest and haul the stumpage. They also buy some gatewood. “We don’t have any problem getting logs,” Donny reveals. “We are so small, and we have our own logging power, so we haven’t seen the squeeze on logging. I’ve heard other mills were worried about it but I don’t know if they are really experiencing it. But we are pretty sheltered so I might not know everything.”

Processing Incoming log trucks pass over a set of Fairbanks scales to be weighed before being unloaded either directly to the hot deck or to the wet deck for storage. “It

depends on the time of the Industrial 44 bin drop sorter. year, how hot it is,” Donny On the green end, boards are explains. “We don’t want to separated by width and get any blue stain so in real length, but not by grade. warm weather we keep the hot deck low. The scaler Dry End decides how many logs we From the sorter, boards run can stand before they start through a HEMCO stick getting blue stain.” stacker before being transA Caterpillar 966F log ported to one of three Irvingloader unloads trucks and ton-Moore (USNR) dry kilns, feeds the infeed deck to each with 60MBF capacity. the sawmill. When loaded Each charge requires about onto the infeed deck, logs 45 hours of drying time. Tayfirst go to the buck saw to lor and Cat forklifts move be cut to length; 16 ft. is dried lumber to cooling sheds the longest. It proceeds for storage. through a Kockums ring Later, boards move to the debarker and a Rens metal planer mill, which centers on detector, then moves into a 12-knife Yates-American the sawmill. Primary A2012 planer. At customer breakdown takes place on request, the planer section a Cox carriage with 8 ft. also runs pattern stock on Filer and Stowell band either a Yates-American or a mill. The carriage features Woods molder. “Probably Lewis Controls 3D scan70% of the lumber here is ning/optimized setworks. S4S, and the rest is milled to It reduces the log to 12 in. cants, which proceed to a 6 The mill processes only 1 in. boards and some pattern stock. pattern,” Donny estimates. After dressing, each board ft. Filer and Stowell resaw is graded manually. A Cypress Techto be further processed into 4 in., 6 boards that need it go from the nologies grade mark reader scans in., 8 in. and 10 in. widths. These gang to a Schurman optimized pieces flow to a 10 in. Schurman edger. Boards then flow from both and sends it through a USNR trimmer and then to a USNR 32 bay (USNR) gang saw, which cuts it the gang and the edger through a sling drop sorter, from which boards into 1x material. HEMCO (USNR) trimmer with a are stacked. A shipping clerk ensures At the operator’s discretion, Hi-Tech scanner, then to a Morris

42 ● MARCH 2016 ● Southern Loggin’ Times

CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!

SLT_0316_ASM_SLTtemplate 2/25/16 12:14 PM Page 43

CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!

SLTmar16pgs_cs.qxp_SLTtemplate 2/25/16 5:19 PM Page 44

The mill produces an average 22MMBF annually.

The equipment is older, but it all runs well, White says.

packages are correct, and from there it is loaded on a truck and shipped to customers.

Donny reports that while lumber sales cooled off this fall, they still aren’t bad. “We are just coming off three really good years,” he says. “Housing and building perked up, but we are seeing that the market has definitely dropped off, especially in lower grades.” Ray White Lumber employs 70 at the sawmill and 10 in the woods on the three company logging crews. Millwrights handle maintenance in-house, usually during the day. Sometimes they use Friday afternoons or Saturday mornings to catch up. As far as keeping saw blades sharp, there are actually two

Markets Everything ships by truck; a rail that once connected to the property was pulled up in the ’80s. Most of it goes directly to wholesalers, local lumber yards and the treating industry. Majority of White’s lumber stays in-state, and the mill has active relationships with markets in surrounding states—Texas, Louisiana, Missouri and Oklahoma. White also enjoys a solid export

market via the bay in Mobile, Ala. to the Caribbean. On a very rare occasion some of its lumber makes it to markets overseas, and a small amount regularly heads to Mexico through Texas, but not as much as what goes to the Caribbean, Donny says. Running a single nine-hour shift, Monday-Friday, the mill has averaged 22MMBF annual production in the last five years. Residuals don’t go to waste. Sawdust is burned in wood-fired boilers to heat the dry kilns. Chips sell to local paper mills, while shavings go to the horse industry and area particleboard mills.

44 ● MARCH 2016 ● Southern Loggin’ Times

CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!

filing rooms. The band filing room uses all Armstrong equipment, while the carbide room uses Wright filing equipment for the circle saws. Donny says the family has no real plans to expand or change anything in the operation anytime soon. “We want to maintain what we have,” he says. “We are pleased with the way the lumber business has been over the last several months. We have all we need to handle what we can produce, from mill to kiln to planer. It might sound a little boring, but we are content with continuing to do SLT just what we are doing.”

SLT_0316_ASM_SLTtemplate 2/25/16 12:14 PM Page 45

CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!

SLTmar16pgs_SS.qxp_SLTtemplate 2/26/16 10:58 AM Page 46

Gladson Tackles Variety ■ NC logger leans on his own experience and that of the logging brotherhood. By Jessica Anderson NEW BERN, NC bout six months ago, Southern Loggin’ Times sister publication Timber Harvesting visited a young start up crew in the swampy lands of North Carolina, Gladson Logging, run by a man named Gilbert Gladson. Gladson was having a big year—within 12 months he started his own operation after working in the woods for over 25 years, 18 of them in the challenging lowlands of the central Carolina coast. Based in New Bern, the area around which has an average elevation of less than 30 feet, Gladson, 44, is a swamp logger who has learned “to make the

A

ground work for us,” which means controlling an area of Earth that isn’t ★ exactly easy to control. By using a tracked feller-buncher and a shovel machine fitted with an extended boom the crew builds a network of “roads”—mats of logs placed end to end—to provide access for dual-tired skidders, and by default, controlling ground pressure. Part of making the “ground work” means controlling the unthinkable: Mother Nature. The tracked machines, matted log roads, dual tired skidders and plank mats used around the landing and on access roads ensure that Gladson’s crew is rarely rained out.

“As long as we can get in to lay them, we have access; we don’t stop.” Thus the crew is able to move consistent amounts each week, putting Gladson’s mind at ease a tad on officially jumping into the business. He’s learned a lot as he has progressed, but he often second-guesses himself. “I want to make sure I make the right decisions. As I get more experience in owning a business, these decisions are a little easier to make. I don’t have to second-guess myself so much. But so far we’ve done very well,” he says. This crew consistently turns out 90 loads per week, running the two tracked machines, two loaders and two skidders.

The track cutter is the first piece in the deep swamp to lay out roads, so the shovel machine can come in and complete the roads.

Gilbert Gladson

The crew has nicknamed the Deere 2954 shovel machine "The Hulk."

46 ● MARCH 2016 ● Southern Loggin’ Times

CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!

For extra flotation and better traction on the slippery log roads, Gladson’s skidders have dual tire setups— 30.5 on the inside and 24.5 on the outside. With a booming laugh, Gladson refers to the more conventional flat terrain logging commonly seen around New Bern as “tennis shoe logging,” and looks at the challenge of swamp logging like something he will never know completely, even though he has been doing it for the majority of his adult life. “I learn something new every day. I don’t think it ever ends. What’s the fun in it once I stop learning?”

Shared Knowledge Gladson is clear about constantly pushing himself and his crew to be better, leaning heavily on the brotherhood that is logging. He admits that learning and starting the business was the toughest thing he’s done and says a lot of loggers have really helped him get it off the ground. He credits a solid relationship with his forester and a strong hardwood pulpwood market in Enviva Biomass for this success, production-wise. But the day-to-day? That success is on Gladson himself, and he eagerly listens to those who have come before him. He comments about how much it has meant to him to have other loggers, even those he’s worked for in the past, share information. “Everyone knows the uphill battles that I’ve faced as a new owner; they’ve already faced them. A lot of them have been very supportive and have shared knowledge.” He explains that often during these conversations, he’ll get encouragement along with new ideas. “I didn’t want them to look at me like just another competitor, putting pressure on them.” Instead, he’s gotten advice on everything from setting up his landing to specific things to discuss with his insurance company. Like many, Gladson says logging flows in his blood, and the pride he has in his crew and his business is palpable. He also is aware of the negative perception the public has about logging, especially near water. To combat what he calls the target on his back, before moving into a tract, Gladson gets the GPS coordinates

SLTmar16pgs_SS.qxp_SLTtemplate 2/26/16 10:58 AM Page 47

and incorporates buffers of at least 50 feet around the water. The other big concern is oil spills. Gladson and his crew consider an oil spill in the water on the same level as a piece of equipment on fire, so it’s all hands on deck until the spill is contained and controlled. Each piece of equipment that works in the water has an emergency spill kit in the cab, and the skidders carry absorbent towels. The crew aims to leave the swamp just as clean as when they started on the tract.

Equipment Gladson’s equipment was all purchased new in 2015. He has two Cat 559C loaders with CTR delimbers and CSI slashers, two Cat 535D skidders and one Cat 521 track-type cutter, with one John Deere 2954 shovel machine. Gregory Poole provides Caterpillar dealer support while Gladson leans on James River for John Deere. Financing was supplied by Caterpillar and John Deere. His experienced, conscientious loader operators, who usually turn contract trucks around quickly. MaxiLite portable scales help the operators build loads within the 90,000 lb. legal limit.

“The Hulk” Gladson calls the JD 2954 shovel machine, which has a 41 ft. boom, the operation’s “backbone.” The crew nicknamed it “The Hulk.” The large machine is the only one of its type on the East Coast, according to James River, and Gladson says it has worked out well for his application. One of the features he likes most about the machine is that with that reach the operator does not have to travel off the log mat roads. “With the shoveling, that’s where you get into the danger area—getting off the road. With the extra long reach, that danger is eliminated.” Another benefit is fuel economy. The dealer figured the machine could operate 30-35 hours on a tank of fuel but Gladson was pleased to learn that it will run around 45 hours before needing a refill. Even though it costs more and results in more machine wear, Gladson opts to walk machine to the landing for fuel rather than taking fuel to the machine. “At the end of the day I would rather be environmentally friendly, walking the machine in and out. He only comes to the hill one time a week. I feel better about it,” he explains. ➤ 48

Two Cat 559C loaders, both with CTR delimbers and CSI slashers, load 90 loads weekly.

Southern Loggin’ Times ● MARCH 2016 ● 47

CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!

SLTmar16pgs_SS.qxp_SLTtemplate 2/26/16 10:58 AM Page 48

Maintenance So far, most equipment maintenance has been minor and fell to dealers. To help control costs, Gladson’s crew keeps a tool trailer on-site stocked with oils, filters, hoses, fittings and the like. The crew does its scheduled maintenance every 500 hours. Machines are greased every other day with batteryoperated grease guns stored in the cabs. Gladson believes the guns are more convenient and eliminate any operator excuses for not greasing. The guns remain charged, so all the operator has to do at the end of the day is hop out of the cab and take care of it. Aware of the extra cost, Gladson

comments that a little more upfront is much cheaper than having to bring in a mechanic to fix something because the machines weren’t greased properly. He contends the added expense is more than worth the benefits. One extra cost that stings Gladson is DEF fluid, which the Tier 4f engines in each of his machines require. The expense amounts to about $14 a day.

Trucking Contract trucks get the production to market, primarily to Enviva pellet plants in Southhampton, Va. and Ahoskie, NC, roughly 120 and 85 miles, respectively. Because of the distances, the logger requires nine trucks.

When he started the business Gladson wasn’t interested in taking on the transportation headache, so he opted for contractors. “It eliminates a lot of insurance expense and worry about trucks and keeping up with drivers. So many things come into play, with the biggest risk on the highway, I don’t need that just starting out. I’d rather be able to do for my men than have to pull in five or six other people.” Running contract trucks is far from easy, but it is simpler. The idea is for Gladson to get closer to his main markets so he won’t need so many contract trucks, but that’s also one major advantage of using them: flexibility in the number he requires. He doesn’t look at trucks as being completely divorced from his job, and

48 ● MARCH 2016 ● Southern Loggin’ Times

CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!

asks his truckers to keep their rigs in good working order and looking good. “They are still a finger of my job as they are running up and down the road,” he believes.

Employee Relations Like many logging crews, Gladson’s is a family. He says one of the first things he learned, and best piece of advice he got, was the critical element of having a crew you can trust. He believes he has that. His son, Anthony, runs the shovel machine. Other employees include O'Neal Rose III, Richard Keel, James Keel, Doug Martin and Brent Futrell. The crew is paid hourly, at a rate Gladson feels is very fair and comparable considering the danger and added aggravation they deal with as a shovel/deep swamp crew. “Without good employees you are just a man that owns a bunch of equipment,” he comments. “They work hard every day and they do what we need to do. I’m right out there with them. I look at myself as an employee. At the end of the day when they are tired, I’m tired too.” About every other Friday the crew is treated to lunch while Gladson conducts his NCFA and OSHA tailgate safety meetings. The crew wears full PPE, including company provided fluorescent shirts. Gladson says the biggest safety concern he has is getting operators in and out of the deep swamp. The easiest way to keep people safe, and off the ground, is starting out correctly, he says. That means the cutter goes in and lays out the roads, building everything it can so the shovel can come in and move logs to complete the roads and stack logs on the side for retrieval the skidders. If this isn’t done properly, skidders can get stuck or slip off the roads, and when machines get stuck and operators have to dismount, that’s when risks can multiply. “Everything just stays in motion. The biggest danger out there is if you have to get out, as long as you stay in the cab, you’re safe. The biggest challenge is walking on the slippery logs,” he emphasizes. Bookwork is handled day-to-day by Faye Gladson and Amber Gladson, along with accountant Katherine Winfrey with KH Winfrey Accounting, who keep Gladson’s paperwork in order. For him, the logging is the easy part; it is learning how to run the business that has pushed him. He admits that their job is much harder than his. “I still have a long way to go,” he says, “compared to someone that’s been in this for 10 or 20 years, but I am up for the challenge and I have proved I am capable of doing it.” SLT A version of this story first appeared in Timber Harvesting (November/December 2015).

SLT_0316_ASM_SLTtemplate 2/25/16 12:14 PM Page 49

CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!

SLTmar16pgs_cs.qxp_SLTtemplate 2/25/16 5:19 PM Page 50

INDUSTRY NEWS ROUNDUP As We See It: Speaking Up As A Professional By Richard Schwab Today’s forest management is shaped by public policy, and the laws and rules regulating it are shaped by public perception and Schwab opinion. When it comes to

protecting and sustainably utilizing our natural resources, the men and women working in forestry and the logging industry have knowledge and experience few others can match. Yet simply providing

information to policymakers isn’t enough. Timber harvesting professionals need to be engaged in the process and take advantage of opportunities to positively engage policymakers at hearings, town halls and other public meetings. Importantly, professionals

must be able to interpret their knowledge and experience in a way politicians and the public can understand. In a Journal of Forestry article written by Paul Adams of Oregon State and Dave Cleaves of the U.S. Forest Service, the authors wrote: “If we don’t do a good job of providing ‘knowledge services,’ citizens and decision makers will develop judgments without us...” The article was written in 1993, and two decades later it’s as relevant as ever. Today we are living with the results of policies that were largely shaped by misconceptions of the forest products industry. Fortunately, opportunities still exist for professionals to get involved and help change forest management for the better. Originally written as advice for foresters, the article by Adams and Cleaves offers a number of tips that all industry professionals can use to better communicate their knowledge and experience on the issues. Here are just a few: Describe yourself—Give your name and any groups that you belong to or represent. Call attention to training or experience that relates to the issue at hand. Don’t apologize for not having a Ph.D. or for not being a senior executive. State your concern for natural resources—Loggers nearly always have a strong and compelling interest in the sound stewardship of natural resources. When dealing with contentious issues, this concern may not be readily apparent and then your message may be less effective. Offer a perspective—Don’t be shy even if you are not a journalist, scientist, or upper-level manager. Your thoughts about an issue are no less valid, and your experience with on-the-ground timber harvesting techniques may be impressive. Keep at it—Forestry issues are not resolved overnight. New issues will emerge and old ones will be revisited. Use these as opportunities to develop your knowledge, skills, and potential influence as a professional. Remember, no one can listen if you don’t speak up! Current president of the American Loggers Council, Schwab is the procurement manager for M.A. Rigoni, Inc., a full service timber harvesting and forest management company located in Perry, Fla. The American Loggers Council is a non-profit 501(c) (6) corporation representing professional timber harvesters in 31 states. Visit amloggers.com or phone 409-625-0206.

50 ● MARCH 2016 ● Southern Loggin’ Times

CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!

SLTmar16pgs_cs.qxp_SLTtemplate 2/25/16 5:19 PM Page 51

Prentice Plant Could Have Buyer Soon Caterpillar announced it is closing its Prentice Forest Products Div. manufacturing plant in Prentice Wis. by the end of the year and moving production to LaGrange, Ga. and Victoria, Tex. Caterpillar has apparently been in discussion to sell the facility to Ritalka, Inc. based in Montevideo, Minn. Ritalka offers contract manufacturing and engineering services. Its owner and CEO, Kevin Wald, has purchased a closed Caterpillar manufacturing plant before and operates multiple locations mostly in Minnesota. Last fall Caterpillar implemented a wide-scale restructuring program it said would lower operating costs by about $1.5 billion. Since the late-September announcement Caterpillar has announced nine plant closings.

Tri-State’s Kimbel Memorialized Feb. 7 John C. Kimbel, former sawmill owner and later founder of TriState Auction & Realty Co., Kingston, Tenn., was remembered at a February 7 service commemorating his life. Kimbel, 82, died on February 4. Kimbel spent all his life in Roane County and was a member of Shiloh Baptist Church, Kingston. Widely known across the Southern sawmill and logging community, he worked as an auctioneer for more than 35 years and was a long-time member of the National Auctioneers Assn. & Certified Appraisers Institute. He had been retired for several years. Survivors include his widow, a son, a daughter, and several grandchildren, step-grandchildren and great-grandchildren. The family requests that any memorials be made to Shiloh Baptist Church, 4242 Decatur Hwy., Kingston, TN 37763.

biomass as a compliance option,” says Dave Tenny, NAFO President and CEO. “In fact, EPA excludes biomass from much of the guidance while seeking public comment on unprecedented and potentially complex sustainability and verification requirements that increase uncertainty among states. EPA now must clarify its guidance to the states to avoid confusion and jeopardize the ability of states to fully capture the carbon benefits of biomass energy under the CPP. “History shows that strong markets sustain healthy forests,” Tenny says. “As long as our forests are stable or increasing, and capturing more carbon than they release through regular forest management, forest biomass should be considered a carbon neutral option for states in

Goodson Honors Employees

At its annual safety meeting in January, Goodson’s All Terrain Logging, Inc., of Jacksonville, NC—the family company made famous on the hit Discovery Channel TV series “Swamp Loggers”—honored three of its employees for 25 years of service. Left to right are office worker Kim McGowan (holding her grandchild Harper), owners Bobby and Lori Goodson, crew foreman/loader operator Justin Goodson and fellerbuncher driver Simitrio Ruiz.

ALC Membership Means Representation In 1994 a group of loggers from around the country met and formed the first-ever national trade association dedicated to representing independent logging contractors and log truckers. Made up of state and regional logging associations, the American Loggers Council today represents professional timber harvesters in 32 states. Over the years it became apparent that there were many loggers who were not being represented by the ALC simply because their state or region did not have a logging association. So in 2004 the ALC bylaws were amended to add an individual logger membership category. Individual loggers are represented on the council’s Board of Directors. They may join regardless of whether or not they live in a state that has a logging association. According to ALC Executive Vice President Danny Dructor, “for the ALC, it is all about representation. Our goal is to represent professional timber harvesters in every state where commercial logging is found. Our issues are often unique to the timber harvesting industry; our positions may not always concur with other forest

industry organizations; and it is better to have an organization that understands the issues from a harvesting perspective representing loggers in Washington, DC. “Last year, we added two new state organizations, the Associated Contract Loggers & Truckers of Minnesota and the West Virginia Loggers Council. The ALC is already benefitting from having these associations on board. We recently lined up co-sponsors for the Securing America’s Next Generation of Safe Loggers and Truckers Act, H.R. 3283, as a direct result of the work of the ACLT. “There are many loggers who do not have the organizational structure within their state or region and are not being represented on the federal level. We would be happy to visit with them and discuss the possibility of forming a state association, or they could consider joining the ALC individually. Either way, they would benefit by having ALC represent them on the Hill.” For more information call 409-625-0206 or visit amloggers.com

Forest Owners Want EPA Clarity On Biomass National Alliance of Forest Owners (NAFO) is urging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to clarify its policy on forest biomass as set out in the Clean Power Plan (CPP) in its implementation guidance to States. “EPA states in the preamble to the CPP that biomass is part of the solution in helping states meet their carbon-reduction goals yet provides no useful direction in draft guidance to states on how they can include Southern Loggin’ Times ● MARCH 2016 ● 51

CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!

SLTmar16pgs_cs.qxp_SLTtemplate 2/25/16 5:19 PM Page 52

their carbon-reduction energy plans.” The science on the carbon neutrality of forest biomass is clear,

according to Tenny: l Scientists and carbon experts at the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) conclude that strong mar-

kets improve the long-term carbon benefits of biomass energy. l One hundred nationally recognized forest scientists sent a letter to

EPA on November 6, 2014, reaffirming the long-term carbon benefits of forest bioenergy. l Regularly collected USDA data

Wood Bioenergy Conference Invites Chipping Contractors, Procurement Chipping contractors, loggers who are interested in chipping, and procurement personnel are being offered a special one-day deal if they attend “Chip Chip Hooray: From the Woods to the Wood Yard,” the title of a series of eight presentations planned Tuesday, April 5, at the Omni Hotel at CNN Center in downtown Atlanta during the Wood Bioenergy Conference & Expo. The event is hosted by Wood Bioenergy magazine, a sister publication to Southern Loggin’ Times. In addition to in-woods harvesting, procurement and wood yard technologies, the Wood Bioenergy Conference covers the wood pellet and biomass power segments. The Conference & Expo actually is held two days, April 5-6, but the harvesting and procurement talks will be on April 5. While the two-day event costs $379, the one-day special for contractors and procurement personnel is $100, which includes breakfast, lunch and the Wood Bio Social on April 5, in addition to access to all of the conference presentations on April 5, including the Chip Chip Hooray series. The first round of presentations, which will be held from 10:30 to noon, include: l Customizing Your Procurement to the Resource, by Rusty Booker, VP-Fiber Procurement, Drax Biomass l Getting into Fuelwood Chippng, by Deck Trevitt, Principal, Woodland Improvements l Increasing the Market for Your Wood Fuel Product by Producing a Quality Product, While Maximizing the Efficiency of Your Wood Fuel Harvesting Operation, by Jerry Morey, President, Bandit Industries

l Optimize Your Worksite Efficiencies with a Tipper, by Joseph Cano-

va, VP-Global Sales, Columbia Industries Another round of presentations will be from 3-4:30 p.m., including: l Creating New Opportunities for Product Diversification and Growth in the Forestry Industry, by Michael Stanton, Regional Sales Manager, Morbark, Inc. l Generating a Raw Material Supply for a New Wood Pellet Plant, by Keith Middleton, Procurement Manager, Fram Renewable Fuels l Logging Growth with Renewable Energy, by Stephen Tucker, Principal, Tidewater Land and Timber l Mobile Chippers for Energy & Micro-Chips, by René van der Merwe, Sales Manager North America, Bruks. The day also features keynote presentations to the entire attendance from the presidents of Enviva (John Kepper) and Drax (Pete Madden), as well as from Carlton Owen, President of the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities. Meanwhile, 70 machinery and supplier exhibitors will be on display in the Grand Ballroom North adjacent the meeting rooms. Gold sponsors for the event include Bandit Industries, Morbark, Inc. and Bruks Rockwood. To register for the $100 one day special on Tuesday, April 5: e-mail: ashley@hattonbrown.com and simply indicate your preference and she will respond. Or call Ashley Whitus at 334-834-1170. Visit the show web site: www.bioenergyshow.com to read the entire agenda and view the exhibitors.

52 ● MARCH 2016 ● Southern Loggin’ Times

CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!

SLTmar16pgs_cs.qxp_SLTtemplate 2/25/16 5:19 PM Page 53

show that U.S. timberlands are growing at more than twice the rate of harvests. The total volume of trees in U.S. forests has increased 50% in the past 60 years. l Biomass markets, like other forest products markets, enable private forests to afford forest management that sustains carbon benefits over the long term. EPA data show that carbon storage in U.S. forests offset 13% of total U.S. CO2 emissions annually. “Biomass is a small but important market for U.S. forest owners. Greater policy certainty will encourage them to invest in their forests and further reduce carbon in the atmosphere while providing a variety of other important benefits to society,” Tenny adds.

Swiss Krono Plans New Mill In SC Swiss Krono Group, one of the world’s leading producers of engineered wood products, and its American subsidiary, Swiss Krono LLC (formerly Kronotex USA), announced the planned expansion of its existing operations in Barnwell County, SC with an investment of $230 million to build a high-density fiberboard (HDF)

Southern Loggin’ Times ● MARCH 2016 ● 53

CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!

SLTmar16pgs_cs.qxp_SLTtemplate 2/25/16 5:19 PM Page 54

mill and expand its laminate flooring production. The mill’s raw material includes forest byproducts such as sawdust, shavings and chips. This expansion will allow Swiss Krono LLC to produce 300,000 m3 of HDF per year, which the company will use for laminate flooring manufacturing operations and sell to furniture, cabinet, fixture, door and other wood-based manufacturers. In total, the project will increase the company’s annual laminate flooring capacity by an additional 8 million m2. Preliminary engineering has been completed and construction is expected to start by mid-2016, with HDF operations to begin by the

summer of 2018. Once completed, this expansion will increase Swiss Krono LLC’s Barnwell County workforce to 275.

Last Rites Held For CSI’s Prevette Memorial services were conducted December 10 for Gurney (Solon) Prevette, retired northern region sales representative for Cutting Systems, Inc. Prevette died on December 7 at his home in North Wilkesboro, NC. He was 82. Prevette retired in 2014, having worked for CSI for 14 years. He had worked for more than a decade for CTR, the forerunner of CSI.

Survivors include his widow, two daughters, one son, seven grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren, one sister and one brother. Memorials may be made to Hospice of Iredell County, 2347 Simonton Rd., Statesville, NC 28625.

New Tidewater Store Focuses On Morbark Tidewater Equipment Co. announced that its16th store will be located in Tampa, Fla. and will be a Morbark, Inc.-focused dealer offering sales, authorized parts and service to a Morbark customer base that spans through central and southern Florida.

54 ● MARCH 2016 ● Southern Loggin’ Times

CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!

Contact Randy McDonald at 404838-5121.

Weyco Plum Creek Deal Gets Thumbs Up Weyerhaeuser shareholders and Plum Creek Timber shareholders each approved the proposed merger that was announced in November. Plum Creek will merge into Weyerhaeuser, with Weyerhaeuser continuing as the surviving corporation. The combined company creates a $23 billion timber REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust) with more than 13 million acres of timberland in the U.S. Weyerhaeuser brings 6.9 million

SLT_0316_ASM_SLTtemplate 2/25/16 12:14 PM Page 55

CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!

SLTmar16pgs_cs.qxp_SLTtemplate 2/26/16 12:13 PM Page 56

acres and Plum Creek 6.3 million acres to the deal. The combination becomes the largest private timberland owner in the U.S. and encompasses 7.3 million acres in the South (56% of company land), 3 million in the Pacific Northwest (22%) and 2.6 million in the North (20%). The new venture will also own 323,000 acres in Uruguay.

Log A Load Clay Shoot Set For April 16 The Piedmont Alabama District for Log-A-Load For Kids will host a sporting clay shoot as a fundraiser in Chambers County on Saturday, April 16, beginning at 8:00 a.m. Shells will not be provided. A live auction will be held starting at 3 p.m. Hamburgers, hot dogs and barbecue sandwiches will be available. Children 8 and up will be allowed to shoot on teams, but those under 18 must have a parent or guardian present to sign a consent form. The event is hosted by the Oaks at 18151 Veterans Memorial Parkway, LaFayette, Ala. For more information contact Mandy Cain at 334-234-1118 or by email at woodchoptimber@gmail.com.

TEAM Safe Trucking: Elevate The Standard Enthusiasm is building for the ambitious plan of TEAM Safe Trucking (TST), a broad-based non-profit group seeking to elevate the standard and performance of the American forest industry’s deeply troubled transportation sector, which organizers contend is the most serious problem confronting the wood fiber supply chain. TEAM Safe Trucking is developing a module program that will embrace awareness/education and intensely focus on driver training. It can be tweaked for use in different regions and sub-regions and will be available to those who have log/chip transportation operations or are exposed to such operations. Drawing on a $5,000 commitment from Forest/Loggers/Mauck Insurance Agencies, based in Newberry, Mich., along with other resources, the group expects to launch a web site by spring and have the program in gear by August. Now regional in scope, TST expects to expand its program nationwide as it secures additional funding through donations from stakeholders and from grants. Virginia Tech University has committed funds and a graduate student to conduct log/chip truck accident research, beginning later this year. The two-year study will help guide the project’s work going forward. Consisting of logging companies, paper/wood products manufacturers, truck and trailer manufacturers, insurance companies and logging and forestry association representatives, the organization aims to emulate the success of TEAM Fire, another cooperative effort created 20 years ago that eventually drove down logging equipment fire incidents and claims, lowered insurance premiums and helped make automatic fire suppression systems more affordable. TSI guided by Rick Quagliaroli, owner of Swamp Fox Agency, Inc., an established South Carolina-based business that interfaces with forest industry interests in three states. According to him, many loggers and log truckers now do a commendable job but the industry’s trucking segment overall is performing poorly, resulting in increasing mishaps and multiple forms of costly, disruptive, traumatic fallout. This is forcing some truckers to the side of the road and causing some insurance providers to abandon the market. “TEAM Safe Trucking’s goal is to set a high standard for driver training and continuing education, and we’ll focus the training program specifically on hauling logs and chips. The program will be designed to help make the industry’s log and chip trucking segment safer and more efficient, and every party that has an interest in trucking will need to ‘buy in’ for it to be truly successful. It will take some time. For the good of the industry as a whole, we’re asking for support up and down the line.” For more information, email or call Quagliaroli: rick@swampfoxagency.com, 843-761-3999; or Jimmie Locklear: jlocklear@forestrymutual.com, 910-733-3300.

56 ● MARCH 2016 ● Southern Loggin’ Times

CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!

SLT_0316_ASM_SLTtemplate 2/25/16 1:44 PM Page 57

CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!

SLTmar16pgs_cs.qxp_SLTtemplate 2/26/16 11:46 AM Page 58

Woods Worker Burned At Warming Fire BACKGROUND: On a cold fall morning in the Southeast, a logging crew arrived at the jobsite while it was still dark. They decided to build a warming fire while they awaited daylight.

INJURY: The crewmember sustained severe burns to the hand and face. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CORRECTION: While OSHA allows flammable and combustible liquids, including chain saw fuel and diesel fuel, for use in starting a

PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS: The logging crewmember who built the fire was 31years old. His previous safety training and accident history are unknown. UNSAFE ACTS AND CONDITIONS: The wood fire in the burn barrel was burning very slowly. The crewmember grabbed what he thought was a container of diesel fuel and poured some of the diesel fuel into the fire. Unfortunately, it was later discovered that the gas station where they filled the diesel can that morning had had gasoline

pumped into the holding tank by the vendor—so there was gasoline in the portable container. ACCIDENT: When the gasoline contacted the fire, it flashed back at the crewmember and burned him.

58 ● MARCH 2016 ● Southern Loggin’ Times

CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!

fire (if the employer assures that this does not create a hazard for an employee), OSHA regulations prohibit the adding of flammable and combustible liquids to existing fires. Better to be safe than to be burned; do not try to accelerate a fire with flammable or combustible liquids. A fire extinguisher should be readily accessible at any warming fire. Put the correct fuel into properly labeled containers. Do not use fluids to start a fire if you do not know what is in the container. All employees should be trained in first aid, including knowledge of how to treat burns until medical attention can be provided. Supplied by Forest Resources Assn.

SLT_0316_ASM_SLTtemplate 2/25/16 12:14 PM Page 59

CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!

SLTmar16pgs_cs.qxp_SLTtemplate 2/25/16 5:19 PM Page 60

AT THE MARGINS Tap The Power Of Machine Technology By Jena Holtberg-Benge Director John Deere ForestSight Solutions As a logger, there are many variables affecting your business that are out of your control. These include fuel prices, mill quotas and the weather, to name a few. But the good news is there are simple, tangible ways you can be more productive, more efficient, a better manager of your people and equipment— all to help improve your margins. It starts with technology and the data that comes from it: essential tools for problem solving, optimizing and adding value to your business. Every year technology solutions are becoming more affordable and more powerful, which in turn is streamlining business, driving productivity and reducing costs. At the basic level, these solutions can monitor all crucial systems and components of a machine, including fuel use, oil temperature and hydraulics, which in turn makes machine, jobsite and uptime optimization even easier. Machine Optimization: The data and information that technology provides can enable you to make recommendations and adjustments based on the performance of your machines. Knowing the details of how your equipment is working helps you maximize its use, keep it protected and cut costs. You can tell a lot about a machine by monitoring its activity, but sometimes you can learn something about its operator, too. One of the key benefits of a telematics system is that it provides you with a unique tool for managing and training operators. Fuel use, idle time, and operator efficiency are great measurements that give you benchmarks for improvement. Jobsite Optimization: Just as important as understanding what’s going on inside your machine is your knowledge of the environment in which you’re working. With technology, you can view job locations, distances to mills and refueling stations, educate your operators on their assignments, and more. Having this information at your fingertips can help you manage costs and revenues and negotiate prices. Jobsite mapping is another key

CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!

benefit of technology. Having information about jobsite complexities, such as waterways, obstacles, sensitive areas, and other points of interest can help operators navigate more efficiently and help managers more accurately estimate costs when bidding jobs. Uptime Optimization: Technology can remotely monitor machine health and diagnose problems to keep them up and running. Your awareness of issues in their earliest stages saves time and costs associated with servicing your equipment and prevents costly downtime. These systems make it easy for you and your equipment dealer to keep accurate, complete maintenance records and documentation, which can extend machine life and increase resale or trade-in value. Loggers around the world are seeing that the technology used on jobsites and forestry equipment, and the data that comes from it provides power to plan, make decisions and solve problems in a more efficient way. Just ask Roy Isley of D&J Isley and Sons in Alberta, Canada. Analysis: “There is so much information on the machines that we can access and use, from productivity and fuel consumption to heat cycles and more,” Isley says. “The information is at your fingertips for the taking, but you have to actually use it and look at the data through a problem solving mindset.” Isley has also found the data he receives from his machines to be especially beneficial in his communication with mills. “In our business, there is no way of tracking costs other than productivity, which is why the data we receive directly from our machines on production is so important. The data is real and there’s no guesswork involved when reporting and confirming production with the mill.” He is proof that data and emerging technologies are becoming more and more essential to the forestry industry and how loggers do business. We encourage you to stay on the leading edge and understand the advantages of technology integration. Your manufacturer or dealer can be an excellent resource to help you navigate how technology can work for you, address the problems you face and make your jobs more efficient.

SLTmar16pgs_SS.qxp_SLTtemplate 2/26/16 10:58 AM Page 61

Want To Place Your Classified Ad In IronWorks? Call 334-699-7837, 1-800-669-5613 or Email: class@southernloggintimes.com

IRONWORKS

TOLL FREE: 1-800-669-5613

IRONWORKS RATES; Space available by column inch only, one inch minimum. Rate is $50 per inch, special typesetting, borders, photo inclusion, blind ads, $10 extra each. Deadlines: By mail, 15th of month prior to publication. Place your ad toll-free 24 hours a day from anywhere in the USA (except Alaska and Hawaii) 1-800-669-5613 ask for Classifieds 8:30-5 pm CST. After business hours our automatic ad taker will take your ads.

FOR SALE • Intern’l Model 4700 Crew Truck, Model 4700-Diesel Eng., Flat-bed w/toolboxes; 358k mi.. ........................................$6,000 • CSI Ground Cut-up Saw, 18’6” long frame; V-Deck.......$10,000 • Koehring Disc Saw Felling Head, John Deere 643-D, Serial #63654............................$8,000 • 1996 JDeere 850-C Bulldozer ..................................... $30,000 • CAT Model 12-G Motor Grater ......................................$55,000

CALL OWNER 205-695-6314 13094 I OFFER same day while you wait OR 2-day service on straightening and balancing all types of Feller Buncher sawdisks. Tooth holder repairs. Complex or severely bent sawdisks no problem, approx. 14years experience CALL CARLTON CARVER CARVER SAWDISK REPAIR Washington NC • (252) 945-2358

Name ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Address __________________________________________________________________________________________ City ______________________________________________________ State________ Zip ______________________ Phone____________________________________________ E-mail _________________________________________

566

Please send me _______ bumper stickers at $5 each. Enclosed is $__________ total.

4247

FELLER BUNCHERS

SKIDDERS

CAT 521B (0F7B00257),2013, 2945 HOURS, CAB, AC, 35.5 SHOES, HF201B CUTTER HEAD............$295,000

CAT 525C (052500404), 2007, 14878 HOURS, CAB, AC, 30.5, 14.4 CAT BUNCHING GRAPPLE, WINCH ..... ...............................................................................CALL

CAT 563C (0JCB00324), 2013, 5600 HOURS, CAB, AC, SAWHEAD.................................................$165,000 CAT 563C (0W6300120), 2013, 4978 HOURS, CAB, AC, 30.5, SH56B HEAD.........................................CALL

CAT535C (053500623),2012, 5378 HOURS, CAB, AC, 30.5L-32 26 PR FS 2X RING, GRAPPLE, WINCH .CALL

CAT 559B DS (00PR65586), 2013, 6106 HOURS, CAB, AC, GRPL, PITTS H48 W/ HYD TRLR, DELIMBER ..........................................................................$144,000 CAT 559B DS (00PR65341), 2012, 6919 HOURS, CAB, AC, PITTS TRAILER, CTR DELIMBER, GRAPPLE ..........................................................................$172,500 CAT 559C DS (0KAS00258), 2013, 5685 HOURS, CPY, GRPL, H48 TRLR, DELIMBER.........................$153,000

CAT 573C (0RJT00281), 2012, 4026 HOURS, CAB, AC, 30.5X32, POST SAW .............................................CALL

CAT 545C (054500304),2006, 9788 HOURS, CAB, AC, 35.5-32, DUAL ARCH GRAPPLE, WINCH ........$99,500

CAT 573C (0RJT00256), 2012, 3657 HOURS, CAB, AC, 30.5L-32, SH56B SAW ....................................$208,500

KNUCKLEBOOM LOADERS

CAT 579B (PR65023),2011, 9265 HOURS, CAB, AC, 11-22.5 TRLR, GRPL, DELIMBER.........................CALL

CAT 559B (PR65147), 2011, 8569 HOURS, CAB, AC, 5055TWR50 GPL, EVANS 48' TRLR, CTR 30 DELIMBER .......................................................$112,500

JOHN DEERE 435 (WC0435X012172), 2004, 16828 HOURS, CAB, AC, 52 GRAPPLE, BIG JOHN TRLR, 11R-22.5, DELIMBER ............................................CALL

CAT 559B (PR65386), 2012, 7436 HOURS, CAB, AC, 5055TWR50 GRPL, PITTS 48' HYD TRLR, CTR 426 DELIMBER .......................................................$125,000

JOHN DEERE 437C (WC437CL013077),2006, 9600 HOURS, CAB, AC, 52 GRPL, 11R-22.5, CSI 264 DELIMBER..........................................................$25,000

JOHN DEERE 643H (WC643HX882464), 2005, 9144 HOURS, CAB, AC, 28LX26, BUNCHING HEAD.$55,000 JOHN DEERE 843J (622256), 2008, 7820 HOURS, CAB, AC, 30.5X32, FD22B HEAD......................$76,000 PRENTICE 2570 (PB19613), 2008, 10457 HOURS, CAB, AC-NOT WORKING, 28L-26, SH50 SAW .$95,000

CAT 563C (0JCB00324), 2013, 5600 HOURS, CAB, AC, SAWHEAD ..................................................$165,000

JOHN DEERE 843J (622256), 2008, 7820 HOURS, CAB, AC, 30.5X32, FD22B HEAD...........................................$76,000

CAT 545C (054500304),2006, 9788 HOURS, CAB, AC, 35.5-32, DUAL ARCH GRAPPLE, WINCH .....................$99,500

CAT 559B (PR65386), 2012, 7436 HOURS, CAB, AC, 5055TWR50 GRPL, PITTS 48' HYD TRLR, CTR 426 DELIMBER ...........................................$125,000

Southern Loggin’ Times ● MARCH 2016 ● 61 CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!

SLTmar16pgs_SS.qxp_SLTtemplate 2/26/16 10:58 AM Page 62

Want To Place Your Classified Ad In IronWorks? Call 334-699-7837, 1-800-669-5613 or Email: class@southernloggintimes.com

8324

2006 630C TIGERCAT COMPLETE REBUILT 608S TIMBERJACK CUTTER D6 BOTTOM 60% 2005 822 TIGERCAT SHOVEL BOTTOM 70% 2005 822 TIGER CAT 5400 HEAD NEW WALKNEW CENTER SECTION NEW CRADLE NEW 20IN HEAD RUNS GOOD GREAT MACHINE 5702 110 HEAD NEW PUM.............$115,000 ING MOTORS AND FINAL DRIVES.........$80,000 GLASS ................................................$65,000 ...........................................................$65,000

NOT PICTURED • 2006 653G JOHN DEERE TRACK CUTTER 80% BOTTOM 36IN PADS NEW INTERIOR NICE MACHINE...........$70,000 • 2007 635C BOGGIE SKIDDER..$115,000 • 2007 234 TIGERCAT LOADER RILEY 2005 5000G PETERSON CHIPPER ONE 2007 BARKO 495 LOADER CSI DELIMBER ONE SHUTTLE TANKS IN STOCK READY TO GO AIR DELIMBER.................................$60,000 OWNER MACHINE COMPLETE REBUILT ALL OWNER NICE LOADER .........................$50,000 OR ELECTIC PUMP ................................$2,500 NEW HYDRAULICS.............................$375,000

2687

62 ● MARCH 2016 ● Southern Loggin’ Times CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!

SLTmar16pgs_SS.qxp_SLTtemplate 2/26/16 10:58 AM Page 63

Want To Place Your Classified Ad In IronWorks? Call 334-699-7837, 1-800-669-5613 or Email: class@southernloggintimes.com

**

** FREE DELI

30 DAY POWERTRAIN WARRANTY

G N I C N A FIN E L B A L I A AV SKIDDERS

VERY

SKIDDERS

FELLER BUNCHERS

FELLER BUNCHERS

MULCHERS

2012 John Deere 748H Grap- 2011 Cat 535C Dual Arch 2013 Prentice 2470C Feller 2010 Prentice 2670 Feller 2014 Barko 930 Mulcher ple Skidder – 7,800 hours, 2 Skidder – 8,684 hours, 2 New, Buncher - 3,934 hours, Cat Buncher– 7,343 hours, 2 New, 2 1,300 hours,FAE 300U smooth good 28L tires, Prentice SC-57 new, 2 good 30.5 x 32 tires, 2 very good 30.5 x 32 tires, C6.6 Tier 3 engine, SC57 Cen- saw head, 6.7 Cummins engine, drum mulching head, 28L tires, Cab with air. Rent to own with Cab with air, Winch, Ready to Cab with air, Winch, Ready to ter post saw head, very good Cab with air, Ready to work! work! ....Reduced to $135,000 work! ....Reduced to $119,500 28L tires, Cab with air, Ready ...................Reduced to $109,500 approved credit ($20,000 per month). ........................$269,500 to work! Reduced to $159,500

LOADERS

2011 John Deere 748H Grap- 2010 Cat 525C Dual Arch 2012 Cat 573C Feller Buncher 2005 Barko 495ML – Trailer 2011 Prentice 2470 Mulcher – NEW FAE 200U/225 smooth drum mulching ple Skidder - 8,300 hours, Skidder – 8,000 hours, 2 New, – 5,200 hours, SC-57 Center mounted with CTR 426 delim- head, NEW high pressure pump and Good 30.5 x 32 tires, Cab with 2 good 30.5 x 32 tires, Cab post saw head, Cab with air, 28L ber, Cummins engine, Cab hoses, 6.7 Cummins engine, Cab with air, Good 28L tires, 4,500 hours on air, Winch, Ready to work! with air, Winch, Ready to work! tires, C7.1 Cat engine, Ready to with air, Winch, Ready to work! machine, 0 hours since the conversion a Feller Buncher. Rent to own with .............Reduced to $125,000 ..................................$109,500 work! ........................................... ....................................$59,500 from approved credit ($17,000 per month). ..................................................189,500

2011 John Deere 748H Grap- 2010 Prentice 2432 Grapple 2012 Cat 563C Feller Buncher 2012 Prentice 2384 Log 2005 Hydro – Ax 721E ple Skidder - 8,255 hours, 2 Skidder - 6,779 hours, Good 30.5 – 4,592 hours, Prentice SH56B Loader – 7,310 hours, Mounted Mulcher - 3,400 hours, Fecon x 32 tires, Winch, Cab with air, new, 2 good 30.5 x 32 tires, Cummins engine, New hydraulic bunching head, Good 28L tires, on trailer with CTR 426 Delim- BH250 Mulching Head, Good Winch, Cab with air, Ready to pump, Ready to work!.......$79,500 C7.1 Cat engine, Cab with air, ber, Cab with air, Cummins 28L tires, Cab with air, John Ready to work! engine. Ready to work! work! ....Reduced to $125,000 Deere engine. ............$145,000

FELLER BUNCHERS

................Reduced to $129,500 $129,500

800-983-1971 Office : 903-238-8700 Shane Fuller : 903-235-1147 Jason Bruner: 903-452-5290

2012 Cat 535C Dual Arch 2013 Cat 563C – 3,900 hours, 2012 John Deere 643K Feller Skidder – 5,800 hours, 3 New, SC-57 Center post saw head, Buncher – 5,410 hours, Good 1 very good - 35.5 x 32 tires, Cab with air, 30.5 x 32 tires, 28L tires, Waratah FD22B saw Cab with air, Winch. Ready to C7.1 Cat engine, Ready to head, Cab with air, Ready to work! ...Reduced to $149,500 work! ....Reduced to $159,500 work! .........................$149,500

www.equipmentandparts.com Forestry & Construction Equipment Used & rebuilt Parts

Southern Loggin’ Times ● MARCH 2016 ● 63 CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!

SLTmar16pgs_SS.qxp_SLTtemplate 2/26/16 10:58 AM Page 64

Want To Place Your Classified Ad In IronWorks? Call 334-699-7837, 1-800-669-5613 or Email: class@southernloggintimes.com

2290

1461

2012 John Deere 437D Knuckleboom Loader STK# LU225667; 6,080 hrs $124,000

2012 John Deere 643K Feller Buncher STK# LU645108; 4,716 hrs $108,000

2007 Prentice 2470 with Mulcher STK# LUVB1971; 3,992 hrs $155,000

2013 John Deere 848H Skidder STK# LU652358; 4,892 hrs $165,000

2013 John Deere 648H Skidder STK# LU654754; 4,267 hrs $168,000

2013 John Deere 843K Feller Buncher STK# LU625805; 5,521 hrs $105,000

2012 Chambers Delimber STK# LUD10327; 4,690 hrs $65,000

2013 John Deere 748H Skidder STK# LU652927; 5,094 hrs $165,000

2012 John Deere 648H Skidder STK# LU645165; 7,490 hrs $115,000

3723

64 ● MARCH 2016 ● Southern Loggin’ Times CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!

SLTmar16pgs_SS.qxp_SLTtemplate 2/26/16 10:58 AM Page 65

Want To Place Your Classified Ad In IronWorks? Call 334-699-7837, 1-800-669-5613 or Email: class@southernloggintimes.com

7951

Southern Loggin’ Times ● MARCH 2016 ● 65 CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!

SLTmar16pgs_SS.qxp_SLTtemplate 2/26/16 10:59 AM Page 66

Call or email: Charles Woolard

562

Want To Place Your Classified Ad In IronWorks? Call 334-699-7837, 1-800-669-5613 or Email: class@southernloggintimes.com

252-946-9264 office 252-945-0942 cell

Washington, NC Email: easterneq@earthlink.net

Go to www.eebinc.com for details and pictures plus other equipment for sale 6209

2011 Tigercat 718E w/TC5000 sawhead; Cummins 6.7 engine w/8500 hours, Widerange drive, 28Lx26 tires ............................................$135,000

2006 Tigercat 630C D/A w/ 18.5 sfg grapple, Cummins QSC8.3 w/240hp; climate control cab, Tires: 73x44x32 ..............................................$75,000

1998 Timberjack 460 Single Arch Grapple, Cummins 6BTA5.9 engine, powershift, winch, Tires 30.5x32 ..............................................$25,000

2012 John Deere 437D Log Loader with CSI 264 Ultra Delimber mounted on Big John trailer; 5500 hours ............................................$115,000

2001 Tigercat 845B less sawhead; Cummins 6CT8.3 w/4122 on re-con engine, 36" tri-rail undercarriage ..............................................$70,000

2005 Tigercat 5702 sawhead with boom adapter and 110 degrees rotation, low hours saw blade; will fit 845B & 822.....................................$27,500

2004 CSI 2800 w/ LH264 delimber, Cummins 4-cylinder engine, rear outriggers with front mounted spade, radio control......................................$19,500

2012 John Deere 748H Log Skidder Dual Arch, New 30.5 Firestone tires, COMPLETE MAJOR ENGINE OVERHAUL BY DEERE IN OCT 15................$159,000

2010 Tigercat 724E Feller Buncher 2011 Prentice 2384B Log Loader New 28L tires, 5702 head, 6400 hrs, CTR 426 Delimber, 8600 hours Just traded for! Located in Saline, La. ...........................................$115,000 ................................CALL FOR PRICE

2009 John Deere 748H Log Skidder Dual arch, NEW 30.5 Firestone tires, 2500 hours on crate engine, SWEDA axles .......................CALL FOR PRICE

2008 Tigercat 720E Feller Buncher 30.5 tires, 5702 center post head, Cummins engine, JUST IN ..................................CALL FOR PRICE

2004 John Deere 648GIII Skidders Four (4) to choose from

2004 Prentice 384 Log Loader John Deere 6068T engine, Mounted on 2002 Tigercat 724D Feller Buncher 5702 head, JUST IN, Located in Sheri- Evans Trailer, JUST IN dan, Arkansas............CALL FOR PRICE ..................................................$42500

6288

1328

2015 Tigercat 620E D/A w/17 sf grap- 2010 CAT 545C D/A grapple, CAT C7 ple, Tigercat FPT N67 with 350 hours; 232hp; 8585 hours; 16.6 grapple, Tires: frame & engine warranty; Tires 30.5x32, clean & painted........$145,000 35.5x32 ...............................$245,000

66 ● MARCH 2016 ● Southern Loggin’ Times CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!

2008 Prentice 2384 Log Loader CTR 426, Resealed the hydraulic collector, New radiator, Cold a/c .................................................$79,500

SLTmar16pgs_SS.qxp_SLTtemplate 2/26/16 10:59 AM Page 67

Want To Place Your Classified Ad In IronWorks? Call 334-699-7837, 1-800-669-5613 or Email: class@southernloggintimes.com

2965

3664

VISIT US ONLINE:

4433

www.southernloggintimes.com

Southern Loggin’ Times ● MARCH 2016 ● 67 CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!

SLTmar16pgs_SS.qxp_SLTtemplate 2/26/16 10:59 AM Page 68

Want To Place Your Classified Ad In IronWorks? Call 334-699-7837, 1-800-669-5613 or Email: class@southernloggintimes.com

RECONDITIONED DELIMBINATORS!! WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE

WE ALSO BUY USED DELIMBINATORS Call: 662-285-2777 day, 662-285-6832 eves Email: info@chambersdelimbinator.com 1123

USED FORESTRY EQUIPMENT

7195

3214

ALL TYPES OF USED FORESTRY EQUIPMENT FOR SALE. USED SKIDDER TIRES & RIMS 352-239-1549

IF YOU NEED

LUCKY YOU!

To buy or sell forestry, construction, utility or truck equipment, or if you just need an appraisal, contact me, Johnny Pynes with JM Wood Auction. Over 25 years experience.

CAT: 270-5261 HYD WINCH MOTOR...............$2,850 JOHN DEERE 643H: AT214686 HYDROSTAT MTR....................$3,950 TIGERCAT: 1219B TILK LINK ARM ...........................$250

Day 334-312-4136 Night 334-271-1475 or Email: johnwpynes@knology.net

CONTACT: 478.550.2330 - Keith 478.256.4063 - Gary

770

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.

249

FORESTRYPARTSRESOURCE.COM

WANTED TO BUY

280

Cat 518 & Cat 518C skidders in TX, LA area Call Kent 936-699-4700 r_kentjones@yahoo.com

EUREKA! EUREKA! EUREKA! OWNERS HAVE OVER 30 YEARS COMBINED EXPERIENCE!

EUREKA SAW TOOTH CO., INC.

2186

7180

We can save you money on Saw Teeth. Hundreds of satisfied A NOW CCEPTIN G customers. Rebuilt Exchange or New. We specialize in rebuildCREDIT 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

2891

68 ● MARCH 2016 ● Southern Loggin’ Times CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!

SLTmar16pgs_SS.qxp_SLTtemplate 2/26/16 2:29 PM Page 69

Want To Place Your Classified Ad In IronWorks? Call 334-699-7837, 1-800-669-5613 or Email: class@southernloggintimes.com

FOR SALE FOR SALE

n NEW 2015 Barko 595ML Loader

249

PETERSON 4800E DEBARKER (1E1611689) C9 CAT EXCELLENT CONDITION 5) OPEN TOP CHIP TRAILERS: 3–PEERLESS 2–CRESCENT CONTACT: 706.326.3000 – HUGH 706.741.4677 – KEITH

w/ Cummins Tier 3 Engine , CSI PTD 264 Ultra Delimber, Kodiak Hydraulic Delimber Trailer ...POR n New 2016 Barko 495B Loader, CSI 203 Delimber, Big John Delimber Trailer ....................POR n New CSI DL-4400

OLIVER LOGGING COMPANY HOSE, FITTINGS & CRIMPERS SERVING THE LOGGING INDUSTRY FOR 20 YEARS. WE CAN SAVE YOU MONEY.

Slasher w/ Extended Chassis Frame .....POR n USED 2011 Barko 495ML Loader, CSI PTD 264 Ultra Delimber, Big John Delimber Trailer ..............................$97,500 n Used Waratah 4300 Delimber ..........................................$3,000 n New Rotobec 4042HD Grapple w/ RT 252 Rotator w/ used Rotobec Grapple Saw ...$16, 500 n New Kioti Tractors End of Year Closeouts

8309

Tim Alligood Days or Nights: 1-252-341-9891 email: tim.cavalierhose@yahoo.com

FOR SALE

Prattville, AL

(334) 365-5192 676

2006 TimberPro 840 Clambunk, 9500 hours, very good condition, duals included ...................$130,000 251-513-7001 945

FOR SALE

05 Hydro Ax 470 Fellerbuncher, 22" Hydro Ax head, 6500 hrs .......................................$50,000

FOR SALE

Weigh boy in woods scales, used 6 months ...............$12,500 f.o.b. 256-479-5036 near Huntsville, AL

3034

706-466-5171

7393

13233

Southern Loggin’ Times ● MARCH 2016 ● 69 CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!

SLT_0316_ASM_SLTtemplate 2/29/16 8:04 AM Page 70

A D L I N K ●

●

●

●

●

ADVERTISER

PG. NO.

PHONE NO.

American Logger’s Council American Truck Parts B & G Equipment Bandit Industries Barko Hydraulics BITCO Insurance Carter Enterprises Carter Machinery Cat Forest Products Cooper Forestry Equipment Cutting Systems John Deere Forestry Doggett Machinery Service East Coast Sawmill Expo Eastern Equipment Brokerage Employer’s Underwriters Equipment & Parts Firestone Agricultural Tire Flint Equipment Forest Chain Forestry First Forestry Mutual Insurance Hawkins & Rawlinson HydraTech Systems Hydraulic & Pneumatic Services Industrial Cleaning Equipment Ironmart Jewell Machinery Jim Baird Kaufman Trailers Lasyone Auctions Ledkins, Mike Insurance Agency LMI-Tennessee Magnolia Trailers Manac Mid-South Forestry Equip Show Moore Logging Supply Morbark Nokian Tyres Olofsfors Ozark Machinery Pemberton Attachments Peterson Pacific Pitts Trailers Prolenc Manufacturing Puckett Machinery Quadco Equipment Quality Equipment & Parts Ritchie Brothers Auctioneers River Ridge Equipment S E C O Parts & Equipment Southeastern Wood Producers Assn. Southern Insurance Southern Loggers Cooperative Southern Tire Mart Stribling Equipment T & M Equipment Terex Environmental Equipment Tidewater Equipment Tigercat Industries TraxPlus Trelan Manufacturing Tri-State Auction & Realty Vermeer Manufacturing W & W Truck & Tractor Wallingford’s J M Wood Auction

51 58 43 1,11 30 53 12 61 7 56 49 17 64 26 66 54 63 2 33 54 66 3 39 16 64 50 65 20 52 13 24 42 55 59 71 31 56 36-37,44 23 19 66 41 29 72 48 64 54 67 56 25 70 52 48 47 35 68 62 18 62 5 45 27 60 21 34 41 47

409.625.0206 888.383.8884 205.331.7858 800.952.0178 715.395.6700 800.475.4477 205.351.1461 800.868.4228 919.550.1201 423.338.5470 877.844.1474 800.503.3373 225.368.2224 804.737.5625 252.946.9264 800.622.7635 903.238.8700 515.242.2300 404.691.9445 800.288.0887 803.708.0624 800.849.7788 334.821.5800 800.256.4937 904.688.2247 910.231.4043 888.561.1115 540.483.5394 703.282.2624 866.497.7803 318.648.8509 800.766.8349 800.467.0944 800.738.2123 418.228.2018 662.325.2191 888.754.5613 800.831.0042 844.564.7877 519.754.2190 417.256.8178 800.393.6688 800.269.6520 800.321.8073 877.563.8899 601.969.6000 800.668.3340 386.754.6186 778.331.5458 855.325.6465 800.733.7326 904.845.7133 601.932.4541 318.445.0750 601.939.3888 800.682.6409 912.367.7801 989.588.4295 912.638.7726 519.753.2000 601.635.5543 877.487.3526 800.334.4395 641.628.3141 843.761.8220 800.323.3708 800.447.7085

ADLINK is a free service for advertisers and readers. The publisher assumes no liability for errors or omissions.

COMING EVENTS March 9-11—Hardwood Manufacturers Assn. National Conference & Expo, Worthington Renaissance, Sundance Square, Fort Worth, Tex. Call 412244-0440; visit hmamembers.org.

April 5-7—Kentucky Forest Industries Assn. annual meeting, The Brown Hotel, Louisville, Ky. Call 502-6953979; visit kfia.org. 20-22—Virginia Forestry Assn. Summit, Sheraton Virginia Beach Oceanfront Hotel, Virginia Beach, Va. Call 804-278-8733; visit vaforestry.org.

23-25—Georgia Forestry Assn. annual meeting, Jekyll Island Convention Center, Jekyll Island, Ga. Call 478992-8110; visit gfagrow.org. 23-26—Appalachian Hardwood Manufacturers Summer Conference, The Greenbrier, White Sulphur Springs, W.Va. Call 336-885-8315; visit appalachianwood.org. 29-30—Missouri Forest Products Assn. annual meeting, The Elms, Excelsior Springs, Mo. Call 417336-5400; visit moforest.org.

August

May

25-27—Virginia Loggers Assn. annual meeting, Hotel Roanoke, Roanoke, Va. Call 434-589-1942; visit valoggers.org.

13-14—Expo Richmond 2016, Richmond Raceway Complex, Richmond, Va. Call 804-737-5625; visit exporichmond.com.

26-27—Mid-South Forestry Equipment Show, Starkville, Miss. Call 800-669-5613; visit midsouthforestry.org.

June

30-September 1—Florida Forestry Assn. annual meeting, Omni at Amelia Island Plantation Resort, Amelia Island, Fla. Call 850-2225646; visit floridaforest.org.

10-11—Southeastern Wood Producers Assn. Trade Show and annual meeting, James H Rainwater Conference Center, Valdosta, Ga. Call 904-845-7133; visit swpa.ag.

July 8-9—West Virginia Forestry Assn. annual meeting, Canaan Resort Conf. Center, Davis, W.Va. Call 304-372-1955; visit wvfa.org.

September 11-13—Alabama Forestry Assn. annual meeting, Perdido Beach Resort, Orange Beach, Ala. Call 334-265-8733; visit alaforestry.org. 29-October 1—American Loggers Council annual meeting, Bay Point Resort, Panama City Beach, Fla. Call 409-625-0206; visit amloggers.com.

October 4-6—Arkansas Forestry Assn. annual meeting, Chancellor Hotel, Fayetteville, Ark. Call 501-3742441; visit arkforests.org. 5-7—North Carolina Forestry Assn. annual meeting, Grove Park Inn, Asheville, NC. Call 800-231-7723; visit ncforestry.org. 26-28—Texas Forestry Assn. annual meeting, La Torretta Lake Resort, Conroe, Tex. Call 936632-8733; visit texasforestry.org. Listings are submitted months in advance. Always verify dates and locations with contacts prior to making plans to attend.

Check us out online at southernloggintimes.com 70 ● MARCH 2016 ● Southern Loggin’ Times

CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!

SLT_0316_ASM_SLTtemplate 2/25/16 12:14 PM Page 71

CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!

SLT_0316_ASM_SLTtemplate 2/25/16 12:15 PM Page 72

CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY OPTED IN!