From the President By Will Cole
Hello everyone, As I write this column, mud season is now behind us. Many of us are evaluating what and how we will commence with summer operations. It's no secret since the Pixelle explosion that our world has been turned upside down. The question is what are we going to do about it? I personally am getting tired of the victim mentality that's overshadowing every aspect of our culture. When Don and I started our company in 1986 it was just as easy to go behind, but the difference was you could work your way out of a mess by doing double time. That I suspect is how many of us built up our businesses. The other day I was in a conversation with a group of loggers complaining about lack of help and no youth in the industry. Why would there be? The double time to get out became the normal day. Long hours, low pay with no time to really evaluate our business model. If logging is to be a legitimate business, it needs to have comparative work opportunities for the next generation. That can only happen when a business is profitable. That means evaluating cost of operations against payment of goods. Is it that simple? Yes, the PLC has stepped up to the challenge to help our members get a real cost to operate through our cost calculation service provided free to all members. Wood markets are hungry, prices are rising, and for the first time in a long time "loggers are valuable". May I suggest to you the most money you will make this year is at the negotiating table. Know your cost going in and don't be afraid to say no if the numbers don't work. Let's work our way out of a mess but not doing double time. See you in the woods, Will
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Professional Logging Contractors of Maine
Loggers Serving Loggers Since 1995
