Equipment & Supplier News

Gathering after the 2009 Prentice Loader Championship at the Northeastern Forest Products Equipment Expo in Bangor, Me. were, left to right, Alan MacLean, Branch Manager, The Oliver Stores; Allan Sawdo, Cat Forest Products Territory Sales Mgr.; K. Scott Morrison, President, The Oliver Stores; Heath Taylor, first place winner; Nelson Boire, second place; Ben Hardwick, third place; Stan Robinson, fourth place; and Derrick Berry, fifth place. The event drew 85 contestants and raised money for the Log A Load for Kids program. The Oliver Stores in Bangor, the local Prentice dealer, provided the Prentice 2384 knuckleboom loader for the contest and also provided manpower and support for this annual fundraising event. Heath Taylor was the contest winner with a time of two minutes, 30 seconds and took home $200, the winner’s trophy and the coveted Prentice Loader Championship Jacket.

Cutting Edge Technology

Global practitioners of forestry converged in a forest near Jonkoping, Sweden June 3-6 to examine and evaluate new and improved forest management tools, tree harvesting-processing machinery, biomass recovery equipment and related supplies and services. They also got a glimpse at what the future might hold: machines with hybrid electric drivelines.

Living up to its claim as the world’s largest “forestry trade fair,” ElmiaWood ’09 attracted 46,500 visitors, including representatives of 486 exhibiting companies. The turnout fell short of ElmiaWood’s record numbers of 2005, but organizers and managers, as well as most exhibitors, were satisfied, particularly considering the worldwide economic crisis. They pointed out that the exhibition’s goals were set in 2007, long before the financial meltdown began.

Cutting Tools

The PPT-280 Power Pruner features a new class 28.1cc Power Boost Vortex engine for plenty of cutting power, a 158 in. shaft (when extended) that is 12 in. longer than the Echo PPT-265 for extra long reach, a side-access chain tensioning system for easier, safer chain tightening, a durable gear case cover for increased longevity, an adjustable, automatic oiler system, an easy to grasp ergonomic handle with rubber over-mold for added comfort and improved handling, and a branch extractor for easy removal of troublesome branches.

Lower Costs, Higher Output by Jennifer McCary

Seldom do loggers have an opportunity to lower their equipment investment while also bumping up production volume by an average of one third. That is precisely what brothers and co-owners Kurt and David Babineau did just over two years ago by modifying their cut-to-length (CTL) setup.

Previously, Babineau Logging had operated a three-machine system using two Scandinavian-type harvesters and one forwarder. Even with two machines felling and merchandising, the brothers found it difficult to achieve production levels necessary to sustain the business due to the natural stand conditions and harvest prescriptions they typically encountered.

Quality Unsacrificed by Ken Boness

Crosscut saws, animal skidding, chain saws, Scandinavian harvester: The pedigree for Smola Brothers follows a familiar pattern, with one generation teaching and encouraging the next.

Grandpa started with a horse or two, an axe or two, a crosscut or two, and a sincere desire to take what the forest could willingly spare and no more.

Eventually, crosscuts were laid aside in favor of chain saws and horse skidding gave way to a forwarder. More recently, a cut-to-length harvester and two processors were integrated into the system.

Slow But Much Alive by Frank Samuel

Some lament a weak national economy and a forest products industry that is struggling. You won’t find Alan Ward that concerned about the past or the present, however. He says of his companies, Ward Brothers Inc. and Payette River Lumber: “We may be a little slow right now, but we are very much alive.”

He may agree that markets are weak, that environmental concerns have choked off federal timber sales and that significant timber in the West is dying from insect infestation, but he looks forward from the perspective of one who has seen it all before. Besides, he has built a business model designed to survive bad times and optimize opportunity in good times. His positive outlook springs from his operation’s ability to capitalize on the environmental and political climate by converting standing dead trees into highly valued products.

Timber Scope

Oregon state police and Douglas County sheriff’s deputies arrested more than 20 protesters who were blocking a logging road in the Elliott State Forest near Reedsport on July 8. Demonstrators had chained themselves inside an overturned van, attached themselves to buried chunks of concrete and climbed up trees.

Authorities descended upon the protesters after warning them that blocking the road was illegal and they were subject to arrest.

A spokesperson for the group Cascadia Rising Tide said the activists are trying to protect native forests that help prevent global warming by storing carbon, as well as providing habitat for wildlife. The blockade was the culmination of the Round River Rendezvous, an annual gathering of Earth First and other groups, she said.

“The Green Eyeshade Boys” by Jim Petersen

International Paper (IP) is one of the oldest paper companies in the U.S. Founded in 1898 with the merger of 17 pulp and paper companies in the Northeast, it is today the largest pulp and paper manufacturer in the world.

It is also one of the most callous and hypocritical in its complete disregard for the ecological health of publicly owned federal forestlands. The reasons why follow.

IP was once one of the most admired forest products manufacturers on earth. In its heyday, the company made about 60% of the newsprint used in the U.S. It grew through acquisition, eventually gobbling up several other widely respected companies, including Hammermill Paper Co., Union Camp Corp. and Champion International.

Prepare Today For Tomorrow by DK Knight

Loggers, while demand for your services is slack and you’ve likely got surplus time on your hands, now is a an opportune time to reexamine your business and reevaluate every segment of your management and operational approach. It’s a good time to curb wasted time and motion; to streamline the ebb and flow; to build up your team and strengthen your position. Today is the time to prepare for tomorrow.

Tough times have a way of exposing aging techniques, shopworn practices and poor management habits that often tax efficiency, inflate operating costs and drain away profits. It’s amazing how all of us fall into a certain way of doing things and remain in the same rut. What’s more amazing is that we stay in the same rut, yet hope for different results. But different results usually come from doing things in a different way that typically is more effective and efficient.