Machinery Row

TFS Names Feenaughty Machinery

Technical Forest Solutions LLC (TFS) of Kelso, Washington recently named Feenaughty Machinery the local dealer for southern Washington, Oregon and northern California. Feenaughty has supported the construction and forestry industries in the Pacific Northwest for over 100 years.

“We are excited to be working with Feenaughty Machinery on the next evolution of our business,” says Frank Chandler Jr., President of TFS, referring to the marketing and supporting of Electrical & Machinery Services LTD. “Our family logging business, Chandler Logging, has been buying equipment from Feenaughty for over 40 years. We know them and trust they will do a great job as dealers for the TFS product line”.

Vince Wilbur, TFS product/sales support manager adds, “We have grown at such a rapid rate over the past three years that finding a trusted dealer network was always at the top of our priorities. So,we have decided to lean on Feenaughty’s sales and support structure.”

John Deere Construction & Forestry Builds New Training Facility

John Deere recently completed construction of a 7,500-square-foot facility in Coal Valley, Illinois, to better meet internal training demands, along with supporting customer visits and events. Part of the Construction & Forestry Training Campus, the three classrooms can be used separately or combined to hold 250 people for larger events, and nearly 4,000 square feet of covered canopy space is available for outdoor training and equipment walkarounds.

“The primary function of this new facility is to provide much-needed additional classroom space for dealer sales staff and technician training,” said David Reilly, manager, worldwide training, John Deere Construction & Forestry.

The facility will also include a John Deere simulator — further bridging the gap between the classroom and jobsite.

Stellex to Sell Morbark to Alamo Group

Stellex Capital Management  announced it has entered into an agreement to sell Morbark LLC to Alamo Group Inc. for $352 million. 

Headquartered in Seguin, Texas, Alamo Group is a leader in the design, manufacture, distribution, and service of high-quality equipment for infrastructure maintenance, agriculture, and other applications.

Founded in 1957 and based in Winn, Michigan, Morbark has been innovating and manufacturing durable, high-performance equipment for more than six decades, producing a full line of brush chippers, stump cutters, mini skid steers, forestry mulchers, and more. Stellex acquired Morbark in 2016.

Founded in 1969, Alamo has approximately 3,650 employees and operates 29 plants in North America, Europe, Australia, and Brazil, with European operations in Salford Priors, England. Completion of the transaction is expected to take place in 4Q 2019.

Munis to Retire from Idaho Forest Products Commission

Capital Press reported that Betty Munis, founding director of the Idaho Forest Products Commission, plans to retire Nov. 15 after more than 27 years on the job.

She is succeeded by Jennifer Okerlund, who took over the position Sept. 23 after 16 years working as communications manager for the state Department of Parks and Recreation.

“Betty has done a tremendous job for the forest sector, helping opinion leaders and the general public understand what we do,” Commission Chairman Jack Buell said in a news release. “We are sad to see her go, but we welcome Jennifer’s energy, creativity, and statewide connections.”

Additional Tigercat Support

Tigercat is pleased to announce that Jochen Reiter has been appointed to the position of factory support representative for western Canada. Originally from Germany, where he grew up logging with his grandfather and uncle, Reiter has 21 years of experience in many aspects of the industry including operating and supervising conventional ground-based and yarding operations.

Based in Quesnel, British Columbia, Reiter will focus on providing after-sales technical and operational support for Tigercat’s growing customer base in western Canada.

“Along with Kushiah McCullough, Damien Donoher, and Mark Tourand, I am very excited to add Jochen to the western product support team. Having a top-notch support team is critical,” explains Rob Selby, Tigercat district manager.