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Caterpillar Equipment Visit to Highlight 103rd PLC Meeting

Those who attend the 103rd annual Pacific Logging Congress (PLC) in Tucson, AZ, this November will have a special opportunity to see the latest in large Caterpillar equipment.

On November 9, 2012, the annual meeting will convene at Caterpillar’s Tinaja Hills Demonstration Center and Proving Grounds. Attendees will watch live equipment demonstrations and have the opportunity to operate some of the big machines.

Great Hosts

The Caterpillar-hosted event was just one issue discussed by PLC Board members during their recent summer meeting in the Redwood Region of northern California. This year’s PLC President is Stanwood “Woody” Murphy of Humboldt Bay Forest Products. Murphy and his wife Pam graciously hosted the PLC Board meeting at their Fortuna, Calif., home.

Tours

During the Summer Meeting, Murphy arranged for a guided tour of the former Pacific Lumber Company sawmill in Scotia, Calif., now owned and operated by Humboldt Redwood Company. Murphy’s father and grandfather both served as presidents of Pacific Lumber, which was established by Murphy’s great, great grandfather Simon Jones Murphy, a lumberman originally from Maine.

With a sawmill and planer workforce of more than 170 people, the majority of lumber produced is sold to Home Depot. The mill can process logs up to 60 inches on the large side and up to 13 inches on the small side. The mill produces mainly redwood lumber but also some Douglas fir lumber.

PLC Summer Meeting attendees were also treated to a guided woods tour of Murphy’s active logging sites. Participants watched a 322C Caterpillar log loader and 518C Caterpillar skidder working at one site. Log loader operator Casey Wood is a 12-year employee of Humboldt Bay Forest Products. Murphy and his crews are logging on land owned by the McAdams family, with whom they’ve had a 25-year working relationship.

November Meeting

The theme of the 103rd Annual PLC is “Working Together for the Future,” and it will take place November 8–10, 2012, at the Loews Ventana Canyon Resort in Tucson. There will be three technical sessions on industry machinery topics during the convention at the Caterpillar Center in Green Valley, Ariz. One session will be Tier IV and Technology, another session is Equipment Fleet Management, and the final session will be Jobsite Safety.

After the technical sessions, Caterpillar will demonstrate the large equipment (used for mining) and PLC attendees will get an opportunity to actually operate the big equipment. The day will end with a tour of the nearby Freeport McMoran Sierrita Copper Mine.

For more information, visit www.pacificloggingcongress.org.