Machinery Row

Waratah Expands in the West 
To better support dealers and loggers in the Pacific Northwest, Waratah Forestry Attachments has expanded into a new, larger facility in Kelso, Wash. The new location is fully equipped for complete carrier modifications and attachment installations. New or used excavators and loaders can be converted into cut-to-length harvesters, mobile processors for merchandising under a yarder or at the landing, or fellerbunchers. The sales and technical support staff are readily available for product information and service and are backed by an extensive parts inventory. Further support is provided through on-site technical training programs.

New General Manager of North American Sales for Kobelco 
Greg Ballweg has been promoted to General Manager of North American Sales for Kobelco. He will be responsible for managing all excavator sales efforts in North America, including compact excavators and national account sales. Prior to his promotion, Greg served as Eastern Regional Sales Manager.

Robert Bosworth Honored 
Robert W. Bosworth of Bonners Ferry, Idaho, was recognized by the Society of American Foresters (SAF) with the John A. Beal Memorial Award for his service to his professional society. Bosworth has given more than 25 years of voluntary service to the SAF at both grassroots and national levels. He has held numerous chairs and organized SAF activities, including local field trips to the national conventions. After a 38-year career in the USDA Forest Service, Robert retired in 1997 as fire/silviculture assistant and district silviculturist on the Idaho Panhandle National Forest.

New faces in the Forest Service 
U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth announced further changes to top agency posts: Brad Powell as regional forester of the Northern Region; Bov Eav as associate deputy chief for Research and Development; Michael Rains as director of the Northeastern Research Station; and Randy Phillips as executive director of the Forest Counties Payments Advisory Committee. Powell, currently serving as regional forester of the agency's Pacific Southwest Region (Vallejo, California), will move to Missoula, Montana to head up the Northern Region-filling the position vacated by Dale Bosworth.

Akers New AF & PA VP 
Donna Akers Harman, an 11-year veteran of Champion International's Washington office, has been named Vice President for Congressoinal Relations of the American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA). As a senior lobbyist for Champion, Harman helped achieve major reform of the Corporate Alternative Minimum Tax, and held leadership positions in numerous trade associations and legislative coalitions. "We are delighted that Ms. Harman has chosen to join us," said W. Henson Moore, AF&PA President and CEO. "Her strong government affairs experience, combined with in-depth knowledge of corporate tax law and other issues of concern to our members, will be an enormous asset to the association."

Stihl Calls for Nominations 
STIHL Inc. has announced that nominations for the company's esteemed National Forestry Heroism Award are now being accepted. Five years ago, STIHL created the National Forestry Heroism Award, giving special recognition to anyone who works with, in, or devotes a significant portion of his or her time to the forestry industry. Nominations are open to firefighters, loggers, forest and park rangers, botanists, scientists and other individuals employed in the care and maintenance of our nation's forests. A panel of independent judges in the industry selects the winner based on such criteria as the impact of the candidate's action for the good of society, the impact of the candidate's action for the good of the forestry industry, and how memorable the candidate's action was. Applications can be downloaded from STIHL's Web site,  www.stihlusa.com, or can be requested by calling 1-800-GO STIHL.

Caster New VP For Volvo 
Thomas Caster has been appointed Vice President & Business Line Manager, Wheel Loaders, for Volvo Construction Equipment North America, Inc. The announcement of Caster's appointment was made by J. P. Roszell, President and Chief Executive Officer of Volvo Construction Equipment, North America, and is effective immediately. Caster will be responsible for Volvo wheel loader marketing activities in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

Hildebrandt Returns 
Mike Hildebrandt has rejoined the management team at Pierce Pacific out of Tigard, Ore., to serve at President and Chief Operating officer. Mike has owned Pierce since 1982 and for the past nine years has been involved in directing other business interests. Jerry Clausen, who has been serving as General Manager for Pierce, will be retiring. "I want to extend a public thank you to Jerry Clausen," says Hildebrandt. "He has been a vital part of the success of the company serving as General Manager; we salute his contributions and wish him all the best in his retirement."

This service is temporarily unavailable