8 The Mainline News, Events, Reminders product lines in panels, veneers, boards, and byproducts—necessary as a key to the future to keep their log supply-chain profitable for contractors, as well as Swanson. Jim talked of the importance of relationships and trust in our industry. He shared his early-career story of his timber company employer partnering with a logger in Northern California to purchase a timber sale. He illustrated how he fought beyond the dollars to stay true to his word with commitments made to contractors. To represent how trust can endure, Jim showed the audience his coat given to him decades ago by Ft. Bragg’s Anderson Logging. It was heartening to hear that agreements and commitments remain important in our industry—to all of us. But, all of us must work hard to find new solutions, new agreements, during these times of change in the forest industry. Partnerships and relationships remain important, and have the best payoffs when lasting for years between purchaser and contract supplier. How exports fit our future was the topic covered by John McDougal, general manager of Northwest Forest Link. The Port of Longview, Washington-based Northwest Forest Link provides access to overseas markets for log and timber products. John explained several of the products and recent challenges in the always-changing export timber product business. Forest Link purchases logs from We heard from Sierra Pacific Industries (SPI), Bill Turner, who is their procurement manager for Oregon and Washington. Bill reviewed SPI’s history, from the Red Emerson family’s humble 1949 beginnings with a rented California sawmill, growing the company beyond its 2021 acquisition of Oregon’s family-owned Seneca Sawmill firm. His perspective is from a large integrated 3-state firm with fee or market timber, nearly 20 manufacturing plants, secondary production, and distribution. Bill provided honest commentary about how SPI continuously invests in mills, secondary products, people, transportation, tree farms, lobbying, and marketing forest product value. SPI improvements provide greater contract opportunities for its regional contractor pool. Sierra Pacific invests heavily in Oregon with plans to continue strengthening the forest sector viability. Mill, tree farm, and timber purchasing investments and innovations, support a better contracting future. A good perspective was shared by Swanson Group’s Jim Dudley, Vice President of timber resources for the Roseburg-based plywood and lumber manufacturer. His perspective is from an Oregon-centered plywood and lumber manufacturer who relies on market timber and outside distribution channels. Jim described the Swanson Group’s outlook and investment in the future of timber products in Oregon. He highlighted their constantly-changing The Convention general session included a panel that addressed ongoing change that’s reshaping our forest industry and contracting capacity. Three speakers talked about the supply chain must work together to keep Oregon’s forest sector a North American leader in forestry production and products. Rex Storm began by framing how profound changes in forest contracting across the U.S. have weakened the logging and harvest contract sector, citing the ‘Timber Harvesting 2024 Logger Survey.’ Forest industry leaders across America recognize the difficulties facing contractors—and have acknowledged that industry improvements must be made to build a better competitive future industrywide. Four industry organizations have agreed to a one-page initiative to begin work on big-picture industry improvements. American Loggers Council, Forest Resource Association, National Alliance of Forest Owners, and American Wood Council created the agreement, ‘Shared Principles for Strengthening Logging and Hauling Capacity’ (https:// forestresources.org/wp-content/ uploads/2024/11/Logging-and-HaulingPrinciples_2024.pdf) The panel proceeded with three presentations about what different Oregon timber purchasers are implementing to invest in a profitable future for their company, as well as for contract suppliers. Strengthening Oregon’s Forest Industry Panel at Convention ›By Rex Storm, Executive VP, and Dave Boyd, Insurance Manager
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