Logging expo in Green Bay draws industry from across the region

ASHWAUBENON, Wis. — The Great Lakes Logging and Heavy Equipment Expo opened Thursday at the Resch Expo, drawing loggers and equipment dealers from across the region.

The event runs Thursday and Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The $20 admission is good for entry on both days. Kids under 18 get in free.

Logging is the second-largest industry in Wisconsin, employing about 56,000 people, according to Sparky Enstrom of Crosstrac Equipment, a dealer and board member of the Great Lakes Timber Professionals Association. Enstrom said that number grows to nearly 100,000 total employees when northern Michigan is included.

Wisconsin is the number one producer of paper and wood manufacturing in the country, according to the Wisconsin County Forests Association.

Forest management and industry growth

Henry Schienbeck, executive director of the Great Lakes Timber Professionals Association, said the industry supports a healthy forest. He said the industry is currently growing 2.2 times more wood than it is harvesting.

“The only way to have a healthy forest is to have forest management and have a forest industry to absorb the wood,” Schienbeck said.

Schienbeck said loggers are trained in best management practices for water quality, endangered species, invasive species and areas of high conservation value.

“They know where to go, where not to go, because we’re very concerned about the environment,” Schienbeck said. “And they’re excellent conservationists. That’s what we’re out there for. We want the forest to be better than when we found it.”

From forest to paper products

Schienbeck said different species of wood are used for different products, including engineered wood panels, lumber and paper.

He said smaller diameter wood is typically taken to the mill, where it is debarked and turned into a slurry that becomes pulp. That process produces writing paper, tissue paper, toilet paper and food wrappers, among other paper products.

Schienbeck also pointed to recycling and environmental benefits tied to the industry.

“I’m using a biodegradable, reusable product here because we have a lot of recycling of paper products,” Schienbeck said. “I don’t know if there’s another resource out there that provides the social, ecological and economic impact.”

Equipment changes over decades

Enstrom said equipment used in logging has changed significantly since he entered the industry in high school more than 50 years ago.

“At that time we were cutting with chainsaws,” Enstrom said. “And now we’ve went into machines that are fully mechanized where you cut the tree down, lay on the ground to limit and load it onto the forwarders for hauling to the landing.”

Battery-powered equipment on display

Andy Aska, solutions manager for Liugong North America, discussed a battery-powered wheel loader on display at the expo. Aska said the machine weighs 4,000 pounds and is fully electric, with no diesel engine.

Aska said the machine gets 8 to 12 hours of run time in a normal application.

“It’s really changed the cost of the equipment and the operation for operators who are looking at overall cost of machinery and running during an operation,” Aska said. “You no longer have the diesel costs. Their electric cost is usually considerably cheaper per the hour than the diesel cost is.”

Aska said the machine can be used for picking and loading materials such as aggregates, rocks, sand and gravel, or fitted with forks to pick up trees and logs.