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Melcher Logging Company of Sweet Home, Oregon, has thrived for the past 55 years by relying on its uncanny ability to anticipate trends and — most recently — an exploration of "cut-to-length," or CTL logging to keep profitability part of the equation.
Scott Melcher, along with his brother Robbie, dad Mike, and longtime business partner Jim Cota, must have a crystal ball stashed away somewhere. Their operation has been successfully anticipating logging's latest trends for more than half a century. These days, Scott and company have been relying on forward-thinking uses for CTL techniques.
"We've been doing cut-to-length for 18 to 19 years. It allows me to see not only the challenges that taking on a certain project might entail, but also how CTL can make it work," Scott offers. "I have some perspective on how this system will operate versus conventional systems, and this gives me an advantage."
For example, Scott recently encountered a salvaging project made up mostly of deadwood from a wildfire seven years earlier. "Fifty percent of the trees were on the ground and the other 50 percent were standing, but 95 percent of the trees died during the fire or within a year or two afterwards," recalls Scott. "What we had at the site was a buildup of woody biomass on the ground—we were asked to see if we could clean up some of the area," he said. "We took the job and were able to sell a majority of the wood to both the chip and the firewood markets."
Approximately 15 percent of the trees were unusable, but it was up to Scott to make the call if there were viable alternative markets for the wood to offset the costs associated with restoring the area.
"Most people who looked at the job said, ‘It can't be done profitably,'" said Melcher. "Being in cut-to-length lets me be more of an optimist because without the capability of a dangle head processor, the job would be kind of tough—you'd need more equipment, people and on-the-ground management if you were relying on conventional logging methods. Our CTL experience allows me to look at the size of the trees and see the value in things other people can't. Cut-to-length allows us to be more productive.
"Another benefit of using cut-to-length versus conventional equipment in these thinning operations is that the government considers CTL low-impact—that's something they look for when awarding contracts."
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A good deal of the Melchers' current workload consists of thinning for land management and fire reduction, calling for a reliance on a John Deere 1410D Forwarder to make the work easier and more efficient. Scott shares, "It's almost as mobile as our harvester (a John Deere 1270D with a 762C Dangle-Head Processor) for handling small-diameter stems—it seems to be the best way to get around when dealing with 14 to 15 foot (between four and four-and-a-half meters) spacing between trees." Scott continues, "Without the right machinery, we wouldn't be as productive, but without our seasoned operators, the job wouldn't get done—there's a lot of valuable experience in those cabs," speaking of Kelly Lee, Robbie Melcher, Larry Hutchins, and Grant Martin.
One of Melcher Logging's 2009 summer projects was on a privately owned, 5,000-acre tract in Toledo, Oregon. This job showcased the capabilities of the John Deere 1410D in tightly packed stands, with many located on steep ground to keep things interesting. The goal on this job was to thin out Douglas fir to give the native species a better chance, which was accomplished to the tune of close to five loads of wood per day, or 12,000 board feet of saw logs and 40 to 50 tons of chip wood.
While timber production is certainly one of the long-term objectives of the Toledo project, other goals include recreation, education, and animal habitat among the native tree species, including western hemlock, cherry, and red alder.
Diversification has been key to Melcher Logging's success since its inception. Nick Melcher, who founded the company in 1954, was one of the first to realize a need for relogging, and he soon began salvaging smaller trees from areas within a 40-mile (64 kilometer) radius of Sweet Home. Mike Melcher, Nick's son, came onboard full time in 1961 in the twilight of the relogging era. In 1970, as relogging was winding down, Mike recognized the opportunities that awaited intent loggers on steep ground, delving into intensive cable logging. In 1989, the same year Scott began working full-time, Mike began to utilize CTL, a technique that continues to strengthen and diversify the business today.
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