An Arkansas sawmill manages fresh timber with DEVELON log loaders, wheel loaders and attachments. Anthony Timberlands employees David Whitson and David Bird explain why the equipment is critical to the company’s success.
It’s a hot, humid summer day. Another truck arrives at the Anthony Timberlands facility in Bearden, Arkansas. Equipment operators await the arrival of a fresh load of logs. Each log delivery starts a series of coordinated efforts — from stacking to sorting, then lifting and loading at the sawmill.
The Bearden location is the company’s main facility and headquarters for the regional sawmill. Located about 80 miles south of the state’s capital, the Bearden facility processes as many as 200 loads of logs each day. During peak times of the year, trucks delivering logs can get backed up as far as the nearby highway running through the small town.
In business for more than 100 years, the fifth-generation, family-owned company regularly evaluates its equipment and available technologies. Employees David Bird and David Whitson work in the company’s technical services department. Both are responsible for managing the fleet of heavy equipment at the firm’s sawmills.
“We have two pine sawmills, three hardwood mills, a flooring plant, a beam plant, which is a mat plant, and a treating plant,” says David Bird, vice president of technical services.
Long Days
First-shift employees start working in Bearden as early as 6 a.m. They use a combination of log loaders and wheel loaders to stack and carry the logs. Working two shifts, the equipment racks up significant hours of use.
“We typically put 4,000 hours a year on some of our log loaders, and 8,000 hours on our wheel loaders,” Bird says. “Most of the raw material comes out of south Arkansas, some from the United States Forest Service.”
The company pairs its DEVELON DX380LL-5 log loader with a log grapple and heel. Operators unload trucks with the machine; picking up, sorting and stacking bunches of logs. Once on-site, the logs are high-stacked with the DX380LL-5 due to the machine’s long reachability.
When the logs are ready to be processed, a pair of DEVELON DL550-5 wheel loaders and grapples lift, carry and load the logs. The wheel loader feeds the logs into the merchandiser, which gets them into the sawmill for production.
“The mill will consume 120 to 135 loads a day,” Bird says. “The rest will be high-stacked and watered. We average about 700,000 to 750,000 board feet a day. We cut dimension lumber: 2 by 12s, 10s, 8s, 6s, and 4s. And we cut specialty decking, which we call patio. We also cut timbers: 6 by 6, 4 by 6 and 4 by 4. We cut the material raw. We dry it, finish it in the planer mill and ship it out.”
New to DEVELON
Before 2018, Anthony Timberlands operated other brands of heavy equipment at its timber processing centers. David Whitson says part of his job is to evaluate the company’s equipment needs and stay up to date on what’s available.
“Being in the equipment business, we’re always looking at new equipment,” Whitson says. “We had seen the DEVELON machines around our area and were interested in them.”
In less than four years, the company purchased 10 DEVELON machines from Equipment Incorporated: six log loaders and four wheel loaders. The machines are scattered across the company’s sawmills in Arkansas and are vital to its day-to-day operations.
“Looking at the DEVELON equipment, it is well built,” Whitson says. “They’re durable machines. They’re comfortable. They’re equivalent to any of the top-tier equipment makers. It’s been a good investment for us.”
Equipment Incorporated provides service and parts to the Anthony Timberlands sawmills from its Texarkana, Texas, store. Although Anthony Timberlands was unfamiliar with the dealership and the DEVELON brand before purchasing its first log loader, the relationship has grown strong in just a few years.
“It’s a great relationship,” Whitson says. “I think Equipment Incorporated salesman Cody Lockeby and I probably talk nearly every day at some point, if not multiple times a day.”
Tracking With Telematics
One of the advantages of today’s DEVELON equipment is that it comes standard with MY DEVELON fleet management. Whitson can access the system on his smartphone or computer to retrieve a wealth of information about the DEVELON log loaders and wheel loaders. The telematics system is helpful for ongoing service and maintenance needs.
“We use the DEVELON telematics system, and it’s been a great tool to have,” he says. “We know immediately if there’s a problem somewhere. We know if the machine is out of fuel or if it’s working or not. It is one of the most valuable tools we have.”
Although problems rarely occur, when they do, Whitson is better prepared to respond because of the telematics system. Using the MY DEVELON app on his phone, he can see what the issue is and respond quickly.
“I can call one of the maintenance superintendents and tell them what’s going on with the equipment,” he says. “Sometimes I’ll know about a machine fault code before the operator can get to our maintenance shop and tell them he’s having an issue with the machine. There are times when I’ll call the shop mechanics and tell them they’ve got a machine fault code, and the machine won’t even be in the shop yet. It’s one of the best tools to manage your fleet and to keep it working.”
Learn more about DEVELON log loaders and wheel loaders.
Looking at the DEVELON equipment, it is well built. They’re durable machines. They’re comfortable. They’re equivalent to any of the top-tier equipment makers. It’s been a good investment for us.