While on a trip to Washington state, between the lush scenery and beams of sunlight you may spot a crew of loggers processing and stacking logs in one of many state forests. That crew may belong to Hiett Logging, Inc.
Logging Challenges
Founded by Roy Hiett in 1953, Hiett Logging is a third-generation timber company. The company began in Washington, where it continues to harvest trees. The company specializes in clear-cut logging, road maintenance, removing hazardous trees for homeowners and new home site prep work.
Roy Hiett eventually passed the business down to his son, Jeff, who now assists his own son, Shane, with the business. “I’ve been in the business for my whole life,” Jeff says.
Hiett Logging is based in Skagit County, approximately 100 miles north of Seattle. Most days, the team harvests trees at a designated tract or clear-cut area. The company produces sawlogs, which are transported by truck to a pulp mill for processing, and logs that are made into telephone poles.
As a small, family-owned business, Hiett Logging prioritizes customer satisfaction. Often, when picking up jobs, the team is dealing directly with the landowners who hire them.
“We want to make sure that the people we work for are happy with the quality of work we do,” Shane says. “We do what we can within our limits to make that happen.”
Over the past couple of years, Hiett says, the forestry industry in the Northwest has been unpredictable. With only two major sawmills in his area, it can be challenging to find work. When preparing for winter, many landowners don’t contract for erosion control or road maintenance.
“A job that we completed last fall was something that is a little further away than our usual area, but we didn’t have much else to go to,” Shane says.
That job was located at Stossel Creek in Duvall, Washington, about 30 miles from Seattle. The specific site was located two miles into the forest, over gravel roads. Owned by the government, it’s billed as a “forest for the future” — used for recreation and logging.
Stossel Creek is a total of 154 acres and features walking and biking trails. The patch of land that Hiett Logging employees worked on was roughly 10 acres. Their log loaders worked on an incline, with harvested logs landing near the bottom to be collected.
For this project, the typical workday for the Hiett Logging employees began early in the morning, with their DEVELON log loaders processing and stacking logs well before 8 a.m. Throughout the day, trucks rolled in to haul away the logs for finishing at the processing facility. You could find Shane Hiett assisting wherever he was needed, whether that was helping to secure the harvested logs on the trucks or showing a new hire around the site.
With this project, Shane acknowledged that he and his team would not be the last people working in this field once they finished the project. Washington has some of the strictest forestry laws in the country. A harvested area of a forest must be replanted within three years.
“Someone will come by and replant, allowing for the growth to continue,” Shane says.
DEVELON Enters the Picture
Hiett Logging is no stranger to DEVELON equipment. In 2013, the company purchased a DX300LL log loader from Cascade Trader in Chehalis, Washington. Hiett Logging employees mounted a processing head to the log loader, and the machine became their No. 1 processor.
A durable and dependable machine, the DX300LL log loader is well suited for all-day forestry work. It features a fully guarded, heavy-duty undercarriage and upper structure designed specifically for forestry applications. A raised cab provides enhanced visibility of the area, and a standard rearview camera enables operators to check what’s behind them while they’re working.
“We were in the market for something new and we wanted something that was capable of doing the job,” Shane says. “We figured it was the most bang for our buck.”
“DEVELON has been really good for us,” Jeff adds.
Extended maintenance intervals and easy access to service points increase machine uptime and productivity for the log loader. Examples include centralized grease points, wide side-access doors for cleaning the cooling system, boom pivot bushings with greasing intervals, and a large-capacity engine air precleaner that removes more than 99% of airborne particles and extends filter cartridge service life.
Hiett Logging also owns a DX225LL log loader, mostly used to move and stack the logs. The operators enjoy the comfortable cab with ample foot space and good visibility. Combining the log loader grapple and live heel, operators can efficiently lift, move and stack logs, as well as load them onto trucks.
Shane estimates that both of their DEVELON log loaders have more than 12,000 hours on them.
“We’ve had a few issues here and there, but compared to some of the other brands of equipment we’ve had and used, we’ve had really good luck with these,” Shane says.
On an occasion when one of their DEVELON machines needed a part replaced, Hiett Logging’s dealer was there to support the business. Their primary contact at the dealership is Shannon Pesicka.
“Our salesman will come at the drop of a hat if we need something,” Shane says. “And we’re a three-hour drive from the dealership.”
A Family Affair
Despite the challenges that the logging industry faces, Shane knew from a young age that he wanted to one day take over the family business. Growing up, he assisted on projects after school and on weekends.
“I officially started when I was 18,” Shane says. “Sometimes, I run one crew while my dad runs the other. Sometimes I turn wrenches. I do whatever needs to be done to keep things flowing in the right direction.”
Shane and his wife welcomed a baby boy in 2021. And while he said that he won’t push his son into the family business, his son is sure to grow up around logs. With a strong crew and dependable machines, Shane is confident that the family business will continue to grow for years to come.
“The team wants to do a good quality job. We enjoy what we do,” Shane says.
We want to make sure that the people we work for are happy with the quality of work we do."