Escanaba – For Steve Anderson, updating logging equipment every few years keeps his business profitable. He took advantage of the Lake States Logging Congress and Equipment Expo in Escanaba to compare the different harvesters now on the market.

“They are all kind of similar. I kind of explain it as a Ford, Chevy, Dodge thing. It’s all personal preference between the three major players at the Congress which I feel are Ponsse, Deere and Komatsu. It was curiosity I guess to see if something else is better,” Anderson said.

He ended up purchasing a John Deere 1270E Harvester. It’s a different brand from his current harvester.

“It’s got nice reach. It’s really stable, strong boom and I’m hoping it will be a productive machine,” he said.

“I’m pretty familiar with running them. It’s all the same concept. The buttons might be in a few different places. It will take a little bit to get used to the new positions of buttons and the timing of everything but it’s basically the same concepts so I’m not too afraid of learning anyway.”

In this industry, Anderson said, the machines have to keep running,. Down time is the enemy, he said. He likes to update his equipment every few years to keep his equipment in good working order and keep productivity up.

Working with Anderson on his new purchase at the Logging Congress was Brian DeBernardi, territory manager at NorTrax in Escanaba.

“What Deere brings to the table is uptime productivity and product support,” DeBernardi said. “Keeping the guys running is the key. Everybody has good equipment out here so as a dealership we have to deal with supporting our equipment which I think NorTrax does a very good job doing.”

Uptime and productivity is important to Anderson.

“I’m looking for uptime. Just to be profitable in this industry is hard because of fuel prices and the cost of equipment. I’m just looking to provide a good living for myself and my family.”

Thousands of timber professionals attended the Lake States Logging Congress in Escanaba Sept. 6-7. The Great Lakes Timber Professionals Association alternates the convention each year between Michigan and Wisconsin.