Page 14 - Georgia Forestry - Summer 2017

Logger - Sanders Logging Company
Harry Sanders
Cochran, GA
Georgia’s nearly 1,000 logging contractors serve as the connective
tissue between the land and the mill. In most cases, logging companies are family owned and operated businesses. It is not often described as an easy job, so the people employed in this sector are highly passion- ate about their work. That couldn’t be truer for Harry Sanders of Sanders Logging Company in Cochran.
“I grew up living a normal life in a small town on a farm,” Sanders said. “My daddy logged, so I fell in love with it. I wanted to be just like him and work right by his side. We never had any hobbies, so we logged together.”
Sanders Logging currently has 20 employees, including Harry and his father. The company usually runs three crews every day, delivering an average of 160 loads per week to mills in the surrounding areas. Sanders graduated from the University of Georgia’s Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources in 2014,
and immediately went back home to work in the family business. Working alongside his father, he has been able to learn a lot about the various aspects of the business.
“I’m very blessed to be in this position, working side- by-side with my dad,” Sanders said. “I think he has gained the trust of a lot of people over the years by being honest and fair, which is key to our success.”
With harvesting and trans- port being the most visual aspects of the forestry supply chain, Sanders notes that pre- sentation is key to building a reputation in the community.
“We try to do the right thing, and I think if you’ve got something ragged running down the road, it doesn’t help your image,” Harry said. “All of our trucks are painted the same color, and everyone has a uniform. Our name and contact information are posi- tioned prominently so that we can put a stop to reckless driving or behavior if needed.”
Sanders noted that one big challenge for the logging sector will be young people entering the workforce.
“I’d like to get involved in the local school system and set up a program where
a few farms might come together to hire somebody young to learn from the ground up.”
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“It is so hard to get started as a logger, and I often wonder how I’d do it if I wasn’t coming up under my dad,” Sanders said. “It’s like the younger generation doesn’t want to log, and that’s something I
want to change. I’d like to get involved in the local school system and set up a program where a few farms might come together to hire some- body young to learn from the ground up.”