Page 15 - Tree Line - North Carolina Forestry Association - Third Quarter 2021

Peeling Bark for Poplar Siding — a Unique Forest Product
BY AMANDA MURPHY, DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS, NCFA
Jill Bite, the NCFA’s business manager, and I had the opportunity to take a drive about 90 miles north of the office in June to visit Ontario Hardwood Co., Inc. We both sat
down for an interview with Joel Cathey, Forester, at the company’s office in Keysville, VA.
I originally contacted Cathey about Ontario’s niche business peeling poplar bark to sell for siding, and Jill and I both got to take turns peeling bark. We learned the process within minutes,
but we were working in the bright Virginia sunshine with more than 50% humidity that day. It was definitely hard, satisfying work. We slid handmade tools, which came from old automotive parts, between the bark and the tree. The bark peels off the tree similar to peeling a banana. It falls off in sheets and must be flattened and put on
drying slicks 48 hours after peeling.
In interviewing Cathey, we also learned a lot
about Ontario’s history and about his own career. Cathey went to work for Ontario in 2000 after
his previous career at a pulp and paper company. He is semi-retired now and enjoying his grandkids more. Cathey has been involved with the Virginia Forestry Association (VFA) for a long time and is a past President of the organization (2008).
Ontario purchases sawlogs for its sawmill from both Virginia and North Carolina, with about 30% of the materials coming from North Carolina. The company joined the NCFA in 2002 because the association advocates for its interests with the North Carolina legislature, and Ontario’s team enjoys the ability to network with others in the forestry industry.
Joel Cathey, Forester