Page 10 - Tree Line - North Carolina Forestry Association - Third Quarter 2024

Pittsboro 2016
Pittsboro 2022
An aerial view of the Hunt Forest Resources Pittsboro woodyard in 2016 and in 2022, showing growth
Hunt Forest Products, an entity that was born as part of the woodyard division, was launched to provide smaller logging companies, clearing and grading entities, site development groups, and residential tree services the opportunity to sell their log and pulpwood products within a much closer proximity compared to other markets. Many smaller logging companies or clearing contractors typically do not have the trucking capabilities or the market share to provide products to end users. By providing shorter distances
for these entities to be able to offload
and sell their logs and pulpwood, Hunt Forest Products would gain additional raw material capacity within the industry and save on potential high-yield waste scenarios, such as grinding or burning all the cleared materials. As end-user markets fluctuated with demand, Hunt Forest Products’ woodyards would allow for a more consistent open market and a quick supply facility when a market has a spike in demand that would potentially not be met by in-woods suppliers. The addition of this entity soon proved to be a viable move for the company.
In the same year, Hunt and Hoyle quickly took advantage of an opportunity to move their operations to Chatham County to nurture the growth of Hunt Forest Products. The entity would soon have a presence in Youngsville, Holly Springs, Spring Hope, and Pittsboro.
In 2013, Hoyle launched another new division: Hunt Trucking.
“We saw a need to move our wood and create a more efficient process,” said Hoyle. “We started with one truck, and then two, and we had up to 10 trucks at one point. Today, we have three tagged
The NCFA team visits the Hunt Forest Resources woodyard in Sanford, NC.
trucks and two drivers. One is dedicated to the sawmill and one to the Youngsville woodyard. Through trial and error, we realized that a contract model is a more economically sound approach to reach our business objectives.”
Growth Led
by Sustainability
The goal was always to grow the business, but not without strategy, purpose, and sustainability at the core of every decision. It was always important to diversify the business, but also create synergy for growth and development. When you
have diversity and synergy in growing a business, you create an opportunity to hire more people to be a part of your team.
Hoyle and Hunt put their heads together to try to find a way to bolster their sustainability efforts by utilizing their existing materials to increase the value of their output, offering the industry a valued product. Then they thought, how can the company utilize the leftover wood chunks
that were produced by its woodyards?
A market for woodchips doesn’t always exist, so woodchips wouldn’t be a viable option. But they soon figured out a more innovative way to recover their leftover wood slabs.
“[We] wanted to be synergistic and create a new market,” said Hoyle. “We thought, how can we have synergy between our companies and formulate a plan with one of our existing entities to utilize new product outputs?”
The two would soon buy a processor and a small kiln and learn how to package everything together. They brought a broker into the equation to strategically enter a new product market. East Coast Firewood, a line of premium firewood products, was born in 2016.
In 2020, Hunt Real Estate Resources was added to the mix to assist landowners with timberland acquisitions, forestry- related consultations and timberland sales.
Fast-forward to 2022 and everything is operating smoothly, but the current economic conditions encouraged a
8 ncforestry.org / THIRD QUARTER 2024