Walk Before You Run

Hal and Ben Wood Return To Their Roots

4:30 MIN READ

Logging is more than a livelihood. It's a way of life. Skills and values are passed down from one generation to the next. Families forge strong bonds built on trust, resilience, and mutual respect. Legacies are created and carried on.

Wood and Wood (W&W) Timber represents five generations of loggers. Brothers Hal and Ben Wood grew up around logging and had dreams of continuing the family legacy. In 1990, their father died when they were young. "Our mother didn't want us to log, but it is all we ever wanted to do," says Hal, who co-owns the company with Ben.

Without a father to guide them, their path would become the road less traveled. Unlike many other generational loggers who use machines that were passed down to them, the two had to start from scratch. "We started with two junky trucks," says Hal. "You have to crawl before you walk and walk before you run."

After high school, Hal and Ben began trucking, hauling logs for local companies. Yearning to return to their roots, they established their own logging company in 2002.

"Probably the hardest thing for me in life, now that we've gotten here, is wondering what Dad would think," adds Ben.

Their father would no doubt be proud. Today, the two run a successful logging operation with three crews and over a dozen John Deere forestry machines, including L-II Skidders and Feller Bunchers as well as 437D and 437E Knuckleboom Loaders.

"The business has grown quite a bit," says Hal. "We buy our own timber and have a trucking operation. But we don't get to do much of what we love, which is running the equipment."

Do The Right Thing

W&W Timber started with a single crew hauling five or six loads a day. With another operator, Hal and Ben ran a Timberjack 330 Knuckleboom Loader, a feller buncher with a shear head, and a grapple skidder.

The first few years were pretty tough. Hal and Ben worked long hours, battling equipment breakdowns while trying to keep up with mill quotas. "At one point, it went back to being just Hal and me," recalls Ben. "Cutting, skidding, loading, and then hauling in the evening. It wasn't easy, but failure was not an option."

There was never a moment when they even considered doing something else. "We're not quitters," adds Hal succinctly.

What would be the secret of their eventual success? "Do what you say you're going to," says Hal. "Do the right thing, and you'll go far. And even when times are tough, it always works out."

"When you set your mind to something, you can do anything," adds Ben.

High Volume Is Key

Another secret to their success is maximizing productivity. Today, the company produces an average of 175 to 300 loads a week for various land-management groups. "We've got to roll and turn high volume," says Hal. "There's no future in small production."

The company's big break came in 2012 when it had the opportunity to cut wood for Georgia-Pacific. After a big snow, mill quotas were lifted, and everything went full-throttle. "We went from six to eight loads to 20-some loads a day," Ben recalls.

Ben formed a new company crew for Georgia-Pacific, complete with all-new John Deere equipment. "We financed everything through John Deere for 48 months," says Ben. "We have ever since, and it's worked great. For four years, we excelled and really grew. At the end of those four years, we had a total of four crews: two crews for cutting private land and two company crews for Georgia-Pacific."

Brother's Keeper

Three-quarters of the company's fleet consists of John Deere equipment. The machines' excellent productivity and legendary reliability, as well as low financing rates from John Deere Financial, are what initially attracted W&W Timber to Deere. "I've always liked Deere machines," says Ben. "I'm a John Deere man."

But what kept the brothers coming back was the excellent service and support they received from their local dealer. "We simply can't afford downtime," says Hal. "In my opinion, Deere has the best service network on the market. You'll find no better people to deal with."

"If we can't keep things running, we're not going to make it," adds Ben. "Our dealer is local, but John Deere's reach is worldwide. Getting parts has never been an issue."

The brothers have known Sales Representative Drew Bentley since they were small boys. "He's been good to us," says Ben. "In hard times, he was there when we needed him. He stuck by us. We stuck with him."

Band Of Brothers

They've also stuck by their employees. Many have worked with the company for over 20 years. That says a lot about how they regard their employees. "We need them as much as they need us," says Ben.

"If you treat people the way you want to be treated, they stay," explains Hal. But finding new operators has proven difficult, he adds: "If you don't raise them, they're few and far between."

Fortunately, the company can count on the next generation to carry on its legacy. The brothers' sons work for the family business: Hal's son Jay is a foreman, and Ben's sons Tyler and Brandon are operators.

The fathers have instilled strong values in their sons: hard work, dedication, and determination. "My uncle and Dad lead by example and have us on the right path," says Jay. "They've taught us leadership and created a positive culture here. I wouldn't want to work anywhere else."

Tyler observes that he, Jay, and Brandon are always on the same page: "We don't do a whole lot of fussing and fighting. We get together and make things work. "The hope is that one day Hal and Ben will walk off into the sunset while their three boys take the reins. Playing on a famous quote from General Douglas MacArthur, Ben quips, "Old loggers don't retire, they just fade away."

What does the future hold for this band of brothers? "If only we all had a crystal ball," says Hal. "As loggers, we wake up to a different world every day. We never know what will happen. We take it one day at a time."

But that's what Hal loves most about logging: "Getting up, going to work, and seeing what's going to happen that morning."

"Every morning, we hit the ground running and do whatever it takes," adds Ben. "I'm so grateful we all get to work together."

W&W Timber is serviced by Warrior Tractor and Equipment, Oxford, Alabama.

A John Deere 437E Knuckleboom Loader places a log into a cutting head positioned on the ground.
A John Deere 748L-II Skidder places logs into place for a John Deere 437E to grab and cut to length.
A John Deere 748L-II Skidder sits in position with an open grapple, as a Knuckle Boom Loader moves into place.