2011 Expo Was Very Good, 2013 Version Will Be Better

How do you improve a live logging and biomass expo that was hailed as a standout event with its inaugural rollout in the fall of 2011?

For one thing, you keep it near Selma/Smithfield, NC, which is easy to get to, is central to much of the region’s timber and biomass activities, and where community support is tops. It’s where the highly reputable and cooperative logging equipment dealer Bullock Brothers Equipment is headquartered.

You also return to the same timber tract, thanks to owner Allen Wellons, who, along with his professional forestry advisor, Mike Perry of Forestry Services, Inc., openly demonstrated generosity, cooperation and understanding.

The setting for the 2013 expo will be aesthetically unique, given the central location of an abandoned farm house and pond. More importantly, the exhibit area will be more compact but still roomy, with all exhibitors getting walking trail exposure. Registration will be more streamlined and there will also be additional food vendors.

To help attract even more forestry professionals to the event, on-site training and education opportunities will be offered to loggers and foresters for the first time.

Along with an improving economy overall, the demand for packaging and wood products has positively impacted log and fiber demand in the last several months. As well, new and expanded wood fiber and log markets have ballooned and others are in the works, particularly in the Mid-Atlantic region. This has already resulted in expanded logging capacity in northeastern North Carolina and southeastern Virginia, and more logging capacity will be needed to meet mill demands.

All this indicates that an even better Mid-Atlantic Logging & Biomass Expo is all but assured. Show sponsors anticipate that a record number of exhibitors and visitors will participate.

The event is co-sponsored by the North Carolina Association of Professional Loggers, North Carolina Forestry Association, and Hatton-Brown Publishers, parent company of Southern Loggin’ Times and Timber Harvesting.