Timbco Hydraulics

	Bart Wormington, from Omaha, NE and sponsored by Millard Lumber, showed us his best feature as we entered the TIMBCO plant.
	As required for many stops, we were outfitted with earplugs and goggles before entering TIMBCO.
	The heavy machinery in the main plant dwarfed the visitors.
	Patrick Crawford (owner, logger and inventor) briefed us on why he started the company and how far it has progressed since he and his wife Ruthie began to understand the need for sustainable forestry heavy equipment.
	Pat shared with us an exercise his grandson participated in at school, which was educating the children that cutting down trees was the single most damaging act one can do to the Earth. He wrote a letter to the school illuminating the need for sustainable forestry and responsible harvesting.
	Another of Pat's inventions. His wife, Ruthie, explained how Pat would cut out paper figures when designing his equipment and an engineer would implement the plans. Ruthie calls it "cutting out paper dolls".
	This machine is called a "single grip processor". It fells and  delimbs the tree, then bucks the tree into log lengths.
	All the tops and branches are left out in the forest to add nutrients back to the soil and to provide a mat for the machine to travel on without disturbing the soil.
	Pat's oldest son, Ken, explained how the piece of equipment behind him could work on and around a steep slope.
	This is fondly referred to as the TIMBCO Dance.
	Ken was in the process of dazzling us with this maneuver when it ran out of gas, prompting Pat's wife Ruthie to run pell mell through the plant looking for their second oldest son who forgot the impact radical positioning would have on the fuel line.
	Pat exuded the passion and love he has for the timber industry when he lead the tour around his plant.
	The equipment was easily accessible for the visitors to check out, and many did.
	Pat's hydro-buncher was one of the many inventions we were allowed to see in action.
	One of the few items not actually designed and manufactured at TIMBCO. These seats are customized with sophisticated controls which aid the operator in maneuvering around in the slash and wood debris.