Say Heh

Communication helps forestry and construction divisions work efficiently

Flea Beaty talks with his brother, Travis, every day, sometimes five or six times. Based on the frequency of their conversations, it would appear that their bond runs deep. And it does. Not only are the men brothers, they lead the divisions of the company that their father founded. Flea heads the logging side of Beaty Logging Co., Inc., Haughton, Louisiana, while Travis is in charge of construction.

One of the reasons that the brothers talk as often as they do, both strive to make the best use of the company’s employees and fleet. They discuss the work schedule on the logging and construction sides to determine if additional machines or personnel need to be shifted from one side to the other to meet the day’s demands.

 “We both help each other out. I have one of his dozers on this site to build the landing.  We hauled gravel in here yesterday, and we had a roller out here for that,” Flea says.

“Sometimes he’ll have a site clearing, and the logging crew will go in there and clear the trees for him. He doesn’t come out here and watch, and I won’t go to his yard much at all. But I know what he’s doing, and he knows what I’m doing. It works well like that. We’re all the same company, you know.”

With both sides of Beaty Logging Co., Inc. working together, the company is able to pool resources to focus on the market sector that is busiest. “When logging is down, we push on the construction side,” Flea says.

Employees move freely from one side to the other. “The log loader we just moved in here, the guy running that is off of our construction side,” Flea says. “He’s a trackhoe operator, as good as they get; it’ll take him just a minute to get back on it, but he’ll get it done. All our construction employees, they’re all loggers, too, so they know how to run the machines.”

Flea himself jumps into a machine’s cab when needed. “We all do that,” he says matter of factly.

Shared Fleet

Cat® machines on the construction side of the company’s shared fleet include: two 320C L Excavators, D4N Dozer, D5N Dozer, D6N Dozer, and a 12H Motor Grader.

The logging crew’s Cat fleet includes a 559C Knuckleboom Loader, 545C Skidder, 545 Skidder, and a 573C Wheel Feller Buncher. The crew uses the 545C Skidder on a daily basis, and the 545 when a second machine is needed. “It’s all yellow out here,” Flea notes.

The dependability and durability of the machines are a couple of reasons that Beaty Logging selects Cat® machines so often.

The company runs a “three and one-half person” logging crew, Flea says. “We usually run a three-man crew. Of course, if somebody’s gone, then I’ll help out. If we need to put another skidder out here, we’ll bring it out and then get somebody to run it.”

The logging crew’s workload is approximately 75 percent clear-cut and 25 percent select-cut. The crew’s goal is 12 truckloads per day. Depending upon the type of work and site conditions, production ranges from 10 to 15 truckloads daily. “These boys right here, they’re top notch,” Flea says of the logging crew.

Beaty Logging recently clear-cut a 170-acre tract of primarily hardwood trees in hometown, Haughton. Timber was purchased from the landowner for sale to a mill. 

“We bought this tract because we could sell the hardwood. There’s a lot of hardwood and there’s a little bit of pine in here, too,” Flea says. “We always try to buy our own timber.”

Johnny on the Spot

Cat® dealership, Louisiana Cat, helps keep fleet uptime high by providing parts, service, sales support, and any other help that is needed. “They do a really good job,” Flea says. “They’ll come on out here to fix machines—Johnny on the spot. They do what they say they’re going do, and that’s why we keep buying Cat® machines. That’s the long and the short of it right there.”

“It’s so easy to work with the people at Louisiana Cat. We know every one of them. We just pick up the phone, tell them what we need, and they know what we’re talking about.”

S•O•SSM Fluids Sampling is one of the services Louisiana Cat provides to Beaty Logging. If sampling indicates any machine abnormalities, the contractor is alerted. This helps keep uptime high and avoids any potential damage. 

This is especially helpful as Beaty Logging keeps machines longer than in the past. The fact that the fleet continues to operate efficiently as the work hours accumulate is a testament to the high quality and durability of the Cat® machines. “That 559C has 6,000 hours on it, and nobody believes it. We take good care of it,” Flea says. “We’re trying to get another year out of our machines, do a little bit more with them.”

Whether on the woodlot or construction site, Beaty Logging Co., Inc. crews work as economically as possible. The Beaty brothers make sure of it.

 “It’s all yellow out here.”

Flea Beaty Head of Logging, Beaty Logging Co., Inc.

Forty Years of Family Business

Beaty Logging Co., Inc., Haughton, Louisiana, was founded in 1977 by Lynn Beaty. “It’s a family business,” says Flea Beaty, who was given the unique nickname by his father, Lynn, when he was two and disappeared suddenly at a grocery store. “He said I jumped around like a flea.”

Flea heads the logging side of the company, and his brother, Travis, is in charge of the construction division.

Lynn has been doing his best to retire, and turn the business over to his sons, for the past five years. “He’ll still work the summers, but that’s it,” Flea says. “I’ll call, and he’ll do anything that needs to be done. He’ll run a shovel or whatever machine needs an operator.” 

Flea, who has been working in the woods as long as he can remember, says that he learned everything that he knows about logging from his dad. “He always worked with me and Travis, but he always wanted us to figure it out for ourselves. There was a time when I thought I knew a little more than he did, but I know better than that now. I still call him sometimes to ask questions.”

BEATY Logging CO., Inc.’s Cat Fleet:

559C Knuckleboom Loader

545, 545C Skidders

573C Feller Buncher