Photo courtesy of Waratah
The company bought its first Waratah in 2005 and continues to rely on the heads to work, day in and day out.
Reid Lind's alarm clock goes off hours before sunrise. In the darkness, he laces up his boots, preparing to walk in the footsteps of two great loggers — his grandpa Bob Lind and his dad Mac Lind.
"My dad was quite a character," Reid said. "Everybody knew who he was. He was just a little fella, but he was full of energy."
Mac Lind had hoped his son would take over the family business, G.R. (Mac) Lind Logging Ltd., in Princeton, British Columbia, one day. Reid, who started logging as a teenager, remembers learning how to run a skidder. For an outdoorsy kid like him, this was the "biggest Tonka toy" he could ask for.
"I just got the free-for-all training back in the day," Reid recalled. "Someone hands you the keys and lets you learn through experience."
By 2015, Reid was working behind the scenes, learning the business side of things. When his father passed away, Reid stepped up to run the company and take care of its family of employees.
"This business has always been a family thing," Reid explained. "From my grandpa to my father to myself. My cousin, my sister and my wife work in the office. We are proud of what we do, how we've grown and how we're still branching out."
Roots run deep at Lind Logging, a company started by Reid's grandpa in the late 1960s. Reid grew up with one of his longtime employees, Clint Gibson, a childhood friend and neighbor. Clint's dad also worked for Lind. Clint said Mac would be proud of how Reid has maintained the company's values.
"They're successful because they care about their employees," Clint explained. "If the mill wanted to shut you down, the Linds would find something for you to do, so you don't go without a paycheck. That's how Reid still runs the company today."
Both Reid and Clint were raised in logging families who knew the realities of the industry. Clint's father made him finish his education before he could join the logging crew. Reid tried college for one year, but cut his experience short to join the family business.
Photo courtesy of Waratah
Clint Gibson (L) and Reid Lind
Stronger, Faster, Better
Today, Lind Logging primarily cuts wood for the Weyerhauser mill in Princeton. One recent job was fire salvage on the site of the Garrison Lake forest fire that claimed nearly 15,000 hectares in 2021. To tackle the rugged conditions, the Lind team runs nine Waratah processors, including an HTH622C 4X4, three HTH616C heads and several HTH622B models, including the newest HTH622B Series-III. The company bought its first Waratah in 2005 and continues to rely on the heads to work, day in and day out.
"In our industry, Waratah is the standard," Reid said. "The heads have only gotten stronger, faster, with more flow and better measuring. It allows us to get evenly sized pieces, and at the end of the day, we have a nice pile of wood there."
Clint has experienced the benefits of Waratah's equipment as well.
"It seems like most home computers don't have as much computing power as the Waratah 622B Series-III," Clint said. "It's crazy what you can do with a computer now in a machine."
Support is another crucial part of the Waratah advantage. From delivery and set-up to maintenance and service, Reid said the Waratah support team is responsive and consistent.
"If we have an issue with one head, they'll come out and tune the entire fleet, just because," Reid explained. "They do a good job with parts. They're also knowledgeable and a bunch of good guys, too."
Like Waratah, the Lind crew is built to work in tough logging conditions. But even a fire salvage job reminds them how grateful they are to work outdoors.
"I think we take for granted how lucky we are to work out here every day," Reid said. "When you bring somebody up who doesn't see it every day, they're in awe. That's one of my favorite parts, getting to be outside all the time."
Photo courtesy of Waratah
This story also appears on Forestry Equipment Guide.
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