Two Pennsylvania College of Technology forest technology graduates and their new business are featured in “The Grain ,” the monthly newsletter of the Keystone Wood Products Association.
In the article titled “Branching Out: Industry Professionals Unite,” Cody A. Campion, ’11, and Zachery G. Hess, ’12, are welcomed as new members of the association. They are the owners of Keystone Timber & Forestry LLC, based in New Columbia, about 10 miles south of where they met – at the college’s Schneebeli Earth Science Center.
The Grain features this photo of Penn College forest technology alumni Cody A. Campion (left) and Zachery G. Hess, owners of Keystone Timber & Forestry LLC, along with Hess' dog, "Hank."
The Grain notes: “They are fulfilling a dream that they both envisioned since they met as forest technology students at Pennsylvania College of Technology.” The newsletter adds that Campion and Hess are filling a need as many loggers and foresters retire. “The two 30-somethings are eager to work with landowners to maximize forest benefits, add value to the sale and educate landowners to help them make decisions that are solid choices for the future," the article reads.
After earning their Penn College associate degrees in forest technology, Campion went on to attain a bachelor’s degree from Penn State, and Hess received his bachelor’s from the University of West Virginia. They each logged 10 years working in separate divisions at a nationally recognized hardwood lumber manufacturer before launching their own enterprise. Keystone Timber & Forestry is providing forest management and consulting, selective timber harvesting and land clearing, and wildlife habitat improvement.
“We saw an opportunity. We value working with private landowners,” Hess is quoted in The Grain. “It is rewarding to meet wonderful people and help them fulfill their forest management needs. Forestry is not just marking trees. It is the art of creating a new forest that is sustainable.”
Campion concludes the article: “Pennsylvania’s forests are high quality, and the state is the No. 1 producer of hardwood. For us, it doesn’t get any better than that. We can’t think of a better job to have. It keeps us in the woods, and there is no better place to be.”
The Keystone Wood Products Association strives to strengthen and expand the base of lumber and wood products manufacturers in the Central Pennsylvania region in order to maintain and enhance the industry’s competitive position in today’s global economy.