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Meet
the
BUSINESS
of the
MONTH |
MAHON LOGGING
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Another outstanding local family business is the subject of
this month’s Council Chamber of Commerce featured member article. Tom Mahon Logging, Inc., located at 1078 E Whitley Ave.,
started operations back in 1971, when Tom and Judy purchased their very
first
logging truck. After completing his
service with the US Navy in 1965, Tom had been working for Boise
Cascade. It wasn’t easy to find financing
to start a
business from scratch, but from that first used truck has grown a
strong,
stable business that employs 13.
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As Tom and Judy’s family was growing in
the 70’s and 80’s
(adding two sons, Joe and Mark, and a daughter, Debra), so did Tom
Mahon
Logging. At first, they did contract
work, driving for other companies. The
used truck was traded for a new truck in 1973, and they added a
front-end
loader in 1975. This enabled the Mahons
to begin buying their own small timber sales.
The logs produced were then sold to
local mills in Council, Midvale and
Tamarack. Also in the late 1970’s, the
business moved to the current location, which gave them more room to
grow.
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The purchase of their first yarder in
1980 enabled the
Mahons to switch to skyline logging and larger timber sales. Joe and Mark were out helping as soon as they
were old enough. Early on, they worked
as the ‘brush crew’ with Judy, but as they got older they worked in the
woods
every summer vacation, and were sorely missed when school started up
again in
the fall. Both Joe and Mark continued to
work in the family business during school breaks through their college
years.
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In the late 90’s, both sons were finished
with school and
involved in the business full-time. With
his degree in Forestry, Mark’s main focus is as the ‘woods boss’,
planning and
laying out jobs and supervising the ground crew. Office
duties, bookkeeping, payroll, etc. are
handled by Judy with help from Joe. And
all three men work on maintenance of all their equipment, during their
down
time in late winter and early spring.
They usually are in the woods by
mid-May, and can continue through
January or even into February, depending on weather conditions.
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At the present time, jobs consist of
timber sales purchased
from the State of Idaho Department of Lands, when these are available,
along
with contract work for Idaho Forest Group, Evergreen Forest Products,
and Boise
Cascade. They have all their own
equipment for every phase of the job, from building roads to
transportation of
the logs to the mills. They continually
upgrade and add equipment, to stay on the cutting edge of their
industry. Since the early 2000’s, they
have been moving
away from skyline logging and doing more tractor logging. On occasion
they also
do some road-building on the side.
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The Mahons feel very fortunate to employ
some top-notch
people. Their 9 local employees are all
professionals in their field, with strong family values and work ethic. Tom Mahon logging is able to pay a living
wage, enabling these skilled workers to make a living here in Adams County. In
addition to their regular employees, they also
routinely contract with between 3-10 drivers, depending on the size of
the
job. All told, Tom Mahon Logging’s
operations have a significant impact on the local economy.
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And about those logs that they bring out
of the woods: aside from the obvious
applications of
building materials and paper products, there are a multitude of uses
for the
wood and wood by-products that are produced.
So the next time you use deodorant,
toothpaste or makeup, you can thank
a logger!
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Tom and Judy are thankful that they had
an opportunity to
start their own business from the ground up, something that would be
very
difficult today, because of the equipment investment that would be
required. Lots of hard work and taking
advantage of opportunities allowed them to build a thriving business
that is
now a major Adams
County
employer. Tom Mahon Logging has always
been a generous
supporter of the Council Chamber of Commerce, as well as helping other
causes
such as local youth athletics. Please
join in thanking the Mahons for being such a vital part of our
community!
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