COURTESY OF PROFESSIONAL LOGGING CONTRACTORS OF THE NORTHEAST
Master Logger Joey Guimond of J. Guimond Logging, Inc. placed first in the Komatsu Forwarder Contest Championship in Escanaba, Michigan on Sept. 6, beating more than 20 other competitors in the challenging and fast-paced contest.
The contest is part of the Great Lakes Logging & Heavy Equipment Expo. Guimond, of Fort Kent, won the 2025 championship by showcasing operator skill through tasks like loading logs, dragging them through a hoop, and precise log placement. The event highlights Komatsu equipment and Guimond qualified to compete in it after placing second in the Komatsu loader competition at the Northeastern Forest Products Equipment Expo in Bangor in May.
J. Guimond Logging, Inc., based in Wallagrass, is a member of the Professional Logging Contractors of the Northeast (PLC). The company is certified by the Master Logger Certification Program®.
“It is no surprise to us that Joey won in Michigan,” Dana Doran, Executive Director of the PLC, said. “Northeast loggers are as skilled as any in the world and operators from the Fort Kent area are among the best of the best. We are proud to see the title held by a member of the PLC, and also to recognize PLC Affiliated Contractor Ryan Ouellette of R. Ouellette & Son Logging, Inc. of Wallagrass, ME, who placed 9th in Michigan in the same tough competition.”
Guimond said he has been running a forwarder since before he could drive, and his company still owns one but he switched to running a feller buncher four years ago. Amazingly, he was not able to practice in the forwarder before the competition.
“No, I didn’t; my forwarder has been broke for a month waiting on an engine so I could not practice, but it’s kind of one of those things you don’t forget how to do,” Guimond said. “It definitely felt good to win. I kinda went there not knowing what to expect but once I did my first run and saw where I was at, I knew I had a chance to win so I really focused after that.”
Forwarders transport logs from the woods to roadside landings using a loading grapple to pick up cut logs or bunches of logs and generally work with processors that harvest trees and then limb them and cut them to specific lengths. The forwarder competition includes an obstacle course of challenges designed to test every aspect of the machine’s capabilities.
“The hardest part was the middle obstacle where you get to pick up 2 logs between two tall stakes and you can’t touch them,” Guimond said.
Maine’s loggers are a vital part of the state’s forest products sector, which is worth an estimated $8.1 billion annually. Logging contributed an estimated $582 million to the state economy in 2021.
Founded in Maine in 1995 by a handful of loggers who were concerned about the future of the forest economy, the PLC has grown steadily to become a regional non-profit which provides independent logging and forest trucking contractors a voice along with a suite of other forest certification programs which are grounded in responsible forest management. Board membership consists of only loggers, making it an organization that is run by loggers on behalf of loggers.
Learn more about the PLC at www.plcloggers.org
