An evolution is going on in Central Pennsylvania, and it’s in the form of Metzler Forest Products.

Founded by Alan J. Metzler in 1986, the company started out as a logging and tree-chipping contractor with one employee. By 1993, the company had begun focusing on the whole tree-chipping business. Today, Metzler Forest Products is a landclearing and demolition company with 11 employees.

Since 1996, the company has worked on a variety of projects, but today the company is embarking on its largest job.

“We are working on our fourth job, which is an extensive project on Interstate 99 [I-99C 10] in the State College [PA] area and various other locations. This is by far our biggest job,” said Metzler. “We have been here since the last week of January, clearing 580 acres of trees and debris. This project will keep us busy all year. Our work is not pretty, but we are experts at what we do.”

According to Metzler, this job is different from most Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) projects. Because the entire I-99 corridor has been ripe with controversy and steeped in environmental issues, Metzler has had to reverse its usual landclearing sequence. Ordinarily, the company would clear the right of way-to-right of way; the drainage areas would be the last area on which to work. However, on this project, Metzler worked on the drainage areas first, creating a situation in which his equipment was operating in a much tighter area than usual.

Metzler knew that the extensive landclearing required for the I-99 project would mean that he’d need more equipment, so he turned to his long-time Caterpillar dealer, Cleveland Brothers, in State College, PA, for help.

Mark Dorner, sales representative of Cleveland Brothers, quickly pinpointed his needs. Soon, Metzler purchased a Cat 325 forestry machine, which is a tracked excavator with a thumb; a stump splitter for stump pulling; three Cat 320C forestry machines for stacking burnt piles of trees and feeding debris through the grinder; a Cat D5G track-type tractor for root raking; and a Cat D6R track-type tractor to work in very tight areas.

“The forestry package is the most unique package of all our excavators,” said Metzler. “They have a high, wide undercarriage built for this type of operation. The guarding over cab provides increased safety for the operators. The high, wide undercarriage combined with the special windshields, enable the operators to be more productive.”

Not only did Cleveland Brothers provide Metzler the extra iron he needed for the I-99 project, it also supplies parts and service on site, which is something that has proven invaluable to his company. “This keeps downtime to a minimum.

“When I figure that Cleveland Brothers will service my machines off-hours, when I would have to pay my people time-and-a-half overtime, it is less expensive to have Cleveland Brothers do it and I also know that it will be done overnight. It is a win-win situation,” Metzler said.

Metzler Forest Products, located in Bellville, PA, prides itself on cleanliness, safety and promptness without sacrificing quality, and with its fleet of Caterpillar equipment and its relationship with Cleveland Brothers, Metzler’s goal of evolving into the top landclearing contractor in Pennsylvania may not be just a theory, but soon could be a reality.

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