A Tech Company Named After Wood!
By the turn of the century, lumber was a multi-million dollar industry in Michigan. Great pine groves with trees towering 175 ft. and a diameter of 8 ft. were felled by the millions. Using narrow logging roads, logs were moved to the banks of the rivers where these floating monsters would be moved to the sawmills after the spring thaw. Millions of board feet of logs would cover the rivers and lakes like a blanket, with tens, if not hundreds of separate sawmills claiming ownership of portions of the haul. How in the world were they able to sort out what belonged to who and ensure that everyone received their harvest? The CATCHMARK, that’s how. CatchMarks or log marks, each one different for each different logging company, were affixed to the ends of the logs (similar to the cattle brands used in the West). The design of a log mark might include the initials of the lumber company’s owner or symbols from the logging industry or from nature. The designs were cast into the metal end of a marking hammer by a blacksmith. The symbols needed to be simple, clean designs so the person who struck the log with the marking hammer could cut the design easily into each log. Technology, like logging, can be a confusing, complex, and frustrating endeavor. Just like the sawmills of the past CatchMark Technologies wants to make technology simple and clean so that people and businesses can easily get their product or service to their customers.
Brent Raeth
Managing Partner of CatchMark
