The Glatfelter Pulp Wood Company, incorporated in 1918, is a wholly owned subsidiary of the P. H. Glatfelter Company. Its mission is to assure a constant supply of high quality pine and hardwood fiber for use in the manufacturing operations of the Spring Grove mill. Fulfilling this mission requires a dual focus of effort: (1) providing the wood for papermaking, and (2) managing the forest which the wood comes from. This effort is led by a staff of eighteen foresters, with offices in Spring Grove, PA, Fredericksburg, VA, and Salisbury, MD. Most of the foresters have responsibilities in both wood procurement and forest management.
The Spring Grove mill requires approximately 900,000 tons of wood fiber annually. This is about 150 truck loads/day, five days/week. One-half of the fiber is softwood (pine) and one half is hardwood. More than one-third of this requirement is met by reclaiming material from other wood using industry. Sawmill chips, a by-product of the lumber industry, are purchased from 120 sawmills throughout the procurement area. Roundwood used for paper making is delivered to Spring Grove by more than 400 individual suppliers in lengths of five feet to twenty-two feet and diameters from four inches to twenty-four inches.
The company owns 111,000 acres of managed forests in four states -- Virginia (37%), Pennsylvania (26%), Maryland (22%), and Delaware (15%). Seventy five percent of the land is managed to grow pine, and 25% is managed to grow hardwood. All of the land is managed for the multiple-use benefits of soil an water protection, wildlife habitat enhancement, recreational activity and the aesthetics of undeveloped open space.
Company owned land provides 22% of the total fiber requirement. Publicly owned or government lands provide 3%. That leaves the overwhelming majority of our wood supply coming from private woodland owners. It is to this source, the private landowner, that Glatfelter foresters direct a great deal of attention.
Please be sure to visit the Company Tree Farm page to learn more about the tree farm program and where to write for more Information about the program.