William A. Day Jr. & Sons named PLC Logging Contractor of 2016

PORTER, ME – Family and business are one and the same for the Day family. William Sr. began in the forest products industry in 1947 and successfully ran his business for more than 30 years until his retirement in 1974 when his son, William Jr., took over. Currently in its third generation, William A. Day Jr. & Sons continues to expand and diversify with William Sr.’s grandsons at the helm.

Brent Day, current president and owner, joined the business full time directly out of high school in 1996. He was determined to pick up where his father left off. During the next few years Brent expanded the company by adding an additional woods crew. Brent’s brother, Scott, co-owner and vice president, owned his own trucking business and decided to incorporate it into the family logging business in 2007. The brothers found they made a good team and by 2008 had purchased the entire business from their father.

Brent’s wife, Diane, joined in to manage the office at this time as well. Soon after the youngest brother, Brian, now secretary and owner, joined the team in 2010 after a career in welding. In 2015 the company added to its firewood processing facility by purchasing a kiln to dry firewood to sell along with the green and seasoned firewood that the company already produced.

With the focus of the three brothers, a solid team of employees, and their family behind them, William A. Day Jr. & Sons, Inc. has now grown to 42 employees with five logging crews –  three whole tree, one cut to length and one conventional – along with 15 trucks. Each member of the company is a full time company ambassador who takes pride in what they do and knows that the only way they will continue to grow is to do right by their clients. 

In 2010, William A. Day became Master Logger Certified and has been through various third party audits. The Days take their role as a Master Logger company very seriously and the work they do has been recertified on several occasions. During their recertification in 2012, the verifier commented, “They think out of the box and do not hesitate to make changes to operate in the best way they can to achieve landowner objectives, to work safely and efficiently. The company continues to reinvest even despite recent market and weather challenges.” 

The company also joined the PLC in 2009 and continues to use these resources to improve their business.

The evolution of William A. Day over the past 64 years is quite remarkable considering the changes that have taken place in logging throughout Maine, especially in southern Maine. Brent, Scott and Brian know that the key to their longevity is more than dollars and cents. They look at their business and the industry in York County holistically and do whatever they can to give back to their employees, their competitors and the next first generation logger who may come behind them.

This spring, they hosted a PLC spring safety training at their facility in Porter. Their generosity to host this gathering for their employees and those of their competitors was greatly appreciated. This is also an indication of their approach to safety and the important role it plays in their company.

Additionally, William A. Day is very committed to their community, their employees and the longevity of the logging industry.  Brent was recently elected to the Board of Selectman in Porter. For the last few years, they have led fundraising for breast cancer research, painting one of their trucks pink, collecting donations of canned food and raising money for the Relay for Life.

Most recently they contacted the local technical high school in Naples and asked if the school could start a logging training program to produce the next generation of operators.  The school is very interested and even reached out to the PLC to see if we could help get it started.

Congratulations to William A. Day Jr. & Sons on being named PLC Logging Contractor of the Year for 2016.