About Us
Getting to Know Us
Timber and Transportation Systems has its roots in northern Pennsylvania. In 1986, we started out as Twin Tier Systems servicing a handful of companies in northern Pennsylvania and southern New York. Initially, we provided accounting services; but our founder, Harold Schwartz (since retired), found that there was a need for handheld devices that could be used by sawmills for a number of applications. In January 1991, we changed the focus of our business to the forest products industry and specifically to the handheld marketplace.
We got our experience working with Potter Lumber, Cummings Lumber, Yansick Lumber, Jay Lumber, and a few others to build a usable handheld application for the handheld units of that time. Initially, the user did not have that many choices; Psion, DAP, and CMT being the only initial choices (other than Telxon from FSI). After we got our feet wet, we opened a second office in Winston-Salem, NC, to better service what we hoped would be a large market. The first three years were pretty tough since the DAP and CMT units of that time weren't the right units for the customer. It wasn't until the introduction of the Husky FS/2 that our company took off. Up until 1999, when Husky Computers ceased doing business, the Husky line of handheld units was the cornerstone of the market. More than 2,800 handheld units were put into place, from the very largest of companies like Georgia Pacific, International Paper, Scott Paper, Weyerhaeuser, and the US Forest Srevice to the smallest mom and pop operations.
As the industry started to mature, our company grew in size; and in December 1996, Twin Tier Systems became Timber & Transportation Systems. This new company was the result of a merger of two existing businesses dealing with entirely different industries, and the combined business lasted only three years when the transportation portion of the business ceased doing business. During this 3-year period, we operated out of the greater St Louis, MO, area. When the trucking industry and the barge industry business slowed down, the forestry business was all that remained. One of the owners was bought out, and the business relocated to Appleton, WI, temporarily until it next moved to Frederick, MD, and then finally to Nashville, TN, where we have been for the last 7 1/2 years.
We still maintain ties to Pennsylvania and Virginia where we still have two part-time offices. However, we have consolidated our sales and services offices to 2 locations in Tennessee. Nashville or Camden may not be in the heart of the hardwood forest industry, but the relocation gave us more of an open market to the mid-west that was not being properly serviced by any of the 5 other application providers. This move to Tennessee has proved to be a key point in our growth in 2003 through 2007 and our reemergence at the forefront of those companies providing applications to our industry.
The forest products industry has matured along with us. No longer is there just one choice, or a limited number of choices, for handheld computers or system providers. Handheld computers are commonplace now in the industry, and those likely to use them have now gone through 2 or 3 generations of different machines. In addition, the uses of these machines have broadened; and specific product areas have now emerged. Initially, log scaling and lumber grading were the two primary applications that handheld units were put to use doing. Since then, forestry applications have risen along with other lumber applications (lumber end tally, purchase grading, package tally grading), as well as, specific log buying applications for the export and veneer business. Today there are also 6 providers for you to choose from when back in 1997 there were only 3.
Today, we can proudly say that we have the only log-buying application specifically designed for the field-log buyer. Their needs are vastly different from yard-log buyers. They have to negotiate and change prices often, they have to worry about freight costs, they have to write checks in the field, and they have to worry about receiving logs that they bought. This has become our 'niche,' and today our products for veneer log buyers, concentration yards, and log exporters makes up about 40% of our current business.
However, we still do continue to enhance and expand our applications in the other areas, and we are making strides again to return to our dominant position we maintained in the late 1990s and mid 2000's. To do this, we have shifted our focus to providing more information and making sure that the information the prospect needs was out there and relatively unbiased. To make a good decision, you need good information.
We don't get our business by backstabbing our competition but through word of mouth. Our customers represent 90% of the leads we get and the sales generated. Customer relations, support, and service with a smile has brought us back, and we intend to stay there.
You will see by the information on this site we provide the most information, we have nothing to hide, and when you are ready to make a decision the tools you need to make a purchase or initiate a trial are available on a linked in store.
We hope you will become one of customers, and more than that, one of our family. Our values and integrity are on the dotted line.
Thank you for visiting our site. I truly hope what you are looking for is here, and that you will give us a chance when the time is right to be your system provider.
Jim Schwartz
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Office Location:
Timber & Transportation Systems
695 Nashville Pike, Ste. 318
Nashville, TN 37066
Phone: 615-351-6931
Fax: 931-432-6327
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Current Officers and Managers and Office Staff:
Owner: Dr. Magdalena Rappl
Manager Operations: James Schwartz
Office Manager: Gwen Paul
Sales Manager: Greg Gauthier (Camden, TN - 731-697-9197)
Shipping/Store : Hans Diaz
Web Site: Michael Aikens