Alexandria, LA – (February 24, 2016) – In a ceremony this morning at RoyOMartin’s corporate office, six individuals were honored for successfully completing the Perforex Apprenticeship Program in a partnership between Perforex Forest Services, L.L.C. and Central Louisiana Technical Community College (CLTCC). Through their training, funded in part by a Workforce Opportunity Grant from The Rapides Foundation, graduates demonstrated the skills necessary to obtain a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) and become a certified Timber Harvesting Equipment Operator (THEO).
Apprentices selected for the program were hired by Perforex and underwent a ten-month combination of classroom and on-the-job training covering logging-truck and timber-equipment operations and certification. Experienced mentors assisted instructors with skills training. This was the first-ever paid apprenticeship program for Perforex, which was founded in 2003 and is currently part of the RoyOMartin family of companies. The Perforex Apprenticeship Program was also possibly the only training of its kind in the nation that offered a combination of CDL and THEO components.
Cade Young, RoyOMartin’s vice president of land and timber, explains, “As evidenced by the graduates we have here today, innovation is not limited to manufacturing and technical processes within the forest-products industry. With the assistance of CLTCC and the support of an originative management team, we have successfully developed a new tool in the recruitment and training of qualified members for the Perforex team.”
“This program was a fantastic opportunity for members of the community to prepare themselves for high-demand occupations in our industry and region,” states Bill McDermott, human-resources development manager for RoyOMartin. “We are eager for these graduates to put their skills to use in a long-term career with Perforex—a company that differentiates itself in many ways, especially through offering excellent benefits and retirement.”
Adds Perforex Forest Services, L.L.C. General Manager Stephen Dye, “These graduates have developed a foundation that will serve them well into the future. I look forward to working with them more closely and seeing them continue to grow within our organization.”
Perforex Forest Services was founded in 2003 by a small group of forest-industry professionals with the vision of creating a new type of harvest/haul supplier. Perforex harvests 180,000 tons of forested raw materials per year and hauls approximately 20,000 tons of mill residuals annually to Martco L.L.C. and other wood-product manufacturing mills. Currently based in Woodworth, Louisiana, Perforex joined the RoyOMartin family of companies in 2012
