Southeastern Wood Producers Association, Inc.

What Southeastern Wood Producers Association, Inc. does

Southeastern Wood Producers Association, Inc. (SWPA) is a private non-profit trade association founded in 1990 and headquartered in Tallahassee, Florida, that serves professional logging contractors, log haulers, wood manufacturers, and industry suppliers across Florida and Georgia. The association's core function is advocacy, continuing education, and community-building for the southeastern U.S. timber harvesting industry, delivered through membership enrollment, CLE workshops (covering Master Logger, Master Timber Harvester, and SAF CFE credentials), regional chapter meetings, an Annual Conference & Expo, and the quarterly "Out of the Woods" magazine. SWPA also operates the SWPA Marketplace for job postings and equipment listings, the Joe Allen Memorial Scholarship, and an awards program (Logger of the Year, Pioneer Award) that reinforces industry recognition.

SWPA's business model is membership-subscription based, with tiered dues for loggers, logging companies, and wood manufacturers, supplemented by event/conference fees, CLE workshop pricing, and supplier advertising in the magazine and marketplace. GTM is community-led: members are acquired through a public online form (MemberClicks) and engaged through scheduled in-person chapter meetings distributed across FL/GA sub-regions and an annual expo. Technology footprint is intentionally light — a website, MemberClicks portal, social channels, and a FlipHTML5-hosted magazine — with no proprietary software, API, or AI capability disclosed. Leadership comprises Executive Director Mike Beardsley and President Jerry Gray (Gray Logging, LLC), supported by a board and a small staff band of 1-10.

The association's structural position rests on 35+ years of operating history, formal partnerships with FL/GA Master Logger programs, the Society of American Foresters, Florida Forestry Association, Georgia Forestry Commission, American Loggers Council, and LogPAC, and a documented awards/recognition track record dating to at least 2019. SWPA is not venture-backed, has no disclosed funding, no subsidiaries, and no M&A activity; growth signals are limited to incremental digitalization (Marketplace launch, online CLE registration) and maintenance of the FL/GA chapter footprint rather than expansion into new states or verticals.

Name

Southeastern Wood Producers Association, Inc.

Legal name

Southeastern Wood Producers Association, Inc.

Website

https://swpa.ag

Company type

Private

Founded year

1990

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Southeastern Wood Producers Association is a Florida-based non-profit trade association founded in 1990 that provides advocacy, continuing education, and networking services to professional loggers, log haulers, wood manufacturers, and timber suppliers across Florida and Georgia.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Trade Association Services for the Forestry and Logging Industry

NAICS

Support Activities for Forestry (1153), Forestry and Logging (113)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Forestry (800)

akta.pro primary industry

Logging & Timber Harvesting (IMAMAAAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Sustainable Forest Certification & Chain-of-Custody Services (FSC/PEFC/SFI) (IMAMAJAJ)

Keywords

• Logging trade association
• Timber industry advocacy
• Continuing logging education
• Wood producer membership
• Professional logger certification

Headquarters

HQ city

Hilliard

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: SWPA generates revenue through annual membership dues from loggers, logging companies, wood manufacturing companies, and related businesses. Members receive access to discounted workshops, educational courses, CLE credits, logging equipment and product discounts, quarterly magazine, chapter meetings, and annual conferences.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Southeastern Wood Producers Association, Inc. is a non-profit trade association that provides membership-based advocacy, accredited continuing logging education (CLE), industry publications, and networking events for professional loggers, logging companies, and wood manufacturing firms in Florida and Georgia. Founded in 1990, SWPA delivers an annual conference and expo, regional chapter meetings, CLE workshops, a quarterly industry magazine, and an online marketplace for jobs, equipment, land, and timber offerings.

Product overview

Southeastern Wood Producers Association (SWPA) operates as a unified platform offering membership-based services for the logging industry in Florida and Georgia. The core offering is SWPA Membership, which provides access to a suite of interconnected products including the quarterly "Out of the Woods Magazine" publication, Continuing Logging Education (CLE) Workshops for professional certification credits, Annual Conference & Expo events, and regional Chapter Meetings. Additional services include the SWPA Marketplace for industry job postings and equipment, and the Joe Allen Memorial Scholarship program. Digital registration for membership and CLE courses is handled through online forms via the memberclicks platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• SWPA Membership
• Out of the Woods Magazine
• CLE Workshops
• Annual Conference & Expo
• SWPA Marketplace

Quantifiable outcome

• Members receive discounted access to continuing education and CLE credits required for Master Logger and Master Timber Harvester certifications

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• UF/IFAS Extension Office Putnam CountyminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 November 2026Host venue for Fall 2026 IN-PERSON 4-HR CLE Class in Palatka, FL. SWPA partners with University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences for continuing education events.
• Quality Equipment & PartsminorOthersQuality Equipment & Parts posts job openings in the SWPA Marketplace, targeting service technicians, parts sales, equipment sales, and grapple truck technicians in Florida locations.
• Georgia Master Timber Harvester ProgramcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSWPA facilitates GA Master Timber Harvester CLE credit opportunities. This certification program is administered by the Georgia Master Timber Harvester program and provides professional credentials for Georgia loggers.
• Florida Master Logger ProgramcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSWPA facilitates FL Master Logger (ML) CLE credit opportunities for members. This certification program provides professional credentials for Florida loggers and is administered in partnership with the Florida Forestry Association.
• Society of American Foresters (SAF)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSWPA offers SAF CFE (Continuing Forestry Education) credits at chapter meetings and CLE classes, enabling members to maintain professional credentials through SAF.
• Georgia Forestry CommissionminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartner organization providing resources and information. Georgia Forestry Commission offers BMP guidelines and forestry information referenced at SWPA events.
• Florida Forestry AssociationminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartner organization for Florida loggers providing resources, Master Logger program administration, and industry advocacy.
• American Loggers CouncilminorGTM or Marketing PartnerNational logging advocacy organization linked from SWPA's legislation resources page.
• LogPACminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPolitical action committee for logging industry advocacy, linked from SWPA's legislation resources page.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Regional players

• Alabama Forestry Association: State-level forestry association serving Alabama with comparable logger/forest landowner services. Provides a benchmark for SWPA's potential expansion into a third Southeast state.
• Texas Forestry Association: State-level forestry association serving Texas loggers and landowners with similar advocacy, education, and award programs — a comparable model for how SWPA could expand into other Southern states.

Direct peers

• LogPAC: Political action committee for logging industry advocacy referenced directly on SWPA's legislation page. Operates as the federal lobbying arm that SWPA members benefit from.
• Forest Landowners Association: National association for private forest landowners that addresses timber harvesting, policy, and management — adjacent peer to SWPA on the logger/owner interface.
• Timberland Owners Association: National association representing timberland owners and operators that awarded the 2021 National Outstanding Logger of the Year (which SWPA nominees won). Operates in the same logger/owner ecosystem with overlapping recognition programs.
• American Loggers Council: National trade association representing professional loggers with advocacy, legislative action (via LogPAC), and member services. SWPA directly links to ALC from its legislation resources page, making it a natural federal-level counterpart.
• Society of American Foresters: National professional society for foresters that issues SAF CFE credits which SWPA delivers through its CLE workshops. Direct partner in the credentialing value chain.

Broad incumbents

• Florida Forestry Association: Statewide forestry trade association that co-administers the Florida Master Logger program with SWPA. Directly overlapping advocacy, education, and member-base mission for Florida forest landowners and operators.
• Georgia Forestry Association: Statewide forestry association serving Georgia with overlapping CLE/advocacy programming for the forestry value chain. SWPA explicitly partners with GFA on Georgia Master Timber Harvester credentials.

Others

• UF/IFAS Extension (School of Forest, Fisheries, and Geomatics Sciences): University extension partner that hosts SWPA's in-person CLE workshops in Florida. Enabling partner rather than competitor, but co-creates the certification value chain.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/SWPALoggers
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/swpa-inc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Southeastern Wood Producers Association, Inc.