Kevin Kanduch -- Timber Roots

By Tim McEntire

A man’s addiction to this profession called logging usually starts by the first trip to the woods with your father.  There’s something about the organized chaos of a logging operation that sinks deep into a young man’s brain that makes you realize this is what you want to do for the rest of your life.  A trip to the woods with his father Joe is where the relatable story of the humble beginnings of Mr. Kevin Kanduch’s journey starts in the timber industry.

Brothers Joe and Ken Kanduch beginnings started as the brothers worked through high school building snow fence, delivering lumber, doing some logging and working for the family sawmill near Anaconda.  The family had a contract with the Anaconda Mining Company to supply timbers to the smelter in Anaconda delivering converter poles for the smelting process.  On call, the brothers always had a bundle of timbers ready to go.  When the call came in, they would quickly load the truck and hurry into town.  Years later the family sold the sawmill.  Holding on to the family logging equipment, Ken and Joe would start a new chapter as independent loggers for Champion International.

Based out of Philipsburg, Kanduch Logging would adapt to mechanized equipment with purchasing a John Deere 490D with a shear head.  A Hahn Harvester and Timberjack skidders would fill out the rest of the operation.  Updates would happen over the years leading to a slide boom delimber and Timberjack feller bunchers.  All this time a young formable Kevin would be absorbing what would eventually be his calling.

After high school, Kevin’s heart was in the woods but feeling pressure to do something more stable lead him to the University of Montana.  During his freshman year, Kevin was lost in his direction in life as he felt the constant pull of the woods.  It wasn’t until he took a business class that he found something he liked.  During the next few years, Kevin would work hard at college during the week and on weekends and any breaks he would be back working with the family learning the business.  In 2015, Kevin graduated with a double degree in Business Management and Marketing.

Fresh out of college, Kevin found himself skidding with either the families 527 track skidder or 525B rubber tired skidder all while using his newly acquired education to help with the business end of the company which included bidding on upcoming timber sales.  The company would continue to update, moving from slide boom delimbers to dangle head processors.  When a new Tigercat skidder showed up on the job, Kevin’s cousin Karl pulled rank on him and they switched positions with Kevin now processing logs and Karl in the new shiny skidder.

Logging in the middle of a sea of dead lodgepole, Kevin saw an opportunity to diversify.  After a tour of James Stupack’s Wild Montana Wood, Kevin devised a plan to do something similar in the southwest part of the state.  With a Bobcat skidsteer and a newly purchased Halverson firewood processor, Kevin was in the firewood business.  Seeing a need for bundled firewood, Kevin knocked on doors and would eventually acquire contracts with twelve Thriftway stores, two Ace Hardware, Stokes and The Depot.  After losing his bundling crew, the work would end up being too much and the firewood business took a pause.  The opportunities for a successful firewood business would stay in the background of Kevin’s thoughts.

In 2017 Kevin got a phone call from Real Montana asking him to apply to the program.  Real Montana is a comprehensive two-year program offering in depth education and training in the agriculture and natural resource industries.  After talking with some of the alumni, Kevin  applied to be part of Class III.  The next two years the program would hone Kevin’s skillset, open new doors and expose him to new experiences including a trip to India.  With the Real Montana mindset of doing the most of what you can, Kevin found himself on the Granite County Planning Board and Conservation District. 

Shortly after Kevin had earned his Accredited Logging Professional status he was approached to fill a spot as a chapter director for the Montana Logging Association.  With support from their father’s both Kevin and Karl stepped up.  First Karl and at the 40th Annual Membership Meeting, Kevin came on board.  During his time as a chapter director, Kevin would participate in many meetings, ALP classes and the MLA’s Emerging Leaders program.  After moving onto the Executive Board, Kevin moved up the ranks and is the new President of the Association.  In a first for the MLA, Kevin would take helm following a family member, his cousin Karl.

In 2022, Kevin along with partners Karl Kanduch, Harold “Hammy” Mitchell and Bryan Lorengo formed KLM Contracting Logging & Excavation.  Merging Kanduch Logging and Lorengo Logging, the company would have some new faces running the operation.  The four business partners would buy out the elders and form their own path.  The company has grown from 15 employees to currently 24 with new positions being added.  KLM Contracting has diversified into excavation side, mastication and a firewood business.  The firewood business has just started bundling and is continuing the dream that Kevin had to put on hold.  KLM also built a large shop in Anaconda bringing the Kanduchs back to their roots.  KLM’s success is due to four partners that respect each other and all focus on their part of the business. 

In his young life, Kevin has had many accomplishments.  With his family, the Kanduchs were awarded the Northwest Montana HOO-HOO Lumberman of the year and Montana Wood Products Association’s Logger of the Year.  They have also been able to provided Helena with the Capitol Christmas Tree.  Many school field trips have happened on his landing thanks to the Kanduch’s and KLM’s continued support of Forest Products Week.  Kevin’s days are now filled with paperwork, pre-work meetings, staffing issues and collaborating with his partners.  With all that, he does still find himself in the seat of one of the company’s log processors from time to time.  He does try to fit in some camping and golfing but at the end of the day when you are “having the time of my life” as Kevin puts it, work is not always a bad thing.  The Kanduch name has been associated with Montana logging for a very long time and the family just unearthed a film of them horse logging from the 1950s.  Always wanting to push the dial forward, Kevin’s commitment to this profession we call logging will ensure that the Kanduch name will continue the tradition as his Timber Roots will continue to grow.