Bartolome Zaldivar came to Centralia, Washington and started planting trees for a timber company in January of 1978. It was seasonal work, and during the summers he would go to Wenatchee to pick cherries. After one season of tree planting he was promoted to Foreman, where he ran a tree planting crew from 1979-1985. Although he worked hard, things were still tough for him and his wife, Dora Zaldivar. He spent 1985 and 1986 in Alaska doing pre-commercial thinning for the U.S. Forest Service in order to make enough money to start Zaldivar's Forestry Corp, which he did in October of 1987. The company started with one truck, Bartolome as foreman and owner, and five guys doing pre-commercial thinning. When planting season started, they made it to 12 planters. The company was founded with a strong work ethic, expectation of high quality, and a solid determination to deliver. Over the years, Dora Zaldivar became an instrumental part of reforestation in the area, making sure that all contractors were doing business on an even playing field. She was helpful to employees and other contractors alike. She was determined to make sure that all the forestry products being delivered to consumers were being done so by fully licensed contractors and never hesitated to take on problems in the industry and work to get them resolved. Between the two of them, they built a solid reputation for Zaldivar's Forestry Corp. in the area that is still going strong today. There are now over 20 full time workers and up to 80 on a seasonal basis. The company has a fleet of over 15 vehicles and owns several pieces of equipment that allows them to easily handle projects from the original planting and pre-commercial thinning, to now chipping, topping, restoration work and erosion control to name a few. They have completed work for the USDA Forest Service, DNR, City of Seattle, Green Diamond Resource Co (formerly Simpson Timber Co), Hancock Forest Management among others and have planted millions of trees in Washington forests.
Dora Zaldivar unfortunately passed away in 2008, but her legacy of hard work, determination to deliver, and helpfulness to all involved in the industry lives on with Bartolome and the work Zaldivar's completes to this day.
Below is a description of each of the Zaldivar’s Forestry Corp. key employees who run the various projects/contracts for our company. Each of them have acquired throughout the years the same experience regarding reforestation and restoration management implementation.
Employee: Mario Ramirez
Title: Supervisor
Hire Date: 09/07/1990
Experience: Mario started working at Zaldivar’s Forestry Corporation (ZFC) in 1990 as a Laborer with duties that included planting trees, pre-commercial thinning, pruning, and cutting. By 1996 he was promoted to Foreman and running jobsites. He would oversee production of each site, identify and address safety concerns, and aide in project planning in addition to duties already established. ZFC began to work with USDA Forest Service during this time adding a new dimension to Mario’s supervisory skills because each unit had to be inspected for quality control and a report created before it was handed back to the government. In 2002, Mario was promoted to the only Supervisor position ZFC had. Mario was the lead when ZFC started working in the City of Seattle Parks Starflower Foundation Project and began to oversee the Foreman as well. Currently, Mario heads the crews that are working in the City of Seattle Parks restoration projects through Frank A Maduzia Jr.
Employee: Antonio Lima
Title: Supervisor
Hire Date: 07/17/1989
Experience: Antonio started working for Zaldivar’s Forestry Corporation (ZFC) in 1989 as a Laborer with duties that included planting trees, pre-commercial thinning, pruning, and cutting. By 1995 he was promoted to Foreman and running jobsites. He would oversee the production of each site, identify and address safety concerns, and aide in project planning in addition to duties already established. Antonio was one of the two Foreman that ran the USDA projects in Alaska for more than four years. Currently, Antonio oversees all work that ZFC does for Hancock Forest Management Company.
Employee: Jose Cabrera
Title: Supervisor
Hire Date: 04/06/1995
Experience: Jose started working for Zaldivar’s Forestry Corporation (ZFC) in 1995 as a Laborer with duties that included planting trees, pre-commercial thinning, pruning, and cutting. By 2000 he was promoted to Foreman and running jobsites. He would oversee the production of each site, identify and address safety concerns, and aide in project planning in addition to duties already established. Jose was one of the two Foreman that ran the USDA projects in Alaska for more than four years. Currently, Jose oversees all work that ZFC does for Green Diamond Resource Company.