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logging exports<br />
agents or customer representatives will come<br />
and do their own visual inspection.<br />
“One of the most important things we’ve<br />
learned over the years is you can’t sit in this<br />
office and sell logs.” Craig said. “You can, but<br />
you won’t know what you’re doing if you’re not<br />
out in the field.”<br />
This hands-on approach is rooted in the family’s<br />
belief that building customer relationships is<br />
everyone’s job.<br />
The meeting room at the East Dubuque facility<br />
is full of photographs and items collected over<br />
the years from overseas travels to visit with customers.<br />
A particularly interesting piece is a purse<br />
made of walnut veneer that a Japanese client<br />
gave to Craig’s mother, Betty, during a trip.<br />
That purse, which now belongs to Allysen,<br />
still holds Betty’s handwritten notes of her observations<br />
from the visit.<br />
“Our family has been known for the highest<br />
quality of walnut veneers that’s resulted in some<br />
heart-touching relationships,” Craig said, adding<br />
that he was honored to ask to speak at another<br />
company’s 100th anniversary celebration. For<br />
the occasion, he worked with an interpreter<br />
to learn one sentence he wanted to speak in<br />
Japanese. Matt has continued the tradition of<br />
building customer relationships, and both Mike<br />
and Allysen have had opportunities to travel<br />
overseas to meet customers.<br />
Products made from logs supplied by a Tracy<br />
family member have been used in everything<br />
from gunstock during World War II to wood<br />
used in the flooring for the 1988 Olympics in<br />
Seoul, South Korea.<br />
“Our customer satisfaction is incredibly<br />
important to us,” Matt said. “We are always<br />
working on developing new markets, but we realize<br />
our backbone is, and always has been, with<br />
our old, old generational clients that we’ve done<br />
business with for decades.”<br />
As travel opens up after being curtailed because<br />
of COVID-19 and demand for timber remains<br />
high, the coming year will be busy for the<br />
family. Craig and his wife, Kay, have 12 grandchildren,<br />
ranging from second grade to freshman<br />
in college. For Craig, it’s rewarding to watch his<br />
children thrive in the business he started.<br />
“It’s been quite a ride,” Craig said. “It’s really<br />
amazing to see what they’re doing.” n<br />
“We realize our<br />
backbone is, and<br />
always has been,<br />
with our old, old<br />
generational<br />
clients that we’ve<br />
done business<br />
with for decades.”<br />
— Matt Tracy<br />
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eifarmer.com <strong>Fall</strong> <strong>2021</strong> | <strong>Eastern</strong> <strong>Iowa</strong> <strong>Farmer</strong> 37<br />
<strong>Eastern</strong><strong>Iowa</strong><strong>Farmer</strong>_<strong>Fall</strong><strong>2021</strong>.indd 37<br />
9/15/21 10:23 am
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