Randy Darracott is in his fifth year as manager of the Weyerhaeuser mill in Bruce, but the nation’s largest lumber producer didn’t initially hire him for his love for sawmilling, but his passion for numbers.
“I graduated from the University of North Alabama with a business degree in accounting and finance,” Darracott said.
A recruiter found Darracott upon graduation and offered him an accounting job with Weyerhaeuser in their Chicago office.
“I held several different accounting leadership roles and moved around the country,” he said.
Darracott was born and raised in Kenosha, Wisconsin. His father was originally from Red Bay, Alabama and his mother from Crawford, Missouri.
“They went north for jobs with their families when they were young,” Darracott said. “After retiring, they moved back down here. They now live in North Alabama. Basically all my family is there now.”
Darracott’s wife Michelle is a native of Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin.
“She’s my right hand, my support system. All the moves we’ve made within Weyerhaeuser. None of it would be possible without her.”
Even though he entered the company in accounting, as he moved to different Weyerhaeuser locations around the country, he always was being asked to help in various operational roles.
“I would end up taking on the operation side as well as the finance side,” he said. “Matter of fact, in a couple jobs I was the finance and operations manager. Over time, it just gravitated into general management.”
“I think my heart drew me to the operations side,” he said.
Part of that draw was the people aspect of operations.
“In these roles you have to love people and dealing with people. Your touch points become more diverse because you’re touching operations, accounting, you get to touch everybody and help people. That’s the biggest reason I could come into this role, because I love helping people.”
Darracott, who recently completed his 26th year with the company, doesn’t hesitate in telling you he believes Weyerhaeuser is made up of the “best people.”
“We have great people. The people you come into contact with here are just like you and me. They want to earn a living so they can provide for their family, but they also want to do a great job while they’re at work. We have the best people in the world.”
The communal aspect of the 175 employees at the Bruce mill is one of the many reasons Darracott believes they are the best.
“This is a family oriented group. We’re very paternal. We have the best skilled folks, I think in the company. The people grew up together here, went to school together here, go to church together here and see each other in the grocery store. The caring here is very genuine, because it’s just a big family. That comes through in their work.”
Darracott’s days typically begin around 7 a.m. His role at the Bruce mill is literally all encompassing, touching on virtually every aspect of the mill that in recent years has been championed as one of the company’s best.
Production oversight, electrical and maintenance oversight, the financials, environmental responsibilities, responsibility for the entire business and all the facets it touches within the company, within the business here and then within the community, all fall on Darracott.
Ask him which is most important, and it’s always a one-word answer – safety.
“The most important thing is that we provide a safe place for our folks to work,” he said. “We’ve got policies, procedures and strategies from a company standpoint to safeguard against most everything, but we consider it the moral thing to do and we’d be stressing it whether we had to or not.”
“You can do all this stuff, but if folks get hurt, it’s all for naught.”
The mill was recently honored with the Sawmill Safety Award in Division III, presented by the Southern Forest Products Association (SFPA).
The Bruce mill maintained a perfect safety record during all of 2016, with no lost-time occupational injuries or illnesses.
“Our team really does a great job,” Darracott said.
Family, whether at the mill or at home, is a central theme in Darracott’s life. He and his wife Michelle have five children.
Their oldest is Alicia McCollum, 26, a pharmacy student at Samford. Their oldest son Zachary, 24, works at a bank in Florence.
Daughter Emily, 21, is scheduled to earn a dietetics degree at Ole Miss this year.
“She’s also getting married in November,” he said.
Their youngest son Caleb, 19, is a student at ICC and their “baby,” Sarah, 16, attends Ingomar High School.
Zachary and Sarah are both Type I diabetics.
“The Lord has used that in our life,” Darracott said. “We’re closer to our kids because of that. We look at it as a positive, but it’s been tough on Mama.”
Darracott doesn’t like to see it tough on anyone. He strives to make everything come together seamlessly for his employees. It’s what he loves most about his job.
“There’s so much I enjoy, but seeing people become better and evolve, being able to help people be successful is really what I enjoy most,” he said. “I’m thankful I have that opportunity.”
The company has invested more than $50 million in upgrades at the Bruce mill over the past few years helping it to become even more efficient in everything it does.
“This mill is in a really good place right now,” Darracott said. “We still have a lot more we want to do. The one thing about sawmilling is it’s not for the faint of heart. You’re either all in or not. Fortunately, we have a lot of folks who are all in and a great community that supports us.”