Quality
  
Quality is key to our client's satisfaction and successful plantation. It is our first priority once planting begins. Every employee is involved in our quality monitoring system. Summit expects every block to be planted to a level that achieves 100% payment.

Experience is one of Summit's greatest strengths. It allows us to achieve the high quality standards that our clients have come to expect of us:

• The 2002 planting season saw us plant our 200 millionth tree, and our total after 2004 is over 230 million. Our experience covers all types of land, with all types of requirements.
• 90% of Summit's planters are veterans allowing us to efficiently adapt to your specific quality issues.

Stock Handling
The success of a plantation begins with proper stock handling. We do not tolerate poor stock handling.

Summit trains planters how to correctly

• Unload reefers;
• Handle boxes;
• Load bundles into bags; and,
• Handle trees.

We inspect our tree caches on a daily basis to monitor the condition of the stock. These inspections are formally documented and are readily available for client review.

Checking System
Communication and a common understanding is key to good quality.

• Supervisors learn the quality standards from our clients and communicate those standards throughout the crews.
• Planters are responsible for knowing the quality standards. If they are unclear, they are instructed to stop planting and ask. Planters must also assess their own quality and density by performing a minimum of two plots per bag-up.
• Forepersons are responsible for a block's quality, and are expected to know that a block will achieve 100% payment when releasing it for pay plotting. They check planters at least twice daily and provide correctional feedback. Once a block is complete and the crew has moved on, it is automatically released for checking.
• Assistant supervisors do plots and provide feedback to planters, forepersons, and supervisors.

All foreperson and assistant supervisor plots are documented on FS704 forms and are made available to client representatives on request.