The Treating Division of Texas Electric Cooperatives is headquartered in Jasper County, deep in the East Texas piney woods.

Established in 1946, the Treating Division turns out about 145,000 power poles annually and grossed $22.5 million in 1999. Approximately 12 percent of the proceeds will be returned to distribution co-ops, or an average of $40,000 per co-op.

Division Manager Charlie Faulds supervises about 70 employees at the treatment plant, which sits on 50 rural acres just east of Jasper. The division also owns almost 4,000 acres of timberland in Louisiana.

The plant facility has been re-engineered recently. New railroad track has been laid to improve in-plant transportation, a treatment cylinder has been added, and the peeling department has been revamped.

How a tree (almost always a Southern yellow pine from Louisiana) becomes a power pole in a process that typically takes one to two weeks is a walk through the departmental organization of the Treating Division:

Procurement: TEC's professional foresters go into the woods and select the right trees, visually inspecting for straightness, height, knots, scars and any other defects or diseases. Self-employed contractors harvest and haul the trees to the pole plant in Jasper.

Peeling: Once at the treatment plant, a tree goes through the peeler, where its bark is removed. The pole is then cut to length and judged for quality. Afterward, it is "gained and framed," meaning a flat place is cut near the top for a crosspiece and the pole is drilled with holes for subsequent attachment of hardware.

Treating: A two-step process ensures poles with the highest standards of preservation for long-term service. First a pole is conditioned inside a pressurized cylinder with steam to disinfect it and enlarge the wood cells; water is then removed with a vacuum. Second, the pole is put into another pressurized cylinder where its wood cells are deeply penetrated with preserving creosote. Independent inspectors employed by an outside firm inspect and approve the treated pole.

Distribution: Poles are inventoried, stored and then shipped to Texas co-ops near and far.

From towering tree to final treated pole, one principle is constant in TEC's Treatment Division: quality assurance. Poles are shipped by the hundreds and thousands, but each pole carries the individual mark of first-rate craftsmanship.