Dec 15, 2008. /Lesprom.com/. Plum Creek promoted Tom Ray to vice president, Montana Operations, the company said. In his new position, Ray will oversee Plum Creek’s 10 manufacturing operations, one of which is in Meridian, Idaho, and management of all of the company’s timberland resources in Montana. “For years, Tom has been an integral part of Plum Creek’s management team in Montana,” said Hank Ricklefs, vice president, Northern Resources and Manufacturing. “Tom has extensive experience integrating our forestry activities with our manufacturing plants, and has the expertise to successfully guide Plum Creek’s manufacturing business through these challenging times.” Ray joined Plum Creek in 2001 when Plum Creek merged with The Timber Company (formerly part of Georgia-Pacific). Prior to this promotion, he served as General Manager, Northwest Region. While at Georgia-Pacific, Ray held several forestry-related positions. He also served as Business Analyst and later as Resource Manager for Northern California lands. Ray earned a Bachelor of Science degree in forest engineering from Oregon State University. He will continue to be based in Columbia Falls and will report to Ricklefs. Plum Creek is the largest and most geographically diverse private landowner in the nation, with more than 7 million acres of timberlands in major timber producing regions of the United States and 10 wood products manufacturing facilities in the Northwest. In Montana, Plum Creek practices sustainable forestry on approximately 1.2 million acres throughout eight counties in the western part of the state.