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â– table of contents

www.woodbioenergymag.com

24

8

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FROM THE EDITORS Highland Pellets Gets It Done

24

FIBER BY-PRODUCTS Diversification Has Paid Off

8

IN THE NEWS Drax Will Upgrade Urania Mill

28

PRODUCT NEWS Developments From Woods To Mill

17

WOOD BIOENERGY PARTNERS MDI Has Something To Say

Cover Photography: Highland Pellets (Courtesy of Highland Pellets)

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HIGHLAND PELLETS Operation Has Production Flexibility

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Wood Bioenergy / June 2017

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table of contents ■

advertising index Advertiser Index is a free service for advertisers and readers.

The publisher assumes no liability for errors or omissions.

Volume 9

Number 3

28 Co-Publisher/Adv. Sales Manager ■ David H. Ramsey Co-Publisher/Executive Editor ■ David (DK) Knight Chief Operating Officer ■ Dianne C. Sullivan Publishing Office Street Address ■ 225 Hanrick Street Montgomery, AL 36104-3317 Mailing Address ■ P.O. Box 2268 Montgomery, AL 36102-2268 Tel: 334.834.1170 ■ Fax: 334.834-4525 Editor-in-Chief ■ Rich Donnell Managing Editor ■ Dan Shell Senior Associate Editor ■ David Abbott Associate Editor ■ Jessica Johnson Associate Editor ■ Jay Donnell Art Director/Production Manager ■ Cindy Segrest Ad Production Coordinator ■ Patti Campbell Circulation Director ■ Rhonda Thomas Marketing/Media Coordinator ■ Jordan Anderson Advertising Sales North American Sales Representative Susan Windham ■ P.O. Box 2268 Montgomery AL 36102-2268 334.834.1170 ■ Fax: 334.834.4525 E-mail: windham.susan4@gmail.com International Sales Murray Brett ■ Aldea De Las Cuevas 66, Buzon 60 03759 Benedoleig (Alicante) Espana +34 96 640 4165 ■ Fax: +34 96 640 4331 E-mail: murray.brett.aba@gmail.com Classified Advertising Sales Bridget DeVane ■ Tel: 334.699.7837 ■ 800.669.5613 E-mail: bdevane7@hotmail.com A Hatton-Brown Publication Other Hatton-Brown Publications:

Timber Processing ■ Southern Loggin' Times ■ Timber Harvesting Panel World ■ Power Equipment Trade

Acrowood

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Aebiom Bioenergy Conference

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Andritz Feed & Biofuel

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Astec

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920.336.5715

Bandit Industries

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Biomass Engineering & Equipment

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Bliss Industries

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CPM-Roskamp Champion

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CW Mill Equipment

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Duratech Industries

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Evergreen Engineering

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ExpoBiomasa 2017

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Hurst Boiler & Welding

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Jenz GmbH

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Metal Detectors

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Mid-South Engineering

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Morbark

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PDI

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Peterson Pacific

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Price LogPro

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Process & Storage Solutions

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Process Barron

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Rawlings Mfg

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Rotochopper

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Scientific Dust Collectors

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Sugimat S.L.

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Timber Products Inspections

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West Salem Machinery

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Williams Patent Crusher

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Wood Bioenergy (ISSN 1947-5306) is published six times annually by Hatton-Brown Publishers, Inc., 225 Hanrick St., Montgomery, AL 36104. Wood Bioenergy is free to qualified readers in the United States, including owners, managers, supervisors and other key personnel. All non-qualified U.S. subscriptions are $50 per year, Canadian subscriptions are $60 and foreign subscription are $95 per year (U.S. funds).

Subscriber Inquiries and Back Issue Orders—TOLL-FREE: 800.669.5613. Fax 888.611.4525. Subscribe or renew online: www.woodbioenergymagazine.com and click on the “Subscribe” button. When requesting change of address, please specify both old and new. Periodicals postage paid at Montgomery, Ala. and at additional mailing offices.

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All advertisements for Wood Bioenergy are accepted and published by Hatton-Brown Publishers, Inc. with the understanding that the advertiser and/or advertising agency are authorized to publish the entire contents and subject matter thereof. The advertiser and/or advertising agency will defend, indemnify and hold any claims or lawsuits for libel violations or right of privacy or publicity, plagiarisms, copyright or trademark infringement and any other claims or lawsuits that may arise out of publication of such advertisement. Hatton-Brown Publishers, Inc. neither endorses nor makes any representation or guarantee as to the quality of goods and services advertised in Wood Bioenergy. Copyright ® 2017. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part without written permission is prohibited. Printed in USA.

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■ from the editors

Are Four Lines

Better Than One? T

he article on the Highland Pellets plant in Pine Bluff, Ark., which starts on page 18, is in some ways a sequel to the article we presented on Georgia’s Hazlehurst Wood Pellets in our February issue. Highland Pellets, which only just started production this spring, has many things in common with the Hazlehurst plant.

First of all, the plants share a basic concept: a modular design as opposed to a linear or single-line production model. Hazlehurst’s parent company, Fram Renewable Fuels, already had two other pellet mills in Georgia, Appling County Pellets and Telfair Forest Products. It was at the Appling facility that Fram learned of a possible flaw with the linear model. Any breakdown or even scheduled maintenance on the single line forces the entire operation to cease production.

The modular design circumvents this problem simply by having multiple lines. That’s the theory anyway.

While Hazlehurst opted for three lines, Highland went for four. Each line at Highland will be expected to produce 150,000 metric tons of pellets a year—an impressive 600,000 metric tons of annual production.

Secondly, both plants largely consist of equipment designed and fabricated by Astec Industries, Inc., the Tennessee-based company that bought chipper/grinder maker Peterson Inc. in 2007. Don Brock, Astec’s late CEO, visited Fram’s Appling County mill shortly after the Peterson acquisition a decade ago. It was during this visit that Brock, who was interested in expanding his company’s biomass footprint, realized that he could build a modular wood pellet plant similar to the ones Astec had already been making for asphalt plants. After much collaboration and testing, this resulted in Astec’s first project in Hazlehurst, followed by the Highland plant in Arkansas.

Besides the modular, multi-line design, both plants also make good use of Astec’s Hot Oil Tube Dryer system, which is said to reduce VOC emissions and negate

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the need for ESPs and RTOs. Highland won’t have all four of its lines in full production until this fall, so its degree of success (as a manufacturing plant and as a successful business operation) remains to be seen, but so far the indicators seem positive.

Several of the principals and investors in Highland are from Minnesota, where several industries, including paper and iron, are struggling. Congressman Rick Nolan, who has represented Minnesota’s 8th congressional district since 2013, has publicly expressed interest in the Arkansas plant, seeing it as a model of potential job-creating growth that northeastern Minnesota could replicate. The problem they have to solve there is how to cost-effectively transport the pellets to port, since the major pellet markets require exporting abroad, or, alternatively, developing a similarly robust domestic demand.

Meanwhile, Highland is considering additional production capacity sites elsewhere in the Southern U.S.

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■ in the news Drax Plans Upgrades At Louisiana Pellets Drax Biomass intends to make a number of improvements to the idled Louisiana Pellets (formerly German Pellets) wood pellet operation in Urania, La. Drax is targeting early 2018 for the plant to resume production though the timeline could change. Drax was the winning bidder for the operation.

Meanwhile Drax is waiting for creditors’ advisors to announce a new auction date for the Texas Pellets facility in Woodville, Texas and port operation in Port Arthur, Texas.

That bidding process was put on hold following a conveyor-loading fire. Texas Pellets was also an affiliate of German Pellets and like Louisiana Pellets filed for bankruptcy.

Drax Biomass, which operates wood pellet plants in Bastrop, La. and Gloster, Miss., wants to more than double its current production capacity to self-supply 20-30% of Drax Power Station’s demand in the UK while also competing for supply contracts in new biomass markets.

Drax Biomass also operates a port storage and transit facility in Port Allen, La. Drax Biomass also announced it is beginning capital expenditure projects at its two wood pellet mills in the Southeast. Drax wants to increase production capacity from 450,000 metrics tons annually to 525,000 metric tons at each plant.

Former LP Exec Leads Westervelt The Westervelt Co. named Brian Luoma as President and CEO, succeeding Mike Case, who announced his retirement after more than 32 years with the company. Luoma oversees Westervelt Lumber, Westervelt Renewable Energy, Westervelt Forest Resources, Westervelt Communities, Westervelt Ecological Services and Westervelt New Zealand.

Luoma most recently served as executive vice president and gen-

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eral manager, Siding, with Louisiana-Pacific Corp.

Jon Warner, Chairman of the Board at The Westervelt Co., based in Tuscaloosa, Ala., comments, “Brian’s proven leadership and vision will be essential in leading our company.”

“I am thrilled to join the Westervelt team,” Luoma says. “The company’s commitment to excellence and focus on sustainability are the driving forces behind 133 years of success.”

Westervelt operates a high production, modernized southern yellow pine sawmill at Moundville, Ala., a large industrial wood pellet plant in Aliceville, Ala., and owns/manages 500,000 acres of timberland.

NESTEC, Lundberg Form Partnership NESTEC, Inc. and A.H. Lundberg Systems Ltd. announced a strategic alliance to mutually promote their technologies in North America and other parts of the world.

“This partnership is an exciting opportunity to expand the reach of new and state-of-the-art technologies in the U.S. It will also provide NESTEC with a complement of proven control systems to further strengthen its broad spectrum of single source clean air solutions,” the companies stated. “This important collaborative effort will enhance our industry leadership positions in a continuing effort to support the global health of the environment.”

A.H. Lundberg Systems Ltd. is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada and has been a leader in wet electrostatic precipitators (WESP) and mass and heat transfer technologies since 1954. Its cutting edge refinements of WESP technologies specialize in controlling emissions in the wood products industry, fiberglass industry, and other industries at numerous installations in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and other areas of the world.

“We look forward to working

with our customers as a common alliance to provide the quality technology and service that both of our companies have a long reputation for,” they added. Visit nestecinc.com.

Vincent Authors ‘Against The Odds’ Reflection and leadership in rural American resource communities provide hope for a path forward, particularly surrounding environmental tensions, offer authors Bruce Vincent, Nicole J. Olynk Widmar and Jessica Eise in their recently published book Against the Odds: A Path Forward for Rural America.

The book follows the life of Vincent, a rural Montana logger and resource worker who led loggers in the “Timber Wars” of the late ’80s and ’90s, while his community struggled and he and his fellow workers encountered public opinion in urban America building against them.

Woven into his tale are historical context, examples and research, drawing readers along his path of self-reflection toward his concluding vision of hope for a meaningful reconciliation and environmental progress.

“America is ready for a new environmental vision,” says Vincent, who is now a public speaker since his logging business folded due to a cessation of governmental logging contracts in his area. “The old environmental movement was timely and necessary but failed to mature beyond a three-word vision of, ‘stop doing that.’ Rather than remaining disenfranchised and sidelined, I believe a new environmental movement can be led by rural people. We live too close to the ground to pretend to know all the truth, but we are close enough to apply science while providing from and protecting Earth.”

Vincent formed an unlikely partnership with two coauthors who shared his vision for progress in rural American communities, but from a different backgrounds and perspectives.

The book is separated into three parts, covering the life of Vincent,

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■ in the news

the evolution of the environmental movement and a path toward progress.

Against the Odds is available on Amazon.

Oates Is Alabama’s New State Forester Alabama Forestry Commission has selected Rick Oates as the new Alabama State Forester.

Oates, 49, recently served as forestry division director at the Alabama Farmers Federation (ALFA), where he was also executive director of the Alabama Treasure Forest Assn. and director of the organization’s catfish and wildlife divisions.

He previously served as chief of staff for commissioner of Alabama’s Dept. of Agriculture and Industries and held various posts with the Alabama Forestry Assn.

Oates received a BS degree in

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natural resources from The University of the South and a MS degree in forestry from Auburn University.

Lawsuits Puts Owl Designation On Hold U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has agreed with an American Forest Resource Council appeal on behalf of many wood products companies, which challenged a district court’s decision not to hear AFRC’s lawsuit to overturn the 2012 designation by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service of 9.29 million acres in Washington, Oregon and California as critical habitat for the northern spotted owl.

The lower court had said that AFRC didn’t have “standing” to challenge the critical habitat designation. But the Court of Appeals disagreed.

Circuit Judge Griffith Ka-

vanaugh stated, “The Council (AFRC) has demonstrated a substantial probability that the critical habitat designation will cause a decrease in the supply of timber from the designated forestlands, that Council members obtain their timber from those forestlands, and that Council members will suffer economic harm as a result of the decrease in the timber supply from those forestlands. We conclude that the Council has standing.”

The Court of Appeals ordered the district court to hear the case.

The acreage in question is mostly federal forestland along with more than 290,000 acres of state of Oregon lands.

The case goes back to 2008 when FWS revised its critical habitat for the northern spotted owl, but which was challenged in court by industry and preservationists, and which culminated in the 2012 designation.

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in the news ■ Pellet Operation Aims To Assist Landowners Drax Biomass and American Forest Foundation announced a multi-year project to invest in the future of small family landowners around Drax’s Morehouse BioEnergy facility in northeast Louisiana. The five-year, $1.1 million project—the “Morehouse Family Forests Initiative” (MFFI)—will provide landowners with the tools and resources to implement forest management practices that can increase the commercial, recreational and ecological value of their lands, and maintain crucial habitat for the region’s diverse wildlife.

MFFI aims to increase the number of family landowners in northeast Louisiana and southeast Arkansas who actively manage their lands in accordance with the principles of sustainable forestry. Spe-

cifically, the project will encourage habitat improvements, forest biodiversity and certification in the American Tree Farm System MFFI also supports the Southern Woods for At-Risk Wildlife Partnership, a program recently launched by AFF and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to help Southern family forest owners protect at-risk wildlife, while at the same time encouraging sustainable wood production.

Last year, AFF released a report, Southern Wildlife At Risk: Family Forest Owners Offer a Solution, that found family forest owners, who own nearly 60% of the forests across the South, are key to ensuring the sustainability of the region’s forests. According to the report, 87% of surveyed landowners said the protection and improvement of wildlife habitat is a top reason for owning land. Se-

venty-two percent have already implemented one or more forest management practice to support wildlife conservation, with 73% indicating a desire to do more in the future.

The same study also found that the cost of wildlife habitat improvement is a key barrier to action. In many cases, the potential revenue generated from harvesting operations, including thinning for improved stand producticity, can help offset these costs and incentivize greater implementation of forest management practices. As evidence of this market response, 85% of surveyed landowners who harvest or thin their forests have also implemented other wildlife-improvement activities, as opposed to only 62% of those landowners who haven’t harvested or thinned.

Landowners who participate in MFFI will receive technical assi-

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â– in the news

stance and other resources to help them create individualized land management plans. These plans are a critical step toward certification under the American Tree Farm System, which can open up new commercial opportunities for landowners seeking to supply wood to the forest products manufacturing sector. This approach is based on AFF’s successful work in the Cumberland Plateau of Alabama, where the conservation group is working with hundreds of landowners to implement forest management practices that will improve wildlife habitat, water quality and overall forest health.

North Dakota Study Focuses On Biochar The North Dakota Forest Service (NDFS) sponsored a feasibility study by Wilson Biochar Associ-

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ates to analyze new, low-cost methods of converting dead and diseased trees to biochar.

NDFS works with state, federal and private partners to help landowners manage and regenerate windbreak trees and shrubs.

Shelterbelt renewal is a good opportunity to realize the benefits of biochar at minimal cost. Dead and diseased trees have to be disposed of anyway, and they can be processed into biochar on site using low-cost technologies and standard forestry equipment.

The resulting biochar is pathogen free and it can be incorporated directly into the soil, along with appropriate fertilizers, to prepare it for new plantings. Biochar can help young saplings withstand drought, flooding, disease and other harsh conditions, such as saline or alkaline soils.

Wilson Biochar Associates ex-

amined three case studies using three different methods of low cost biochar production, analyzing production methods and costs. All the methods use the principle of flame carbonization. Flame carbonization takes advantage of the fact that wood burns in two stages, a gasification stage that burns with a flame, and a solid fuel combustion stage that reduces charcoal to ash.

Using either an open burn method or a container, the burning process is interrupted before the solid fuel combustion stage, saving the char to be used as biochar for soil improvement. The flame carbonization methods analyzed include specially constructed open burn piles called Conservation Burns and several types of containers called Flame Cap Kilns.

The case studies are based on actual job sheets for shelterbelt renewal projects. Wilson Biochar As-

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■ in the news

sociates created a spreadsheet model for estimating biochar production efficiency and costs for each scenario. The cost per cubic yard of biochar produced ranged from $23 to $62. The cost per ton of biomass processed ranged from $21 to $28.

Biochar markets are still immature, but bulk totes of biochar generally sell for between $200-$400 a cubic yard. The report, Converting Shelterbelt Biomass to Biochar, is available online at: www.ag.ndsu.edu/ndfs/documents/wba-converting-shelterbeltto-biochar.pdf.

Agreement Ensures Green District Heating DONG Energy has entered into a 15-year agreement on the supply of district heating from the Herning Power Station in Denmark until 2033.

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The agreement entails that Herning Power Station establishes a flue gas condensation plant. This will enable Herning Power Station to render even more energy from the wood chips used as the primary fuel source.

“I’m pleased that Herning Power Station will continue to provide stable, green district heating to our heat customers in Herning, Ikast and Sunds. With the new agreement, we’re making Herning Power Station even more efficient and consequently more climatefriendly,” says Thomas Dalsgaard, Executive Vice President, DONG Energy.

The new heat agreement covers 2019-2033. DONG Energy expects to begin building the new flue gas condensation plant in the fourth quarter this year.

Herning Power Station has a capacity of 80 MW electricity and

174MJ/s heat. Since 2009, the power station has been able to run solely on biomass—primarily wood chips supplemented with wood pellets.

Thunderbolt Biomass To Build Pellet Mill Thunderbolt Biomass, Inc. is launching a wood pellet operation in Allendale, SC. The company is planning to invest $6 million in the project, creating 35 jobs.

Located on an eight-acre site, operations will be housed in a 14,550 sq. ft. metal building and have a capacity of 60,000 tons per year.

The Coordinating Council for Economic Development has approved job development credits related to this project. Allendale County was also awarded a $100,000 Rural Infrastructure Fund grant to assist

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in the news ■

with costs related to this project.

“We are very happy to be building this plant in an area of abundant forestry resources, infrastructure and with the active support of the S.C. Department of Commerce and the SouthernCarolina Economic Alliance, whose personnel and expertise were critical in bringing this project to Allendale,” comments Thunderbolt Biomass President Knox Grant

new management plan three years later that reflected the change in priorities. But the counties say that administrative move can’t cancel out the 1941 law.

A deadline for counties to opt out of the class action suit passed

in mid January, with one county dropping out. “The fact that more than 95 percent of counties and taxing districts stayed in the class is a major testament to the seriousness of this issue for rural counties,” says Roger Nyquist,

Oregon Counties Want $1.4 Billion A class-action lawsuit filed in March 2016 on behalf of 15 Oregon counties and more than 150 local taxing districts is moving toward trial to address the state’s alleged failure to maximize revenues to counties reliant on Oregon Forest Trust lands that generate funds through timber sales and pass that money along to local governments to fund education, public safety and other services.

Certified as a class-action suit this past October, the lawsuit seeks $1.4 billion in damages to the counties because the state has breached a state law contractual obligation to manage Oregon Forest Trust lands for the “greatest permanent value.”

The counties claim Oregon has failed to manage for the greatest permanent value by emphasizing other values than timber production, causing a loss of revenues to the counties of at least $35 million annually since 1998 when the Oregon Dept. of Forestry (ODF) changed priorities in a management plan that was adopted in 2001.

Background on the case dates to the 1930s and ’40s, when counties conveyed ownership of cut-over and abandoned tax debt land back to the state with an agreement to share in the timber harvest revenues. A 1941 law directs the Board of Forestry to manage state forests for the “greatest permanent value.”

In 1998, the ODF sought to define the term and added other values in addition to timber production with an administrative rule and adopted a

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■ in the news

Chair of the Linn County Board of Commissioners that initiated the suit. “We all feel the strain on our budgets and can no longer allow our citizens to bear the burden of the state’s breach of contract.”

Several motions are now before the judge in the case, which is undergoing the discovery process, with administrative deadlines in early summer and fall. Counsel for the counties John DiLorenzo believes the case will go to trial in early 2018 barring a settlement or other delay.

DiLorenzo says the case is a straightforward breach of contract, and he’s encouraged that the judge seems to be taking the same view.

The state is sure to argue that conservation-related values must be taken into consideration when determining the “greatest permanent value,” and that times have changed, DiLorenzo says. But he intends to prove the ODF can still

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meet all federal and state environmental protection requirements at a higher level of timber harvest— but is choosing not to in order to emphasize other values in violation of the 1941 directive.

According to a release from the Oregon Forest Industries Council, in previous cases Oregon courts have ruled that the state is contractually bound to manage Forest Trust Lands for the benefit of the 15 counties it acquired land from in western Oregon more than 70 years ago. The release says administrative rules adopted in 2001 “resulted in a significant difference between what rural communities are receiving versus what they could receive under best forest management practices that balance harvest with environmental protection. At a time when rural government budgets are being squeezed, the state’s action has created more stress on public safety,

education and other basic services rural citizens need.”

DiLorenzo says the case also reflects Oregon’s demographic makeup, in which a big majority of voters live in urban areas like Portland, Salem, Eugene and Bend.

The state of Oregon has every right to enact policies that reflect the conservation values of those urban populations, he adds, but the state shouldn’t expect rural counties and their residents to be the ones who are shouldering the costs of such policies to the detriment of rural schools, sheriff departments, day care centers, libraries and other services.

In a local news article, Nyquist said the counties aren’t “chasing a pot of gold,” and that what they’d really like is for the state to manage its timberlands properly and uphold its end of the agreement made with the counties a long time ago.

Wood Bioenergy / June 2017

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â– pellet startup

Highland Pellets

On-Line, On Target

By David Abbott

Highland Pellets has started two of its lines; all four will be on-line this year.

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Wood Bioenergy / June 2017

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pellet startup ■

PINE BLUFF, Ark. n April this year, the first train load of product from Highland Pellets, LLC left the facility in Pine Bluff, Ark., bound for the port of Baton Rouge, La., there delivered to a Drax Biomass loading facility and shipped to the United Kingdom. With two of its four lines currently completed and in production, Highland principals predict the plant will be fully operational by the fourth quarter this year, well under budget and ahead of schedule. That’s always a plus.

Highland started as an idea to enter the wood pellet market in 2011, when investor and entrepreneur Tom Reilley The pellet plant procures log supply through an agreement with Weyerhaeuser. teamed with fellow company founders Rob McKenzie and Alex Adome. Reilley and McKenzie had both worked for years in the UK, including in developing energy companies, and McKenzie and Adome had worked together at Cargill, Inc., a global corporation based in Minnesota. They got together with representatives from Wagner Construction, Inc., another Minnesota-based company that specializes in underground utilities and heavy civil construction. These included company founder Dennis Wagner, President Kalan Wagner, and chief financial officer Marty Goulet. The group brought Highland into existence as a legal entity in 2012.

Reilley serves as chairman of the board, McKenzie as Managing Director and Adome as Director of Finance. From Wagner, Goulet also sits on the Highland Board/management team, and Dennis Airoflex truck dump starts the process.

Wagner is on the Highland Board of Advisors.

According to Jody Doak, Plant Manager, “They spent quite a bit of time and did their due diligence on identifying the proper path to pursue.” With Pine Bluff selected as the location for what is intended to be only the first of several operations, the company broke ground here in November 2015.

Wagner Construction has served as the civil contractor for the still-ongoing project. Doak says that the second pellet line started operating in early May and that all four lines will be fully operational by November.

“When we built this plant our initial thought was that we were going to ship by barge down the nearby Arkansas River to A Peterson chipper supplies Line One until a Progress chip line is completed. port,” Doak explains. Instead, they ulti-

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■ pellet startup

mately negotiated an agreement with Union Pacific railroad to transport all of Highland’s production by rail, though the river barge alternative is still a backup plan.

Highland’s customer is Drax Biomass, which takes ownership of the product at Port Allen in Baton Rouge, where they have a loading station. The end product will end up in Great Britain. Drax has agreed to a long-term deal with Highland Pellets to supply 600,000 metric tons a year to the Drax power plant several hours north of London.

With that agreement in place, Highland was also able to secure long-term contracts for railroad access, power and wood supply. Having all that in place helped secure financing. Along with in- Each line includes five Andritz pellet mills—four for production, one for backup. vestment from the Arkansas Teacher Retirement System, Highland obtained financing from a 400,000 metric tons on three lines. Highland principals wanted a 600,000 metric ton plant, so Astec built four well known credit fund to finance the project. That was lines here. Andritz and Progress Industries have proin place by late March 2016, barely a year ago. In what vided the pellet mill and wood yard equipment.

Highland says is a record for the industry, all of the Highland held a ribbon cutting ceremony last Novemequipment for the plant was manufactured by the end of ber, and the first test pellets from Line 1 were produced on the year.

December 31, 2016. “We came into service in December 2016, and then started back up at the end of January,” Project Doak says. By April, the business was operational, only 13 months after financing was officially secured.

Astec Industries, Inc., a Chattanooga, Tenn.-based Once fully operational, the facility will provide 68 engineering firm that has focused on infrastructure full-time jobs to the local community (at a reported avequipment and asphalt plants in the past, manufactured erage salary of $60,000, including the value of benethe lion’s share of the equipment at Highland, as well as serving as the EPC (Engineering, Procurement and fits), not to mention 450+ indirect jobs in transportation Construction) contractor for the project. Astec, which and in the harvesting supply chain. Highland estimates had been expanding into the renewable fuel industry for the direct annual economic benefit to the Pine Bluff some time, had already built a prototype facility at its area at $77 million annually. factory in Tennessee to test its designs. Taking lessons Looking beyond the completion of the Pine Bluff facillearned there, Astec built its first pellet plant for Fram ity later this year, company owners are already planning to Renewable Fuels in Hazlehurst, Ga., last year (see artibuild three more similar plants. Areas currently under concle in February 2017 Wood Bioenergy). Dubbed Hazlesideration include another location in Arkansas, one in Enterprise, Miss. and one in Maine. Doak adds that the two hurst Wood Pellets LLC, that plant is built to produce

Detection system measures incoming raw material.

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Wheel loader dumps material into feed bin.

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pellet startup ■

partnership with Weyerhaeuser, which serves as a broker to provide a legal and sustainable log supply through the proper channels. Doak explains, “It is a track and trace program, so I can track from where each load was harvested to where I provide the pellet to the customer.”

A Progress Industries chipping operation is currently under construction and should be finished in June. Until then the Pine Bluff facility is using a portable Peterson microchipper on site to generate its chip supply. For now, Cat 988 loaders unload trucks and a Prentice knuckleboom machine feeds the Peterson chipper. Once fully operational, the mill is expected to consume 160 log truck loads daily. The mill has capacity for around 50,000 tons of roundwood storage, an inventory that the plant will cycle through Highland uses 100% of the tree, either for pellets or to heat the furnace. every three weeks.

One Progress Industries 180 ft. radial crane is already biggest factors that determine the choice of location are in place, and a second 125 ft. crane will soon be inthe fiber supply and the logistics of getting the product to stalled. When finished, the two cranes will feed a 120 port. Secondary considerations include things like the ft. Progress Industries debarker, which in turn will lead availability of a skilled labor work force in the area and to the Progress Industries chipper. From there the Astec existing infrastructure to support manufacturing. system conveys material to various storage areas to In Pine Bluff, Doak says, “We are situated on a 209await processing in one of the four pellet lines. acre plot of land where we have a good wood fiber basket, From the storage silos, fiber runs through Astec’s Hot and good logistics to port.” The source material is mostly Oil Tube Dryer system. Two dryers on each line, a prefrom southern yellow pine plantations. dryer followed by a primary dryer, utilize hot oil flowing “These are typically 8-10 in. butts and that is what we through the tube as a medium to dry chips. Doak calls the use here,” the plant manager continues. Wood comes in dryer system “one of the beauties of the Astec design. In a tree length. Source material is currently 80% forest thinconventional heating system, the air stream carries fiber ning and 20% tops. In the near future, Highland will also through a rotary dryer. Once removed you have to sepause mill residuals. “We strip the bark off and utilize it in rate particulate matter from the air stream using cyclones. our furnace to generate our heat source. The whitewood The air stream is dirty with VOCs (volatile organic comwe process into a chip form and that is what goes into our pounds) and dust particulate. So typically in this industry pellets. We use a microchip, target size of ½ in. or less.” we have to send air stream through a scrubber or WESP (wet electrostatic precipitator) to remove particulate, then Process to RTOs (regenerative thermal oxidizer) to disintegrate Due to sustainability requirements, Highland does not any remaining VOCs,” the plant manager explains. buy any gatewood. Instead, the company has developed a With this Astec system, he continues, the fiber never

Plant manager Jody Doak, left, with Chip Mill Manager Thomas Duncan, right

Pellet loadout silos

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■ pellet startup

Highland will produce 600,000 metric tons a year.

Tom Reilley cut the ribbon, flanked by Marty Goulet, left, and Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, right.

touches any air stream. “We pull heat off our Sigma Thermal furnace and that heat goes across a heat exchanger.

The hot air off the furnace blows across the radiator or heat exchanger. Thermal oil pumps circulate the heated oil through the pipes and the wet green fiber never touches the air. Particulate is only off the furnace, so there is less ash and lower VOC content than in a normal drying system.” What emissions do remain is sent through a hot bag house to consume that particulate before it is sent out into the atmosphere. As such, Highland Pellets does not require ESPs or RTOs to meet its environmental standards.

The dried chips then flow through a hammermill system before ending up in one of four Andritz PM 30 pellet mills on each line. Pellets drop out to one of five Chief bins per line, each capable of holding 1,500 metric tons of pellets. After cooling, pellets load directly to rail cars on a spur Highland built. Union Pacific picks up an 80-car train unit every four-five days. From start to finish, the entire process from green chips to pellets takes about two hours.

Highland is slated to produce more than 600,000 metric tons annually, based on 7,500 hour-operating year. The mill will operate 24/7, 365 days a year on three shifts. Each of the four lines can produce 20 tons of pellets an hour, so with all four lines in operation the facility is designed to produce 80 tons per hour.

In order to ensure a consistent 20-ton per hour production pace, each line actually has five pellet mills: four running with one backup. Whenever one pellet machine has to be shut down for repairs or maintenance, the extra one will start up. “Inherent to the process we have dies and roller heads that wear out, so every 1,500 hours or so you have to change those out,” Doak says.

It takes five or six hours. “Instead of taking one mill out of production for six hours, I shut one down and start another, and we only lose about 30 minutes.”

The redundancy of having five pellet machines promotes higher uptime but there are a lot more moving parts, so a top-notch preventative maintenance program is a critical and never-ending process. Besides routine die and roller head replacement, there are a number of high-wear replacement areas, Doak says: hammers and

screens and tooling that constantly have to be replaced.

Aside from that there is power transmission upkeep, bearings, belts, pumps. The job doesn’t fall only on the shoulders of he maintenance department, Doak stresses.

Operators are responsible for much of it.

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Team Highland currently employs 58, just 10 shy of the number it will employ when in full operation. Most come from Pine Bluff and surrounding counties. Doak estimates 95% of the work force commutes under 30 miles. Of course, few of them—five, to be precise—had ever previously worked in a pellet mill. “I was very lucky that I was able to pull a handful of employees, maybe a dozen, with some experience in wood manufacturing or biomass,” Doak says.

Upon hiring, employees underwent a month-long orientation that included OSHA training and an education on the wood pellet manufacturing process. Representatives from Astec, Andritz and furnace maker Sigma Thermal helped explain the concepts. “The beauty of it was that we did it during construction, so they were able to get a mix of classroom training and hands-on training,” Doak notes.

Developing a culture of safety was paramount from day one, he adds. “We have a full-time EHS (environmental health and safety) officer and she is responsible for ensuring we stay within the regulations,” the manager says.

New employee orientation includes extensive safety training on lockout/tagout procedures, use of proper personal protective equipment and so on. Supervisors in each area guide new hires in the proper use of equipment and conduct weekly safety meetings. Topics vary for each crew on each shift each week, ranging from reviews of the hot work policy to fall protection to OSHA guidelines, proper use of harness and ties and everything in between.

“It is very important to our culture,” Doak asserts.

“From the owners on down, it is not just about meeting what’s required by law but truly doing everything we can to make sure everyone goes home with all their fingers and toes intact.”

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■ domestic pellets

From Farming

To Pelleting

By Jessica Johnson WHITE PIGEON, Mich. n 1992, Fiber By-Products was formed out of necessity—without the slightest desire to become a strong domestic wood pellet producer for Michigan and Indiana. Yet, 15 years after the founding, Fiber By-Products would do just that by diversifying its assets, going from a wood shavings/animal bedding outfit to also producing pellets thanks to the vision of Dale Schrock and his sons.

But it all started with some poultry barns in Goshen, Ind. and none of the Schrocks have forgotten that.

“He wasn’t intentionally looking to get into this,” Cory Schrock says of his late father. “We had a farm. We used wood shavings for bedding, so he sourced his own raw material and fortunately, this area is rich in wood fiber.” Through the industry grapevine Schrock’s operation become fairly well known—he would park a trailer at a sawmill and collect residuals that would otherwise be going to the area landfill. This method helped the sawmillers keep residuals out of landfills and make his animal bedding of higher quality, kiln dried hardwood.

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“Before too long we had more than what we needed on the farm,” Schrock remembers, “So he was giving it to neighboring farms. There was a demand for the product. It is interesting to see over the years how we went from charging to take waste material and giving product away to paying for material and charging to give it away.”

Schrock says that by 2002 the neighboring farms, as well as the family farm, had just about all they needed, but the sawmills were still producing excellent quality residuals. The family didn’t know what to do with the excess; that’s when Dale Schrock charged Cory with developing and finding new markets. Three years later the pellet side of the company would be built and the first bag of pellets was shipped not long after.

Now, Fiber By-Products’ pelleting business accounts for a capacity of more than 100,000 tons, with most years on track to produce 90,000. Schrock says when he first started researching wood pellets 10 years ago there didn’t seem to be a large amount of consumers in their area. He credits that to a lack of knowledge. After some web research, and a few visits to Northeast producers, Schrock says it became clear that if the com-

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domestic pellets ■

pany could produce a low enough cost product, they would be able to ship pellets to the existing markets, until the local market caught up.

For Schrock one of the most interesting things about being a pellet producer for the last decade has been watching the market change, and most importantly, grow. He estimates that in the early years, 2006-07, Fiber By-Products’ best customer was moving between three and five semi-loads per year. Now? If an account isn’t selling at least 10 semi-loads, it’s considered too small to service.

“Michigan has become a good state for wood pellets,” he believes, crediting the harsh winters and large amount of rural communities. “There’s a lot of wood burning folks in the state. There’s a lot of propane, as the old wood burners are falling off to the wayside, but they still like the wood. We’re seeing a lot of old wood stoves being switched out for pellet stoves over the years.” High natural gas and propane prices a decade or so ago also helped drive the conversion to pellet stoves, Schrock believes.

Even now, with fossil fuels at record lows, Schrock says Fiber By-Products doesn’t feel like the pellet valve has been turned off in the domestic market. Of course, pellet appliance sales are down, but he contends that the demand for the pellets seems to be holding steady.

As part of an upgrade in summer 2016, Fiber By-Products installed two Andritz 32 LM pellet mills, running 32 in. dies.

Upgrades Schrock says that before his father died, the family had been looking for an investor or potential partial sale.

“Basically, it was to get Dad and Mom retired and done.

So after he passed, we continued that path and brought in an investment firm from Detroit. The operation didn’t change and the management didn’t change,” he explains.

“We were too conservative. We knew we needed to make upgrades and we should have made upgrades, but we didn’t. They came along and said ‘What are you doing leaving a lot of money on the table, let’s go spend some to make more,’” Schrock adds. “We don’t come from a financial background; we come from a farming background. We just know how to work.”

With the push from the investors, Schrock says Fiber By-Products started looking at new pellet machines in summer 2016. Previously, the facility was using three 500 HP Bliss machines with 36 in. dies. The machines worked well, and were consistently pumping out 80,000-85,000 tons annually. But that was running at full blast, and demand was calling for more.

Schrock says originally the plan had been to just add a fourth Bliss machine, but the building itself couldn’t support it without some modifications to the existing structure. After determining that altering the building wasn’t the best option, Schrock began looking at other manufacturers, before ultimately deciding to install Andritz machines. The dies were downsized, but the horsepower remained the same.

“After some testing, we believed we would get

The Schrock family with their late father, shortly after Fiber By-Products began producing pellets, from left, Cory, Chad, Dale, Ryan and Brad.

more throughput out of the Andritz mill and we do,” he explains. The older mills were producing about four tons per hour, per machine. Fiber By-Products is now able to get between five and a half to six tons per machine per hour. “Our cost per ton went down, and our efficiency went up.”

Fiber By-Products did keep one of the 500 HP Bliss pellet machines. Using the combination of the two Andritz machines and one Bliss machine, production is at 15 tons per hour.

Pelleting Process Fiber By-Products grew the production, but didn’t change the collection process from its humble beginning.

All raw material is sourced from local sawmills and collected either by being blown into Fiber By-Products trailers at the facilities or is collected into open top walking

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Facility capacity is 100,000 tons.

Hamer form, fill and seal bagging line

floor trailers provided by Wilkens Mfg., using the Keith Mfg. floor system. A Fiber By-Products owned truck pulls each trailer.

Once each trailer arrives at the plant, the material is tagged by vendor, to help with pellet blend consistency. Schrock notes that vendors are grouped based on the hardwood species cut, and then those groups are categorized as Grade #1, Grade #2, and so forth.

A mixed bag of Bobcat and Case front end loaders carry material from the yard across Rotex screens. Considering 40% of the raw material being Cory Schrock taken in is already at the desired ¼ in. minus, Schrock says the screens help cut out a step at the hammermills.

Additionally, since raw material is all kiln dried and arrives at about 7% moisture, it is infrequent Fiber ByProducts makes use of its Onix drum dryer. Following screening, everything that doesn’t pass is processed through Andritz hammermills.

Once material is down to spec, it is conveyed to one of the two Andritz 32 LM pellet mills, which run 32 in. diameter dies, or the 500 HP Bliss mill. Here, Fiber ByProducts adds water. Schrock feels like he gets better production out of the wood if the moisture is at 8% or 9% when pressed. Following pressing, pellets are cooled and moisture is read at 3.5%.

“We produce an ultra premium pellet,” Schrock notes, “It is very dry, which is a big advantage to the consumer not buying water weight.” He believes this process gets more wood in a cubic foot and makes for a cleaner, hotter burning pellet. Finished pellets are ¼ in. in diameter.

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Fiber By-Products markets as ProPellet.

A Hamer form, fill and seal bagging line completes the process, assisted by a Columbia Okura bagging robot.

Honeyville Metal provided dust collection bins.

Maintenance Fiber By-Products focuses on preventative maintenance on Sunday nights or early Monday mornings before the plant starts up for the week. The plant runs 24/5 or 24/6, depending on demand, Schrock says. Oil and grease schedules are maintained daily, and at the start of each shift operators check equipment against a series of checklists targeting specific machines and specific bearings.

For Fiber By-Products 2016 was a softer year, coming off a warm 2015-16 winter, and saw mainly a recovery mode market. Schrock says one of the biggest advantages of how the company operates is with its own trucking fleet and direct sourcing of material, without relying on brokers.

But that’s also the downside in a softer year. “We can’t turn it off,” he explains. “This summer it would have been nice to dial it down a little bit, because the demand wasn’t there. But we can’t do that, which is ok.

We’re committed.”

The commitment to the raw material producers stems from the original principles Dale Schrock laid out. “Our father believed in value. He worked hard, and he wanted things done correctly. He wanted the best equipment; it didn’t have to be the shiniest or the cleanest, but the hardest working. He didn’t skip corners. He built this plant with that in mind.”

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■ product news

Buzen New Energy Orders Boiler Valmet will deliver a biomassfired CYMIC power boiler and a flue gas cleaning system to Buzen New Energy LLC in the city of Buzen in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan.

“The new order continues Valmet’s multifuel boiler deliveries to the Japanese market in close cooperation with our local partner JFE Engineering. Our boiler and flue gas cleaning system will be part of the biomass power plant to be delivered by JFEE to the customer.

The plant will be the biggest one in Japan using solely biomass as fuel,” says Kai Janhunen, Vice President, Energy Business Unit, Pulp and Energy Business Line, Valmet.

Installation work will begin in 2018. Commissioning and startup of the power plant is scheduled for the second half of 2019.

Valmet's delivery includes a CYMIC circulating fluidized bed (CFB) boiler for firing biomass.

Main fuels to be used in the boiler are crushed palm kernel shells and wood pellets. Thermal power capacity of the boiler is 174 MW, and

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electricity capacity of the whole power plant will be 75 MW. Effective removal of dust particles from combustion flue gases will be ensured by Valmet's bag house filter.

Founded in 2016, Buzen New Energy LLC engages in the generation and supply of power primarily through a biomass boiler plant. Owners are eREX Co., Ltd. 65%, Kyuden Mirai Energy Co., INC. 27% and Kyudenko Corporation 8%.

The Buzen plant will be situated on a Kyushu Kouatsu Concreteowned site, in Fukuoka prefecture, and use about 300,000 tonnes of palm kernel shell (PKS) and wood pellets per annum as its primary fuel source, all of which eREX plans to procure by itself.

“We look forward to them representing Barko and serving our valued forestry customers in the Gulf Coast region.”

Based in New Iberia, La., ARDCO Equipment will handle sales and service of Barko loaders, industrial wheeled tractors, harvesters and feller-bunchers. The dealership was recently established after several years of operating a rental fleet in the area alongside ARDCO’s manufacturing operation.

Bandit Coloring System Available

ARDCO Joins Barko Lineup Barko Hydraulics has named ARDCO Equipment as its dealer for logging and land clearing equipment in Louisiana.

“ARDCO Equipment is a great addition to our dealer network,” says Alecia McKay-Jones, dealer development manager for Barko.

With Bandit’s enhanced Color Max colorizer system, creating beautiful colored landscape mulch from waste wood has never been easier.

The Color Max coloring system sprays color directly to the Bandit Beast cuttermill, which thoroughly

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product news ■

coats material during processing.

“This system takes full advantage of the high-production capabilities of The Beast, distributing color throughout the mulch as its broken down,” says Jason Morey, Bandit Industries sales manager.

“Because color is applied to the cuttermill, coverage on the product is distributed evenly while also being efficient with the colorant.

The Color Max system requires less colorant and water to create the rich, evenly colored landscape mulch that’s always in demand. By applying color to the cuttermill, material stays in better contact with color to literally produce more colored mulch with less colorant. On average, the Color Max system uses 25% less color and 30% less water. Visit banditchippers.com.

Grinder Enhances Ties Byproducts Going from $4.50 a ton to $1.00 a ton is significant when your business processes 150,000 tons of railroad ties a year, and that’s exactly what Ties 2 of Superior, Wis. accomplished by upgrading to a CBI electric stationary system. Last year, Continental Biomass Industries custom designed and installed an electric stationary system that grinds 600-800 tons of railroad ties on a daily basis for Ties 2.

Steve Berglund, co-owner of Ties 2, has been grinding ties for more than 20 years with CBI machines and has been a key source of design input. In 2016, he upgraded from a diesel system that produced 75 tons an hour to an electric system that produces 125-

150 tons an hour, all while reducing costs associated with energy, labor and maintenance.

“With fuel and related costs of the diesel machine we were at $4.50 a ton and our goal was to get to a dollar a ton for energy cost; we’ve done that with our system,” Berglund says. “If you’re just going to isolate the energy savings, it would be about $400,000. The electrical system requires less maintenance and because it’s faster your labor cost is going to go down by default.”

Railroad ties, by design, are created from the hardest wood possible for the sake of durability. CBI manufactured its largest ever CBI Grizzly Mill Primary Grinder for the Ties 2 application, providing a 60x60 in. solid steel rotor that brings optimal energy to the initial

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■ product news

grind. Following the primary grind, the ground ties pass through a magnet to ensure all existing metal is removed before moving onto the CBI prescreener. Any ma-

terial that the screener identifies as oversized is then passed through a CBI Grizzly Mill secondary grinder (48x72 in. rotor).

The end product, which looks

very similar to the average homeowner’s landscaping mulch, is transported to Minnesota Power and Excel Energy to generate more renewable energy for nearby regions.

“One thing I would say about this system is that if you’re going to try and make the investment, and you’re not trying to do it on the cheap, but you’re going to make the several million dollar investment—this is the way to go bar none,” Berglund says.

Morbark Recognizes Gold Tier Dealers Morbark, LLC, recognized eight of its top tree care products dealers and four of its top industrial dealers with Gold Tier status.

Tree Care Products recipients included: Alexander Equipment, northern Illinois; Bobcat of Buffalo, western New York; Cardinal Equipment, Ontario and Quebec, Canada; Deacon Equipment, eastcentral Pennsylvania; ESSCO Distributors, Long Island, New York; Savannah Equipment Specialists, southeast Georgia; Schmidt Equipment, Massachusetts and Rhode Island; Stevens Products LTD, New Zealand Industrial Products winners were: Cardinal Equipment, Ontario, Quebec and Maritime Provinces, Canada; James River Equipment, Virginia and North Carolina; C. Whitford Equipment, western New York; Tidewater Equipment, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida “These dealers represent the best of the best,” says John Foote, Morbark Senior Vice President. “They provide more than just our high-performance equipment; they give our customers local knowledge and support to help them grow and maintain their businesses.”

Morbark dealers are reviewed and scored annually on their customer service, business plan, equipment and parts sales, service and warranty process, marketing efforts, and much more.

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Both James River Equipment and Tidewater Equipment were honored with Gold Tier status for the fourth straight year, while Cardinal Equipment earned its second straight Gold dealer award and L.C. Whitford was honored for the first time.

MoistTech IR3000 moisture sensor

MoistTech IR3000 moisture sensor

MoistTech Corp. is the original manufacturer of Near-Infrared (NIR) technology in the industrial moisture industry and manufactures a range of on-line sensors and at-line instruments for moisture measurement and real-time moisture process control for forest product and pellet manufacturing industries.

MoistTech Corp’s IR3000 Moisture Sensor monitors the product even with small gaps in product flow, unaffected by ambient light without impacting the accuracy, has zero maintenance involved and provides instant measurements within about ±0.1% in low moisture applications and ±0.25% on high moisture applications.

The IR3000 is ideal for installations on chain conveyors and screw conveyors and operates well under the harshest of conditions.

MoistTech engineers are glad to share their experience and knowledge to make your manufacturing process more profitable. Visit MoistTech.com.

John Deere Sells Slash Bundler Rights John Deere Forestry Oy has sold its slash bundler unit rights to the Dutch company Wellinkcaesar

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■ product news

Timber Technology BV. The slash bundler has been marketed under the Dutch Dragon brand since summer 2016. Further improvements to the bundler unit include new scissor cutting system and higher tilting hook.

In slash bundling, forest residues are fed into the bundler, which compresses it into bundles that are about 3 meters long and 60-80 cm in diameter for power plant energy needs. In Nordic forests, about 150 slash bundles can be harvested from a one-hectare area. The thermal energy of one slash bundle is about 1 MWh. Wellinkcaesar Timber Technology will also continue as a John Deere forest machine dealer. In addition to the slash bundler unit, the company’s own product portfolio includes energy wood chippers and press collectors designed for energy

wood transport. The Dutch Dragon SB60 slash bundler for logging residues can be installed on a forwarder, a truck bed or a trailer.

Witt Named Aries Clean Energy CFO Mark Witt has been named CFO of Aries Clean Energy, Nashville, Tenn. Aries is a privately-held company focusing on sustainable waste-to-energy technologies in the clean-tech marketplace. Witt brings more than 35 years of experience in the industry. He is the founder of Commercial Energy Services, Houston, Tex. “Mark is going to be a valuable guide as we continue to grow and expand our markets and our company,” says Aries CEO Gregory Bafalis. “His track record with startups is very impressive.” ➤ 34

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■ product news

32 ➤ Aries Clean Energy, formerly PHG Energy, has evolved its product line and focus from offering industrial fuel gas conversion equipment to providing clean energy, sustainable waste disposal solutions, and in-house R&D expertise. The company already holds eight patents in the biomass and biosolids gasification field—several of which were used to build the world’s largest downdraft gasifier last year in Lebanon, Tenn.

Aries Clean Energy’s downdraft gasification process uses a sustainable thermo-chemical process to produce a synthetic fuel gas— from a mixture that could include wood, scrap tires, and wastewater sludge—that can be used much like natural gas for thermal applications (e.g., boilers and kilns) and

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the production of electricity. The process also produces a valuable byproduct, high-carbon biochar, which can be used in agricultural and industrial applications.

In 2016, Aries Clean Energy completed construction on the world’s largest downdraft gasifier in Lebanon with a throughput capacity of 64 tons per day.

KPA Unicon Delivers Steam Boiler Plant Cartulinas CMPC S.A. and KPA Unicon Oy have signed a contract for the delivery of a Unicon Biograte 30 t/h steam boiler plant to Cartulinas Valdivia Mill in Valdivia, Chile. In addition to wood chips, bark and sawdust, the plant operates on bio sludge and it produces steam for the mill’s carton

board production process. The plant will be started up for operation in December 2018.

The contract covers all process equipment, buildings, installation supervision, commissioning and training of operating personnel.

The heart of the plant is Unicon Biograte combustion technology, which is specifically designed to utilize challenging biofuels for energy production with high efficiency and low emissions.

Truck Loads Measured In 3-D Cind AB has developed a product for precise 3-D measurement of stacks on timber trucks. The system is based on stereoscopic technology developed by Saab.

The Cind system accurately meas-

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ures volume as the truck passes through the system, thus allowing for instant and precise volume measurement.

The system uses two pairs of stereo cameras mounted on a portal through which the truck will pass. While the truck passes through, Cind´s stereo cameras and software create a perfect 3D image where the dimensions can be measured. This can be done by means of manual measurement on the screen or automatically by the system. Visit cind.se.

Peterson Provides Small Drum Chipper

Peterson Pacific Corp. now offers a 3310 drum chipper with a 540 HP Caterpillar engine and power to handle up to 24 in. diameter logs. The fully enclosed engine compartment keeps things clean, but is easily serviced by large access doors on both sides of the machine.

The 3310 is the third and smallest model in Peterson’s lineup of drum chippers. Like the other larger Peterson drum chippers, the 3310 is equipped with sizing screens and an intelligent control system. The 3310 is a high capacity small chipper designed for biomass energy producers who will benefit from the efficient feeding and flexible van loading options.

At just under 24 ft. long, the 3310 utilizes a transverse-feed design allowing for a much smaller operations deck than typical drum chippers. The rotatable end load or optional top load spout design allows for trailers to be loaded in a variety of positions, depending on the demands of the job site. Not only does the compact size allow

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■ product news

for easy maneuverability, but can even be transported in a 40 ft. high cube container for overseas shipment. Visit petersoncorp.com.

New Grinder Goes After Large Material

Vermeer’s new HG6800TX horizontal grinder features 950 HP in a 92,000 lb. class, and an infeed design to aid in feeding larger material such as whole trees. The feed roller can climb up to 50 in.

The new infeed was designed

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■ product news

with low sidewalls to help the operator more easily load material into the machine. This feature allows larger loads to be dropped on the infeed with less interaction and manipulation of the material, so the operator can drop the load and focus on the next one.

The unit features the patented Series III duplex hard-faced drum.

In addition to providing long-lasting durability, maintenance time is decreased with the ability to remove and flip or replace single hammers, as well as being able to externally balance the drum.

With the optional Damage Defense system, contractors who deal with contaminated wood can help protect their equipment by reducing the likelihood of major machine damage caused by certain metal contaminants entering the hammermill. The system reacts to the initial contact of metal by reversing the feed system to allow for removal. Visit vermeer.com.

Deere Enhances Data Processing Located inside the mile-long Dubuque Works facility in Iowa, the newly minted John Deere Machine Health Monitoring Center is changing how John Deere and its dealers analyze data and proactively support customers through mainstream technology. Additionally, John Deere has launched its Machine Monitoring Center program.

The Machine Health Monitoring Center is situated in close proximity to product engineering teams, as well as the men and women who build many of the John Deere construction and forestry machines. Within the Machine Health Monitoring Center, specialists with a deep understanding of the equipment and expert analytical capabilities develop solutions that nourish the manufacturer’s monitoring services by analyzing aggregated machine data, identifying trends

that warrant a closer look and then developing new and improved preventative maintenance and repair protocols.

“Data from thousands of connected John Deere machines flows here,” said Tim Worthington, manager, product support services, John Deere Construction & Forestry.

“The Machine Health Monitoring Center is the central nervous system of our monitoring network. It enables us to develop and deploy solutions to repair machines faster and help our customers avoid unexpected downtime altogether.”

Working in tandem with the Machine Health Monitoring Center are Machine Monitoring Centers at dealerships across the country. These centers feature trained dealer specialists who use advanced telematics and alert management tools to stay on top of potential issues. When necessary, they can engage trained technicians without visiting the field.

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