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■ table of contents
www.woodbioenergymag.com
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FROM THE EDITORS Bio Products In The West
14-25 DEMO BLITZ Bandit, Morbark, CBI, Rotochopper
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HURRICANE MICHAEL Now It’s A Race Against Time
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EDITORIAL INDEX Wood Bioenergy Stories In 2018
11 IN THE NEWS New Hampshire Steps Up For Biomass
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WET END Technologies Before The Drying Starts
12 QUESTION AND ANSWER Moreys Leave Imprint On Chipping
Cover Photography: Catastrophic timber damage from Hurricane Michael south of Blountstown, Fla. (Photo courtesy of the Florida Forest Service)
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Wood Bioenergy / December 2018
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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 10
Number 6
14 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 ■ 58 Aldea De Las Cuevas, Buzon 60 Benedoleig 03759, (Alicante) Espana +34 96 640 4165 ■ Fax: +34 96 640 4048 E-mail: murray.brett.aba@abasol.net 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:
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800.647.8440
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641.628.3141
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763.576.9040
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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■ from the editors
Western Projects
Promising R
ecent developments in Oregon reflect the Pacific Northwest’s largely untapped potential for biomass utilization and wood bioenergy growth in the region. Two projects—Red Rock Biofuels in Lakeview and Oregon Torrefaction and Restoration Fuels in John Day—are moving ahead with construction at their respective sites, with startup dates scheduled in 2019-20. The projects are similar in that both seek to utilize fiber produced through thinning and other forest health enhancement programs on public lands (the FremontWinema National Forest near Lakeview and the Malheur NF surrounding John Day). Sawmills are also part of the equation for each facility, with Red Rock near the Collins Pine sawmill and Oregon Torrefaction operating inside the Malheur Lumber sawmill facility, which is also a backer of the project. Products for each venture are quite different, with Red Rock Biofuels planning to convert 136,000 tons of forest biomass and mill residuals into 15 million gallons of jet fuel, diesel fuel and naptha fuel each year. Though it will be almost 10 years from conception to startup, the plant has high-profile customers like Southwest Airlines and Federal Express already lined up and has gained considerable state and local support across the political spectrum. The Oregon Torrefaction project is a different animal, led by Ochoco Lumber, owners of the Malheur Lumber sawmill in John Day, and the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities, which is seeking to develop new markets for torrefied biomass products. A key target is Portland Gas & Electric’s Boardman, Ore. coalfired generation plant, which is curtailing the use of coal by 2020 and seeking alternate fuel sources. The plant has made several biomass test burns, but officials overseeing the facility have yet to make a decision on its future. Stretching in a forested arc from northern California through Oregon and Washington and on to northern Idaho and Montana, the Pacific Northwest has plenty of
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wood bioenergy potential. Aside from mostly domestic pellet producers on the U.S. side of the Northwest and a small but growing fuel pellet export sector in Canada, there are mostly self-supplied forest products boilers in the region, and outside of several paper mill procurement areas, not much of a large-scale fuel wood market in a timber economy that’s largely sawlog-driven. Many industry observers are keeping their eyes on Asia, which is making moves to utilize more biomass and fuel pellets for power generation. Japan and South Korea’s plans to do so could be a game-changer for Northwest fiber markets if demand is anything like what Europe and the UK have developed. Meanwhile, projects like Red Rock Biofuels and Oregon Torrefaction seek to carve out niches in the renewable fuels marketplace with products based on raw materials derived largely from forest health improvement efforts. Both projects reflect the promise of a better energy future through wood biomass innovation and utilization.
Wood Bioenergy / December 2018
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■ in the news
No Tree Left Unturned
Hurricane Michael’s Impact By Rich Donnell
F
lorida, Georgia and Alabama have weighed in with timberland damage assessments of more than $2 billion combined following Hurricane Michael, which made landfall October 10 in the Florida Panhandle at Mexico Beach, Fla. just southeast of Panama City. Packing 155 MPH sustained winds, the Category 4 hurricane was the third strongest hurricane in Michael’s path in Bay County, Fla. (Photo courtesy of history to make landfall in the Florida Forest Service) U.S. Although the footprint of the hurricane was not as big as some manufacturing facilities also susprevious storms, it plowed a 25-50 tained damage. More than 1.6 milmile path from the coast well into lion acres of the damaged timber is south Georgia. in pine, with 667,000 acres in mixed Florida Forest Service, a division upland stands, and 523,000 in botof the Florida Dept. of Agriculture tomland. and Consumer Services, announced Georgia Forestry Commission rethat the estimated value of timber ports 2,368,226 acres of forestland damage in Florida is $1.3 billion, were impacted with 20,510,889 impacting 2.8 million acres of fortons of pine and 17,178,721 tons of estland either catastrophically hardwood being damaged with an (347,000 acres), severely (1.04 milestimated value of $762,683,909. lion acres) or moderately (1.4 milSpecifically 1.16 million acres of lion acres). pine were damaged, 995,000 acres The timber damage percentage in of hardwood and 213,000 acres of severe and catastrophic areas ranges pine/hardwood mix. from 75-95%. Catastrophic damage was docu“This is a catastrophic loss to the mented for 79,456 acres of forestforest industry in the Florida Panland from south of Albany to Lake handle,” said Florida Commissioner Seminole; this damage represents a of Agriculture Adam Putnam. “We loss of 2,164,507 tons of pine and are committed to helping Florida re1,812,946 tons of hardwood with a cover from this devastating storm value of $80,487,176. and will continue to work closely Severe damage was documented with the agriculture industry on hurfor 296,112 acres of forestland from ricane-related damage assessments.” south of Albany to near Bainbridge. The 11 counties impacted are This damage represents a loss of some of the top timber-producing in 6,368,484 tons of pine and the state, including Bay, Calhoun, 5,333,844 tons of hardwood with a Franklin, Gadsden, Gulf, Holmes, value of $236,807,442. Jackson, Leon, Liberty, Wakulla and Alabama Forestry Commission Washington. Some forest products officials estimate $20 million in tim-
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ber damage in Houston County in the southeast corner of the state was lost to Hurricane Michael. Surveys conducted by AFC found that 42,357 forested acres were destroyed by the storm— 13,396 acres of pine, 2,879 acres of hardwood and 26,082 acres of mixed pine and hardwood. Forest owners should survey their property as soon as possible as storm-damaged timber should be recovered quickly if it is to be utilized, officials says. Drying timber can also create fuel for wildfires. Compromised timber is also more susceptible to southern pine beetle attack. Alabama Dept. of Transportation has issued a supporting memorandum designating the routes that timber haulers should use in moving the storm-damaged wood. Much of the damage being reported across the three-state area is trees broken off 10-20 feet off the ground rather than pushed over at the roots. Recovery efforts in stands with broken off trees are severely hampered. On the positive side, falling temperatures should enhance the window for recovery. Enviva reported that its facilities incurred only limited damage from Hurricane Michael, noting it undertook substantial preparation in advance of Hurricane Michael’s landfall to keep employees safe and minimize disruption, including proactively idling operations at its wood pellet production plant in Jackson County, Florida (the Cottondale plant) and a third-party deep-water marine terminal in Panama City, Fla. The Cottondale plant did not incur substantial wind
Wood Bioenergy / December 2018
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in the news ■
or water damage. Enviva does not own material infrastructure assets at the Panama City terminal, but a small portion of the roof on its contracted storage warehouse will need to be replaced and an estimated 5,000 tons of wood pellet inventory stored at the terminal appear to have been damaged by wind and rain. The Cottondale plant returned to operations once power was restored. Although the Port of Panama City remained closed, Enviva was making arrangements to transport wood pellets from the Cottondale plant to other terminals. As a result, Enviva expected Hurricane Michael to temporarily delay portions of its shipping schedule. One of the Cottondale plant’s major microchip suppliers, Sapp’s Land & Excavating, Inc., and Jerry Sapp Timber Co., reports that Michael caused Enviva Cottondale to suspend wood receipts for a week
and they resumed buying microchips on October 19. A few of Sapp Timber employees lost their homes and vehicles and the company was able to assist them with the recovery efforts. Sapp Timber was fully operational with all staff present by October 25, even though they had to be extremely cautious on the roadways because of the low wires and utility workers. “The largest challenge that lies in front of us and all of the forest industry in the Panhandle is how to process the storm damaged wood,” comments Vice President Jeremy Sapp. “Landowners are desperate for a solution to the timber that was pristine and is now laying on the ground, broken off or blown over at the stump. We have been utilizing a track cutter to aid in felling the storm damaged wood but it is not as effective as we would like so we are waiting on a John Deere 2554 (log
loader) that is being equipped with a CSI DFH-3526, which is a dangle head capable of cutting parallel to the ground. The John Deere with the CSI head should be able to cut 1215 loads of damaged wood per day.” Florida Forestry Assn. has formed a task force composed of area loggers, consultants, engineers and mill owners to address the challenges of the local market and provide suggestions to be submitted to the State and Federal governments. The points of discussion include rapid construction of wet decks, adaptation of harvesting techniques, and subsidies for landowners who are experiencing a drastic loss in timber value. Sapp notes that the local mills are already experiencing a surge in the volume of wood because of the storm and only have the capacity to process a finite amount, but the
December 2018 / Wood Bioenergy
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■ in the news
wood that is on the ground will only be viable for an estimated five months, so wet decks and new lay down yards are essential to facilitate temporary storage of the log products because they can be stored “wet” for an extended period of time without bluestaining. “Although we didn’t lose much of our personal forest to the storm, many people counted on their timber stands for retirements and Timber damage in Gulf County, Fla. (Photo courtesy of college tuitions. Hopefully Florida Forest Service) some support will come from state and federal agencies to help wet yards and closed loop sprinkler keep forestry the second largest insystems. dustry in our state,” Sapp says. “The broken and down material Pete Madden, principal and can be used and probably for a owner of Edgemere Consulting in longer period than pulp. But once it Atlanta, and former president and dries out it is very difficult to pelCEO of Drax Biomass, notes that all letize,”comments Harold Arnold, the damaged material would be useprincipal of Fram Renewable Fuels. ful feedstock for bioenergy and Another problem, Arnold notes, could be used for some time as the are the very stringent sustainability goal is to drive down the moisture rules that must be followed for most content of the material anyway. markets. “If we cannot trace the “The problem is that it doesn’t fiber back to its origin then we can‘weigh-up,’ meaning you can’t econot use it,” Arnold says. “Storm nomically transport the feedstock cleanup would make great raw magreat distances before the freight terial for pellets but in many cases cost becomes intolerable,” he says, cannot be used. Just one of the referring to the fact that the market many unintended consequences of a value of tops, limbs, branches or stringent sustainability protocol.” crooked pulpwood is so low, and The WestRock mill in Panama you can only haul 26-27 tons per City sustained significant structural load, therefore you can haul it damage. Stacks on two boilers were maybe 40-50 miles before the reportedly blown over and one freight cost is too much per load of a source estimated the mill would be low value product. down for at least 1 month. “Another way to look at it is if Rex Lumber worked to get its there is a bioenergy plant in Waysawmills at Bristol and Graceville cross, Ga. and it has plenty of feedgoing following power outages. stock within a 40 mile radius, why “There are many cosmetic repairs would it pay more for similar feedthat need to be made and we will be stock from 75 miles away from hurworking on those in the coming ricane salvage? That’s why the locaweeks and months,” they comtion of these plants is really impormented right after the storm. “We tant,” Madden says. are working through many issues “The race is on to get the sawlogs since we do not have internet or salvaged to market before next sumphone, again it is back to the old mer’s heat begins to create blue days.” stain problems and degrades the Employees gradually returned to logs,” Madden says, adding that the Bristol mill, but many others some companies may put the pulpcould not due to lack of communiwood and sawlogs under water in cation, fuel, power, home damage or
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all of the above. The company was working to see if the bank would open to cash checks. “The mills did sustain some damage, but nothing compared to what the local landowners are dealing with down here,” comments coowner Charles McRae. “To me that is the biggest story and problem that will come out of this Hurricane.” The Bristol and Graceville sawmills are back to full capacity and they are working to run up as much storm wood as they possibly can, but McRae says they will be fortunate “to salvage 30% of the 1.4 million acres on the ground between us and the other mills around.” McRae says they have concerns about Bristol’s wood basket longterm. “The national forest (600,000 acres) is to our south and east and we pretty much haven’t received anything from it in 30 years. It weathered the storm well and we are working very hard to get that forest open and productive. Things seem to be moving in that direction, but only time will tell. Having that resource available will help bridge the gap of what will take 20-30 years to recover to our west.” Alabama Forestry Commission released some general recovery guidelines as drawn up by the North Carolina Forestry Assn: Any young pines (30 feet and shorter) leaning 30 degrees or more will likely not produce higher end products such as poles, sawtimber and veneer. Trees leaning 15 degrees or less should recover. More mature pine (greater than 30 ft. in height) can have more lean and still recover, but most should be 20 degrees or less. If the lean and wind throw has caused roots to become exposed or damaged, these trees should be removed. Breaks of main stems and branches on pines should be assessed. Most pine trees will die if their
Wood Bioenergy / December 2018
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in the news ■
tops are completely broken off. Most pines will survive if three or more live limbs remain; however, there will be substantial loss of growth. Any breakage in the pine stem or roots and major wounds will become a prime entry point for insects and disease, which ultimately weakens the timber stand, e.g., southern pine beetle and blue stain fungus. Large pine trees with stem breakage suffer serious wood structure damage, forcing sawmills to trim back four to six ft. from the breakage point. Hardwoods can keep longer after wind damage as long as the roots are in the soil. Unlike pines, a storm-damaged hardwood with a portion of the root ball attached to the ground may survive an additional 6-12 months. Timber sold in post-storm conditions may have higher logging costs factored into the final sale lowering the return to the landowner. The timing of selling storm-damaged timber is important. Generally, after a major storm, there is a temporary wood glut on the market, which may lower the price of the timber.
ity. Our state’s forestry, recreation, tourism, and agricultural industries were on the line, and we thank the legislature for hearing the facts and fixing the Governor’s mistake.” Earlier, representatives from NHTOA, New Hampshire Sustainable Energy Assn. (NHSEA), and
Granite State Hydropower Assn. (GHSA) had presented the N.H. Speaker of the House and N.H. Senate President with hundreds of petitions containing more than 6,500 signatures from more than 200 towns urging the override. The petition drive was one of the ➤ 26
Biomass Bill Wins The Day Inspired by the support of loggers and timberland owners, the New Hampshire Legislature overrode the Governor’s veto of SB365, a bill that supports the state’s six independent biomass plants and wasteto-energy facility. “The Legislature made the right call to override the veto of SB365. When you consider the vast impacts this bill has not only on various sectors of NH’s economy, but also on NH’s established and treasured values, the small cost is vastly outweighed by the benefits,” says Jasen Stock, Executive Director of the New Hampshire Timberland Owners Assn. (NHTOA). “In addition, the override successfully protects NH from the long-term $17 million annual cost our state would have to pay to replace lost generation capac-
December 2018 / Wood Bioenergy
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■ question & answer
Bandit Founders Ride Off
Into The Sunset (Sort Of)
Left to right, Jerry Morey, Dianne Morey, Mike Morey at Bandit’s 35th anniversary celebration
EDITOR’S NOTE: At the time of this writing, Bandit Industries owners Mike Morey Sr., his spouse Dianne Morey and first cousin Jerry Morey were about to complete their earlier announced sale of their Remus, Mich.based chipper and grinder manufacturing company to their employees in an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP). The transaction and ensuing transition come as the company celebrates 35 years. Mike and Jerry both grew up around the chipping business at nearby Morbark in Winn, Mich. Their respective dads were instrumental in the founding and development of Morbark with their uncle Norval Morey, and ultimately Mike managed the Morbark manufacturing plant and Jerry led marketing and sales. In 1983 Mike left Morbark and started Foremost Fabrications, beginning operations in a nearby repair shop and producing a brush chipper. Mike wanted a clever name for his chipper and went through an encyclopedia looking for a name and came across the term “bandit” with a picture of a raccoon. So he called his
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chipper the Brush Bandit. In 1987 Jerry left Morbark and joined Mike and Dianne, bringing much-needed marketing and sales expertise. Customers knew the Brush Bandit chipper name better than the Foremost company name, so they decided to change the name of the company to Bandit. The raccoon symbol has stayed from the start. During Bandit’s 35th anniversary celebration and equipment demonstration on September 11-12, Wood Bioenergy associate editor Jay Donnell sat down for a brief exchange with Jerry Morey. WB: Why did you decide that now was the time to sell the company? JM: Well we’re getting old. We’re partners and if something happened to us it would be a struggle for one of the partners to buy out the business. We’re getting to the point where we want to retire. I’m 70 and my partners are 71. We looked at trying to sell it to a strategic buyer
Wood Bioenergy / December 2018
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question & answer ■
and we looked at an investment banking company and we weren’t really happy with either of those scenarios because of the risk that they might move the plant or they might come in and change the culture of Bandit. A couple of our big time customers who are ESOPs suggested that we take a look at it and they hooked us up with a firm that specializes in putting ESOPs together. We felt like it was best for our employees to own it. We’re in that process right now and we hope to close that by the 31st of October and we’re on schedule to do that. Obviously there is some risk for us, but going forward it’s really good for the company because an ESOP doesn’t pay any federal or state taxes so it will make sure the company stays strong. WB: What will the management structure be like moving forward? JM: We’ve got a great management team and it will be fun to see where they take it from here. We have a lot of new stuff we’re introducing and a lot of opportunity so we’re pretty excited about the whole scenario. My partners and I will remain on the board and we’ll have a couple other board members. We’ve already talked to some key industry people to be on the board and then you have a trustee that owns all the shares and he reports to us. Then there’s a management team we have in place and they report to us. We’ll still be involved, but we won’t be responsible for the day-to-day operation of the company. WB: Could you reflect on your time at Bandit? Did you ever envision it would become such a worldwide company? JM: When we first started, Mike said we’re not building anything but that one size chipper. I said “oh yeah I know you…” We had been in the industry our whole lives. I was at Morbark for 23 years and was the sales manager there for 20 years. Mike was the plant manager there. We knew the industry. The brush chippers were relatively new, but once we learned what the tree care industry was all about and all the opportunities there we looked for things more oriented to the land clearing side, but then as we developed whole tree chippers we got into the forestry end and supplying biomass chippers to the forest products industry and so forth. Now we’re getting into supplying specialty chips for the pellet mills and we’re building specialty products for the overseas biomass market. We build a lot of our grinders for processing grasses and straw in South America for biomass use. Now we’re recycling shingles with the machines and we’re getting into recycling plastics. We’re going to expand what we’re already doing in the recycling business into recycling metal, crushing rock and grinding tires and all that kind of stuff. WB: What did you learn at Morbark that helped you develop Bandit along the way? JM: My uncle (Norval Morey) was kind of a tough person to work with. We learned some things to do and not to do. He had a pretty good long-term vision and could
see opportunities and knew how to structure the business. We learned that to run a successful company you have to have good employees and delegate responsibilities to them. I’m not saying we were always the best. One thing we’ve really gotten into more recently is more strategic planning and long-term planning. We used to jump in and build products and say the industry needs this so let’s go do it. We do a lot more research and talk to customers a lot more about what they want. Most of the ideas for our products come from the customers and they always have. At a lot of the trade shows and events they’ll come in and say we need to do this or change that. Most of the ideas come from customers and also our key sales and service people who are out there interfacing with the customer on a regular basis. WB: What do you think the future of the grinding and chipping industry looks like? JM: The biomass market in the United States is really soft and that’s because of all the biomass plants that have converted to natural gas. I don’t see it being really strong—other than the wood that goes into making the pellets—until natural gas gets back up to that $6 or $7 range instead of that $3 range that it’s in now. We went through this same cycle in the 1970s. There was the oil embargo and that energy crisis created a lot of that and after that natural gas prices came back and then biomass plants came back. With mandates for renewables, biomass is a great choice and I think it’s the best choice to be honest. If we don’t burn that wood that’s laying in the forest it’s going to rot and produce CO2 anyway so I really think it would be neat if there was more focus on biomass here like there is in Europe. If the Europeans can afford to export wood from the United States and burn it then why can’t we just burn it here? The problem is they have ways of subsidizing it over there that we don’t. I really think long-term that biomass is a great solution and we need something for low grade wood here in the United States. WB: Why is it important to put on a demonstration event like this for your customers and dealers? JM: This is the first time we’ve combined the dealers and the end users. We’ve had the end users in and we’ve had dealers in, but this is the first time we’ve had them together. We learn so much. We learn what their markets are and what their demand is for this and that. We learn what their needs are and what their concerns are. It’s a great exchange because we’ve got several hundred customers and dealers here. It’s kind of neat to see the mix between all of our international dealers and our domestic dealers. The international dealers are dealing with much different issues than the domestic dealers. They all talk and have a good chance to share what works for them. I was listening to our dealer from South Africa and a lot of chippers and Beast grinders that they sell are going to orchards. We sell some grinders into orchards but I don’t know if we’ve made a big enough push into that market area and it’s something we’re going to take a look at.
December 2018 / Wood Bioenergy
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■ demo blitz
The Arjes Titan shredder swallows up a junk car.
Big Crowd Marks
35th For Bandit By Jay Donnell REMUS, Mich. andit Industries held its 35th anniversary celebration and equipment demonstration on September 11-12 at its headquarters here. More than 350 dealers, end-users and special guests observed ongoing modifications to Bandit’s manufacturing facilities and enjoyed a full day of live equipment action. Attendees were treated to a big reception at the Sleepy Hollow Hideaway where a casino night and dinner was held to kick things off on day number one. On day two dealers and customers bussed over to Machinery was everywhere but Bandit’s Beast grinders comBandit’s headquarters, where Bandit employees sta- manded everybody’s attention. tioned around the plant provided visitors information about recent improvements and new machines in protoadditions to increase production capacity and add a statetype stage. of-the-art parts and service facility. The new parts facility Bandit is investing considerably in two major building houses a central receiving and distribution area, improving
B
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Wood Bioenergy / December 2018
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demo blitz ■
Bandit brought in Kevin Clare Logging to assist with the live demo.
The event combined dealers and end-users.
the flow of parts and materials to the six major manufacturing facilities. That project frees up additional space for production expansion. Bandit added three-quarters of a million dollars of new cutting and steel processing equipment in 2017 in anticipation of the expansions. After the factory tour attendees went out to the Bandit demo site and had a chance to see a variety of Bandit machines in action—more than two dozen in total—on wheel and on track, large and small chippers, big grinders, and even a shredding machine that devoured automobiles. Bandit has partnered with Germany-based Arjes on a line of slowspeed industrial shredders and crushers. In action was the Arjes VZ 950 Titan shredder, which features a Volvo 750 HP engine. From the giant crusher to the smaller offerings, Bandit showed its popular 250 brush disc-style chipper and the 200UC which has a large 14 in. by 17 in. chipper throat opening. Bandit also showed its new Intim-
idator line of hand-fed drum style chippers, including the 12XPC, which is mainly for professionals focused on trimming, the 15XPC, and the 19XPC, which is Bandit’s most powerful feed system in the line and is outfitted with a Kesla loader. Bandit’s well known product line of The Beast horizontal grinders was also in action, including the 2460, 2680, 3680 and 4680 models. The 3680 model is one of Bandit’s most popular machines. With a 35 in. by 60 in. opening, customers can choose between the patented cuttermill with either 60-tooth or 30-tooth configurations, or opt for a chipping drum to produce screened wood chips for biomass markets. One of Bandit’s newest offerings is the 2460XP available as a towable or track machine. Several whole tree chippers also had the chips flying, such as the high-yield, high-speed 3090 model. Bandit’s new BTC-300 landclearing track carrier with interchangeable forestry mowers and stump grinding
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■ demo blitz
Visitors saw machinery in various stages of manufacture...
...as Bandit prepares for another expansion.
heads contributed to the action and exemplifies Bandit’s move into landclearing markets. President and co-owner Jerry Morey believes that bringing everybody together is important for a company like Bandit. “This is the first time we’ve combined dealers and end users and we learn so much from them,” Morey says. The day concluded with a dinner and live music back at Sleepy Hollow Hideaway. New faces were in the crowd compared to previous Bandit events, as the company has added more than two dozen dealers with more than 30 locations in the past two years. Another development that maintained a buzz in the crowd was the upcoming closing of the 100% sale of Bandit Industries by owners Mike Morey Sr., Dianne Morey and Jerry Morey to their employees in an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP). It will be interesting to see how Bandit continues to expand with the new management structure, but it is clear that the founders through the first 35 years have built a giant foundation.
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■ demo blitz
Morbark Hosts
12th Demo Days M
New 23X Chiparvestor whole tree chipper
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Wood Bioenergy / December 2018
orbark’s Demo Days event always brings a great deal of excitement to the area and its guests, and this year was no exception. From September 26-28, Morbark welcomed more than 250 guests within the forestry, biomass, recycling, sawmill and tree care industries from 14 countries for its 12th Demo Days in Winn, Mich. Morbark has a world-class dealer network, and the company’s Demo Days give their customers, as well as the other attendees, the opportunity to not only watch the equipment in action, but also meet the people who build and support the equipment as they see firsthand the manufacturing processes utilized. Events included At top, 40/36 MicroChipper
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223 Flail and 23X Chiparvestor process some big ones.
3400XT and 6400XT Wood Hogs feed into a 6400 Wood Hog for regrind.
factory tours, networking opportunities, vendor booths, and a chance to see the equipment up close. An exciting aspect of this year’s event was the introduction of the 23X Chiparvestor. “In designing the 23X Chiparvestor whole tree disc chipper, Morbark followed the same thought process and ideals as we did in creating the other X-series of next-generation Morbark equipment,” says Michael Stanton, Morbark Director of Industrial Sales. “We took our previous proven design technology and focused on minimizing downtime, increasing production and making improvements that will help contribute to customer success.” Morbark has been producing mobile whole tree disc chippers since the 1970s, and like the previous Model 23 Chiparvestors, the 23X uses a 75 in. (190.5 cm) diameter x 5 in. (12.7 cm) thick
chipper disc to chip large volumes of wood, while the built-in dirt separator with deflector keeps the end product clean. Key improvements of the 23X over the previous models include: increased ground clearance with four super single flotation tires for mobilization on uneven logging jobs; simplified feed system that includes a two-wheel hydraulic feed system; independent disc drive tensioning system for ease of adjustment; improved chipper hood design that allows for better access to the disc. Demo Days events kicked off with a welcome reception at Maple Creek Golf Course. Thursday focused on education, with a panel discussion about growing your business, featuring Jerry Sapp of Sapp’s Land and Excavating, and Bill Gaston of Wood Resource Recovery. Attendees then had the opportunity to learn about Tier 4 Final
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■ demo blitz
Engines, Financing and Extended Service Contracts and Warranties, as well as take a tour through the Morbark factory and see firsthand the cutting-edge technologies, materials and processes used to manufacture the company’s industrial and tree care equipment lines. Since this was the first Morbark Demo Days after the company acquired Rayco in November 2017, participants were able to see a demonstration of Rayco forestry mulchers and aerial trimmer, and try their hand at using the equipment. The event culminated with demonstrations of equipment for the forestry, biomass, recycling and tree care markets, including Morbark’s range of whole tree chippers, horizontal and tub grinders, brush chippers,
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mulchers and other machinery. “Morbark continues to listen closely to our customers, providing the features they want and need and delivering on our promise of making heavy-duty equipment that helps enable them to succeed,” Stanton comments. Equipment models demonstrated included the 223 Flail, 23X Chiparvester, 40/36 NCL track whole tree chipper, 40/36 MicroChipper, 50/48X whole tree drum chipper, 3400XT Wood Hog horizontal grinder, 6400XT Wood Hog horizontal grinders doing both primary grind and regrind, 1300B tub grinder, and a range of Rayco mulchers, brush chippers and the AT75 aerial trimmer.
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■ demo blitz
CBI Revs Up Perfect
Dozen At Forum I
ndustry professionals from around the world gathered in technical workshops led by the team members at the factory Newton, New Hampshire during the week of October 1 who design and service the equipment. for the 2018 CBI and Ecotec Factory Forum. CBI’s exThe three-day event was headlined by a pair of CBI panded on-site demo 6800CT horizontal arena included live grinders, which have demos of 12 machines been engineered to imfrom the CBI and prove on the 6800BT’s Ecotec product lines, design. A 15% larger including the new screening area wraps 6800CT horizontal more than 190° around grinder and Phoenix the rotor on the 1600 trommel screen. 6800CT, allowing proAhead of the Octoduction rates to surge ber 3rd Demo Day, beyond 200 tons an service teams throughhour. Supported by a out North America larger shaft and bearwere invited to the faings and an optional cility for hands-on 1200 HP CAT C32, the 6800CT horizontal grinders were the center of attention.
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Wood Bioenergy / December 2018
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Powerscreen of Florida won CBI’s 2018 Dealer of the Year award.
engine powers the forged drum rotor through the toughest materials. Built to process land clearing debris, pallets, clean industrial waste, stumps, logs, mulch, bark, shingles, and whole trees as fast as it can be loaded, the 6800CTs devoured entire trees and stacked the desired end-products in front of the crowd. A pair of 5800BT horizontal grinders processed highvolumes of material and demonstrated their powerful and portable designs. The newly available TSC 80T Stacking Conveyor was lined up in front of a 5800BT to show how end-users can optimize their current operations. Entire trees were loaded into the 7544 Flail & Disc Chipper combo, and guests watched as the machine perfectly debarked logs and blasted out a pile of premium quality chips. CBI also showcased the 6400 horizontal grinder’s ability to process railroad ties contaminated with metal.
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■ demo blitz
Technical seminars and...
factory tours complemented the live demo action.
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Terex Ecotec’s TDS 820 Slow Speed Shredder also processed railroad ties and pallets. Terex Ecotec’s product lineup featured the TRS 550 Recycling Screen, the TTS 620T Trommel Screen, and the all-new Phoenix 1600 Trommel Screen. The Phoenix 1600 has been designed to provide excellent fuel efficiency and low operating costs. CBI’s 30th Anniversary Dinner was kicked off in style with the first-ever “Golden Grizzly Awards” recognizing excellence in the industry. Guests enjoyed a New England clam-bake style dinner during the award ceremony. Jasen Stock of the New Hampshire Timberland Owners Assn. was awarded the 2018 Community Impact Award for his work on reversing a biomass bill veto. Paul Campbell of Powerscreen of California and Hawaii was presented with the North American Ecotec Dealer of the Year Award. The team at Powerscreen of Florida accepted CBI’s 2018 Dealer of the Year Award. Guests were then treated to live music and an after-party in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. On the final day of the event, customers and service techs attended performance optimization courses to improve their understanding of the latest equipment upgrades.
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demo blitz ■ New B-66 L-series track horizontal grinder
Rotochopper Hosts Demo Day 8
R
otochopper hosted customers and prospects from around the world at its 8th Annual Demo Day. Approximately 200 guests from four countries attended the event with the theme “Mission Possible.” The day began with tours of the state-of-the-art manufacturing facility, providing attendees with the opportunity to see Rotochopper grinders in every stage of manufacturing, from cutting to final inspection and testing. The facility tours also provided guests the opportunity to meet the various on-site teams who design, build and support their Rotochopper equipment. David Polser from Land Development Services in Liberty Hill, Texas comments, “I truly enjoyed seeing the facilities and witnessing the amount of pride and workmanship that go into these machines.” President/CEO Art de St. Aubin welcomed attendees with remarks focused on the partnership Rotochopper forms with its customers saying, “Our platform and mission today is, it is possible and your continuous dialogue will always be our main conduit to success.”
The demonstrations kicked off with the new B-66 LSeries track and dolly grinder unveiled to the Mission Impossible theme song. The B-66L and FP-66, both equipped with the Generation II Colorizer, did a head to head grind off showing each of their production capabilities. The B-66 L-Series horizontal grinder is designed to meet the needs of grinding larger, more abrasive feedstock materials and engineered to increase overall production rates. The 38 in. throat opening accommodates some of the toughest material including large logs, whole trees and brushy feedstocks. Also included in the demos was the MP-2, producing colored mulch, the CP-118 chip processor, Erosion Sock attachment for the GB-250, RotoLink monitoring system & preventative maintenance program, Rotochopper’s patented screen installation system and replaceable mount rotor. The EC-266 electric grinder ground pallets and sorted C&D debris directly into the RMT hammermill. The day ended with the B-66 L-series grinder devouring logs and whole trees.
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■ in the news
11 ➤ largest veto-override petition drives in New Hampshire history. “I’m feeling relieved for the men and women in the forest industry, and I was proud to stand with the men and women in forestry and fight this good fight,” says Tom Thomson, an Orford tree farmer and son of the late Gov. Mel Thomson. Thomson helped organize foresters and supporters of the bill, which will require utilities to purchase a portion of their electricity from the state’s wood-burning power plants. Supporters of the bill, including the state’s six independent chipburning plants, warned that Governor’s Sununu’s veto would make it difficult to continue operations without the assured income. In the wake of the veto, four out of six biomass companies either closed or partially closed. Sununu had argued the bill would amount to a subsidy that could cost bill payers $25 million annually over the legislation’s three-year lifespan. The bill requires electric distribution companies to offer to purchase energy output of eligible biomass power facilities as well as facilities that produce electricity using municipal solid waste as a primary energy source. The bill had stated: “The continued operation of the state’s six independent biomass-fired electric gen-
erating plants and the state’s single renewable waste-to-energy generating plant are at-risk due to (natural gas) energy pricing volatility. These plants are important to the state’s economy and jobs, and, in particular, the six biomass-fired generators are vital to the state’s sawmill and other forest products industries and employment in those industries… and are also important to state policies because they provide generating fuel diversity and environmental benefits, which protect the health and safety of the state’s citizens and the physical environment of the state.”
Westervelt Sells 70% Of Pellet Operation Pinnacle Renewable Holdings Inc. has entered into an agreement to acquire a 70% interest in Westervelt’s active industrial wood pellet production facility in Aliceville, Ala. Westervelt will retain a 30% interest. The Aliceville Facility has an annual production capacity of 270,000 metric tons, of which 210,000 metric tons is committed under a longterm off-take contract to a major European utility. The remaining production volume from the Aliceville facility will be sold through Pinnacle’s contracted backlog of longterm, take-or-pay off-take contracts.
Home Field Advantage Oregon-based Peterson Pacific demoed its 5710D horizontal grinder at the 2018 Pacific Logging Congress InWoods show earlier this fall. The event featured live log processing from dozens of exhibitors in the Coast Range foothills near Corvallis, Ore. This year’s demo was held on a portion of timberland that’s owned by Oregon State University and used for research and revenue-generating timber production.
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Westervelt is currently ramping up production at the facility. Pinnacle is partnering with Westervelt to optimize asset configuration, distribution logistics and fiber supply. “Our acquisition of a majority stake in this facility will increase our production capacity and establishes a platform for Pinnacle’s future growth in the U.S. Southeast, one of North America’s key fiber baskets,” comments Robert McCurdy, Chief Executive Officer of Pinnacle. “Through this transaction, we are also pleased to form a partnership with Westervelt, a leading forestry and land resource company in the region.” McCurdy says the companies will also explore other growth opportunities in Alabama and Mississippi. As part of the transaction, and consistent with Pinnacle’s operating strategy, the Aliceville facility has now entered into long-term wood fiber supply contracts for residuals with several large local sawmills. Westervelt’s sawmill, located in Moundville, Ala., will remain an anchor supplier.
Union Denounces Biomass Mill Closure The Power Workers’ Union released a statement that the decision by Ontario Power Generation to close the world’s largest generating station to be converted from coal to advanced biomass in Thunder Bay, Ontario is short-sighted. “It will ultimately lead to the disappearance of the region’s established biomass innovation cluster and most importantly the significant economic, environmental and social benefits it provides,” states PWU president Mel Hyatt. “We believe it’s time to grow these benefits, not kill them.” In late May 2018, OPG reported significant corrosion damage was found to the boiler at Thunder Bay Generating Station, making the plant non-operational. Because of the high capital repair costs, high operational costs and limited time remaining on the IESO (Indepen-
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in the news ■
dent Electricity System Operator) contract for Thunder Bay Generating Station, OPG and IESO determined that shutting down the station was in the best interests of electricity customers. OPG reported that repairs to the station would take six months, leaving only one year remaining for the IESO contract. Also, OPG says that because of a lack of demand, Thunder Bay Generating Station is rarely used for electricity generation. OPG said the decision will save Ontario electricity customers $40 million and avoid $5 million in costs to OPG. Power Workers’ Union says that over the last decade Ontario invested about $200 million in the region’s biomass innovation cluster, most of it for the conversion of the publicly-owned Thunder Bay and Atikokan stations to biomass. Millions of dollars were also invested in innovative biomass research at Confederation College, Lakehead University and the Centre for Research and Innovation in the Bio-economy.
Biomass Power Plant Goes Forward Sparkling Biomass B.V. is starting construction of a 15 MW biomass-fired combined heat and power plant in Duiven, the Netherlands. In mid-2022, this “new generation” installation constructed by Dutch firm, HoSt, will be commissioned and will be able to combust both wood and other biomass and residues. The produced heat, electricity and steam from wood waste derived from the municipality of Duiven and its surrounding areas will be supplied to the mill, while the remaining green electricity is supplied to the grid. In the future, the installation can be connected to the district heating network of Arnhem and Nijmegen. The installation will be equipped with an advanced technology that enables other types of biomass and residues to be combusted in the future. The installation will be built in
an existing building near a nature reserve, which means stricter emission requirements. The reuse of the empty factory hall is an additional sustainable benefit.
Fram Will Take On Fourth Mill Georgia Dept. of Economic Development (GDEcD) reports that Archer Forest Products, a division of Fram Renewable Fuels, a supplier of wood pellets to the European industrial market and domestic markets, has acquired the bankrupt SEGA Biofuels operation in Brantley County, Ga. and will create 35 jobs and invest $15 million the operation. Archer Forest Products will be Fram’s fourth wood pellet production facility. Fram operates Appling County Pellets, Hazlehurst Wood Pellets and Telfair Forest Products.
Biosyl Upgrades Pellet Operation Biosyl, a leader in the field of renewable energy from biomass and the production of wood pellets in France, has accepted its second ClassiSizer from Dieffenbacher. Biosyl operates one of the country’s largest pellet plants in Cosne-Courssur-Loire, about 200 km south of Paris. Ordered in 2017, the ClassiSizer provides Biosyl with a capacity of more than 10 t/h b.d. The unit can handle heterogeneous raw materials, various chips dimensions and different wood species. Depending on the machine configuration, either dry, wet or both materials can be processed. The high-quality flakes produced by the ClassiSizer can be dried by a drum or a belt dryer in the downstream production process.
Kent Renewable Starts Operation Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) announced that the combined heat and power plant (CHP) Kent Renewable Energy, with a ca-
pacity of 27 MW, has successfully commenced operations. Kent Renewable Energy is located in Sandwich, Kent, England and produces renewable heat and power which is delivered to nearby business and science park, Discovery Park, and to local power consumers connected to UKPN’s grid. Fuel is locally sourced wood supplied by EuroForest. The plant commenced commercial operations on September 13, only 25 months after financial close and two months ahead of schedule. The EPC contractor BWSC has successfully led the construction and taken the plant into commercial operations with a very impressive safety culture with zero Lost Time Incidents. BWSC will continue as the O&M contractor.
Peterson Hosts Eighth Graders On October 10 Peterson Pacific hosted 75 eighth grade students from Madison Middle School out of the 4J School District in Eugene, Ore. for a two-hour manufacturing day event. Student groups rotated every 20 minutes to the following featured sessions: l Tape measure reading lesson and measuring exercise. l Engineering lesson to learn about the elements of a strong, stout design that is easy to manufacture and maintain. l South Shop Facility tour to see how metal is cut, formed and welded into Peterson products. l North Shop facility tour to see how machines are painted, and assembled into complete, working chippers and grinders. l A Peterson machine demo to see how main components of machines work via remote control. Presonal protective equipment (PPE) was required for all attendees, with safety glasses and ear plugs provided by Peterson. “The students left our facility with knowledge about the manufacturing industry they did not have before,” Peterson stated.
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2018 Editorial Index FEBRUARY
JUNE
OCTOBER
From The Editors Turning The Page Gainesville Regional Utilities Page 6
From The Editors Wood Bio Conference Past, Present And Future Page 6
From The Editors Renewable Energy Gone Global But Not So Much In The U.S. Page 6
Wood Bio Conference All Keynoters Lined Up Page 8
Gainesville Plant Revival Columbia Timber Steps Up Page 14
Operating Sustainably Low Impact Harvests Page 20
Wood Bio Conference The Big Dogs Were There Page 18
Wood Bio Guide Products, Manufacturers Pages 24-43
In-Woods Chipping & Grinding Page 28
Fire Prevention Page 32
APRIL
AUGUST
DECEMBER
From The Editors Lessons Learned Wood Bio Event Addresses 10 Years Page 6
From The Editors Back From The Brink Urania Pellet Facility Page 6
From The Editors Western Projects Promising Making The Case Page 6
Three Of A Kind Drax Builds Its Hand Page 18
Hurricane Michael Forestland Damage Page 8
Big Crowd Marks 35th For Bandit Page 14
Pellets Technology Page 24
Bandit Founders Ride Off Into The Sunset (Sort Of) Page 12
Morbark Hosts 12th Demo Days Page 18
Safety, Quality, Production The Pinnacle Pursuit Page 16 Wood Bioenergy Preview Exhibitor Products Page 24
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Russia Wood Pellets Gaining Momentum Page 14 Vietnam Wood Pellets Rapid Growth, Low Prices Page 26
Trucking Challenges Persist Page 35
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■ wet end AIROFLEX EQUIPMENT
accessed and shared through a web portal—completely digitizing material management. Instead of vast spreadsheets, users are presented with dashboards populated with photographs, video, site statistics and materials data—reporting vital information on the volume, tonnage and condition risks for each pile. This SaaS subscription allows users to track pile inventory on a monthly, weekly or even daily basis. A simple online service, BinMaster’s Stockpile Reports requires no special hardware and is infinitely scalable, handling small stockpile inventories of five piles up to global companies with thousands of piles.
Since 1947, Airoflex Equipment has been a supplier of hydraulic truck and trailer dumpers
Airoflex Equipment has been supplying the industry standard for hydraulic truck and trailer dumpers since 1947. Airoflex Equipment designs and engineers material handling products—including extended arm, standard pivot, and fully-portable truck and trailer dumpers, along with above or below grade and in-pit receiving hoppers. Airoflex’s professional engineers can tailor truck dumper equipment to meet any specifications and are dedicated to providing durable, reliable, quality built equipment. Airoflex is known for their high performance, low maintenance and robust cylinder design. Experienced in handling biomass, wood chips, bark, RDF, municipal solid waste, sugar cane, grain, seed, peanuts and scrap metal products, Airoflex can handle any bulk flowable material. From startup and commissioning, to a large inventory of spare parts, service legs for ease in maintenance, as well as cylinder rebuild and repair, a cylinder exchange program, and inspection and testing services to provide assistance when required, Airoflex is committed to customer service after the sale. Additionally, customers are able to search the large in-stock inventory of pins, pin eyes, pusher pins, pivot bearings, stuffing boxes, adjustable packing glands, packings, spanner wrenches and replacement cylinders for the main dumper, backstop, pit doors and wheel locks. Airoflex products have been installed throughout the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Central America, South America, and in the Middle and Far East for industries such as biomass, pulp and paper, energy generation, cogeneration and recycling.
BINMASTER Operations frustrated by the time, expense and unreliability of managing the inventory of material stored in piles have more options than ever to simplify the inventory process. Time-saving, web-based services can bring precision and reliability to measuring and monitoring volume and tonnage in free-standing or bunkered stockpiles. A service aptly named Stockpile Reports is designed to reduce outdated guesswork, inventory write-offs, and bad valuations while saving hours of time and hassle. The service automates pile measurement using pictures from an iPhone, drone, or plane uploaded via a user-friendly app and automatically processed in the cloud. The data is then
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BinMaster iPhone material pile measurement
Highlights of this inventory management system: l Measures volume and tonnage for piles using images from an iPhone, drone, or plane l Affordable SaaS subscription for five piles up to thousands of piles with the ability to generate monthly, weekly or daily reports l Comprehensive dashboard is easily accessed by authorized users in the company from a desktop or mobile device l Visually maps each site, pinpointing the location of individual piles with one-click access to details on each pile l Sort inventory by material and determine the total volume and tonnage of each material by pile, site, region or corporate-wide l Detects and identifies pile condition risks such as vegetation, equipment, obstructions, standing water, debris, or snow that could impact measurement reliability l Alerts to confirm new piles, inventory or flight requests, and unverified measurements l Displays inventory by products, piles and last measurement date and call out required actions l Reports easily download to Excel or PDF for sharing and integrating with other business systems
BLISS INDUSTRIES Bliss Industries, LLC is a leading manufacturer of wood and biomass size reduction equipment for residential, commercial and industrial fuel. Founded in 1981, Bliss Industries maintains a reputation for manufacturing the most efficient, reliable and well-built equipment in the industry. Overall reliability, maximum efficiency, ease of operation and maintenance combine to provide lower operating costs to each owner.
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wet end ■
Our hammermill line offers multiple diameters and widths, along with a horsepower range from 5 to 600, making it easy to find the correct mill for your application. We also Bliss Industries hammermill manufacture a robust line of wood pellet mills and pellet mill coolers.
BRUNETTE MACHINERY CO.
Brunette now represents CBI horizontal grinders.
Brunette Machinery Company Inc. specializes in wood processing and material handling. As a premium supplier to the forestry industry, Brunette’s long history of manufacturing guarantees its customers an unsurpassed level of quality and leading-edge technology built into every one of its innovative products. Brunette provides custom engineered solutions to help customers take control of their fiber supply and get more from their mill. With a focus on R&D, Brunette has developed new technologies for the forestry industry, using its experience gained as a manufacturer of wood processing machinery throughout seven decades. For more than 75 years, Brunette has offered a wide variety of high performance machinery for sawmills and other wood processing facilities including: stationary drum chippers —drop feed or horizontal feed configuration; the CBI Grizzly Mill Hog—the heavyweight champion of grinders; the BioSizer—a high speed secondary grinder; the SmartVIBE—a unique vibrating conveyor with no coil springs; the Brunette E-Sweeps—electric log sweeps; the Brunette Reclaimer—a rotary debarker; scalping screens; and Log Singulators. Recently, Brunette added the Optical Belt Scale to its extensive product family. On October 17-19 at the fourth biennial Timber Processing & Energy Expo, Brunette Machinery was pleased to announce that they have entered into a strategic agreement with Continental Biomass Industries (now a Terex brand) to become the North American distributor of CBI Magnum Force horizontal grinders. In celebration of the occasion, Brunette showcased the CBI Magnum Force 5400SE as well as the new Brunette Veneer Chipper at the
TP&EE show, where it would have been the highlight of the event were it not for the fabulous Barbeque & Beer party that BMC hosted on Wednesday evening! Brunette Machinery is an independently owned and operated company with three offices across North America: Vancouver, Prince George and Toronto. Since 1942, Brunette has established itself as a leading manufacturer in the forestry industry. Today, the company puts its extensive experience to work with an aggressive R&D program developing new products and improving existing ones. Brunette’s commitment to quality gives its customers an important advantage as they compete in an ever-changing global economy.
CEM MACHINE, INC. Many large stationary chipping facilities have upgraded to CEM’s chipping equipment in order to increase the chip production or chip quality levels and consequently the profitability of their complete facility. Whether the upgrade CEM 18 knife microchip chipper was a replacement of their original chipper or chipper and drive—typically including an increase in the number of disc knives—or replacement of only their knife system with CEM’s popular LiteKnife system, reduced operating costs and significantly improved operating efficiencies are regularly achieved at these facilities. Most stand-alone upgrades of existing facilities require little infrastructure modification except for replacement of their chipper or chipper hardware with CEM’s equipment in order to realize substantial performance benefits from the entire system. CEM’s Heavy Duty chippers vary in size from 96 in. (2.4 M) to 140 in. (3.5 M) diameter discs and are typically provided with 12 to 20 knives; and their reliability is second to none. For instance, a pellet production facility that upgrades an 8 knife disc chipper cutting 3⁄4 in. long chips with an 18 knife CEM microchip chipper cutting 3⁄8 in. microchips can improve the throughput of their entire chip drying and milling systems (because chips being processed are half their current size) while simultaneously increasing the production capacity of the chipping line. CEM is a U.S. manufacturer and supplier of stationary heavy duty/high production microchip chippers, log chippers, chipper parts, engineered upgrades and technical services for CEM’s products. With equipment operating on six continents, CEM’s patented technologies provide owner/operators of pulp mills and pellet/biofuels plants around the world with exclusive advantages in areas of wood yard safety, reliability, production capability and both conventional wood chip and microchip quality.
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■ wet end FULGHUM INDUSTRIES For Fulghum Industries log cranes equipped with traveling trolleys on the boom tip, an improved trolley winch utilizing a single drum design was successfully engineered and tested in 2018. This new trolley winch is available for all new and existing Fulghum log cranes with traveling trolleys. An upgrade to Fulghum Industries trolley winch the new single drum design is available for all existing Fulghum log cranes currently operating with a dual drum trolley winch. This economical new design utilizes the same motor and motor controls as the dual drum system. Installation of this new trolley winch and drive can be performed in one to two days depending upon the necessity of replacement of ancillary components of the complete trolley system. New single drum trolleys installed on several new and existing Fulghum log cranes have confirmed excellent service and uptime with less maintenance.
the foundation of our legendary MP Series and supercharged it with our latest technological innovations to create our most advanced system to date. MDI is proud to bring the new MP-5000X Series Metal Detector to our cutting-edge product line. The MP-5000X has a lot of new features to stop metal like never before. Under the hood it’s got new coil geometry for improved stability, clean target signals and even better sensitivity. It’s also running new CB-5 Series electronics that pinpoint a balanced magnetic field; eliminating the problem of drift in extreme temperatures. We’ve also reconfigured the software for improved interference rejection. Radio communication and frequency interference will be minimized as well. Calibration is now a breeze! We installed the popular phase calibration board that was only previously available on the TWA-2000 Series Surround Systems. The MP-5000X has it all as it should. Our customers want only the best and MDI is here to deliver. We never oversell and under-deliver. All of our quality metal detectors are proudly made in the USA and include free lifetime telephone technical support.
RAWLINGS
MDI
Rawlings VRM Super Hi Inertia wood hog
MDI MP-5000X metal detector
Metal Detectors Inc. (MDI) is a family owned and operated company located in beautiful “Track Town” Eugene, Ore., right in the heart of the Pacific Northwest. Since 1965, we have been producing world class industrial metal detectors for processing plants with an emphasis on the timber industry. Our systems have a track record of their own! We are known for providing high quality, dependable systems you can rely on. Expensive precision equipment demands protection. We’re always listening to our customers’ needs, therefore our research and development never stops. We’ve taken
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No cookie cutter machine can meet everyone’s space constraints or challenges. Rawlings has had several customers over the years that did not have the overhead clearance in their existing footprint to allow for a clam shell opening type of machine. The Rawlings VRM hog opens hydraulically from the rear of the machine allowing full access to the hog’s internal wear components and rotor for ease of maintenance. All Rawlings wood hogs are equipped with the solid steel Patented Super Hi-Inertia Rotor. The high inertia provides the crushing and shearing power needed to handle really tough jobs like green waste, cypress, redwood, cedar, black spruce, poplar and a wide range of other stringy and fibrous materials. With the increased inertia, the Rawlings solid rotor runs at lower RPMs resulting in the lowest energy consumption and maintenance costs of any wood grinder available. This saves our customers both ➤ 34
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With more than 40 years of experience in the forest and sawmill related industries, Rawlings delivers custom wood grinding equipment with a reputation for durability, performance and reliability. Rawlings offers a complete lineup of wood grinders in a full range of sizes and models. Each customer’s operation is unique with its own challenges. Our team designs each system specific to the customer’s operation and specification. Add a wide variety of available options such as work platform decks, choice of belt, chain, vibrating infeed and outfeed conveyors, metal, or magnet protection, product screening and separation, and you’ve got the flexibility to customize the perfect wood grinding system.
UNIVERSAL WEARPARTS Many hammers are heat–treated to extend wear life. Others have hard-surfaced welded overlays, which also improve wear life. To improve wear life even more, at Universal Wearparts we attach solid tungsten carbide tiles to the hammers. We utilize induction-brazing technology that is similar to the techniques used to attach carbide teeth to circular saws, but on a larger scale.
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We also customize hammers. Common hammers are built with 90° edges. We can modify that typical cutting geometry. We do this by brazing pre-formed carbide tiles designed with a “cutting edge” (see photo). This enables the hammers to cut more aggressively. In addition to generating less compression damage to the Universal Wearparts carmaterial, the hammermill bide tipped hammers may also draw less power due to slightly reduced rotor drag. Tungsten carbide is produced in many grades. For wood pellet hammers, we don’t use micro-grain circular saw tip grades. They’re too hard and brittle for this application. We use a grade near the softer end of the HRA scale. It is similar to the carbide we braze into whole log chipper anvils. Hammers don’t just wear at the cutting tip. The entire hammer shank is exposed to secondary wear. As the hammer runs, inertia and abrasion also affect the hole. When
Wood Bioenergy / December 2018
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we first began manufacturing these hammers, we built the shanks from low-carbon steel. As the carbide increased the tip life, the holes wore and stretched, creating imbalances in the system. We now manufacture the hammer shanks from 500+ BHN material. Now the shank allows for a full wear life of the cutting tips. In wood pellet production, Universal’s carbide tipped hammers are most effective in the hammermills downstream from the dryers, where the low-moisture-content material is more abrasive.
VERMEER To help reduce the likelihood of major machine damage caused by certain metal contaminants entering the hammermill, Vermeer has introduced the Damage Defense system—an option now available for tub and horizontal grinders. If the mill comes in contact with metal while grinding, Damage Defense will alert the grinder control and automatically initiate the shutdown process. The system idles the engine down, reverses the infeed or tub and disengages the clutch. Once the contaminant is cleared, normal operation can resume. “The optional Damage Defense system is ideal for any
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Vermeer hammermill Damage Defense system
tub or horizontal grinder operation that may encounter metal mixed in their incoming material,” says Jeff Bradley, Vermeer product manager for Recycling and Forestry. “The system can be factory-installed on new Vermeer grinders, and is available as a refitted option for many older Vermeer grinder models.” The Vermeer Damage Defense system uses exclusive technology to reduce the possibility of severe damage when large metal objects enter the hammermill, and opera-
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tors can easily adjust the sensitivity settings for jobsite conditions to help reduce nuisance shutdowns. It is integrated into the grinder’s controls system, and features robust components and a weather-resistant box.
WOLF MATERIAL HANDLING Wolf Material Handling Systems is the premier designer and supplier of fuel yard equipment for the biomass power, pulp and paper, power generation, resource recovery, mining, chemical, manufacturing and other industries that require material handling We are a provider of complete in-house engineering and design, manufacturing, assembly and installation for systems using conveyor systems, truck dumpers and receiving hoppers. Wolf can provide complete systems starting at the conceptual phase through commissioning. Wolf understands challenges required to handle biomass and takes complete design and supply responsibility of the system from fuel receiving, sizing, storage, reclaim and boiler feed. Wolf Material Handling Systems offers versatile underpile reclaimer platforms that automatically reclaim and evenly meter all wood fuel products including: granular, chipped, hogged and even tub-ground fuels. These robust and innovative designs include low profile offer-
Wolf Material stacker-reclaimer
ings that can be incorporated into almost all new or retrofit applications. Engineered with ease of maintenance in mind these systems provide easy access to wear parts and include a slow speed chain design with VFD drives to further reduce wear. Other standard offerings include hardened chains and heavy-duty frame construction that allow “drive-over” capability and provide years of service. ➤ 38
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CONTACT CARL JANSEN AT 541-593-2777 OR Carlj@SearchNA.com
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Top Wood Jobs Recruiting and Staffing George Meek geo@TopWoodJobs.com www.TopWoodJobs.com (360) 263-3371
VISIT US ONLINE: woodbioenergymag.com 3779
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■ wet end ACROWOOD
Acrowood screening and separation equipment
Acrowood has been supplying heavy duty equipment for the wood products industry for more than 100 years. Separating the different wood fractions from each other and removing contaminants is our specialty. The Acrowood Disc Scalper removes large, oversize material from bark and chip flows. Our unique disc design is highly effective at removing this large material. Our unique pillow-block bearing design provides years of trouble free service. Acrowood’s Dual Drive Suspended Screen is supplied with multiple decks and can separate and segregate material. Louvered decks as well as punched plate and wire mesh top decks are available. The bottom decks can come with punched plate or wire mesh. A steel ball deck is also available if required. Our Air Density Separator System (ADS) can remove heavy contaminants from a flow of wood chips or sawdust. Acrowood’s DiamondRoll Screens offer a means of screening all wood-based material and pellets in a non-vibrating, totally enclosed design. The DiamondRoll Screen is highly selective and the screen opening can be changed with a simple shim change. Acrowood’s Trillium Disc Screen offers an aggressive means of separating materials that to stick together. Testing in our Development Center is also available.
MOISTTECH Controlling the amount of moisture in wood products is a critical concern of the forest industry. An excess of moisture can have a large impact on final product quality and production. One concern is trying to monitor the quality of raw material going into the mill. Moisture information is needed to determine how much wood a mill is purchasing since much of the pulpwood is purchased on weight. Also, process monitoring is essential Moisttech moisture due to the variations of quality sensors
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of the raw wood materials used. Incoming raw material can be monitored to within 0.5% which allows the dryer personnel to prevent major process changes resulting in interruptions. On hog fuel applications the material can be blended for a more efficient combustion and significant fuel cost. With MoistTech’s NIR moisture sensors real-time data is fed directly to the mills distributed control system for process control. MoistTech manufactures the solution with both online and at-line moisture instrumentation for all wood products.
CW MILL
HogZilla electric series grinder
Over 45 years ago, CW Mill saw the grinding industry’s need for higher quality industrial wood grinders. CW has been responding to the wants and needs of the industry ever since. We knew that our goal would drive us to manufacture the most reliable, high capacity tub and horizontal grinder, and we did it with the creation of HogZilla and are continuing to advance and improve with each new HogZilla. We now have 20 standard models with numerous options available, providing the best diesel and electric powered grinders. HogZilla MONSTER grinders are built extra-heavy duty in sizes ranging from mid-sized to massive and can be configured as stationary, fifth wheel portable, track mounted, or as a mounted grapple unit. HogZilla grinders are for waste reduction, recycling, land clearing, construction demolition or any other tough grinding application. From stumps and logs to railroad ties or tires, HogZilla can handle the toughest jobs. In many cases the waste that is processed, that one time would have caused a costly disposal issue, can now be processed and used for wood biomass fuel. In recent years as diesel prices have been on the rise, electric grinders have been increasingly popular. One HogZilla customer actually uses wood debris to produce their own electricity to power their electric grinder. Several HogZilla Grinder owners have contracts to process and supply wood for biomass fuel. There are HogZilla grinders out there now with more than 30,000 hours, with one customer recently stating, “Our HogZilla grinder runs every day, has approximately 25,000-30,000 hours and is still running great for us.”
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