LEITRIM’S WOOD ENERGY PIONEERS
Gerry McMorrow with his son Brian.
Wood energy is one area with massive unexplored potential and offers many opportunities for timber harvesting and haulage contractors. Eoghan Daly describes the latest venture of one progressive Leitrim-based operation PTH 1200/1000 at work chipping logs for woodchip production.
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espite strong roots in the timber industry’s traditional haulage and harvesting sectors, diversification is hugely important to McMorrow Haulage Ltd, based in County Leitrim, Ireland. The company’s most recent venture is its entry into the wood energy sector, with the aim of establishing a reputable wood energy hub in their area. Diversifying into a new field served by a minority always presents risk, but with the potential for great reward, as company managing director Gerry McMorrow explained. “We may have a lot of experience of timber harvesting and haulage, but this is a new challenge and one we believe will be
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AUTUMN 2020 FORESTRY MACHINERY
worth the effort since there is so much unexplored potential for wood energy in Ireland. We have a lot of young plantations coming up to thinning, which will yield much pulp grade material that can be directed towards chipping to produce a renewable fuel source. “We started looking at chipper options well in advance of any decision,” Gerry continued. “Many large chippers already in use in Ireland were from Jenz, and at first we thought this was the best route to take. However, as we went to the market with an open mind, we were inclined to look at all the options and found that Pezzolato was offering the best package.”
PERSONAL SERVICE The manufacturer’s willingness to build a machine around the individual requirements of McMorrow’s application was very much central to the decision. With vast experience of chipper design and manufacturing, Pezzolato has served the sector since 1976 and operates from two factories in Italy. For McMorrow, the PTH 1200/1000 drum chipper was considered the best long-term option, as it offered high output to cope with current and future demand as the venture becomes more established, plus additional working flexibility. “It was important to have a machine that would fit in with our existing
