www.mybaycity.com
October 29, 2009
(Prior Story) Business ArTicle 4316 (Next Story)
Sponsored by Bay Area Chamber of Commerce
Farwell's Woodsman Chippers Aims to Chip Away at Biomass Energy Market
|
||||||||||
| Printer Friendly Story View |
Woodsman Chippers get positive reviews from users and companies like John Deere, whose engines it uses.
A Farwell wood chipper manufacturer is projecting 100 added jobs over the next five years.
Woodsman L.L.C., a world leading industry located in a Renaissance Zone, plans to turn a warehouse into a modern manufacturing facility.
Woodsman specializes in large scale wood chippers that are used in the biomass (wood energy) industry.
By 2025, projections are that about 25 percent of America's energy needs will come from land-based resources such as biofuels, wind energy, solar, hydropower and biomass.
Woodsman is investing about $1 million into a facility that once housed a box manufacturer, company President Bob Engler.
Mr. Engler eyes the usable biomass wood waste resulting from logging and the natural aging of trees. He says chipping is a fast and efficient way to process the wood fiber so it can be delivered to power plants and turned into cellulosic energy.
Renaissance Zone status means that the company will be able to expand and modernize the facility with the assistance of breaks on personal and property taxes, Engler said.
Woodsman is expanding from 16,000-17,000 square feet to the new building, where it will occupy about 50,000 square feet. The expansion will include painting equipment and overhead cranes.
Pushing the expansion is the company's continued growth in market share, and also in demand for its product, Engler said.
Currently, the forest industry is affected by a downturn in the housing market and financing restrictions. "What remains profitable is the generation of biomass feedstock -- wood chips that can be used to create energy." said Mr. Engler.
The financing problems that affect the housing industry have also affected Woodsman's business, he said.
"We're still busy, but not like in the past," Mr. Engler said. "The slowdown took place mostly at the beginning of this year, and involved getting financing for customers. And, that was a slowdown, not a complete halt."
Once the economy regains strength, he said, substantial growth in the renewable market is expected through the initiative for increased renewable energy.
Biomass energy -- energy generated from burning organic materials -- is expected to grow along with demand for solar and wind energy. Engler said that because biomass technology is already available and widely understood it has the best opportunity for short-term growth of any of the renewables.
In Europe, biomass has helped nations applying to join the European Union meet a requirement that 10 percent of their energy be generated by renewable means, he said.
Currently, wood chips created by Woodsman and other chipper firms are often pressed into pellets and shipped to European countries, Engler said, where the 10 percent renewables requirement is met by burning wood from the U.S..
The process of turning forest waste and waste from the logging industry into energy has another benefit. It reduces forest floor litter that makes forest wildfires more severe.
"Chipping that waste -- including tops of trees and branches too small for use in lumber -- reduces that waste organically, turning what was fuel for forest fires into fuel for energy generation," said Mr. Engler.
The company has gained business from the spread of the emerald ash borer, an invasive pest that kills ash trees. While government agencies have largely given up on trying to prevent the pest from spreading, Mr. Engler said, his company has sold chippers where there is a need to clear out dead trees.
In addition to large-scale chippers, the company also has a line of products designed specifically for arborists and municipalities, Engler said.
The company distributes its chippers through dealerships that carry other company brands like Caterpillar and Tiger Cat. Representatives from those dealerships are trained in how to service Woodsman products and administer warranties.
| Printer Friendly Story View |
|
|
Dave Rogers |
|
|
|
Printer-Friendly Story View
0200 Nd: 04-14-2024 d 4 cpr 0
12/31/2020 P3v3-0200-Ad.cfm
SPONSORED LINKS
12/31/2020 drop ads P3v3-0200-Ad.cfm