Wisconsin-based Go Fast Manufacturing now offers a machine for wrapping firewood into bundles for retail sale.
The company sold a prototype machine made for a customer about 18 months ago and earlier this year manufactured its first batch of machines for the market.
The impetus to develop a firewood wrapper was simple. “We were getting requests from customers,” said Dan Berken, owner and general manager, “and we needed our own.”
The Berken family knows plenty about sawmills and the slabs they produce in the process of squaring up a log or producing a two- or three-sided cant. They operate a mill (Shiocton Cut Stock) that produces pallet cut stock from low-grade logs. Berken’s father, acquired Go Fast Manufacturing in 2014.
“We needed one for our mill,” explained Berken, Shiocton Cut Stock. “We were looking to create a revenue stream out of the residual products from our mill.”
Before it added firewood operations, the company chipped slab material. It later switched to a machine that used plastic strapping to wrap the whole slabs into bundles for sale before deciding to produce cut-to-length firewood.
Go Fast also offers a multi-head saw for cutting slab material to firewood length. The same customer — another company that manufactures pallet cut stock — first requested a machine for processing slabs into firewood.
“We built it about two years ago for them,” recalled Berken. “They were making so much firewood they ordered another machine to wrap the firewood into bundles.”
Go Fast decided to develop a heavy-duty, industrial quality firewood wrapping machine using higher quality, more durable components and materials. “We looked at the other machines that were out there,” said Berken. “We decided we could build a better machine than what was on the market.”
“We built something that we believe is much better and can sell at a lower cost,” he added.
The Go Fast FW-16 firewood wrapper features a heavy-duty frame design and all American-made parts, including a heavy-duty gear reduction drive system. It is powered by a continuous rated, 1/3 hp, farm-duty motor.
The machine can wrap a bundle of firewood in less than 15 seconds, so a worker can produce four bundles in a minute.
The Go Fast FW-16 firewood wrapper produces a standard bundle of 16-inch-long firewood that is 10 inches by 10 inches, which is one cubic foot. The machine is adjustable for shorter and longer firewood up to 24 inches.
The operator loads the firewood into place, then reaches under the bundle to pull the stretch-wrap into place. A foot pedal activates the machine to begin the wrapping process. A self-adjusting spring tensions the wrap to ensure bundles are bundled tightly in order to maximize usage of stretch-wrap.
Custom sizes and options are available. Options include modified length of stretch-wrap tube, other bundle sizes, and faster or slower wrapping speed.
Bundled firewood is a saleable commodity for retail markets, and producers can get a higher price than selling it by the scoop or ton or other bulk quantities. “Their dollar out of the residual product is going to go up,” said Berken.
To learn more about how the Go Fast FW-16 firewood wrapper can produce bundled firewood and add profit to your company, call 800-854-7439 or visit www.gofastmfg.com.
