Vecoplan Midwest offers a full range of services to companies
interested in turning wood waste into a new revenue stream. From determining if
a pellet system is a good fit for an operation, to designing, building and
installing a complete system and through providing maintenance and on-site
repairs, Vecoplan Midwest’s staff walks customers through the entire process.
“We
tell them their wood needs to be dry and ask them about their markets,” said
Ron King, vice president of sales. “We tell them to do their homework, find
their market and what their material is going to be at a wholesale price to
make sure that their numbers are going to work.”
Located
in New Albany, Ind., Vecoplan Midwest is a subsidiary of Vecoplan LLC in High
Point, N.C. that was formed in 2006 to service Vecoplan’s customers throughout
the Midwest. The pellet systems from Vecoplan Midwest are customizable and can
include everything from processing the raw material to packaging the finished
pellets and can be used for pelletizing wood, woody biomass, agricultural
products, paper, plastics, municipal solid waste or virtually any solid
alternative fuel requiring increased bulk densities. Equipment in a typical line includes size
reduction, conveyance, metering, pelletizing, cooling, screening and packaging.
A wood
pellet business can be a profitable addition to a pallet company for multiple
reasons. One of which is the ability to control the feedstock through using
scrap pallets and lumber, King said.
“You
have to be able to control your infeed material,” said King. “You don’t want to
build on the assumption that you can buy material at a later date and then have
the supplier raise the price. But most pallet operations can control that.”
For
pallet companies that are already producing mulch from scrap pallets or other
wood waste, a wood pellet line could be a successful complimentary business,
according to King. Like mulch, it is a mostly seasonal business, but in the
opposite season as mulch.
For
pallet companies that are not already grinding their pallets, Vecoplan Midwest
can provide a primary grinder in addition to the pellet system. Vecoplan
Midwest’s primary grinders are low speed grinders that have different magnet
and nail removal options, enabling them to accept whole pallets and prepare
them for the hammermill which produces pieces that are roughly one-quarter inch
in size and ready to go into the pellet mill, which is the heart of every
Vecoplan Midwest pellet system. The pellet mills are belt-driven, rather than
gear-driven like many other mills in the industry, making for more economical
replacement parts.
“The
belts are more economical to replace than a gear box,” said King.
The
controls on each system are customizable and designed and manufactured to
maximize ease of use and optimize system performance. Production rates range
from 1,000 lbs. to over 8,000 lbs. per hour, depending on the material being
pelletized and the size of equipment specified.
For
more information about Vecoplan Midwest’s pellet mill systems, call
812/923-4992 or visit
http://www.vecoplanmidwest.com.
