New NEWP pellet plant in NY up & running ?

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imacman

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I was just traveling for work today up Rt. 17, and passed the old fiber board plant that NEWP bought recently in Deposit. Sitting outside one end of the plant, was what looked to be approx 200-300 tons of freshly wrapped pellets(?) in the familiar tan plastic.

I also finally found the wood pellet dealer up on I-84 near Castle Creek on Rt.11. They are selling NEWP's for 219/ton.

EDIT:

Just went back & re-read the press announcement of their intent to buy the NorBord facility, and that says they weren't beginning production until the 4th Quarter of 2010:

"NEWP expects to complete construction and commence operation of its Deposit plant sometime in the fourth quarter of 2010. The company expects to reach full production capacity in the first half of 2011. The plant will employ an estimated 20 people, with in-direct employment in wood supply, transportation and retailing of product estimated at over 100 jobs. Construction of the plant will utilize local labor and employ dozens of skilled workers at various points during the 9-12 month construction period. NEWP expects to utilize certain buildings, woodyard equipment and other elements of the existing Norbord facility for its wood pellet manufacturing."

Hmmmm......I wonder what those tan colored pallets had under them????
 
Hello imacman I live 20 miles north of Binghamton so I hope they put out a good pellet. The place in Castle Creek must AD Bowman been meaning to get over there to try some NEWP. Can't wait for some nice fresh local pellets. Jeff
 
imacman,

How far from your house is the new plant? I am pretty sure NEWP only sells to dealers, But couldn't hurt to stop and ask if they sold to the end user.

I wonder if NEWP is sending stock from the other plants(NY-NH) and getting ready to start the spring deals with the local dealers in the area? IMO $219 for the NH pellet is a good deal. But I would test the NY plant as they needed to improve what I tested(I am sure to hear crap about this!). The NH pellet is hands down better IMO. More heat less ash! But YMMV so better to test them yourself.

Keep us posted
jay
 
BTU said:
jtakeman said:
imacman,

How far from your house is the new plant? I am pretty sure NEWP only sells to dealers, But couldn't hurt to stop and ask if they sold to the end user.

I wonder if NEWP is sending stock from the other plants(NY-NH) and getting ready to start the spring deals with the local dealers in the area? IMO $219 for the NH pellet is a good deal. But I would test the NY plant as they needed to improve what I tested(I am sure to hear crap about this!). The NH pellet is hands down better IMO. More heat less ash! But YMMV so better to test them yourself.

Keep us posted
jay

Are you really sure this stock is from the new plant. I know that NEWP was shipping stock over to the "new" plant because they have excess storage there which Jaffery and Schuyler don't have...I wasn't aware that the new Deposit plant was up and running...but of course I could be wrong on that.
To answer both of these posts, Jay I live about 3 hours from the plant, and may be in that area again within the next couple of weeks.

BTU, now that I think about it, I didn't see any indication of pellet production going on....no steam or smoke of any kind. You may be correct that they are using it as a storage area right now......sure looked like pallets of pellets sitting outside.
 
Sorry I have been away. The answer to all the pellets sitting there is they were shipped from the Schuyler plant to Deposit plant to help spread the NEWP name before the start production. I was told that all product is being QC'ed before shipping so it should be good product and I wouldn't think they would want to start the NEWP name with a bad product but golden rule applies try before buy!
 
As a follow up, New England Wood Pellet would like to report that our new manufacturing facility at Deposit, New York is expected to be in manufacturing mode during the first quarter of 2011. We also can confirm that we are, in fact, staging pellets at the Deposit, New York manufacturing facility. New production tons are being shipped from the Schuyler, New York facility and meet our high quality assurance criteria. At the Deposit facility we have warehouse space capable of storing thousands of tons under secure cover. This will be a benefit to consumers who will be served by this plant through our dealer network in southern New York, southern New England, New Jersey and northeastern Pennsylvania. New England Wood Pellet does not retail out of our manufacturing plants. Consumers can check our new and updated website: www.pelletheat.com for information about our company, quality assurance program, dealer contacts and industry information, as well.

For those of you in the central New York area, New England Wood Pellet is hosting a free and open public event, Customer Appreciation Day, at our Schuyler, New York facility on Saturday, April 10th from 10-2. We are giving away two free bags of pellets per car to demonstrate our commitment to producing high quality pellets. The first two hundred cars will be given a $20 coupon towards the purchase of a ton of pellets from participating dealers. All adults can register to win three free tons. Please note, we are not able to give tours on Saturday.

Also, in the coming weeks we will have details on our website for “Wood Energy Day 2010” that is to be held at our Jaffrey, NH manufacturing facility, Saturday, August 28th. This event will include tours and more.

At New England Wood Pellet our motto is “Pride in Every Pellet”. As always, we are a click away,

Thanks to hearth.com for this forum,

“Woody”
Norwood H. Keeney III
Operations Manager/sales
New England Wood Pellet LLC
 
With the cost of transportation - how much does it add to the price of a ton of NEWP to manufacture them in Schyler and haul them 85 miles down to Deposit where they are off loaded and then at some point loaded back on a truck for actual delivery to the dealer ? Seems like a lot of added and unncessary expense that of course the end customer is saddled with.
 
minnow said:
With the cost of transportation - how much does it add to the price of a ton of NEWP to manufacture them in Schyler and haul them 85 miles down to Deposit where they are off loaded and then at some point loaded back on a truck for actual delivery to the dealer ? Seems like a lot of added and unncessary expense that of course the end customer is saddled with.

I suspect NEWP is doing some calculated marketing and eating this cost. 1) It is indoor storage (keeps the plant running without having to store outdoors). 2) It will cost the "downstate" distributors less to pick their loads (not have to drive all the way to Herkimer Cnty), 3) keep visible in the market with activity.

Looks like it is a straight run down NY Route 8, no tolls, good highway.
 
I live in Oneonta, about 40 minutes north of Deposit, and have been flying hang gliders off the ridge just to the east of the NorBord plant in Deposit for many years. When you could smell the NorBord plant smoke blowing in on launch, that was the best! Wind straight in, air going up, that was our thermal ticket to the clouds. I have yet to be there this year (snow just melted off the north-facing road up to launch two weeks ago), but will surely be flying there this spring. I'm looking forward to the smell of the smoke from the new pellet plant, even if I have to wait until 2011.
 
I would think they probably lined up the trucking so they would be coming back to the pellet plant with maybe wood chips or something from the Deposit area so the cost would equal out. Im sure NEWP doesn't want to try and open a new market with high pellet prices it wouldn't help them to grow the product.
 
There was a fire at the Deposit plant on monday. It will probably postpone the production for awhile.
 
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