Who wants their own pellet plant?

[MtDew]

Just found this on the local Craigslist site.

(broken link removed to http://allentown.craigslist.org/bfd/4727961510.html)

 

[Lyndenbrook Farm]

Let's crowdsource this thing and run a co-op for Hearth.com members

 

[bas157]

well that explains why the one local shop isn't selling Great American this year!

 

[Lake Girl]

May have been too heavily invested in R&D ... letter discusses wood/coal pellet for industrial use.
http://www.pagoppolicy.com/Display/SiteFiles/112/2012Hearings/9_18_2012/Ross.pdf

Or spread too thin ... 3 companies?
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/stephen-ross/22/414/8b7

or this:
http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/great-american-pellets-inferior-product-c603094.html

Seems my first impression was fairly accurate...
http://www.indeed.com/cmp/Great-Ame...c374e5cf629e634&from=overview&irclick=reviewc

Edit: the indeed.com site may not show up - past employee review from the site:
Supervisor/Maintenance Mechanic (Former Employee), Palmerton, PA – December 12, 2013
Pros: the challenge of the job
Cons: the closure of the plant

This was a pelleting prototype operation which was setup intentionally for research and development. I was the first shift supervisor/maintenance with a crew of five. My duties were in maintaining machinery and operations, and recording all changes done in the pelleting process for research purposes. Part of my position included training of employees, trying new concepts and different materials to develop the best product on the market. The hardest part of the job was the limited funds, which in turn created the closure of the plant in 7/2013. The best part of the job was we pioneered many new methods which are now being used in other plants in the country.

 

[bcarton]

It seems like this must be a huge opportunity. I have modest funds, but if the hearth.com community could justify an investment, I would seriously consider joining in on a community effort. I would be able to contribute only a small percentage.

 

[SwineFlue]

Seems to me that the plant size was just too small for the US market. I read somewhere that 450,000t p/a was a good plant size.

That's a lot of raw material to source.

That size is more common for plants making the industrial pellets being shipped to Europe. A couple in Georgia & Florida are double that capacity.

Most of the plants making our premium pellets are around a tenth of that size: 30,000 to 60,000 tons a year.

 

[SwineFlue]

I would expect that these mills are attached to sawmills or some other timber processor so the pellet business is a side line to process waste rather than a stand alone enterprise.
That is the only way I think it could work. If you are buying in your feedstock you are at the mercy of your suppliers which is really bad news in a high volume low margin business.

Some, like Instant Heat, are attached to sawmills. Others, like Barefoot and Somerset, the pellet operations are part of hardwood flooring manufacturers.

Companies like New England Wood Pellet (at least their plant just north of me) are pellet-only, and source their raw material from various local suppliers.

 

[Lake Girl]

The biomass that was built here with assistance from both levels of governments is now sitting idle because the Kraft and paper mill have closed down. Keep hearing rumours that there may be a sale for the mill which means it will go back on-line.