Giovanni Bruno, Decor Mouldings' production manager (r) and Marc Bruno (l), administrative manager, detailed briquetting plans at IWF 2010 in Atlanta last month.

MISSISSAUGA, CANADA

- Decor Moulding and Paneling says it has found a way to turn more profit on its sawdust and other wood waste, adding machinery for converting it to briquettes that can be sold at higher prices in consumer markets. Briquettes are used in commercial boilers and by homeowners in wood burning stoves.

While 15-employee Decor Moulding has always sold its wood waste in bulk to particleboard manufacturers or as animal bedding, its new briquetter -  the Höcker Polytechnic BrikStar (sold in North America by O2 Filtration) - allows them to get more per pound for the wood waste.

Giovanni Bruno, production manager at Decor Paneling, said during the International Woodworking Fair in Atlanta last month that the BrikStar conversion of wood waste into briquettes will deliver payback on the investment in about six months. Decor Moulding produces about 40,000 pounds of sawdust and shavings per week in making its mouldings, yielding 18,000 pounds of briquettes.

"All of our wood shavings go into the silo," says Bruno. While the waste was valuable as a commodity to particle board manufacturers for producing MDF panel products, it has even more value compressed into briquettes for consumers. Instead of selling wood waste for $3.50 cents per yard to board manufacturers, Decor Mouldings can sell the briquettes at retail prices to consumers. Bruno estimates a six-month return on the investment of $100,000 in the briquetting system.

Decor Moulding and Paneling is finalizing details on marketing strategies for the briquette output, which could include export to Europe. Bruno says Decor had also considered acquiring a system that produced wood pellets, but opted instead for producing the briquettes, which can be bagged by the dozen and shipped to retailers.

Family-owned and operated Décor Mouldings supplies wood and fiberglass composite mouldings in Canada, the United States and to other export markets. Décor Mouldings says it takes great care in the production of products in an environmentally-friendly manner, deriving maximum use from raw lumber - hence the appeal of selling briquettes made from wood waste - while minimizing energy costs.

In addition to its stock items, Decor manufactures custom wood or composite moulding to specifications. It offerings a wide selection of standard and exotic hardwoods, in many grades and thicknesses. Lumber can be ordered by truckload, lift or partial lift; custom milled mouldings are available at any length and in any spec. Decor Moulding sells three-dozen varieties of wood mouldings, as well as polyurethane mouldings and architectural details, through its dealer channels and direct to woodworking firms and other buyers through an e-commerce portal.

Bruno says he and his colleagues came to IWF, "trying to keep up with new, innovative machines." Along with the briquetter, a 5-axis Biesse CNC router is the most recent addition for Decor Moulding. Decor Mouldings offers a variety of curved casings, backbands, crowns, corner blocks, hand rails, baseboards, doorstops, tongue and groove, combinations and panel mouldings. Custom millshop services are available, as well as an online Idea Center to view sample window treatments, wall panel treatments, decorative columns, crown and ceiling treatments, and stair and mantel treatments
 

O2 Filtration BrikStar
Briquette Machine placed on top of a vacuum mobile

At IWF last month, O2 Filtration demonstrated the Höcker Polytechnik MultiStar filtration system, BrikStar briquetting equipment, and the Energy Management System for dust collection, which can be directly integrated to the briquetting equipment. In April, O2 Filtration staged a North American showing of the Höcker Polytechnic sawdust filtration/collector integrated to a briquetter at a Weinig open house, combining an interior 5000 CFM dust collector with a briquette system to handle larger volumes of waste. This eliminates the need to empty drums or plastic bags. That demonstration showed a PAFo dust collector and C4-14 briquetter which meets the National Fire Prevention Assn. standard 664: "Standard for the Prevention of Fires and Explosions in Wood Processing and Woodworking Facilities." At the same time it creates a marketable by-product in the form of 2.5-inch diameter wood briquettes.