In the case of production waste, Rowlinson Garden Products has since recently been using shredding and briquetting technology from WEIMA of Germany. A WL 4 shredder and a C 150 briquetting press are used to produce briquettes that heat up their own production halls. The excess is sold at a profit.
The company has been manufacturing high-quality wooden garden furniture in Nantwich (United Kingdom) since 1926. Waste wood accumulating up to now had to be disposed of at great cost. Then we had the bright idea of collecting our own left-overs and using these as a cheap source of energy. Operations Manager Charles Firth says: “The focus was on reducing the costs of disposal. We also wanted to heat our factory using the waste. It was crazy – we had the source of heat for years but we never used it.”
Picture 1: WEIMA C 150 briquetting press with automatic packaging carousel, conveying screw, WL 4 shredder
After careful examination, we finally decided on the compact machines from WEIMA in Ilsfeld, which were directly set up in the production facility in order to ensure the shortest transport routes possible. The C150 briquetting press produces ca. 30-50 kg of briquette per hour from biomass with a diameter of 50 mm. The WL 4 shredder with its 18 kW drive and its innovative V rotor pre-shreds the material to the optimal size in order to then be able to press it using simple compressive force and without using any binders. The automatic packaging carousel finally completes the process in which the produced briquettes are packaged in accordance with a defined quantity per sack (10 kg). All according to the motto: fill up, switch on, ready.
Picture 2: C 150 wood briquette
With a grin on his face, Charles Firth proudly proclaims: “The factory is warmer than ever before.” A total of over 84,000m² is heated. This includes a production hall and central warehouse, which is also heated to room temperature thanks to the cheap biomass briquettes.
Gone are the years when we had to order heating fuel at regular weekly intervals. As well as the positive economic effects, the staff at Rowlinson Garden Products is also pleased about the switch to a clean energy source. The reason being: Incinerating wood only releases as much CO2 as the tree previously absorbed itself. So Charles Firth has reason to be very happy: he saves time and money, earns at the same time and also does something for our environment.