SAVANNA PALLETS - GRANT WINNER
In 2018, Savanna Pallets installed its first bio-mass hot water boiler system. Repurposing a 2012 Uni-Confort 2mmbtu system that was acquired through the acquisition of an area sawmill business, an aging and inefficient propane radiant heating system was replaced.
Working with Jared Findley of Bio-Mass Energy Solutions, our in-house crews were able to relocate, re-install and pipe the entire system. Utilizing an unlimited free wood supply generated from our sawmill operations, the system is able to provide a significantly greater amount of heat as opposed to the old system.
BEYOND THE NUMBERS
Beyond the costs savings in propane expenses, we have been able to improve working conditions within the plant through more consistent working temperatures. Furthermore, we have also seen measurable productivity improvements resulting from non-frozen lumber used in the assembly process of manufacturing pallets.
WOOD INNOVATIONS GRANT RECIPIENT
With the success of our first system, we applied for and received a US Forest Service Wood Innovations Grant to purchase two additional systems to cover our entire manufacturing complex. The first of these systems is a 4mmbtu Uni-Confort Boiler and was brought online in the fall of 2019. In addition to providing space heat for our buildings, we are working on using the excess capacity as a thermal energy source for our lumber kilns and pallet heat treating/drying chambers
