1. Smith Flooring achieves PFI Standards Program qualification The Pellet Fuels Institute recently announced the qualification of pellet fuel manufacturer Smith Flooring of Mountain View, Missouri, into the PFI Standards Program. Smith Flooring was qualified by accredited auditing agency Timber Products Inspection. 2. Chadwick-BaRoss joins Barko distribution network Barko Hydraulics LLC has added Chadwick-BaRoss Inc. to its distribution network for all forestry equipment product lines. With five locations across Maine, Massachusetts and New Hampshire, Chadwick-BaRoss will carry Barko equipment for the New England region. 3. Fecon announces mobile balancing systems Fecon has announced new mobile balancing systems, the FMB-100 and FMB-200. The mobile balancing systems can work on any make or model of forestry mulcher. 4. POSCO ICT, KOEN to establish nitrogen oxide emissions reduction system POSCO ICT and the Yeongdong division of Korea South-East Power Co. (KOEN) have agreed to jointly establish a system for reducing the nitrogen oxide emissions from units 1 and 2 of the Yeongdong thermal power plant. POSCO ICT will build eco-friendly infrastructure that reduces nitrogen oxide emissions from the thermal power plant into nitrogen and water by triggering a chemical reaction in the nitrogen oxides. POSCO ICT will take on the whole process, from design and construction to test run. As a result of the improvements, nitrogen oxide emissions are expected to be reduced by up to 90 percent. The Yeongdong division of KOEN is working to extend the life of unit 2 by upgrading it into an eco-friendly plant that can reduce air pollution. The division is also converting unit 1 into a biomass power plant. That conversion project is expected to be complete in early 2017.
5. PHI Group to acquire pellet plant PHI Group, a U.S. public company focused on conventional energy and renewables, recently announced that it has signed a letter of intent to acquire a wood pellet manufacturing company in the Southeast U.S. The identity of the target company has not been released. PHI Group, however, said the company owns a 36,000 square-foot manufacturing plant and storage facility that was constructed in 2009, on 18 acres, and went into production in 2010. Annual production is approximately 100,000 metric tons per year. 6. Snow Timber Pellets qualified into PFI Standards Program The Pellet Fuels Institute recently announced the qualification of Snow Timber Pellets of Hurley, Wisconsin, into the Pellet Fuels Institute Standards Program. The PFI Standards Program is a third-party accreditation program providing specifications for residential- and commercial-grade pellet fuel, now representing 14 pellet manufacturing companies with a combined 28 facilities. 7. CBD to supply fuel conveying system to Lynemouth Clyde Bergemann (CBD) has been chosen to deliver the pneumatic conveying system to the Lynemouth biomass conversion. CBD has been supporting the conversion project with customers Sir Robert Alpine construction and civil engineering company, and end-user Lynemouth Power Ltd., since late 2011. The system utilizes state-of-the-art Clyde Bergemann Screw Injector and loss-in-weight technology, and conveys the wood pellets from each of the three new day silos to the inlet of the fuel mills. 8. New Biomass Energy acquires interest in torrefaction plant New Biomass Energy has acquired the majority interest in a Quitman, Mississippi,&nbsp; torrefaction plant and plans to continue the production of torrefied biomass. Initial production at the Quitman plant was expected to supply 2,000 to 3,000 tons of torrefied wood for a test burn at Portland General Electric&rsquo;s plant in Boardman, Oregon, in fall 2016. 9. Integrated Global Services awarded contract by Drax Integrated Global Services, a leader in the development and application of high-velocity thermal spray solutions for corrosion and erosion problems in mission critical equipment, has been awarded a long-term contract with Drax Power Station. Drax operates six power generation units, producing approximately 8 percent of Great Britain&rsquo;s electric power demands. Almost half of the station has been upgraded to burn wood pellets. The units suffer from wastage on evaporator walls due to fireside corrosion. Waste on pressure parts can lead to unplanned outages. To address this wastage, Drax had the option of changing out pressure parts or extending component life with the use of high-velocity metal coating. The plant selected to engage IGS to apply a proprietary high-velocity arc spray coating. The first project was successfully implemented in May, during which IGS protected more than 400 square meters of surface with its process. 10. ASGCO announces belt cleaning system ASGCO has announced the availability of its Super-Skalper HD, a belt-cleaning system for high-speed, high-volume conveyors. Available in several blade configurations, ASGCO&rsquo;s Super-Skalper HD can tackle tough carry-back applications. The one-piece mounting tube and E-Z Torque Tensioner applies consistent and proper pressure ensuring constant cleaning contact throughout the life of the blade.&nbsp; In addition, the blade-wear indicator allows blade wear to be monitored without having to shut down the system for inspection and can be done in minutes, without tools.
11. Barko adds to dealer network Barko Hydraulics LLC has announced the addition of Newlons International Sales LLC to its dealer network for all forestry equipment product lines. Located in Elkins, West Virginia, Newlons will carry Barko equipment for all of West Virginia and two counties in Maryland. Newlons International was founded in 1958 and has been a dealer for International trucks since 1968. The company has also carried agricultural, construction and other industrial product lines at various times throughout its history. Newlons will carry the full line of Barko forestry products, including loaders, harvesters and feller bunchers, industrial wheeled tractors, forwarders and biomass chippers. 12. PFI updates labeling system for standards program Pellet Fuels Institute has announced a change in the labeling system for its PFI Standards Program to accommodate the common practice of private labeling. Under the new system, if a qualified pellet fuel manufacturer is working with a retailer or distributer who wishes to use a privately labeled bag that does not credit the wood pellet manufacturer, then the wood pellet producer is able to contact their inspection agency to request an additional registration number to be used specifically for private labeling purposes. The inspection agency will review the request to assure that the additional registration number is used only for the designated production facility and that the pellet fuel manufacturer will maintain control of all bag printing. Once approved, the inspection agency will issue a new quality mark with the additional registration number to be used only on privately labeled bags.
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