Lancaster-based wood-fuel specialist, Logs Direct, is getting its teeth stuck into a mission to expand the business and create new local employment opportunities, having invested in a new wood processor that is one of the biggest in Britain.
A new Pezzalato TLC 1000 compact firewood processor is now partnering with the Halton firm’s existing, seven-year-old Pinosa processor, to tackle the task of keeping homes warm this winter.
Able to process up to 40 tonnes of wood per day, making the total cumulative output of the two processors 70 tonnes, the Pezzalato is already pulling its 6000kg weight in the yard. It can be operated by just one person and can work manually or in automatic mode.
The processor can pick up 4-metre lengths of tree, cut them into rings with a disc that bears hard, metal-tipped teeth, and then divide those rings into triangular-sized logs that are perfectly sized for a fire or woodburner.
The operator can decide on the desired cutting length, the splitting and the positioning and process everything safely, due to great visibility around the processor. The Pezzalato can also exclude wood bundles not needing to be split.
Its load-sensing control system is super-efficient, reducing energy consumption and improving working processes at Logs Direct.
Logs Direct’s sales director, Stephen Talbot, said: “The Pezzalato will help take our business to the next level, giving us much greater capacity to not only keep up with peak demand in winter, but expand our market and deliver more ready-to-burn, top quality firewood to homeowners and also more of our speciality woods.
“The investment in this equipment comes following our purchase of a second Swedish Ariterm BioComp 200, 1.5-tonne biomass boiler with integral 2-tonne kiln unit, so we are now able to process more wood and ensure that it can all be kiln-dried on site.
“We expect to create more job opportunities in 2019, which has to be great news for employment in the local area.”