Doubling the production capacity with Palax C1000 firewood processors

JB Firewood is a producer of high-quality kiln-dried firewood in Oregon, USA. The company owner Brandon Marr knows how to operate not only firewood processors but also F-15Cs; he is a former U.S. Air Force Top Gun fighter pilot who served in the Oregon Air National Guard.

After retiring from military service in 2006, Brandon started his own business in wood waste recycling. In 2014, he expanded his business to firewood when the multinational retail corporation Walmart was looking for a firewood supplier in the states of Oregon and Washington. Today, JB Firewood employs in total 40 people out of which 10 work in the firewood production. Additionally, three service recruits are planned to support the growing business. The company manages their distribution network with their seventeen trucks.

“Working twelve-hour days over five-day weeks and about 3,000 machine hours a year, our total firewood production has been about 10,000 cords (36,000 cubic meters). 75% of the production is done with Palax C1000 firewood processors. With our third Palax C1000, the production can be raised even more” Brandon says.

Besides major grocery chains Walmart and Safeway, typical customers of JB Firewood represent a mixture of private home users and state parks. For campgrounds, the company has developed their own solution that provides firewood in particular firewood containers.

“We use fir, oak, maple and alder trees for firewood. Logs are sourced locally from private forest owners and state owned forests in Western Oregon. With Palax C1000 machines, we are processing logs up to 16” of diameter.”

Brandon has been very pleased with the increased productivity provided by Palax.

“We have doubled our production capacity with Palax C1000 compared to chain saw machines of similar size.”

Palax stands out with their safety features in North America

Hakmet Forestry imports Palax firewood processors and other forestry machines in North America. In addition to their home market Canada they operate in the U.S. through their dealers.

“It’s hard to say what the future looks like but green values will increasingly impact the firewood industry too. Due to wood smoke, there are restrictions in burning firewood in cities like Montreal but in rural areas it’s still OK. People use wood boilers to heat their homes” say General Manager Mika Hakala and Sales Manager John Ducross.

Chain saw equipped Palax KS 40S and D360 are best-sellers in their market.

“The competition in circular saw blade firewood processors is fierce but Palax stands out with their safety features. In addition, the Palax machines are well built and of high quality. The black color is looking sharp!”