News
Press Release
Monday, November 12th
Company Transforms its Waste Into Environmentally Friendly Fuel
Hardwood Pellets Help Lower Home Heating Bills
A Kentucky woodworking company used to haul away a tractor-trailer load of sawdust and wood shavings every day. Now this company is turning its waste into an environmentally friendly fuel to warm Midwest homes this winter.
Anderson Wood Products of Louisville, KY is a family operated, century old manufacturer of building materials and component parts for homes, furniture, and cabinets. The Andersons have recently begun producing premium hardwood pellets under the Kentucky Kernel label for modern wood-burning appliances.
President Sid Anderson says they had been looking for ways to turn their waste into a valuable product. After learning of the increasing use of hardwood pellets for heat, a team of Anderson employees researched the opportunity and their conclusions convinced him it was a viable business. He says the pellets also benefit the environment. "We met a corporate goal of utilizing 100% of our wood resources while at the same time providing the marketplace with an efficient source of renewable energy."
The Andersons formed a separate company, Anderson Hardwood Pellets, to manufacture and distribute the pellets. Two and one-half million dollars was invested in a production line that combines the best ideas of consulting engineers, equipment providers and other pellet manufacturers that the team visited.
The Andersons have taken a step beyond using only their own company’s waste. They partnered with another local company that collects sawdust and wood scrap from wood working plants throughout the Kentucky-Indiana area. The scrap they collect is delivered to Anderson Hardwood Pellets for processing into pellets.
Production began in May in what was a vacant building adjacent to the company’s woodworking plant. Anderson Hardwood Pellets now has the capacity to produce 40 tons of Kentucky Kernel pellets on each of the two weekday shifts. More shifts will be added to match increasing demand.
Kentucky Kernel hardwood pellets are pencil-size and about 3/4" long. The burning pellets create a hot fire and leave very little residue (ash). The pellets are made entirely from wood waste with the addition of a little water and corn oil.
According to the Fuel Pellet Institute, "Pellet fuel is a way to divert millions of tons of waste from landfills and turn it into energy." The Institute says pellets can be a substitute for oil since one ton of wood pellets produces as much heat as 2.8 barrels of oil. The Institute also notes there are approximately 800,000 homes in the U.S. using wood pellets for heat. The pellets can be burned in free-standing pellet stoves or within inserts placed in existing fireplaces. Unlike wood-burning fireplaces and stoves, pellet stoves don’t require a traditional chimney and most can be vented through a wall.
Anderson’s Sales Manager, Ken Lynn, says wood pellet stoves have long been popular in Europe and the northeast and northwest United States. Usually these stoves supplement existing home heating systems but increasingly they are the primary heat source as homeowners find the pellets cost less than home heating oil and natural gas. Lynn says sales of pellet stoves are increasing in other areas of the country as more homeowners look for ways to reduce the rising cost of heating.
Kentucky Kernel is sold to retailers on pallets holding fifty 40-pound bags. Anderson’s customers are independent retailers such as lawn and garden shops, nurseries, feed and hardware stores, and stores selling pellet stoves. Lynn says he chooses not sell to the large national retailers so that his company can maintain a reliable supply to its smaller retail customers. A list of retailers can be found by entering your zip code in the "Find a Dealer" Form located on the top, right-hand side of this page; by visiting the Links page on this site; or by contacting Anderson Wood Products if none is listed close by.
Sid Anderson said, "It’s nice when a business can create additional sales while helping people minimize their heating bill and promoting an environmentally friendly heating alternative from a renewable resource."