10 minute read

Updates

from Furniture & Joinery Production #333

by Gearing Media Group Ltd

from Furniture & Joinery Production #333, page 78

Article from: Furniture & Joinery Production #333

Warehousing, packaging materia...

Crisis? What crisis?

The heat is on (if you have a wood-fired heating system)

Words and images by Chris Franklin, MD of Ranheat Engineering

We made it through Brexit (or have we?) and Covid-19 ... and now an energy shortage. The UK woodworking industry. in the main, is dependent on electricity to run the machinery, and gas or oil to heat the premises. With recent low wind levels and a global shortage of gas, where is the heating and power coming from?

At least four more energy supply companies are on the brink, according to OFGEM, and with prices capped the consumer will get some limit to the rise in bills, but industry won’t. Wholesale gas prices in the UK have increased six-fold over the last 12 months, and this will be passed on to industry.

The UK woodworking industry can help itself. Most manufacturing units have large expanses of roof and a ready supply of woodwaste.

Ranheat Engineering are a UKbased manufacturer (manufacturing in Northampton) of industrial, wood-fired boilers and heaters, able to burn all types of woodwaste including fine dusts and man-made boards (MFC and MDF, as well as OSB and other plyboards).

Boilers and heaters are available from as small as 150kW (which will heat around 10,000ft2 of factory) up to plants of several MW output. With a sixfold increase in wholesale gas prices, there has never been a better time to invest in a woodfired heating system from Ranheat Engineering.

All wood processors have some form of dust extraction system, from simple bag units where the bags of dust can be emptied into a simple ‘bag-loader’, to a purpose-made transfer system into a metal storage silo, directly off the main extraction system.

All Ranheat systems are bespoke installations – with Ranheat manufacturing almost all of the system (including the boiler/heater, the storage silos, the feed system as well as the flue-gas cleaning), there are no concerns about delays (as if shipping systems from abroad). All of the cutting, bending, rolling and welding is carried out in-house.

I remember the start of the UK woodburning industry in the early 80s. Oil prices globally rose 15-fold in a year – we went from cheap energy to no energy in a very short space of time. Now it is more about greenhouse gasses and emissions, as well as cost.

Using woodwaste that is a byproduct of a wood manufacturing process has got to make sense – when the wood-manufactured item comes to the end of its life, it can be recycled into energy. 01604 750005 sales@ranheat.com www.ranheat.com

A simple bunker silo fed directly from a chain filter – with no transfer system required – feeding extracted material from the bunker silo into a 150-kW warm air heater

‘The UK woodworking industry can help itself. Most manufacturing units have large expanses of roof and a ready supply of woodwaste’

Offcuts loaded directly into a woodchipper for chipping and feeding into a 300-kW Ranheat warm air system

What is asset finance?

Asset finance is a popular way for businesses to obtain the equipment they need to grow, says Close Brothers Asset Finance, with common products being: • Hire Purchase (HP) allows the customer to buy the equipment on credit. The finance company purchases the asset on behalf of the customer and owns the asset until the final instalment is paid, at which point the customer is given the option to buy it. • Refinancing (capital release): The finance company purchases the asset and finances it back to the ‘business’. Repayments are calculated in line with the income stream that will be generated by the asset – at the end of the refinance term, the business owns the asset. • Finance lease: The full value of the equipment is repaid to the finance company, plus interest, over the lease period. At the end of the term, the company can choose to: continue to use the asset by entering a secondary rental period; sell the asset and keep a portion of the income from the sale; or return it. • Operating lease: Similar to a finance lease, an operating lease allows the business to rent the asset from the finance provider while they need it. The key difference between the two is that an operating lease is only for part of the asset’s useful life.

This means the business pays a reduced rental because the cost is based on the difference between the asset’s original purchase price and its residual value at the end of the agreement.

Types of assets financed The beauty of asset finance, states Close Brothers, is its flexibility – it can be used to fund any asset, including CNC routers, sanders, moulders, saws, edgebanders, planers, jointers, mortisers, milling machines and drill presses. There is very little that Close Brothers Asset Finance will not consider financing.

The business can even help with the refurbishment of assets – for example, where it pays the refit costs by taking security of an asset to aid cashflow, via Sale & HP Back.

It makes the otherwise unaffordable affordable, because it gives businesses access to the equipment they need without incurring the cash flow disadvantage of an outright purchase. Agreements can also be customised to the business’ needs, with flexibility on both the term and repayment schedule.

Why Close Brothers Asset Finance? Close Brothers says it is the largest, most successful and longestestablished specialist asset finance funder in the UK, with over 30 years’ experience working with SMEs through all economic cycles – there is very little the business has not seen or experienced!

Its team of finance specialists – many of whom have relevant sector experience themselves – work with businesses across the UK to provide funding for both new and used equipment. As sector experts, they understand how vital it is that a business has the right equipment – so can be of help to those looking to expand or replace their range of equipment. www.closeassetfinance.co.uk/ asset-finance

‘It makes the otherwise unaffordable affordable, because it gives businesses access to the equipment they need without incurring the cash flow disadvantage of an outright purchase’

Softwood supply finally catching construction demand, says TTF

More than seven million m3 of timber and panel products were imported by the UK between January and July 2021, according to the latest Timber Trade Federation (TTF) Market Statement.

This is nearly two million m3 above the same period in 2020, and half a million m3 above 2019 levels - the UKs last ‘regular year’ before COVID-19 – which is about an 8% increase.

These record-breaking volumes of imports reflect high demand for timber products with a strong RM&I sector and a resurgent private housing market having kept supply on allocation.

Timber prices, and structural softwood in particular, experienced rapid increases over the course of 2021, a trend explored in an earlier joint timber industry Market Statement in July.

These latest TTF statistics show the average price of sawn and planed softwood in May, June and July rose by 55%, 65% and 88% respectively over their corresponding months in 2020.

Nick Boulton, TTF head of technical and trade, said: “After a year of record production and nine months of near record structural softwood imports it is highly likely the UK is at a point where there is sufficient volume of wood at UK ports and in the UK timber supply chain to satisfy construction demand.

“With Q3 now behind us, which we viewed as a real pressure point this year between supply and demand for timber products, we expect that over the coming months we will find there is greater stability within the UK market.

“However we are not yet out the woods as any return to ‘regular’ patterns within the UK market will be difficult amidst the ongoing shortage of HGV drivers, and in fuel and labour, which are likely to continue to impact the market in the coming months.

“These shortages are of high concern to the timber supply chain as while there may now be enough timber in the UK to meet demand it does little good to anyone when there are no means to transport stock from ports to warehouses or customers.

“The challenges posed by these shortages are being felt right across the UK economy, and as discussed in our Market Statement, you can view their impact in the latest statistics coming out from the construction sector with growth shown to be tailing off in June and July.

“Despite these challenges, we are confident the timber supply chain can continue to rise to meet the growing demand for sustainable, low-carbon construction materials we are seeing in the market – as it has done so for the past 20 months.

“The UK timber supply chain has proven to be remarkedly resilient amidst an ongoing series of intense global and local pressures which have rippled out since the pandemic, as evidenced through the impressive import volumes reached in 2021.

“As a low-carbon, and crucially - amidst a looming global energy crisis – low-energy construction material, timber is likely to grow as the material of choice among climate conscious architects, engineers, developers and planners in the UK.”

You can read the full report on the TTF website: https://ttf.co.uk/ download/ttf-market-statementoctober-2021/

Customisable cardboard tubing for ultimate versatility when packing

Long, thin or awkwardly shaped objects call for easily adjustable packaging. Accordingly, Kite Packaging has launched cardboard tubing that is available on a roll, enabling it to be cut to custom lengths.

Comprised of recycled content and recyclable after use, this tubing expresses great sustainability through these qualities and the fact that only the necessary amount of material is used. It is an eco-friendly alternative to plastic tubing, demonstrating admirable green credentials to your customers and helping to protect our planet.

It lays flat on the roll, granting great space conservation in a warehouse and is near instantaneously assembled by merely folding along the scored corners. The corrugated cardboard will then hold its shape to offer strongwearing protection to each side of the object inside.

The angles of the corners can be altered to best suit the contents and provide the most secure fit to guard against damage during transit. The tube can be sealed with staples for a simplistic approach, or each crease can be cut into and folded inwards before being sealed with paper or plastic tape or hot glue. The latter method keeps a strong cuboid shape suitable for wider products.

Available in three different sizes, this corrugated tubing can be tailored toward a wide variety of products including anything from table legs and other furniture parts to pipes, tools, sections or skateboards. www.kitepackaging.co.uk

Classified

Advertise jobs, machinery, products, events, websites and trade services in the Classified section.

Contact Lisa Williams to organise your standalone or integrated classified advertising campaign.

Tel: 01424 776102 Email: lisa@media66.net

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