Just a Chip (or 15 tons of chips) off the Ol’ Block

Every day almost 35 tons of waste in the forms of sawdust and off-cut planks comes off the lines at Bulembu Timber’s sawmill. Currently a portion of the waste is turned into charcoal but in search of new markets and new product lines, Bulembu Timber has invested in a wood chipper. This wood chipper will ensure that none of Bulembu Timber's waste is actually wasted.

Here's how it works:

A sawdust separator at the waste exit of the mill will, as its name suggests, separate the sawdust from the off-cut planks. Then the off-cut planks will go directly into the chipper and will be chipped into 35mm pieces of wood.

Next, the chips will go into 3m tall bags and will be transported by truck to sugar mills in Simunye and Mhlume (both in Swaziland). These companies purchase chips and sawdust from Bulembu Timber to heat their sugar factories’ boilers (they use wood instead of coal).

With 15-20 tons of chips processed daily and selling at R400/ton the chipper is a welcome addition to Bulembu Timber's machinery family.