possibility of short sea shipping to move pellets to coastal ports and the need for a dedicated dockside pellet terminal. Speaking of ships, Knud Jensen, ex-ecutive vice-president, Canfornav, of-fered a graphic example of the economy of scale. “Comingling cargo is in its infan-cy, but it would help in getting rates down. The freight difference between a 40,000-tonne load and a 30,000-tonne load will be 15-25 per cent.” He added, “We will look at freight rates much dif-ferently on a long-term strategy than on the spot-market.” Uri Szyk, market manager, sales and marketing, industrial products, CN, took the podium to remind listeners that CN was ready to help producers move their pellets to market. CN is interested in exploring capital investment oppor-tunities, including building track infra-structure. Representatives from four ports – Montreal, Trois Rivières, Belledune and Halifax – presented their credentials for moving wood pellets and their connec-tions to other transportation modes. The Port of Trois Rivières, for example, is in expansion mode. “We are open to sug-gestions to smaller producers getting to-gether and opening a wood pellet termi-nal,” noted Matthieu Gauthier, the port’s business development co-ordinator. Patrick Bohan, manager, business de-velopment, Port of Halifax, noted that its grain elevator is used to handling wood pellets. “This is not at the concept stage. It is real and operating 24/7/365.” Rayburn Doucett, president and CEO, Belledune Port Authority, said, “We are shipping over 100,000 tonnes a year of pellets. We have a terminal dedicated to wood pellets. We can put our product into Europe as cheap or cheaper than any other port.” Antonio Boemi, vice-president, growth and development, Port of Mon-treal, said this about the vessels that call at the port: “Vessels do full unload and load [here]. This leads to more bal-anced trade and better costs.” Rentech, whose business includes supplying wood pellets to Drax and Ontario Power Generation, spoke of is-sues ranging from plants to ports, in-cluding a deal with Quebec Stevedor-ing to build handling equipment and 75,000 tonnes of pellet storage space by 2014 at the Port of Quebec, exclu-sively for Rentech. Rentech extended this offer: “… we are able to consolidate volume and provide a conduit for other producers to the export marketplace.” Perhaps, suggested Bruce Lisle in a conversation with Canadian Biomass , “Rentech could be a comingling leader.” Pierre-Olivier Morency, manager, wood pellets, QWEB, and director, market access and promotion, WPAC, told Canadian Biomass , “Strong interest was demonstrated during the members-only session to work together and devel-op solutions. I think that WPAC is setting a strong mandate to go forward with a logistics project in Eastern Canada.” For more on pellets, visit www.canadianbiomassmagazine.ca Maximum production. Low operating cost. The Bühler RWPR-900 is the ideal pellet mill for your biomass applications. The RWPR was designed with massive roll bearings to withstand the extreme pressures of biomass pelleting. To ensure ease of operation the pellet mill is equipped with a simple V-belt drive system with minimal moving parts. This top of the line pellet mill provides an effective and effi cient pelleting solution. For more information please visit www.buhlergroup.com. Bühler Inc., PO Box 9497, Minneapolis, MN 55440, 763-847-9900, [email protected], www.buhlergroup.com Heavy Duty Pellet Mill Maximum Production. Flexible controls optimize process Low operating costs. Rollers, dies and other wear parts are designed for maximum performance and longevity to increase uptime and profi tability. Safe operation. A combined overload shear pin and belt slip monitor protect the pellet mill from overloads or foreign material entering the die. Innovations for a better world. RWPR_2012.indd 1 Canadian BIOMASS 11/6/2012 8:27:20 AM 17
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