A John Deere wheel loader puts green chips into a hop- per feeding the first Andritz Sprout hammer mill with 5/8” screens. The hammer mill is enclosed to reduce noise for local residents. in some money ourselves, and the spec fund matched that to $1 million and took a 10% equity position, which we have the option to buy out. You’re looking at a company with lots of debt and not so many assets.” location, location, location In fact, the Currans are sitting on a few key assets, albeit not the kind you can slide into a balance sheet. First, they have transportation and chipping infrastructure established that allows them to bring the fibre in at as low a cost as anyone. That includes seasoned crews and relationships with area landowners. They are also integrating the pellet fibre operation with an established forest products operation and markets. “Our relationship with Domtar Windsor is key. They have been a big factor in our sur- vival over the past few years, and we won’t do anything to risk that. We will do what it takes to meet our fibre commitments there. But our crews have extra capacity right now in this market, and so we can use that to feed the pel- let plant. That means that making pellets from green wood makes sense to us where it may not to others.” Finally, the operation is sitting on the door- step of one of the most vibrant residential pel- let heating markets in North America. As far back as July 2008, shortages of wood pellets for dramatic industry downturn over the past three years has limited other outlets. “We’ve been looking at pellets as a way to diversify our markets for a few years now, but it’s new to us, and a big investment, so it has taken a while to get off the ground. It’s a good fit with our existing operation, and we’re big believers in the future of renewable energy in this area.” Curran Renewable Energy is an entirely separate company owned by the three brothers, along with a 10% equity stake by the New York State Power Authority “spec fund”. “Basically, the investment is $10 million. We financed most of it, which was an adventure in itself. It amazed us how much money disap- pears up front just in financing charges. We put A Peterson 4710B grinder with colouring unit works at Seaway Timber Harvesting’s main yard. The pellet mill’s bagging line has been designed to handle mulch as well, giving access to new markets. CanadianBIOMASS 17
Canadian Biomass August 2009: Page 17
