Biomass Harvesting Grinding opportunity Excel takes advantage of opportunity to add grinding business By Andrew Macklin The opportunity to expand and diversify your operation by adding a complimentary business to your portfolio are hard to find. So when the opportunity to acquire a biomass grinding oper-ation presented itself to the team at Excel Transportation Inc., the company took full advantage of the chance to add the com-plimentary business, in turn adding value to existing customers Excel has been providing bulk hauling transportation and logistics solutions for customers throughout B.C. and Alberta for more than 30 years. That has included the cost-effective trans-portation of wood chips and wood waste to pellet plants and cogen facilities throughout the region, while also servicing the oil and gas, mining and forest industries. The company’s base of operations is located in Prince George, with secondary offices located in Houston and Grimshaw, Alberta. Excel uses a fleet of chip trailers, 53’ self-unloaders and end dumps to provide the most efficient logistics solutions for deliv-ering fibre resources to the yard or the port, being flexible based on what off-loading equipment is already in place. The company counts many of the biggest companies in the forest industry in Western Canada among its customers, including: Canfor Pulp Limited, Canadian Forest Products, Canfor Green Energy, Tem-bec Pulp, Daishowa Marubeni International Ltd. Peace River, Sinclar Group Forest Products Ltd., West Fraser, Weyerhaeuser and Pacific BioEnergy Corp. What has set Excel apart has been its ability to innovate to react to changing conditions in the B.C. forest industry. That includes a customized solution of extended B-trains to accom-modate efficient hauling of beetle kill wood, which carries a noticeably lighter weight due to the lack of moisture when har-vested. Maximum load volumes are essential to keep costs as low as possible for customers who compete in the global market. OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS The constant innovation that’s part of the Excel business model made it a perfect fit for the new business prospect that was pre-sented to the company two years ago. In 2013, the company was presented with the rare opportunity to purchase in an industry that would compliment its logistics operation: a biomass chipping/grinding operation that already Excel Resources grinds wood in the forests surrounding Prince George for Pacific Bioenergy. Canadian BIOMASS 19
Canadian Biomass May-June 2015: Page 19
