IFI Magazine Feb March 2019 International Forest Industries Magazine Feb March | Page 12

LOGGING & BIOMASS NEWS
Forest machinery suppliers launch Swedish Forestry Expo 2021
MaskinLeverantörerna (ML), the
Swedish trade association for
suppliers of mobile machinery and
equipment, has announced that it
will launch a brand new Swedish
Forestry Expo, which will take
place June 3-5, 2021, at the Solvalla
Harness-Racing Track in Stockholm,
Sweden. The fair aims to be a
meeting place for professional,
large-scale forestry with forest
machinery the focal point.
According to a statement, the
launch of the fair is an initiative
of the trade association and its
members. The Swedish Forestry
Expo will be open to all exhibitors
who have relevant products
for large-scale forestry, forest
machines, allied equipment,
and accessories. This includes
companies that are not members of
MaskinLeverantörerna.
The new trade fair aims to
be an easily accessible meeting
place where one as a visitor can
clearly experience all exhibitors
in the area. In addition to the
fair, meetings and seminars will
be organized, as knowledge
transfer is an important part of the
experience.
The organisers,
MaskinLeverantörerna (ML) says
that it has already confirmed the
participation of several major
forest machinery brands including
Eco Log Sweden AB, John Deere AB,
Komatsu Forest AB, Rottne Industri
AB, and Ponsse AB.
We want to create a more
focused fair for professional
forest equipment buyers, where
machinery is the focal point.
The choice of Solvalla as the
fair arena felt natural, as we
have good experience from
there with the Swedish Machine
Fair and the location meets the
requirements for accessibility,
said Björn Bäckström, CEO of
MaskinLeverantörerna.
Björn Bäckström, CEO,
MaskinLeverantörerna (ML),
the Swedish trade association
for suppliers of mobile
machinery and equipment
Doosan Babcock strengthens partnership with Drax Power
A view of the wood pellet storage silos at Drax Power
The new four year partnership,
with the option for a further four
years, will strengthen workforce
collaboration and improve
efficiencies in maintaining and
extending the life of the plant
which is responsible for providing
7% of the UK’s electricity.
As Drax Power moves towards a
low carbon future, Doosan Babcock
will continue to be a strategic
partner in the evolution of this
critical national asset.
Doosan Babcock has supported
Drax throughout the full lifecycle
in helping to build, maintain and
extend the life of Drax Power
Station. As the Original Equipment
Manufacturer (OEM) of the
boilers, Doosan Babcock played a
critical role in an unprecedented
construction project which involved
a workforce peaking at around
8000.
In 2003 Drax Power Station
started co-firing biomass as a
renewable energy alternative
to coal. Doosan Babcock has
supported Drax with research and
development of biomass firing
equipment through to the full
project delivery of key technologies
in this conversion process.
Drax’s biomass conversion
project was one of the largest
power plant modernisation
programmes in UK history. Drax
committed to transforming the
business into a mainly biomass-
fuelled generator using wood
pellets in place of coal.
During last summer a fourth
generating unit was converted
from coal to use biomass enabling
Doosan Babcock has entered into
a four-year partnership with Drax
Power, Andy Colquhoun (left),
CEO of Doosan Babcock and Andy
Koss, CEO, Drax Power Ltd (photo
courtesy Doosan Babcock)
Drax to generate more renewable
power at the times the grid needs
it the most. Around 70 percent of
the power produced by Drax is now
renewable, enough for four million
households.
Enviva Partners to expand wood pellet
production facility in Virginia
Enviva Partners to invest at
least $75.7 million to expand
its operation in Southampton,
Virginia. In addition to increasing
wood pellet production by a third
to approximately 750 thousand
metric tons per year (MTPY),
the expansion will allow for the
processing of sustainably sourced
pine at the existing facility,
significantly augmenting the
company’s usage of fiber (or raw
material) from Virginia forests.
Enviva is a leading global
energy company specializing in
sustainable wood biomass. The
10 International Forest Industries | FEBRUARY / MARCH 2019
company is the world’s largest
producer of wood pellets, which
provide sustainable, low-carbon
heat and power that can replace
fossil fuels.
Wood pellets produced at
Enviva’s Southampton facility are
primarily exported through the
company’s deep-water marine
terminal at the Port of Chesapeake,
Virginia.