When a small planer shop receives a big order it meets with a great problem. What should you do with all the planer shavings?  Lennart Eriksson solved this problem with a briquette press. The compressed shavings became easier to handle and in addition he got a product he could sell.

Lennart Eriksson is an instrument technician at a paper mill. A couple of years ago, he bought a Logosol PH260. His aim was to develop his own business, and his partner Annette Lundgren shared the same vision.

Big order from DIY store

The couple bought a small farm, just outside the town, for both their businesses. The old barn became Lennart’s Wood & Planer Shop, and in the dwelling house Annette opened the handicraft shop. Just over a year ago, Lennart received a big order from a small DIY store.
It was an order for so much four-sided planing, that it was equivalent to a half-time job. Lennart resigned from his job at the paper mill, and started to plane. Everything went according to plan, with the exception of all the planer shavings. He could dispose of it as stall bedding to local farmers, but handling it was time-consuming.
Lennart is of the type who sees opportunities where others see problems. He bought a briquette press and installed it above the planer. The shavings are transported direct from the planer to a chip duct on top of the press. The finished briquettes end up in large sacks and are then delivered to be used as solid fuel.
“The volume is reduced and the briquettes are in demand,” says Lennart, who himself uses direct-acting electric heating at home. “But I have installed a stove that takes briquettes.”

Customized mouldings

The contract with the DIY store was time limited, and when it expired Lennart chose to return to the paper mill. In his time off, he works at the planer shop, producing customized mouldings to customers, and planing on subcontract for small, local sawmills.

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