NC chip Mill

[KGNC]

I was traveling through the eastern part of the state yesterday. I saw this chip operation and took a couple of photos.
This was a load of burned over logs coming in:



Then the same logs going in the hopper:



This was a big crane. Is this standard for this type of operation?

[WDH]

Yes.  The circular crane unloads trucks and feeds the chipper.  These mill produce 500,000 to 1,000,000 tons of wood per year. 

[Wudman]

That truck looks like an Edwards Wood Products unit.  I worked for them about 15 years ago.  You weren't in the Laurinburg area were you?

Wudman

[KGNC]

Wudman:

That's the place, they have a lot of trucks on the road. I saw them everywhere.
Chips were being loading into rail cars. Do they still freighter chips out of Morehead City? Some one told me that was shut down.

[Wudman]

The hardwood export chip market tanked a number of years ago.  The export facility at Moorehead City closed at that time as did a number of satellite chipping yards that were supplying the export market.  I'm not sure of its status now.  I know a number of the older chip mills in my area are now defunct, but there has been some new construction as well.  I know there is significant interest in the European Markets for biofuels (wood pellets) now due to tax incentives.

Wudman