Receive, store, reclaim: setting the standard for supply chains

16 Dec 2024

The role of woodyards is reaching a critical juncture. For a papermill, raw material is the biggest cost, and this is beginning to increase. Power plants have discovered co-firing as an effective way to offset their use of coal, with some switching to biomass entirely. Meanwhile, there is increasing demand for biomass-derived fuels throughout the transport sector; all competing for feedstocks of sustainably sourced processed wood and wood waste. 

To do this most effectively, stakeholders in the wood supply chain need to have an understanding of how best to transport, receive and store these raw materials, so they can be used effectively. For example, the long fibers in wood chips are a critical element of the paper and card-making process, allowing thin layers of material to hold together. Fibers degraded by poor handling, or long exposure to the elements, lead to lower-quality end products.

Bruks Siwertell technology spans wood supply chains to the extent that entire woodyards have been equipped with Bruks products. With a particularly strong presence in North America, from receiving systems to storage and reclaiming, Bruks woodyards are setting the industry standard.

Minimizing truck traffic

Vehicles operating in the mining industries and elsewhere feature hydraulic rams to tip out the contents of their trailer bed at the end of their journey. But having heavy and specialized equipment on board every truck incurs higher operating costs and requires more fuel.  

To overcome this challenge, one of the most efficient ways to transport large volumes of free-flowing processed wood and wood waste is by specially designed bulk trucks, sometimes known as chip trucks. Bulk trucks have a box-like trailer with a flap that opens at the back and can be discharged of their contents either by tipping just the trailer, or the entire truck, causing the material to dump out of the back. 

Bruks truck dumper systems are relied upon throughout the North American wood products industry, and time and again have proved to be the most efficient and flexible way to transport pellets, hogged fuel, wood chips and other cargoes. All Bruks truck dumpers are designed for a lifespan of around two million cycles, and require minimal maintenance.

Stand-out installations

“With almost 100 installations already in action since their introduction in 2004, the reputation and popularity of our truck dumps are growing,” says Ken Upchurch, Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Bruks Siwertell.

“Listening to our customers’ challenges, we have refined our designs to address them. This has delivered some great insights and improvements over the years,” Upchurch continues. “Our systems are now more cost-efficient to install, and faster to operate than ever before, and we also have the option for integrated screen and dust collection options, something not available in many competing systems. All while delivering the reliability to which Bruks Siwertell customers have become accustomed.

“The optional hopper dust collector system negatively pressurizes the air to capture any dusty material in the receiving area and reintroduce it back into the system for use, ensuring market-leading utilization of the truck’s cargo.

“Dust emissions can be further minimized with specially designed, covered receiving systems that are so well-matched to the tipping platform, that fugitive dust levels are at negligible levels. The covers can be fixed or articulating, depending on what is needed, but any configuration combines to deliver the most sustainable, optimized, safe unloading process,” Upchurch explains.

Just the right angle

Avoiding waste is a crucial first step in the process of ensuring that as much as possible of what is delivered ends up utilized in the facility’s production processes. Bruks truck dumps feature a low-profile design, ensuring that trucks tip their load as close to the ground as possible. This reduces the impact of material flowing out of the truck and landing in the hopper, preventing an impact-cloud of dust. They typically rise to a maximum angle of 63 degrees.

Tipping angles are calculated to be the best for voiding the trailer’s contents, while reducing excessive tipping for the truck. Receiving hoppers can be covered on all sides and totally contained, protecting the surrounding environment against potential dust emissions and minimizing any material losses. 

Three main solutions

Bruks Siwertell’s range includes three main truck dump solutions: back-on, driver-over, and extended arm truck dumpers; all are designed with safety, reliability and user-friendliness in mind. 

In the case of back-on truck dumpers, drivers back their trailers onto the platform, using raised tire guides to keep them in the correct position as the cab reverses. The backing-on, lifting, lowering, closing the back doors, and driving-off is typically completed in under ten minutes. 

Slightly faster drive-over truck dumpers allow trucks to drive straight onto the tipping platform in a forward position, requiring no reversing. A hatch opens behind the truck to reveal the receiving hopper inside. This means the process is usually completed in under nine minutes, making the Bruks drive-over truck dump an industry leader in high-volume applications. 

Extended arm truck dumpers enable the rapid unloading of free-flowing dry bulk material into an angled receiving hopper, which is tilted and positioned above ground. Raising the elevation this way increases the angle of the truck, preventing material from building up inside the trailer.

Speciality storage and reclaiming 

Complementing these truck receiving systems are Bruks Siwertell’s comprehensive range of stacker reclaimers, which, in addition to processed wood, can be used to efficiently store large volumes of multiple dry bulks. With the majority of these systems installed in the US, Bruks Siwertell has built a reputation for automated, cost-efficient, high-volume material storage.

Some bulk material is much more sensitive than others. For example, organic feedstocks, such as wood chips, bark and sawdust, are subject to microbial action and are likely to degrade if not handled properly and generate ‘hot spots’ that make the rest of the pile vulnerable. Again, reducing waste in the wood supply chain is critical, which is why this issue needs to be addressed with effective blending, inventory control and material flows.

Solutions for every application

Bruks Siwertell has been delivering value for decades with its portfolio of stacker reclaimers, including systems that offer a true first-in, first-out (FIFO) profile, which offers significant operational advantages for applications where complete pile blending is essential. Delivering this is the fully automated Bruks circular blending bed stacker reclaimer (CBBSR). These rotate through 360 degrees, receiving materials via one conveyor, and reclaiming them using a harrow at the base of the tower.

Bruks Siwertell has a number of other models of stacker and reclaimers available for different settings. For example, circular overpile stacker reclaimers minimize the space needed to store large volumes of materials by organizing the process into semi-circular pile arrangements, whereas linear overpile portal reclaimers find their best use reclaiming materials from very wide piles or situated inside structures. 

Stoker reclaimers provide customers with a cost-effective, robust method of receiving, storing and conveying moderate volumes of virtually any dry bulk material, and are excellent in settings where material is stored in large rectangular bunkers, like coal. Traveling stacker reclaimers offer a high-capacity conveyor-type material handling system that can also accommodate a wide variety of commodities, whilst cantilever chain reclaimers deliver a heavy-duty solution for hard to handle commodities.

Advantages of automation

Automation brings considerable benefits to woodyards. Fully automated stacker reclaimers minimize the number of personnel-hours required for daily operations, delivering significant cost savings. They have a unique design that improves inventory control, as well as maintaining consistent quality, and have a fraction of the carbon footprint of a manually managed pile, with much improved emissions control. 

“Industrial processes need to have a steady input of raw materials, which is why inventories of wood chips and other bulk materials are necessary for smoothing out supply chains,” Upchurch says. “We have taken this role to heart with our automated equipment often having a lower installation cost than competitor systems, whilst minimizing downtime and enabling hassle-free, long service lives. After all, if we can enable our customers to spend less time thinking about their truck receiving, and storage and reclaiming systems, and more time on optimizing profitability and minimizing waste, this is something we take very seriously.”