Whats a load?

[arboriculturist]

we haven't bought it yet just priced them,but everyone we have spoken to has told us do not buy a standard forklift as it won't work for us and hard-coring a rented yard seems bad idea to me they are about to start building 3500 houses around us and we could be kicked out anytime. we also intend to use telehandler in the wood for some of the big logs as there is 650 acres of mature woodland on the estate.

 

Unless the owner is going to contribute, even recycled aggregate is costly. Telehandlers are versatile as you know, which is why the largest producers use them. Rotators on forklifts dont work for firewood,

 

They also use forklifts, standard or rough terrain - they have everything containerised of course so loads of stacking. Nothing beats one for manoeuvrability though.

[Tom D]

Its certainly interesting seeing how other people make the numbers stack up. I seriously considered buying in timber and having a proper go at the firewood thing, but to be honest I couldn't make the numbers stack up compared with cutting trees. We do ok selling the 150 ton or so that we seem to bring back to the yard each year. Any jobs we get with a lot of firewood I will try and sell it wholesale in arctic loads. We have sold maybe 300 ton over that last few years that way.

[rick k]

Interesting reading but this is the same old argument

How longs a piece of string ?

We've all had the phone call- how much does it it cost to take down a tree ?

 

If the customer gets the agreed amount at the quality advertised for the agreed price then it's fair - simples

 

Any regulation or governing body will only lead to more paperwork for the seller/producer, and an increase in price to the end user

 

Find what works for you and your customers and if it ain't broken - don't try and fix it

[arboriculturist]

Sounds like your cost analysis has given you the answer.

 

To make good margins in the Firewood industry requires substantial investment, time, effort and innovative thinking not to mention producing a high quality end product - many do not realise this at the outset and spend years of relentless toil before making the business a success - some never do.

 

For those that manage it, a good lifestyle can be achieved. We learnt the hard way!

[Tom D]

Interesting reading but this is the same old argument

How longs a piece of string ?

We've all had the phone call- how much does it it cost to take down a tree ?

 

If the customer gets the agreed amount at the quality advertised for the agreed price then it's fair - simples

 

Any regulation or governing body will only lead to more paperwork for the seller/producer, and an increase in price to the end user

 

Find what works for you and your customers and if it ain't broken - don't try and fix it

 

I'm not really talking about any extra regulation, just a little clarity regarding advertising. We wouldn't get any additional regulation anyway as there is no one to regulate. HM Gov certainly aren't in the mood for spending any money on anything, especially red tape..

[Big J]

almost none of our customers want tipped loads they want bags so we're £56k for a delivery vehicle a lot of places we deliver you couldn't access with crane in a trailer option,

normal forklift wont work on the sand and mud of our yard so 26k for telehandler

£36 a cube for cord (1.5m3 at £55 a ton) you gotta price on worst case scenario unless you want to risk selling at a loss not everyone has processors that can cut 18"+ so more realistically is 2 cube an hr if things go well.

 

tractor running processor is a tank of diesel every 2 days can't remember the volume. usually oldish tractors so a trip to workshop is generally £1k a time you can fix it yourself if your mechanically motivated or you can chop the big ugly stuff during these breakdowns. you also need enough profit to cover your expenses for the breakdowns the wages etc.

 

the rent is similar but we get no buildings so costs us £10k a polytunnel to get the land prepared and put it up.

 

in general your figures seem low to me I would like someone operating a similar size processor to give their opinion on them

 

I have a Coventry Climax 4wd forklift with new bucket, power hitch and log grab. Cost £3500 plus VAT all in. Will go anywhere.

 

Processors with stand alone power sources will be more economical to run. Even a three phase processor with generator will use less fuel, as well as make for a more pleasant work environment.

 

Fair point on worst case scenario on cord costs. I think that is sensible.

 

Barnsley Bob: Firewood is not £100 a cube on the continent:

 

https://www.brennstoffe-vulcano.de/brennholz/23/eichenholz-30-33-cm-3-2-schuettraummeter-2-raummeter-auf-palette?c=6

 

A supplier not far from my uncle, £38 a cube on oak.

 

It's a broader point that I'm trying to make really. There are issues in the UK with supply for the firewood market, there are issues with the customers and there are issues with the demand. Everything is too much based on boom or bust. We overcharge when there is demand which means no one buys firewood when demand drops. With some form of accountable pricing structure, a bit of regulation and increases in overall efficiency, I think that firewood retailers could make more money whilst reducing the cost to the end user. The Tesco model, if you will!

[Johny Walker]

owning yr yard is a big + & i try & work the logs in with tree work ,if iv had a good wk will do them on a friday & do some on early finishes & a big + is cutting timber on jobs ready for the processor,ready to go. works for me. the manitou was a good investment ,i dont mind doing logs but dont want them to rule my life ,thats why 90% of mine are to trade,cut,bagged & stacked end of

[Logsnstuff]

that link is for 2 cube 169 euro or €84.5 per cube so not that far off the €100 there's the guy on youtube running 2 posch processors doing 32tons a day that kind of volume you can probably make good money at these prices he still stacks them up for 6-12 months though.

[Big J]

that link is for 2 cube 169 euro or €84.5 per cube so not that far off the €100 there's the guy on youtube running 2 posch processors doing 32tons a day that kind of volume you can probably make good money at these prices he still stacks them up for 6-12 months though.

 

It's two stacked cube, 3.2 loose.

[arboriculturist]

that link is for 2 cube 169 euro or €84.5 per cube so not that far off the €100 there's the guy on youtube running 2 posch processors doing 32tons a day that kind of volume you can probably make good money at these prices he still stacks them up for 6-12 months though.

 

Have you got a link to that guy?