Chipboard manufacturer Egger has taken delivery of a 32-ton firing chamber that forms part of a new energy plant at its Northumberland base.
The component has been built by Teesside engineers Francis Brown and is said to be the largest item ever to leave its workshops in the company's 120-year history. The vertical firing chamber will house a 25MW burner that is part of a new system that will be central to the manufacturer's drying process.
It will be powered by waste dust, which would otherwise have no value, collected during the sanding process. Egger's existing 50MW heat plant combusts 10 tonnes of this material per hour - a process the firm says saves it the equivalent of 71,000 tonnes of CO2 by burning biomass instead of natural gas.
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The forthcoming facility means that thermal oil heat from the current plant will be incorporated into a new steam turbine plant heat transfer system, which is non-hazardous and environmentally friendly. At the moment, the plant produces hot gas to drive its dryers, and the heated thermal oil is used in its rawboard, lamination and impregnation departments as well as for the heating of the majority of its administration buildings.
Duncan Warriner, managing director of Francis Brown, said: "The fabrication of the 32-ton vertical firing chamber marks a historic milestone in our 120-year journey. As an independent company, it exemplifies our unwavering commitment to precision and innovation, and I’d like to thank the team for their expertise and attention to detail. Francis Brown is proud to play a part in Egger 海角视频’s vision to create a more sustainable future."
He added: "This is also an example of the high calibre of projects we are securing, which is evident in our growing order book for 2024, which is also creating the opportunity to create new jobs across the business.”
Arthur F. Harvey, Egger 海角视频 specialist project engineer, said: "It was important to find a company with the expertise and large workshop, to enable the accurate manufacturing of the chamber. Working with Francis Brown’s project team was a great collaboration, and they proved to be a super team. This was a very large item, which had to be manufactured to small tolerances. Francis Brown’s team rose to the challenge and successfully delivered what we required, on plan and on budget."