Are you familiar with the major trends affecting the firewood industry at the moment? In this post, we will have a look at the three most important trends in the firewood industry that affect both the production and development of the industry as well as in the purchasing decisions made by the end customers.

1. Customers desire for smaller firewood

From the customers’ point of view, the importance of firewood quality is constantly growing. In addition, customers desire smaller firewood, especially when they use it as the main source of heat for their homes. Modern fireplaces and heaters are usually smaller, and therefore customers need shorter and smaller sized firewood.

There are many different perspectives to consider when producing quality firewood. The first factor is, of course, a sufficient supply of high-quality raw material – without it, a firewood company cannot produce quality firewood or serve its customers reliably.

In addition, one part of delivering quality firewood to the customer is to take care, that the finished firewood is as clean as possible. It is easier to get the highest possible quality from well cleaned firewood and cleaning the firewood also speeds up the drying process. So by cleaning your firewood you can speed up the production process as well as ensure, that the firewood delivered to your customers are of the highest possible quality and uniformity.

Also a carefully chosen drying method can help you to improve your quality control. The moisture content for the logs should be 15-20% for them to burn and produce heat efficiently. Many firewood producers choose to rely on traditional firewood drying methods, ie natural drying and in most cases this method works very well. Investing in artificial drying is a good choice if you produce firewood professionally, need a shorter circulation time for your firewood or if your customers have special requirements regarding the quality and/or dimension of the firewood.

2. Commercialization of the firewood business

Another trend in the firewood business is currently the growing commercialization of the sector. Fewer and fewer make their own firewood, which means that more people buy their firewood from the market. This has led to the commercialization of the sector and firewood manufacturers are using ever larger machines and producing larger quantities of wood.

The commercialization of the business and the increased production volumes have professionalized the sector. The productivity and user comfort of firewood processors are therefore getting more prestigious features. An ergonomic firewood processor features for example smartly designed joysticks that give the operator full control while retaining precision cutting and splitting. A simple user interface helps to minimize human errors and semi-automated features reduce delays in the cutting and splitting cycle. Well designed log deck helps to increase ergonomics and production efficiency.

3. Responsibility and the use of local raw material

The importance of responsibility is growing in all sectors and the firewood industry is no exception. The responsibility of firewood is a complex issue, but when harvested responsibly and used correctly, firewood is an energy-efficient and renewable heating source. 

As an end customer you can also influence in the responsibility of firewood by choosing clean and dry firewood. You should also pay attention to the efficiency of your own heater and fireplace. Modern fireplaces, boilers and heaters produce less pollution than older ones. Remember always to start the fire patiently to minimize the amount of smoke. Fires with lot of smoke are usually a sign that the wood is wet or the fire isn’t built properly.

One notable fact is also that firewood can most often be imported from very close by. This means that the transportation doesn’t add up the emissions and it of course also helps to save in the transportation costs.

By choosing your firewood from a local and responsible produces and by following responsible practices when storing and burning your firewood, you can significantly reduce your ecological footprint. You can read more about the responsibility in the firewood business from our previous blog post .