Certainly Wood demonstrate sustainable fire wood from tree to kiln-dried pre pack

At its recent Open day on 24th July, Hereford based Certainly Wood, specialists in sustainable, kiln-dried wood for heating stoves, demonstrated the entire process they use for converting hardwood thinnings from local woodlands to the company’s kiln dried firewood which is now so popular with retailers and customers across the UK.


The logging machine and its computer-controlled cutting head

Monnington Woods on the Garnons Estate, close to Certainly Wood’s operation hosted the morning session where nearly 50 invited guests saw hardwood trees being felled by a £250,000 self propelled harvesting machine. The wood from here and other local estates is delivered by the artic load to feed the Certainly Wood process with 12,000 tonnes of firewood. The logs are graded, cut, split into open cages and stored under cover for seasoning. For kiln dried product, wood is processed into cages then placed straight into the unique kilns for drying down to between 20 - 25% moisture content.

Over the last year the company has moved over to kilns powered by their own wood waste which adds to the Eco credentials of the Certainly wood product.

As Marketing Director, Nic Snell, explains “We are the only UK producer that kiln dries our wood in this ecofriendly way. If you buy wood that has not been properly dried and has a higher moisture content, all you’re doing is paying for water which disappears up the chimney as steam and potentially tars the chimney or lining. As we dry the wood it loses approx 1/3rd of its weight as the moisture evaporates. Why pay money for water that goes up in steam? ”

Certainly Wood’s Firewood log packs mean that users need less wood to provide the same heat which saves cost, space and CO2 emissions. Using kiln-dried wood ensures that a stove burns the correct quality of fuel, avoiding one of the biggest causes of stove problems.

Certainly Wood has just become the first company to have its firewood production approved under the Solid Biomass Assurance Scheme operated by HETAS – another accolade for this innovative and progressive company.

Certainly Wood Ltd. 01981 251796. www.certainlywood.co.uk