firewood Revenue

[jonnyjedinight]

I have a tree business that does near a million a year. We have floated the idea of selling firewood in upstate South Carolina where we are located. We have a 25k square foot warehouse not in use and thought of cutting and splitting and storing in the dry there.

I want to gaurentee moisture content. Low obviously. Delivery in small trucks or dump trucks and pickup. All oak maybe hickory.

Do you guys have any ideas on what to do, expect, as far as production expectations, pricing, and profit margins. No one in the area has a legitimate firewood business that gaurentees quality and delivery reliability. We would sell by truck load of various size and a 14-8-5 dump trucks. That standard of measurement is the way to go here. No one knows what a real cord means here.

Thoughts and suggestions very welcomed.

Jon

 

[Marley5]

Sounds like you're running a lucrative business which is why i ask.......is there really a demand for firewood in SC ?

 

[4seasons]

I think in SC you won't sell much firewood for heat. You could however sell small batches to tourists for camping or restaurants for smoking. There is a reason why no one knows what a cord is there. It is rarely cold enough to start a fire there much less burn a cord over the winter.

 

[jonnyjedinight]

Sounds like you're running a lucrative business which is why i ask.......is there really a demand for firewood in SC ?

Yes we sell about 50-60 dump truck loads a year but I’m looking to expand that into super high quality and reliable service. We only sell wood when it’s slow. I just want to ramp it up to become a full scale profitable business.

 

[jonnyjedinight]

We are in the upstate and very close to Asheville nc. It gets down in the low teens often. We get snow fairly often. It’s not crazy cold but ponds freeze over where you could occasionally skate but not recommended at all.

 

[Jed1124]

If your going to have your employees do the work there's no money in it. Rates for climbers and bucket truck operators are not conducive to make a profit doing firewood.
If you are going to run a processor by yourself on off hours you can make a bit of money.

 

[4seasons]

We are in the upstate and very close to Asheville nc. It gets down in the low teens often. We get snow fairly often. It’s not crazy cold but ponds freeze over where you could occasionally skate but not recommended at all.

I see now. You must be in the Traveler's Rest, Easley area. That is just over the Smokies from me. In that area you do have lots of "old time hill folks" that live back in grandpa's hollow, and never used anything but wood for heat before. I am not making fun of them by the way as just down the road from me in Newport TN, that is a common lifestyle as well.

By the way welcome to the site. I apologise if you took offense to my comment. I, along with several others here tend to put out facts and opinions without concern for feelings. The more you post the friendlier we get.

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[jonnyjedinight]

I see now. You must be in the Traveler's Rest, Easley area. That is just over the Smokies from me. In that area you do have lots of "old time hill folks" that live back in grandpa's hollow, and never used anything but wood for heat before. I am not making fun of them by the way as just down the road from me in Newport TN, that is a common lifestyle as well.

By the way welcome to the site. I apologise if you took offense to my comment. I, along with several others here tend to put out facts and opinions without concern for feelings. The more you post the friendlier we get.

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Yes. I understand. I’m a rich redneck so I get it!

 

[jonnyjedinight]

If your going to have your employees do the work there's no money in it. Rates for climbers and bucket truck operators are not conducive to make a profit doing firewood.
If you are going to run a processor by yourself on off hours you can make a bit of money.

I’ll pay one guy 8-10 per hour to split

 

[bear1998]

I’ll pay one guy 8-10 per hour to split

No wonder you are a rich redneck....

 

[Mad Professor]

I’ll pay one guy 8-10 per hour to split

Flipping burgers at McDs pays better than that. And burgers weigh a lot less than a big round

 

[woodshax]

Jonny,

The prevailing opinion here is that volume and automated processing is the only way to make money in the firewood business....I do not necessarily agree. It looks to me that your intended business model centers around "premium" firewood and if no-one in your area is filling that niche, it can be profitable..... If I was in the bulk firewood retail business, I would much rather sell 10 Cords of wood at $400 a cord than 16 cords at $250 and there are businesses and people willing to pay for quality wood (split nice, delivered, below 20% moisture, and from someone who they can trust and does and says what they promise). With the profits...hold them aside and buy processors and other equipment that reduces your "touch time" and makes the finished product even more profitable. I sell a "premium product" by the bag to campers and go through about 20,000 2 cuft by volume bags a year.....My cost of wood is very high as I buy from local guys and then bag and deliver it. So the game plan is to take the 90K a year in pure profit and invest in a bigger yard so wood guys can just drop off wood they would have to pay to dump and then buy the equipment to further automate. So far I have been putting the profits toward adding new state parks and increasing sales.

Welcome and good luck.

 

[svk]

Welcome to the site!

Just so I understand: you already have (virtually unlimited) free wood provided from your tree service?

If you are splitting and storing wood indoors, the wood should be stacked off the ground and you’ll need a VERY good ventilation system as wood tends to mold if stacked when wet if sun cannot get to it.

If you can find the manpower and already have the liability side covered through tree business I cannot see why this wouldn’t work? Judging by your current sales there must not be a lot of wood selling competition down there?

 

[lknchoppers]

If your target market is in Asheville you will probably do very good. Areas where they have nice expensive homes in the city is where you want to be. You should be able to get $300 - $400 per full cord depending if you stack it. The demand for firewood in NC is just like anywhere else but the volume is not as much as the Northern States.

 

[c5rulz]

Storing indoors is only good for wood that is already dry.

The bottleneck in your plan is going to be the time it takes to season wood to an acceptable moisture content. With the volume you speak of moving it inside is just going to be another step the equation. Firewood drying is affected by:
1. Time
2. Size of the splits
3. Temp and relative humidity

Unless you are going to kiln dry.

 

[jonnyjedinight]

Thanks for all the input!

We have a almost unlimited supply of oak wood. I’m thinking we will need exhaust fans to keep mold down.

What type of big splitters do you all recommend? Timber wolf, Easton made? Or what.

Any other tricks or recommendations is very welcomed!

Jon

 

[jonnyjedinight]

Welcome to the site!

Just so I understand: you already have (virtually unlimited) free wood provided from your tree service?

If you are splitting and storing wood indoors, the wood should be stacked off the ground and you’ll need a VERY good ventilation system as wood tends to mold if stacked when wet if sun cannot get to it.

If you can find the manpower and already have the liability side covered through tree business I cannot see why this wouldn’t work? Judging by your current sales there must not be a lot of wood selling competition down there?

No one that is professional. Tons of guys selling crap with occasional good load.

 

[Huskybill]

Does anyone control the firewood that's being sold there now? I had a buddy who brought firewood to the brownstones in New York city. After his last delivery a black limo pulled up and Tony soprano said this was his last load to NYC. I guess there expanding from the waste/garbage business. I just wonder if there in other cities too.

 

[4seasons]

Does anyone control the firewood that's being sold there now? I had a buddy who brought firewood to the brownstones in New York city. After his last delivery a black limo pulled up and Tony soprano said this was his last load to NYC. I guess there expanding from the waste/garbage business. I just wonder if there in other cities too.

Ashville is just over the hill from me. Gangs can't survive in redneck territory. Gangsters threaten, rednecks shoot you in the face. Gangsters retaliate by coming after redneck's mother and mother shoots them in the face. That crap just doesn't work in the South.

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[jrider]

Are you planning on running gas power equipment inside?