French agricultural cooperative Deshyouest has installed an Andritz PM30-6 pellet mill at its dehydration plant, replacing a machine dating from 1982 and enabling the cooperative to produce wood-based biofuel pellets alongside its established alfalfa and maize fodder output.
Deshyouest, which serves around 1,500 member farmers, specialises in the dehydration and pelletising of forage crops. The cooperative's process dries raw materials in a 20-tonne high-temperature dryer before grinding, mixing and pelletising. The previous pelletiser lacked the capacity and flexibility to handle wood-based feedstocks, and spare parts had become difficult to source.
The Andritz PM30-6 is designed for biomass, wood residues, agricultural residues and energy crops. Andritz said the model offers 10% higher capacity than earlier variants with no increase in energy consumption, 98% uptime and extended die and roller lifetimes. The machine also provides the remote automation capabilities Deshyouest required, allowing operators to adjust parameters without approaching the equipment.
Samuel Maignan, director of Deshyouest, said: "The beauty of this new Andritz machine is its flexibility and capabilities. We have been running it on alfalfa for the past seven months, wood for three and corn/maize will start next month."
The cooperative operates a second production facility equipped with a recently installed pellet press from a competitor. Maignan said the Andritz mill uses significantly less energy for equivalent output.
"We certainly undertook a lot of research and comparisons — including with our other new machine — and the Andritz machine is an all-round better choice," Maignan said. "For future machines and projects, we will continue to work with Andritz."
