PMA International : The Green Industrial Revolution has Arrived!!

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PMA International : The Green Industrial Revolution has Arrived!!

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I'm not sure that those in the timber
industry know how lucky they are, and what 
opportunities they are sitting on. First let me inform you of certain
current affairs which you have no doubt heard of. Here are some catch-phrases
and words that you have probably been hearing for the last little while:
Clean-Energy, Renewable Resources and Global Warming to name but a few. 

 The energy industry and the consumer's
treatment towards it are changing; consumers are demanding cleaner energy
because of the severity of global warming, and if you look at the whole
situation from either an entrepreneurial point of view (you want to make
money), or an environmentally friendly point of view (you want to do your part
for the environment), those in the logging industry are perfectly placed to do
both. The more that consumers demand cleaner business practices, the more
interested companies are becoming, and ultimately the more investment goes into
finding new ways to produce sustainable green-businesses. The increasing demand
for cleaner energies is not only a result of a need to improve our environment,
but also for political reasons. A recent article in renowned publication The
Economist, states that: 

Clean-Energy fever is being fueled by 3
things: high oil prices, fears over energy security and a growing concern about
global warming. (The Economist,)

Late October 2006, the government of
the United Kingdom released the Stern Review of Economic Impacts of Climate
Change, an in depth analysis of the environment. The Review estimates that if
nothing is done to counter the increasing risks of climate change, the damage
could be up to 20% of GDP per year.

In contrast, the costs of action
reducing greenhouse gas emissions to avoid the 
worst impacts of climate change can be limited to around 1% of global
GDP each  year. This proves that
businesses and markets will move to green-businesses because it is efficient.

The higher the oil prices get and the more governments wish to cut
their reliance on Middle-East produced oil, combined with the search for
environmentally friendly business, the further the search for renewable
resources goes on. The Economist quotes analysts as confidently predicting the
clean energy business will grow by 20-30% a year for a decade, and that it may be
the biggest job and wealth creation opportunity of the 21st century.

So now that you have an understanding
of the potential demand for new technologies and new fuel sources, what can the
wood industry do and why should you prepared to play your part?

Wood differs from
the fossil fuels that we use in everyday life such as oil to drive our cars and
gas to heat our houses because the same amount of Carbon Dioxide is released
when we burn wood as if it were to decompose naturally in a forest. This is of course
not the case for the other types of fuel which are terrible for the
environment. Theoretically, the more that wood burning replaces fossil fuels
the less greenhouse emissions and the better the environment would be. This is
an immense selling point for wood as a viable source of future energy
requirements. If wood fuel were to capture even a small percentage of the
emerging renewable energy growth, the results would be lucrative, and the
environment would be better off. 

The point of this
press-release is, of course, not to persuade people to cut down mass quantities
of trees for the sole reason of producing energy, but rather to inform you of a
more contemporary method of renewing resources, briquetting.

Briquetting.

Briquetting is the
reducing of the volume of wood waste by compacting the waste into evenly sized
logs and presents people in the waste industry an opportunity to participate in
environmentally friendly and cost-efficient business practices while at the
same time profiting from what is effectively waste.  The growth of agribusiness and the forestry
industry, combined with briquetting's ability to increase the density of waste
and therefore it's burn ability, places briquetting up there as one of the most
interesting emerging stars in the green business market.

PMA International, an importing and
exporting firm based out of Toronto, has the exclusivity contract for a
sophisticated Italian made piece of briquetting machinery called  'La Brichetta'.  It is made by M.A.C. Officina, an engineering
company whose 25 years expertise has landed them the responsibility of building
the new airport in Pisa, Italy. La Brichetta automatically reduces the volume of
waste by 2-10X depending on the type of material used (whether it be wood, corn
husks or other type of Biomass). This allows you to reduce your waste haulage
and storage costs by the same amount, drastically slashing your overhead, while
at the same time helping you do your part for the environment. In addition to
the current market situation of the North American forestry industry,
briquetting will make of your waste and added-value product that con increase
the much needed profits to a declining industry.

“There are currently problems in the wood-processing industry
which 'La Brichetta' helps offset. The regulation of leachate ( a toxic black
substance produced from wood waste mismanagement) levels is well-documented. In
Canada, heavy fining and mandatory inspections have placed a heavy burden on
possible creators of leachate. The Canadian government now encourages efficient
wood waste management plans by offering incentives to assist with the
development of a set of best environmental management practices designed to
minimize the environmental impact that wood waste products have.”

Source:( Environment Canada)

La Brichetta
produces briquettes that burn 2X hotter than regular firewood. Because the
briquettes are so dense, they have a much improved volumetric calorific volume,
resulting in a cleaner, hotter, more consistent burn. La Brichetta
produces briquettes with no additives and can cut the briquette logs at a
customized length, making storage and haulage easy.

Currently, 'La Brichetta' can
effectively create an entire revenue stream with what was previously waste. The
briquettes can be sold to whole range of consumer, from the micro to the macro.
They are cleaner and burn 2X hotter than regular firewood, and can be sold for
a better price. Chart 1.1 compares Briquettes to coal and to cordwood.

Source: Davies and Company Forestry
Consultants

Chart 1.1 shows that wood briquettes
are more efficient when compared to other types of fuels, and are far better
for the environment. As the need for environmentally fuels increases, so
potentially, will the price of wood briquettes, a good sign for those dealing
with the by-products of wood production.

PMA International also offers other
machinery that, combined with a Briquetting system, can create an entire
network. Whether it be a small facility that produces 1 ton per day or a larger
plant that produces 20+ tons a day, a network such as the one in Picture 1.2
can be implemented to achieve maximum efficiency.

The potential of Briquetting has not
been realized. In this day of environmentally friendly business practices and
as big money is being introduced to the market to explore possible renewable
energy sources, selling briquettes has a lot of potential to become a big money
business. Briquetting has numerous selling points such as the reduced need for
haulage and storage, the increased volumetric calorific volume of the waste.
The Brichetta also has the capabilities to render an entire plant
self-sufficient. That is to say that burning your own briquettes, from your
wood garbage can fuel your business, and drastically reduce your dependency on
more traditional, dirtier, more expensive fuels. 

FOR MORE INFORMATION :

Michael Ackerman

President

PMA International

www.pmainternational.com

www.macofficina.com

(Canada)Tel+1-416-762-2803

(Canada)Fax+1-416-762-2803

(Italy)Tel+39-0573-849136

(Italy)Fax+39-0573-849805