Number 6 On Tap

Wood Bio Conference

The sixth Wood Bioenergy Conference & Expo will be held March 10-11 at the Omni Hotel at CNN Center in downtown Atlanta, Georgia, USA. The event, which is hosted by Wood Bioenergy magazine and Georgia Research Institute, is once again pulling together a stellar lineup of keynoters—such as Enviva CEO John Keppler and Graanul Invest CEO Raul Kirjanen. Those two represent, respectively, the world’s largest producer of wood pellets and Europe’s largest producer of wood pellets.

We’re counting on William Strauss, president of consulting firm FutureMetrics, to join us as well. No conference is complete without Bill’s worldwide perspective on production, markets and trends. Heck, there might even be a politician in the mix, but that announcement is down the road.

Along with the keynoter speeches are a number of technical sessions on a range of pertinent topics, including Fire Prevention & Dust Control, Dryer Island Technologies, In-Woods Chipping & Grinding, Dry Residues Integration, Raw Materials Handling, Plant Operations Training, Positive International Market Directives, and other subjects.

The Wood Bio Conference will include dozens of exhibitors in the Grand Ballroom North of the Omni Hotel, which is immediately adjacent the speaker rooms. And once again, the Wood Bio Conference will immediately precede the seventh Panel & Engineered Lumber International Conference & Expo (PELICE), with numerous exhibitors participating in both.

Biomass Resource Image 001
From Left: Rich Donnell, Editor-in-Chief; Jessica Johnson, Associate Editor; Patrick Dunning, Asociate Editor; David Abbott, Senior Associate Editor; Dan Shell, Managing Editor

We can recall our first Wood Bio Conference in 2010, and a look back at that participation list reveals that everybody was testing the water in this new generation wood-to-energy industry. Many didn’t stay with it, many others found new business to be had and are still with us.

As if you haven’t already noticed, the industry is supported by several established conferences and expos, and they all seem to happen fairly soon in the year. Bois Energie will be held in Nantes, France in late January. The International Biomass Conference will be held in Nashville in early February. There’s our event in Atlanta in March. Argus Biomass is scheduled for London in mid April. European Biomass Conference and Exhibition is scheduled for Marseille, France in late April.

All of these are excellent events and each has their own style. Our event, which is held every other year, has always focused on two things—being exclusive to wood biomass, and bringing in speakers who are the leaders in the industry. And it’s held in the middle of the southern pine belt, which is the hub of industrial wood pellet production.

Exhibitor sponsors are signing up now, and conference presentation proposals are still being accepted. Registration opens November 1.