1It's been less than six months since Isabella Pellet opened its doors and started manufacturing wood pellets.
The company, which received a $1.2 million business and industry loan from the
USDA's Rural Development program, makes the soft pellets out of red pine. The end result is more BTUs--meaning between 10 and 20 percent more heat--with less ash when compared to the hardwood pellets that initially saturated the market for pellet-burning stoves. The red pine the company uses is procured right here in Michigan. Isabella Pellet also never uses whole logs, instead getting their source material from sawmills located throughout central and northern Michigan--material sawmills were initially disposing of as waste.
The cleaner-burning pellets are exactly what the company wanted to create for eco-friendly consumers.
"We are passionate about pellets and the environment," says Brock Gutierrez, sales manager for the plant. "Our product is renewable and eco-friendly, and that is important to us."
The company is located at 6900 W. Baseline Road. In addition to the home-heating pellets, the company also makes animal bedding.
The Isabella plant is the first in Michigan to manufacture premium softwood pellets. A list of dealers in the state can be
found here.
Writer: Sam Eggleston
Source: Brock Gutierrez, Isabella Pellet
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