Wood Pellets for Biomass Heating

Specifications

From sawdust to pellet: how we manufacture it

Pellet at Maderas Caamaño isn't a separate raw material we buy in and convert elsewhere — it starts as the sawdust and fine shavings our own sawmilling process produces every day in Berdoias. Each pine log that comes into the mill is cut first for boards and beams; the by-product left over — sawdust, shavings and fine offcuts — is what we use as feedstock for pellet instead of treating it as waste to dispose of.

The material goes through controlled drying to bring moisture down to the level needed for compression, then through a pellet mill die where it's compressed under high pressure and temperature into the familiar cylindrical shape, with no additives or binders needed — the wood's own natural lignin holds it together. The pellets are then cooled, screened to remove fines and dust, and stored in silo ready for bagging or bulk loading. We work to indicative lead times of roughly one to three weeks depending on volume and format, and we keep buffer stock in silo so we can respond quickly to recurring orders, particularly during the peak heating season.

During production we run periodic checks on moisture and pellet appearance as it comes off the die, so any deviation is caught before the material reaches the storage silo. That internal control, combined with always starting from raw material we know well, is what lets us keep the product consistent from one production batch to the next. We keep basic batch records so that, if ever needed, a delivery can be traced back to its approximate production date.

Raw material: pine and mixed-species sawdust

The base of our pellet is Galician pine, the species we mill on a daily basis, topped up as needed with sawdust from other wood species we process through the year. This kind of mixed-species blend is common in industrial pellet manufacturing and doesn't materially affect combustion performance, provided moisture and particle size are properly controlled before compression.

Working with timber we already know — because it's the same wood we cut daily for boards, beams and packaging — lets us keep direct traceability from forest to finished bag, rather than relying on ad hoc sawdust purchases of uncertain origin. We apply this same principle of using the whole log across our other biomass lines too, including our firewood and hardwood heat logs, for customers who prefer a slower-burning fuel to compressed pellet. Splitting the same log across several product lines is, in practice, how we get the most out of every batch of timber that comes into the mill. We're also happy to discuss the general moisture and particle-size targets we work to during production with buyers who want more visibility into the process before placing a first order.

Diameter, moisture and ash: technical specification

We manufacture pellet in two standard diameters, 6 mm and 8 mm. The 6 mm format is the more common choice for domestic stoves and lower-output boilers, while 8 mm is used more frequently in larger installations and industrial boilers with feed systems that are less sensitive to fuel fineness. In both formats we work to a finished moisture content below 10% and a low ash content, two factors that directly affect combustion efficiency and how often the installation needs cleaning.

As a technical reference for our production parameters, we work to the ranges set out by the ENplus wood pellet quality certification scheme, widely used across the European sector to grade pellet by diameter, moisture, density, fines content and calorific value. We use these parameters as an internal quality benchmark in our production; any buyer who specifically needs pellet formally certified under a given quality mark should check with us before confirming an order, so we can look into availability of that particular product.

The choice between 6 mm and 8 mm doesn't depend on boiler output alone but also on the type of auger or feed system installed: some older industrial burners are specifically designed to work with the larger diameter. If you're unsure which format suits your installation, we can advise based on the technical details of your boiler or stove, and we can also supply mixed pallets of both diameters for distributors serving customers with different types of appliance. For buyers switching from another fuel or supplier, we can also advise on typical storage conditions that help keep pellet quality stable once it arrives on site.

Applications: residential heating, industrial boilers and beyond

Domestic pellet supplies stoves and boilers for homeowners, residents' associations and rural properties looking to replace heating oil with a fuel that's more stable in price and cleaner to handle than traditional firewood. At larger scale, we supply industrial biomass boilers in agricultural buildings, greenhouses, hotels and rural guesthouses, and municipal buildings, where bulk pellet allows the heating system's feed to be fully automated without constant manual handling.

For higher-consumption installations or industrial processes that can work with a less format-sensitive biomass fuel, many customers combine pellet orders with our wood chips for industrial biomass, which offer a lower cost per unit of energy in boilers designed for that format. We tailor the mix to each installation's output, feed system and required delivery frequency, and can review that balance of formats as a customer's own consumption shifts through the year. We also supply operations using biomass for agricultural drying processes, as well as campsites and tourist facilities that need to heat communal spaces for much of the year. Where a site runs more than one type of appliance, we can help plan a delivery schedule that covers stoves and boilers of different sizes without over- or under-ordering.

Making the most of the by-product: sustainability and forestry sourcing

Turning a stream that would otherwise have to be managed as sawmill waste into pellet is, in itself, a more efficient use of every log that comes through our mill. We apply the same principle of using the whole tree to other lines we offer alongside pellet, including our decorative mulch and bark, made from bark and pruning residues, so that very little of the wood we process ends up without a useful outlet.

Our raw material comes from the ordinary forestry activity of the local area, in a region with decades of forestry tradition built around Galician pine and eucalyptus. For buyers who want to place these practices in a wider international context, the FAO Forestry section is a useful reference on the role of forest biomass and by-product use in forestry worldwide. We're glad to share more detail on our own sourcing practices directly with any buyer who wants to understand where the raw material for a specific order comes from. We're also open to discussing forest of origin at a general level with buyers who need that context for their own sustainability reporting.

Exporting pellet in bulk or bagged across Europe

We export pellet both in bulk and bagged to buyers across Europe: Spain, Portugal, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, the United Kingdom and Ireland. Bulk loads travel in tanker or walking-floor trailers adapted for biomass, while bagged product is typically supplied in 15 kg bags on shrink-wrapped pallets, or in large-capacity bulk bags for industrial customers who prefer forklift handling. In both cases we take care to protect the pellet from moisture in transit, a critical factor in keeping its properties intact right through to arrival.

We work to the delivery terms standard in the international timber trade — EXW, FOB, or delivered, depending on what suits the buyer — and prepare the paperwork each shipment needs, including palletisation suited to international transit. For destinations outside the EU, such as the United Kingdom, any wood packaging used in the shipment is heat-treated in line with ISPM 15 / NIMF-15 requirements, and we handle the related customs and phytosanitary documentation together with the buyer or their customs agent. Where useful, we can also consolidate pellet with other product lines in the same shipment to make better use of a full load.

Bagged pellet is generally more practical for smaller or first-time export orders, while bulk transport becomes more cost-effective once volumes justify a dedicated load; we're happy to talk through which option fits a particular order. We prepare paperwork for each shipment according to the destination country, including, on request, technical product information in more than one language to make things easier for buyers, hauliers or customs agents elsewhere in Europe.

Why choose Maderas Caamaño for wood pellets

We're a family-run business with our own sawmill in Berdoias, Vimianzo, which means the pellet we ship comes from raw material we control ourselves, not from third-party sawdust purchases with unclear origin. That integration between sawmilling and biomass production lets us offer steadier availability and scale production to fit anything from a small order for a local installer to a full load for a distributor or industrial buyer elsewhere in Europe.

Our business combines generations of forestry tradition in Galicia with a direct, personal working relationship: we talk through the format, volume and exact destination of every order with the customer before confirming production and transport. If your operation needs to combine pellet with other lines from our catalogue — pallets, sawn timber, firewood or wood chips — we can coordinate several products into a single shipment to make export logistics more efficient and cut down the number of loads needed. That same flexibility extends to how we schedule deliveries, which we agree individually with each customer rather than applying a single rigid process to every order. We try to keep pricing and lead-time conversations straightforward, without unnecessary layers of back-and-forth before a first order can be confirmed.

Applications & uses

• Domestic pellet stoves
• Residential central heating boilers
• Greenhouse and agricultural heating
• Industrial biomass boilers
• Hotels and rural guesthouses
• Municipal buildings and residents' associations
• Bulk or bagged distribution and resale

Gallery

Frequently asked questions