INTERVIEW WITH TECHNOMASZBUD

Technomaszbud was founded in Poland in 2021 by current CEO Dmytro Grychaniuk. The beginning of Dmitro Grychaniuk’s activity in Poland dates back to 2018, when he and his brother Andrij founded the TMS Group company of a similar profile. The activities of Technomaszbud are focused on two sectors: forestry and agro-industrial.

The company is a manufacturer and distributor of high-quality, complete lines for the production of fuel pellets and granulated feed, as well as a wide range of machines and equipment used in the sawmill industry, carpentry shops and the broadly understood agricultural and breeding industry. Technomaszbud has its own warehouse near Warsaw with an area of 600 m2, where standard lines and machines of the LDG and PRIME series for the production of fuel pellets.

At the request of customers, production tests are carried out in the warehouse using their raw materials. Such tests function as the first training before purchase, introduce you to the production process and help you avoid disappointments related to possible excessive expectations of customers who have various types of raw materials – from traditional sawdust and shavings to, for example, insect excrements.

Technomaszbud has a professional service base and also offers its customers installation, connection and launch of purchased production lines and devices. They have their own production plants with research and development facilities, employing over one hundred people. 

Easy Engineering: What’s the news about new products?

New products that Technomaszbud introduced for sale in 2023 are fully automatic low- and medium-power chamotte burners (22-80 kW) of the DOMNA series. They perfectly complement the two high-power burners of 250 and 350 kW, which Technomaszbud has been successfully offering to its customers for 3 years. The advantage of these burners is the possibility of using lower quality wood pellets, such as A2, as well as agropellets. In 2024, the production program will include DOMNA series pellet central heating boilers with power ranging from 22 to 350 kW, dedicated to individual customers as well as those from various industrial and commercial industries. Next year, Technomaszbud wants to pursue customers from the so-called agribusiness. These are farmers and livestock breeders. For them, the company has prepared an offer of new extruders and feed mixers, straw choppers, flexible grain conveyors, nut crackers and nut presses. Briquetting machines and briquette production lines, which are used by straw and hay producers to produce biofuel, are also relevant. 

E.E: What are the ranges of products?

The main business is presses and complete lines for the production of fuel pellets from wood waste, as well as granulators for the production of feed that is perfect food for rabbits, chickens, broilers, quails, pigs, goats, sheep and even fish. These are durable, safe and cost-effective products dedicated to small and medium-sized businesses. However, the company is not limited to this range. Its offer includes, among others: chippers, hammer mills, aerodynamic dryers, belt and pneumatic conveyors, crushers, waste paper balers, Styrofoam compactors and a number of other machines used in waste recycling. The professional service department offers connection and launch of purchased equipment, standard and individual testing of various raw materials, preparation of matrices for production and manufacturing according to individual customer orders. 

E.E: At what stage is the market where you are currently active?

There is no doubt that the biofuel market, which includes pellets and briquettes made from wood waste such as shavings, chips and sawdust, is attractive and promising. Although 2021 and 2022 were extremely challenging due to the sudden increase in demand and limited availability of raw materials, which resulted in prices rising by approximately 100%, after the market correction that will occur in 2024, we expect further and, most importantly, stable market growth. This surge in demand is obviously reflected in Technomaszhbud’s sales, which grew by double digits in the two years mentioned and are also very good in 2023. You can often hear the question “what is the ratio of the energy required to produce pellets to the possibility of its recovery by combustion in a heating boiler?” Does this even make sense? Research carried out by the Technical University of Graz showed that the production of pellets requires only 2.7% of energy. This is very little compared to other fuels, such as natural gas (10%) and heating oil (12%). This data clearly shows that pellets are “green”. 

E.E: What can you tell us about market trends?

In 2021 and 2022, global pellet production was approximately 44.5 and 46 million tons, respectively. In the 27 EU countries, these amounts were 19.8 and 20.5 million tons. These two years were characterized by an unprecedented increase in demand for pellets and, consequently, also in the sales of pellet production machines. Germany, the largest pellet producer in the EU, produced 3.6 million tons of this fuel and recorded an increase of 6% compared to 2021. A similar situation occurred in Austria, where in 2018 the country produced about 1.35 million tons of pellets, and by 2022 the value was over 1.7 million tons. In the coming years, 11 more locations will be added to the current 40 production plants in Austria. In Poland, pellet consumption continues to grow, although the growth rate was slower in 2023. We expect the market to stabilize in the coming years. It is worth adding here that in 2019, pellet production in Poland did not exceed 1.2 million tons, while in 2022 it reached the level of approximately 2 million tons. During this time, twenty new production plants were opened, which allowed the capacity to be increased by over 30%, which resulted in an increase of 0.5 million tons in 2021 and an additional 400,000 tons in 2022. Undoubtedly, the driving force behind this growth, driven by domestic consumption, has been the Clean Air program, based on the goal of the European “Fit for 55” package. This clear growth also demonstrates Poland’s commitment to bioenergy and its role as one of the key players in the European pellet market.

E.E: What are the most innovative products marketed?

Ensuring a good supply chain will be a big challenge for us in the coming year. The situation on the Polish-Ukrainian border related to the drivers’ strike does not help us, but we hope that this problem will finally be solved. Certainly, 2024 year will be a time of correction and stabilization in the industry. We do not expect growth to be as impressive as in previous years, but we hope that current levels will continue. We do not expect such spectacular increases as in previous years, but we hope that the current level will be maintained. Wood pellets are ecological fuels and this is no longer in doubt. The second largest pellet producer in the world and the first in Europe, Germany, confirmed this in the Heating Act amended in September 2023. Additional sales impulses will come from other sectors. We will be more actively involved in agribusiness, in the areas heating installation sector and waste recycling. We will promote our maintenance services even more strongly, because experience tells us that, for example, assembly and launch of the production line is a tangible benefit for the customer, because it introduces him to the entire process faster and allows him to avoid many mistakes. To sum up, we are optimistic about our future.