Distiller magazine

120 distiller collects all scrap and dust to fire boilers, heat plants and generate the steam that's used to bend wood, utilizing all by-prod- ucts. Any leftover can be sold to paper processers and biomass users. Even ergo- nomic considerations are integrated into its structure, with all tasks laser-curtained and two-hand controlled as advised by their safety manager. None of SBCI's 70 Virginia workers are poorly positioned so as to risk injury. "We don't waste mate- rial or time, and we avoid risk," shares Whitmer. Under normal circumstances, SBCI produces approximately 800 bar- rels daily, average about 30 minutes per barrel from a staggered production line start of 10–15 minutes. In March 2020, SBCI celebrated the opening of its Greenfield stave mill to daily process 300 logs (25,000 log-feet) into 37-inch staves and 24-inch heading pieces destined for the Atkins cooperage 29 miles northeast. SBCI's 10-person procurement team, scattered across sev- eral states, uses only white oak (Quercus alba) from the three eastern US grow- ing areas: the flavorful Appalachia and Ozarks, and the slow-growing and tight- er-grained Northern/Great Lakes region. Logs are sawed in half by length, then by width, then debarked, then cut into quarters by a vertical bandsaw. Next they are sent to stave saws, which are compa- rable to meat slicers. Laser guidance systems help mill workers determine where to place staves for adjustments such as edging, which removes sap. e staves are then inspected to determine what's to be put aside or placed on a table for grading, where it can be reworked before being stacked or considered complete to stack. Powerful air-inductor systems are placed throughout the mill to remove dust for sanitation, safety and reuse. Outside the mill walls, two workers scan unused wood to remove metal such as bullets, spikes or barbed wire, then send it through a chipper to be processed for reuse. "If it doesn't go into a stave stack, it becomes sawdust for reuse; no landfill is used if it originated as wood," Whitmer proclaims. All stave mills have yards to age and hold the staves from one month to 30 months, buffering inventory to sustain slow and rapid sales periods. Whitmer's tour was so thorough I almost thought that with $30 million I could start making my own barrels, but the fact is SBCI's US plants combine the best of traditional and modern expertise into a remarkable operation. ENDI SBCI's 10-person procurement team, scattered across several states, uses only white oak (Quercus alba) from the three eastern US growing areas: the flavorful Appalachia and Ozarks, and the slow-growing & tighter grain Northern/Great Lakes region. Top — Sawing operation cutting logs into staves. Below — A worker installs barrel hoops. Photos © David Furer

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