Business is running hot for Kari and Tony Esplin.
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The Eden couple established their successful family-owned and operated pallet collars factory in 1995, but more recently turned their focus to recycling technologies and repurposing timber "waste".
The predominant part of the Eden-based business is now pellet heaters and pelletisation - the process of converting flooring and furniture manufacturing waste such as sawdust, wood shavings and docked materials into compacted pellets which can be used as a substitute for firewood.
Marketed as having maximum efficiency and minimum emissions, pellet heaters have become more widely known and used in recent years.
Recycling Technologies Group (RTG) have been producing the wood pellets for the last five years and said they are an asthma-friendly alternative to wood heating, producing little to no smoke when burnt.
However, RTG have experienced demand for the heaters and pellets almost triple this winter compared to the same time last year and are working hard to keep up with demand on the Far South Coast.
"People have been spending less money on travel since COVID hit, many grey nomads have stayed home this winter and have discovered their reverse cycle systems don't cut the mustard, or have decided they don't want the mess or hassle of chopping wood," Ms Esplin said.
The pellet heaters are imported from a company in Italy which has been manufacturing them since 1960, and Ms Esplin explained they are concept heaters, designed to be programmed to run as needed.
"We call it 'touch-button woodheating' - it's a really nice middle ground between the convenience of gas and the ambience of woodheating.
"More and more, people say they don't want to use fossil fuels or chop wood, this solution ticks all the boxes," Ms Esplin said.
Currently, the pellets made in Eden can go as far as Queensland or South Australia, but a goal of the business is to supply solely the Bega Valley and Eurobodalla, and help set up clients elsewhere to produce independently, as they have already begun to do in Tasmania.
Production is anticipated to triple over the next 12 months, with installation of a dryer planned specifically for use with native timbers which would otherwise be left on the forest floor after hazard reduction measures.
The other product which has seen an enormous rise in demand this year is BBQ wood pellets for home meat smoking setups.
The factory also features a testing room where briquettes are produced for a variety of potential uses and with a wide range of materials which would otherwise be considered waste, from cardboard to chicken poo and fish remains.
Ms Esplin's father Ken Timms was one of the original saw millers in the area and after she and her siblings went through school and further studies in Melbourne, she returned to settle in Eden with her husband in 1991.
Having been in business with Ms Esplin's brothers for years, the couple decided to pursue a different direction.
She said the issues surrounding waste led to opportunities to do things differently.
"We have an obligation to do this, it's really important," she said.
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Leah Szanto
Regional journalist covering the Far South Coast of NSW.
Regional journalist covering the Far South Coast of NSW.
