Enviva Biomass Continues Longstanding Partnership with MJW at Epes, Alabama Plant

In April of 2024, MJW’s long-time client Enviva Biomass reached out to request a quote to install all wood yard equipment at their new pellet mill facility in Epes, Alabama. The facility is designed to produce 1,100,000 metric tons per year of high-quality wood pellets, using both hardwood and pine as a raw material.

Raw material will be shipped to the facility by truck either as fresh cut logs or as wood chips, a waste product from local lumbermills. Bark that will be used as a furnace fuel will also be received by truck. Wood chips and bark trucks will be unloaded with five truck tippers to meet the plant capacity. Logs will be offloaded utilizing a radial log crane, then processed through a debarking drum and chipper to produce additional wood chips and bark for the production process. Wood chips will be dried, pulverized and extruded into the finished product, then conveyed from storage silos to a barge loading structure, where empty barges are staged and loaded, fleeted together for the return trip to the Pascagoula terminal for transfer onto an ocean-going ship.

In addition to the truck tippers, log crane and debarking equipment, MJW also installed two stacker reclaimers, multiple conveyors, a scale house building, and all structural steel required to support the equipment and the towers which receive and transfer the conveyor lines.  MJW’s fire protection group designed and installed a plant wide fire alarm system and multiple sprinkler and standpipe systems for the protection of chipper building, pelletizing building, flat storage and barge loading structure. Additionally, the work included revamping the sprinkler systems protecting the existing flat storage and maintenance building that were installed in late ‘90s.

The work began in late May, 2024 and continued over a period of one year with a large crew of dedicated employees and subcontractors.

Our success in this long-duration project is a direct reflection of the unwavering dedication, strategic vision, and resilience of our leadership and crew. From the outset, our leaders provided clear direction, inspired confidence, and navigated complex challenges with steady focus. Equally, our crew demonstrated exceptional teamwork, adaptability, and perseverance—working tirelessly through every phase to meet goals and maintain high standards. It is through this united effort and shared commitment that we were able to turn a demanding project into a lasting success. We are incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved together.