Vicard: zero waste!

All losses of material in the barrel-making phases are recycled and either sold or reused in our own production.

From the log to the finished stave, losses of material come to an average of 80%. This loss is an integral part of the barrel-making process which demands wood of exceptional quality, among other things to ensure total water-tightness. Two types of losses can be distinguished:

• Green lumber: 75% of losses are observed when the logs are cut into stavewood
• Dead loss: 10% of stavewood losses occur when the wood is transformed into staves

Vicard reuses 100% of these losses via three distinct systems:

A wood-fired boiler supplies the Vicard site
The less noble parts of green lumber (bark, etc.) fuel the boiler on the Vicard site.  This boiler heats the buildings and workshops and produces the hot water and steam required for the bending phase.

Production and sale of chips
The more noble green lumber losses are transformed into chips used for the manufacture of paper pulp. For the Merrains de Cognac site alone, the monthly quantity produced and sold in this form comes to 90m³, which is four or five truckloads.

Granules or Pellets
The dead losses are transformed into granules. Manufactured for their calorific value, these granules become a key element in the toast, an essential stage in the barrel-making process. They are also destined for sale to private customers.