GEM Shavings is the west coast's leading provider of packaged shavings, bulk shavings and sawdust.
Our Baling Process
Take a few moments and see why GEM baled shavings are the industry standard for quality. It starts with the shavings but carries all the way through to the bag.
With our dry shavings, we bale planer shavings that come from kiln-dried lumber. Rough-cut lumber from the kiln is exceptionally dry and absorbent because of the long, slow drying process and the mill’s ability to accurately determine moisture content. We buy only the shavings generated by planing the dried lumber down to finished size.
GEM never cuts down trees to make its shavings. All of our shavings are byproducts of lumber production, thus helping to maximize the utilization of our natural resources.
GEM transports the vast majority of our purchased shavings directly from our supplier mills. The acquired shavings are then carefully segregated by type and stored indoors.
Many shavings companies acquire green shavings from lumber that has not been kiln dried because of their lower cost. Some chop up a whole tree into shavings. They then dry those shavings in a gas-fired dryer. This process results in a larger, harder flake that is not as dry as shavings from kiln-dried wood, nor are they as absorbent. A gas-fired dryer simply can’t remove as much moisture as the long-drying times of kilns. It also results in "case hardening" of the flakes.
We operate six Verville balers. The process begins with loading a large receiving hopper. From that hopper, the shavings are conveyed to a large two deck gyrating screen. Virtually all fines below 1/16th of an inch are removed.
The shavings are then sent to one of the baling presses where they proceed through a measuring station, a compression station, and a bag sealing station. We fill and compress each bale to obtain a finished product that is either 3.25 cu. ft. or 2.5 cu. ft. Loose volumns vary between 7.5 and 12 cu. ft. depending on the product.
We use strong white plastic bags with ultraviolet (UV) light protection and distinctive graphics. The bags provide eye-appeal and protection from the sun and weather for the store and the customer. Although more expensive than clear, thinner bags, GEM bags offer a much higher level of sun, weather and tear protection.