Sawdust-powered smoke dryer is very user-friendly

The Wood Industries Training Centre (WITC) of the Timber Industry Development Division (TIDD) in Kumasi has developed a smoke dryer facility that uses sawdust instead of electricity to dry wood products. The facility is suitable for small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) and marketed as affordable and easy to use. It was recently showcased at the Ghana International Furniture and Woodworking Industry Exhibition (GIFEX) 2008 in Accra and is intended to reduce the costs of SMEs in a nonpolluting and user friendly manner.
The WITC is known for its technical training activities in the wood industry, with a primary focus on capacity building, human resource development and institutional strengthening. Specifically focused on supporting services involved in downstream wood processing, the WITC has earned a reputation over the last 12 years of being a centre of excellence for training and consultancy in the timber industry as well as other timber-related sectors.
Public relations officer of the WITC, George Zowonu, hinted that the Centre would soon change its name to the Timber Technology Centre.
In other developments, the Forest Research Institute of Ghana (FORIG) has made significant breakthroughs in processing coconut and palm tree waste into usable wood for the manufacturing of various products such as tables, chairs, cupboards and beds, a research scientist at the Institute noted during the GIFEX 2008. – Tropical Timber Market Report.