THE FIRST SOLAR POWERED KILN IN INDONESIA
“Yogyakarta has got sunlight from morning to night, they’ve got a massive natural resource. We weren’t happy to do what other firms are doing - burning fossil fuels to dry the timber and then calling it green!” - Mick.
Raft is the first company in the world to use solar powered kilns in Indonesia to dry its sustainably sourced, FLEGT certified teak. Using the sun’s energy to heat the kiln and computer aided efficiency, this technology dries timber with up to 80% less energy input from traditional carbon heat sources such as oil, gas or electricity.
“With innovative data and experience, we hosted site visits and informed a study conducted by professor Gerry Harris from the University of Melbourne into the feasibility of the use of solar powered kilns in Indonesia. This data was then passed on to PHD students in Indonesia working in conjunction with the ACIAR project (The Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research).” - Toby Gard, Head of Indonesian Operations at Raft Furniture