We spotted this firewood handling idea in Europe. PackFix mechanically creates a palletized bundle of firewood that’s about 4 ft. in dia. and 5 ft. tall. Each bundle of wood is securely wrapped with plastic netting so pallets can be handled mechanically and stacked up to 3 high for storage.

“This is one of the most innovative and efficient tools for handling firewood that I’ve ever seen,” says Len Christianson, who supplies firewood to homeowners in northern Minnesota. Although Christianson doesn’t own the equipment, he viewed the website video and was sold on its ease of operation, its ability to bundle and palletize wood in a single step, and the fact that wood is wrapped in open netting, allowing it to dry after being bundled. “This equipment would cut our hand labor in half and allow us to store, load, unload and handle wood mechanically,” Christianson says. “One person could deliver pallets of wood with a trailer and skid steer and take the place of two people that are doing that now.”

The PackFix drum sets under a sturdy metal frame with a winch that raises and lowers the drum after it’s filled. The drum can be filled with pieces of split firewood 8 to 20 in. long by hand or with a conveyor. When the drum is full, the operator raises it with the remote-controlled winch while a wrapping arm automatically circles the drum and applies plastic netting. When the drum clears the top of the bundle the net is cut and tied to secure the bundle on the pallet.