What Forest Concepts does

Forest Concepts, LLC is a privately-held bioenergy and biomass processing technology company founded on December 11, 1998 in Auburn, Washington by Jim Dooley and Mike Perry. The company develops engineered equipment systems, precision feedstocks, and erosion control products that reduce cost and improve performance across the woody and herbaceous biomass supply chain. Forest Concepts' proprietary technology portfolio is anchored by the Crumbler rotary shear system for biomass size reduction, Crumbles precision feedstocks, the Bighorn biomass baler, advanced downdraft conveyor dryers, the orbital screen system, and the WoodStraw engineered erosion control mulch. The company's underlying innovation is grounded in deep understanding of plant structural biology and the natural modes of failure in cellulosic materials, with demonstrated performance advantages including 50% reduction in comminution energy versus hammer/knife mills and 25% reduction in gross drying energy.

Forest Concepts serves industrial biomaterials producers, government agencies, national laboratories, electric utilities, and erosion control contractors. Named customers and end-users include the U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, multiple state Departments of Transportation (Washington, Oregon, Idaho), Idaho National Laboratory, Pacific Gas & Electric, and The Walsh Group. The company's revenue model combines multiple streams: direct equipment sales (Crumbler, dryers, balers, orbital screens), custom toll-processing services at its pilot-scale Auburn facility, technology licensing royalties from regional manufacturers (Erosion Control Innovations in the Pacific Northwest; Mountain Pine Manufacturing in a five-state Rocky Mountain region), and professional consulting and contract R&D services priced on a 30% retainer plus milestone basis.

Forest Concepts has operated continuously for over 25 years, is supported almost exclusively by federal DOE and USDA SBIR non-dilutive research funding (awards cumulatively exceeding $5 million across Phase I and Phase II contracts from 2008 through 2026), and has received six AE50 Awards from the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers for innovation. The company's intellectual property is protected by four core U.S. patents covering biomass baling and WoodStraw manufacturing, alongside registered trademarks including Crumbler, WoodStraw, Chipmuncher, and ELWd. In January 2009, Mountain West Helicopters LLC made a minority equity investment of approximately $350,000 — the only known outside institutional capital — and Forest Concepts remains independently held by its two founders who continue to lead as CEO (Mike Perry) and CTO (Jim Dooley).

Name

Forest Concepts

Legal name

Forest Concepts, LLC

Website

https://forestconcepts.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Forest Concepts is a privately-held bioenergy technology company that designs and licenses patented biomass preprocessing equipment — including Crumbler rotary shears, biomass balers, dryers, and WoodStraw erosion control mulch — for government agencies, national labs, electric utilities, and industrial biomaterials producers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Biomass Processing Equipment and Engineered Bio-Based Materials

NAICS

Sawmill, Woodworking, and Paper Machinery Manufacturing (333243)

SIC

Forestry (800), Farm Machinery & Equipment (3523)

akta.pro primary industry

Biomass Fuel Feedstock Processing (Chipping, Grinding, Drying, Screening) (EUAAAJAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Biomass Grinding & Size Reduction (Hog Fuel, Mulch-to-Fuel) (AFAMAGAI), Biomass Chip Drying & Moisture Management (AFAMAJAH), Forestry Residues Supply & Aggregation (Harvest Slash, Thinnings, Sawmill Residuals) (EUAAAFAA), Wood Chipping, Residue Processing & Biomass Feedstock (IMAMABAG)

Keywords

• Biomass preprocessing equipment
• Rotary shear comminution
• Biomass baling systems
• Engineered erosion control mulch
• Cellulosic feedstock processing

Headquarters

HQ city

Auburn

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Equipment Sales: Sale of biomass processing equipment including Crumbler rotary shears, dryers, biomass balers, orbital screen systems, and related machinery. Equipment is sold directly to bioenergy facilities, research institutions, and industrial customers.
2. Custom Processing Services: Processing materials for customer research through pilot scale facility. Services include size reduction, drying, and screening of biomass materials.
3. Licensing Royalties: Technology licensing arrangements where partners manufacture and sell Forest Concepts' products (e.g., WoodStraw licensed to ECI, Mountain Pine Manufacturing) in exchange for licensing fees and royalties.
4. Professional Consulting Services: Contract research, product and process development consulting, and biomass preprocessing system design services. Retainer fee equal to 30% of project budget with milestone-based payments.
5. Biomass Materials: Sale of processed biomass materials including Crumbles feedstocks and WoodStraw erosion control products.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Forest Concepts designs, manufactures, and sells biomass preprocessing equipment—including the Crumbler rotary shear family, Bighorn biomass balers, advanced downdraft dryers, orbital screen systems, and cubic triaxial testers—and produces Crumbles precision biomass feedstock particles and WoodStraw engineered erosion control mulch. It complements these products with custom processing, biomass preprocessing system design, and contract research/development services for bioenergy, biomaterials, and environmental restoration customers.

Product overview

Forest Concepts offers a portfolio of biomass processing equipment and services for the industrial biomaterials markets. The core product line includes the Crumbler Rotary Shear family for size reduction, the Crumbles precision feedstock particles, custom dryers, and the Bighorn Biomass Baler. These products work together in the M Series modular system architecture, which integrates comminution, drying, and feed modules for customizable biomass preprocessing. The company also manufactures WoodStraw erosion control mulch and provides design, custom processing, and R&D services. The equipment portfolio spans size reduction, drying, baling, screening, and testing, while services include system design, toll processing, and contract research.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Crumbler Rotary Shear Rotary shear equipment that processes fuel-grade woodchips into feedstocks with more uniform particle sizes for improved flowability and higher thermochemical output yield than hammer mills; sold to bioenergy facilities, research institutions, and industrial customers with multiple product families and processing heads.
• Crumbles Precision Feedstocks Engineered biomass feedstock particles with optimal geometry and surface characteristics for biochemical and thermochemical conversion to second-generation liquid transportation fuels; characterized by improved flowability, good uncompressed bulk density, and high surface-area-to-volume ratio.
• Biomass Dryers (Beltomatic and Modular Relocatable Advanced Downdraft) Custom biomass drying solutions including the Beltomatic Advanced Downdraft Conveyor Dryer and Modular Relocatable Advanced Downdraft Dryer, engineered for wood chips, hemp, and herbs to increase drying efficiency and reduce drying time and cost.
• Bighorn Biomass Baler Equipment that bales woody and herbaceous biomass to reduce collection, transportation, and storage costs, with patented baling technology based on three key rheological properties (platen pressure, friction, Poisson's ratio) enabling predictable, reproducible bales at optimum highway transport densities.
• Orbital Screen System Screening equipment for biomass particle size classification and separation within biomass preprocessing operations.
• Cubic Triaxial Tester Testing equipment for characterizing the mechanical properties of biomass materials to support design, modeling, and quality control of biomass processing systems.
• WoodStraw ECM Erosion Control Mulch Engineered wood-strand erosion control mulch manufactured from green industrial-grade veneer, small-diameter timber, or beetle-kill pine; 100% weed- and seed-free, chemical-free, wind-resistant, lasting 4+ years, and USDA Certified Biobased, used on post-wildfire lands, graded slopes, and disturbed areas.
• M Series System (Fully Integrated Modular) Transportable, integrated modular biomass preprocessing system combining comminution, drying, and feed modules built around M24M series rotary shears; configurable for diverse biomass materials with a small operational footprint.
• Spare Parts and Equipment Service Replacement parts and equipment servicing for Forest Concepts biomass processing equipment installed at customer sites.
• Biomass Preprocessing System Design Services Design services that help bioenergy and biomaterials customers scope and start biomass processing facilities correctly from project inception, drawing on Forest Concepts' engineered equipment portfolio and rheological modeling expertise.
• Custom Processing Services Pilot-scale processing of biomass materials at the Auburn facility for customer research, testing, and product development needs, including size reduction, drying, and screening.
• Product and Process Development Services Contract research, product development, and process development services for specific customer applications in bioenergy, biomaterials, and environmental restoration, billed via retainer plus milestone-based payments.
• Partner Products (Licensed WoodStraw outputs) WoodStraw engineered erosion control mulch produced by Forest Concepts' licensed regional partners—Erosion Control Innovations (ECI) for northwestern states and Mountain Pine Manufacturing for the five-state Rocky Mountain region—offering territory-specific versions including beetle-kill pine-based mulch.

Quantifiable outcome

• 50% reduction in comminution energy compared to hammer mills and knife mills
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Idaho National Laboratory (continued)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 March 2021Forest Concepts M24M Modular Tower Crumbler System installed at Idaho National Lab's Process Development Unit and Biomass Feedstocks National User Facility. INL undergoing $15 million upgrade to support industry scale-up.
• Consortium for Computational Physics and Chemistry (CCPC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 March 2021Forest Concepts partnered with CCPC, comprised of DOE National Labs, for computational modeling of biomass behaviors and downstream conversion effects. Part of approximately $1 million DOE funding for computational capabilities.
• Mountain Pine Manufacturing, Inc.coreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing Partner · 7 June 2012Exclusive license granted to Mountain Pine Manufacturing, Inc. of Steamboat Springs, Colorado to manufacture, distribute and sell Engineered Wood-based Mulch within a five-state area. Producing mulch from Beetle-Kill Pine in Colorado.
• Idaho National LaboratorycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 August 2011Forest Concepts' Crumbles precision feedstock manufacturing process featured at DOE workshop at Idaho National Laboratory. CTO Jim Dooley presented alongside DOE researchers on biomass feedstock preprocessing. Equipment installed at INL Biomass Feedstocks National User Facility.
• University of WashingtoncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 January 2011Partnership with UW's biofuels and bioproducts laboratory in the School of Forest Resources to evaluate biochemical conversion efficiency of Forest Concepts' new woody biomass feedstock particles. $80,000 grant to UW as subcontract under Forest Concepts' DOE SBIR contract. Led by Dr. Renata Bura and Dr. Rick Gustafson.
• Erosion Control Innovations (ECI)coreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing Partner · 1 January 2008Licensed the production and sale of WoodStraw erosion control mulch for northwestern states to ECI of Enumclaw, WA. ECI acquired Forest Concepts' production equipment and moved production to former Weyerhaeuser Enumclaw sawmill site on Highway 410.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Vermeer Corporation: Vermeer is a direct peer offering biomass chippers, horizontal and tub grinders, and dedicated bioenergy equipment lines that compete head-to-head with Forest Concepts' Crumbler rotary shears and Bighorn baler for forestry-residue size-reduction customers.
• Rotochopper: Rotochopper builds fine-grind horizontal grinders and shredded-material processing systems for biomass, mulch, and bioenergy producers — directly competitive with Forest Concepts' precision-feedstock comminution and screening offerings.
• Morbark: Morbark produces whole-tree chippers, grinders, and chipping/baling systems for the forestry, recycling, and bioenergy markets, overlapping with Forest Concepts' equipment portfolio for vegetation-debris and woody-biomass preprocessing.
• West Salem Machinery: West Salem Machinery manufactures whole-log chippers, grinders, and screening systems used by woodyards, pellet mills, and biomass power producers — competing with Forest Concepts for industrial-scale biomass preprocessing specifications.
• Bandit Industries: Bandit manufactures whole-tree and biomass chippers, horizontal grinders, and hand-fed chippers serving the same forestry, bioenergy, and vegetation-management buyers that Forest Concepts addresses with its comminution and baling equipment.

Broad incumbents

• Precision Husky / Peterson (ASTEC): Precision Husky (now part of Astec) supplies heavy-duty wood hogs, bark and chip processing, and biomass-prep equipment to large pulp/paper and bioenergy customers globally — a broader incumbent with overlapping feedstock-prep capabilities to Forest Concepts.
• ANDRITZ (Pulp & Paper / Bioenergy): ANDRITZ is a global broad incumbent supplying chipping, grinding, drying, and pelletizing systems to pulp mills and biomass-power plants — covering every stage of the biomass-prep value chain in which Forest Concepts competes.

Emerging players

• North American Green: North American Green supplies rolled erosion-control products and hydraulic mulch additives used in DOT, energy, and post-wildfire projects, overlapping with WoodStraw ECM's core erosion-control market positioning.
• Profile Products: Profile Products is a leading manufacturer of erosion-control and vegetation-establishment products (including HydraCX, wood-fiber mulches), competing with Forest Concepts' WoodStraw ECM for the same DOT, BLM, and USFS specification opportunities.

Others

• Vecoplan / Laibach Bulk Material Handling: Vecoplan manufactures industrial shredders and bulk-material handling equipment for biomass, waste wood, and energy-crop applications, adjacent to Forest Concepts' rotary-shear and dryer portfolio in downstream biorefining spec-in work.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@ForestConcepts
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/forest-concepts
• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Forest Concepts