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Q-talk *ON TOPIC ONLY* QUALITY ON TOPIC discussion of Backyard BBQ, grilling, equipment and outdoor cookin' . ** Other cooking techniques are welcomed for when your cookin' in the kitchen. Post your hints, tips, tricks & techniques, success, failures, but stay on topic and watch for that hijacking. |
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11-29-2012, 12:23 AM | #1 |
Babbling Farker
Join Date: 05-04-08
Location: Boise, Idaho
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Tour: Kingsford Plant (lot of pics)
Kingsford Invitational - Part Three
My previous post in this series ended with the group heading from St. Louis to Belle, Missouri to the site of the inaugural Kingsford Invitational barbecue competition. Not only were we about to be spectators to an incredible competition, but we'd also get to tour the largest Kingsford charcoal plant. As I said earlier, dudes love to see how things are made, so I was really looking forward to it. Belle is a very small town located about two and a half hours southwest of St. Louis, and the drive has the palpable feel of midwest Americana. I spent my teen years in Columbia, which is smack dab between St. Louis and Kansas City, but it had been nearly 20 years since I'd been on the ground in this area of the country. What is known by some as "flyover country" was freshly familiar to me, and I enjoyed the trip. The weather, minus the considerable wind, was just about as perfect as one could expect for early November in central Missouri. We enjoyed wall-to-wall sunshine with temperatures in the low 70's. The setting of the plant is not at all what I expected. It's in a what looks like a small valley that's surrounded by gently rolling hills, and at this time of year, trees still clad in multicolored leaves. We walked to the plant and the first thing that catches your eye, other than the unexpected size of the complex, is the giant mound of what looks like dirt from a distance. We went into the welcome area, donned our protective gear and, after a short safety briefing, we headed out to start the tour. We were split into several small groups and each was assigned a tour guide. Fortunately, my group had the plant manager, Steve Miller (no relation) as our guide. He was very friendly and more than eager to answer any and all of our questions. Our first stop was that apparent dirt mound. It's actually an incredibly large pile of sawdust and wood that's recycled from various sources. How big? Well this plant produces something like seven million pounds of charcoal per day, and it takes eight pounds of raw wood to make one pound of what becomes the wood char from which the briquets are made. A little quick math tells you that this plant consumes about 56 million pounds of wood per day. The wood (mostly oak, and some hickory) is trucked in and dumped. Then the dozer driver constantly mixes the wood so that the moisture level and age are as evenly distributed as possible. The dozer then pushes the wood into a huge chute that leads to what was described by Steve as a 200-horsepower garbage disposal. That machine chews up the wood and spits it out in a fairly uniform size onto the conveyor that feeds the plant. Next the wood is fed into huge dryers that reduce the percentage of moisture in the wood from about 30 percent down to about five percent. The dried wood then heads to the huge multi-stage oven, called a retort, that bakes the wood in an oxygen-starved environment at about 1000 degrees. The result is the wood char (black stuff) that makes up the bulk of each briquet. What struck me as we walked past the retort was the absolute absence of any smell of anything burning. In fact, other than the smell of the wood pile, this plant has no smell. When I asked Steve about that he pointed to the top of the stack on the right of the picture above and said, "See that? That's all the smoke that comes off of this plant." He went on to say that their retort is the most advanced in the world and that the emissions from this plant are incredibly low. Additionally, most of the energy used in the plant is recycled on-site. The char is then mixed with a handful of other ingredients and is molded into the familiar briquet shape. At this point the briquets have the consistency of a baked brownie. Steve handed each of us one and they were barely warm and easily broken apart by hand. The excess around the edges of each briquet is shaken off and recycled. The briquets are then spread about a foot thick onto a huge conveyor which takes them through a gigantic dryer. Hot air is forced through them from top and bottom and they emerge as the product that we know. The product then heads to the bagging line. The bags are blown open with air and filled. Then they're sealed. Next they head to the machine that automatically places the bags on pallets. Finally, each pallet is robotically wrapped in plastic and placed for the forklift driver to take it to the warehouse. Oh, and the warehouse is incredibly large. I think Steve said that it is 200,000 square feet. As you can see, the pallets are stacked six high. Steve said that during the winter months that they work to fill the warehouse in preparation for the kick-off of grilling season (Memorial Day). I can't thank the folks at the Kingsford plant in Belle enough for their hospitality and for the incredible tour. Steve was a great tour guide, and I could tell that he takes great pride in his crew and his plant. The place was incredibly clean for a charcoal plant. Oh, and it struck me that along the tour Steve stopped and thanked every worker that we encountered for coming in that day. It was the opening day of deer season, and the folks working that day volunteered to work. That kind of leadership is sadly rare these days. In the next installment of this series I'll cover the Kingsford Invitational competition itself. Related posts: Kingsford Invitational - Part One Kingsford Invitational - Part Two ----- John |
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11-29-2012, 02:05 AM | #2 |
is one Smokin' Farker
Join Date: 06-01-11
Location: valley village, ca.
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Great little virtual tour. Thanks for posting.
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11-29-2012, 02:38 AM | #3 |
Full Fledged Farker
Join Date: 03-28-12
Location: Broomfield, Essex, UK
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Thanks for the tour, I missed the first two parts (caught up now) but what struck me was the the scale of the Kingsford plant as well as the AB brewery - boggles the mind!
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22" WSM, 22" OTG, [COLOR=navy][B]Jumbo Joe[/B][/COLOR], WSJ, Mini WSM, WGA, Maverick ET-732, [COLOR=red][B]Red [/B][/COLOR]Thermapen and a twelve year old gasser which hasn't come out of the shed since I got a taste of charcoal! |
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11-29-2012, 02:53 AM | #4 |
Babbling Farker
Join Date: 02-02-08
Location: Westfield,Ma.
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John thank you for the tour. Very much appreciated.
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11-29-2012, 04:29 AM | #5 |
Knows what a fatty is.
Join Date: 08-12-11
Location: Sonoma, ca
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Not sure if it was such marketing genius to put the Kingsford logo right next to the Clorox logo on those big tanks! Lol
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11-29-2012, 07:13 AM | #6 |
somebody shut me the fark up.
Join Date: 07-04-09
Location: Jonesboro,Tx
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Seeing a tank of clorox is all it takes for me to have another reason not to use that stuff. However I find the Manf. process interesting thanks for showing us how they do it.
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I'm a Proxy Vegetarian> Cows eat grass & I eat cows. |
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11-29-2012, 07:17 AM | #7 |
is One Chatty Farker
Join Date: 03-16-07
Location: Coxsackie NY
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Very Nice!!
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I'MMM Back💪 |
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11-29-2012, 07:26 AM | #8 |
Full Fledged Farker
Join Date: 10-19-10
Location: Lutz, Florida
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Very cool, Thanks!
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18.5 WSM 18.5 Jack Daniels OTS Weber Genesis |
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11-29-2012, 07:34 AM | #9 | |
Babbling Farker
Join Date: 02-15-08
Location: Harrisburg, PA
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Quote:
http://investors.thecloroxcompany.co...leaseid=184591 "The Kingsford Products Company is a subsidiary of The Clorox Company, headquartered in Oakland, Calif. The Clorox Company is a leading manufacturer and marketer of consumer products with fiscal year 2005 revenues of $4.4 billion. Clorox markets some of consumers' most trusted and recognized brand names, including its namesake bleach and cleaning products, Armor All® and STP® auto care products, Fresh Step® and Scoop Away® cat litters, Kingsford® charcoal briquets, Hidden Valley® and K C Masterpiece® dressings and sauces, Brita® water-filtration systems, and Glad® bags, wraps and containers. With 7,600 employees worldwide, the company manufactures products in 25 countries and markets them in more than 100 countries. Clorox is committed to making a positive difference in the communities where its employees work and live. Founded in 1980, The Clorox Company Foundation has awarded cash grants totaling more than $62.2 million to nonprofit organizations, schools and colleges; and in fiscal 2005 alone made product donations valued at $4.9 million. For more information about Clorox, visit www.TheCloroxCompany.com."
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Custom Klose Backyard Chef... of Snot, and a 22.5 WSM Former smokers; Lang 84 Deluxe kitchen, Lang 60 Mobile - The Damsel II, Lang 48 Patio - The Damsel, Bubba Keg Grill - RIP, Double Barrel Smoker and a BSKD |
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11-29-2012, 07:40 AM | #10 |
is one Smokin' Farker
Join Date: 04-22-11
Location: Cleveland, OH
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That's awesome to see how much pride they put into their working place and product. Thanks for the tour.
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Mark...UDS, 22.5 weber knock-off kettle, gasser. GO BROWNS!!! |
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11-29-2012, 07:44 AM | #11 | |
Babbling Farker
Join Date: 05-04-08
Location: Boise, Idaho
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Quote:
Valley Ranch. John |
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11-29-2012, 07:58 AM | #12 |
Full Fledged Farker
Join Date: 12-04-08
Location: Saugus, CA
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Thanks for posting here too . Saw this over on Google Plus. information I am sure a lot of the Brethren are interested in.
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11-29-2012, 08:27 AM | #13 |
Babbling Farker
Join Date: 08-09-12
Location: Spokane Valley, Washington
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Thanks P-D, That is good stuff, sounds like you had a good time too, that's great.
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KC Weber Performer with rotisserie ring, 22.5OTS, Maverick 732, Weber Smokey Joe,PBC Smokenator/Hoovergrill, variety of microbrews, Gin and tonic, variety of lighters.:blah: |
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11-29-2012, 08:40 AM | #14 |
On the road to being a farker
Join Date: 05-21-12
Location: St. Louis MO
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That's pretty cool. Thanks for posting!
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Cole's Sweet Heat BBQ Sauces |
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11-29-2012, 09:00 AM | #15 |
Full Fledged Farker
Join Date: 07-13-12
Location: eureka,ca
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thats awesome thank you i would love todo the tour.
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Weber 22" performer & old school 22" Weber kettle Remember to check our monthly free bottle giveaway in the Brethern sales forum under Ted & Barney's. |
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