ENERGY EFFICIENCY OF THE WOOD-BASED PROCESSING MSMES IN THE NIŠ REGION

Abstract

In the Niš region, there are 185 companies involved in the treatment or manufacture of wood and wood-based products. According to the national register of enterprise activity classification, 22.7 percent of micro, small and medium enterprises are engaged in the business of wood cutting and processing, 27.03 percent are in the business of construction carpentry production, 29.73 percent are in the business of wood packaging production, 2.7 percent are in the business of pellet production, and 32.43 percent are in the business of other wood treatment production or services. This article uses a preliminary energy audit assessment technique to address the concerns of potential improvements in competitiveness, energy efficiency, and waste wood biomass use potentials in selected representatives of the indicated company groups from the Niš region. Energy usage benchmarks are established based on the audits of the selected sample enterprises.