15 kg sacked pellet for the fuel yard — DINplus, parameters, margin

The 15 kg sack pellet market

The 15 kg segment is retail pellet — sold to households, small communal boiler rooms, public buildings with a pellet boiler. The end customer picks up single sacks (1–5) or a half-pallet (30 sacks = 450 kg) for the season.

The fuel yard intermediates: buys pellet from a trader on pallets (65 sacks × 15 kg = 975 kg + film + wooden EUR pallet = full pallet), stores under cover, sells retail.

Polish market size (2026 estimate): ~500,000 t of 15 kg sacked pellet per year. That is ~55,000 pallets going to 3,500 fuel yards nationwide.

End-customer requirements

Retail customers want three things:

1. DINplus certificate on the sack

DINplus is known to retail customers as the "quality mark". Without DINplus, the customer picks another supplier. It is not a fad — DINplus really means:

• Calorific value ≥ 4.8 kWh/kg (customer does not burn "moist advertising")
• Ash ≤ 0.7% (retail boiler with manual ash pan)
• Mechanical durability ≥ 97.5% (sack holds pellet, not dust)
• Certified wood origin

2. Welded polyethylene sack with handle

The 15 kg sack must be:

• PE film 80–100 μm
• Welded (not stitched — stitches gather in transit)
• With handle — customer carries it to the car
• Printed — DINplus + producer + technical parameters

Lower-tier sacks (no handle, stitched) sell 10–15% cheaper — end customers still won't take them for the saving.

3. EUR wooden pallet with shrink wrap

Full pallet = 65 sacks × 15 kg = 975 kg + wooden pallet 25 kg = 1,000 kg gross. Typical pallet height: 155–165 cm. Protection:

• Foam corner pieces on 4 corners — protect sacks from abrasion in transit
• Stretch film 3–4 wraps — hold the pallet together
• Film hood on top — protect from moisture and dust

The fuel yard receives the full pallet, stores under cover, removes corners only for retail sale.

Price and margin in the 15 kg segment

Market picture, October 2026 (Poland):

• Wholesale (trader → fuel yard, DDP yard warehouse, full pallets): 1,180–1,280 PLN/t = 17.70–19.20 PLN/15 kg sack
• Retail (yard → end customer, 15 kg sack): 22–28 PLN/sack = 1,470–1,870 PLN/t
• Yard margin: 200–600 PLN/t (250–1,200 PLN/pallet) gross, before storage and sales costs

A fuel yard with 800 t annual pellet volume (~820 pallets) and 350 PLN/t average margin = 280,000 PLN gross annual margin on pellet. That's a mid-size yard.

Supplier selection criteria for a fuel yard

1. Complete documentation

Supplier must ship per batch:

• Batch quality certificate (accredited lab)
• Supplier DINplus certificate (current)
• Certificate of origin (PEFC/FSC wood)
• KZR documentation (for end customers under RES-funded subsidy)
• VAT invoice with batch parameters listed

A yard without documentation has a problem when an end customer asks (in court, in the Clean Air programme).

2. Package size

Polish market standard: 15 kg sack. Alternatives (10 kg, 20 kg, 500 kg big bag) exist but have lower retail liquidity.

15 kg is the sweet spot: customer lifts the sack, private car carries a share, storage life fits retail sales cadence.

3. Timeliness and planning

The yard is seasonal: 80% of sales October–March. In October demand peaks; the customer wants pellet now. Supplier must hold stock.

Recommendation: annual contract with 12-month availability guarantee. Volume booked in April (best price), delivery schedule negotiated for autumn (2–3 deliveries October–November, the rest January–February).

4. Price and payment terms

Standard settlement: 14 days from delivery. The yard sells retail at 30–50% gross margin — pays on time, does not need trade credit (though some suppliers offer 30 days as standard).

Fixed seasonal price (October–April) — no indexation, no variability. The yard needs predictability because retail prices are set for the year.

Traps that cost a fuel yard

1. Buying pellet without DINplus "because cheaper"

The yard buys A1 without DINplus at A2 price. Sells as "A1" (it is A1). Problem: 2–3 months in, end customers come back asking "where's the DINplus?". Reputation loss in the losing season.

Practice: always DINplus on the sack for retail. Wholesale gap between A1 with and without DINplus is ~30–50 PLN/t — not worth trading reputation for.

2. Storage without moisture control

Pellet stored in a wet hall (no roof, no ground moisture protection) develops moisture spots within 2–3 weeks. Customers refuse those sacks. The yard loses stock.

Practice: enclosed warehouse, dry, temperature > 10 °C, ventilated. Sacked pellet holds quality for 18 months in those conditions. Without control — 2–3 months.

3. Too much stock at season end

Yard buys 1,000 t in October, sells 800 t by February, 200 t left. Spring market shrinks (no more burning), wholesale price may drop. The yard sits on stock it sells next season — capital and warehouse costs run.

Practice: realistic season forecast. Experienced yards plan 700 t with a 6 t buffer per pallet for May = 720 t + 80 t reserve for "cases". Everything sold by end of April.

Summary

The 15 kg sack segment for fuel yards is a solid margin business — 250–1,200 PLN gross margin per pallet, 250–800 pallets annual turnover for a mid-size yard.

Key: DINplus on the sack, welded PE sack with handle, EUR pallet with shrink wrap, batch documentation, timely deliveries on a seasonal cadence.

Green Fuel Trading delivers 15 kg sacked A1 pellet with DINplus for fuel yards across Poland. EUR pallet deliveries (975 kg pellet + pallet), truck = 24 pallets (23,400 kg). Recommendation for a new yard: start with 3 pallets test delivery (100 PLN test discount), then set a seasonal schedule after end-customer feedback.

Contact the GFT team — the first delivery is free of trader margin (you pay transport) as quality verification for new fuel yards.