Sector Focus: Timber in Construction | 35
SUMMARY
■Donaldson Group acquired Stewart Milne Timber Systems (SMTS) in December 2021
■SMTS was rebranded as Donaldson Timber Systems
■Donaldson Group is now the UK’s largest timber frame manufacturer
■The Witney factory is being overhauled over the next nine months
BUILDING ON SUCCESS
Donaldson Group made the headlines last December when it announced it had acquired the UK’s largest timber frame manufacturer, Stewart Milne Timber Systems. Sally Spencer reports
Consolidation within the timber industry is not a new phenomenon. Mergers and acquisitions have come thick and fast, particularly in recent months. One of the more seismic shifts in the landscape was the news back in October 2021 that the Stewart Milne Group was selling its timber frame business, Stewart Milne Timber Systems (SMTS). Just two months later, the Donaldson Group announced it had acquired the manufacturer.
Above: Andrew Donaldson (left) and Alex Goodfellow
The acquisition of the business marked the family-run Donaldson Group’s move into the timber frame market for the first time in its 162-year history. More than that – it propelled it into the position of market leader, accounting for around 20% of the share of timber frame construction in the UK. The Donaldson Group (it rebranded from James Donaldson & Sons earlier this year) has had plenty of practice acquiring businesses over the last couple of years, adding Kitchens International and Stonecare to its portfolio of companies last summer, following a busy 2020, in which time Rowan Manufacturing and Smith & Frater came into the fold. In terms of scale, though, this was significant, according to Andrew Donaldson, group chief executive officer. “There aren’t many £120m, 400 employee businesses kicking around in our industry, so it was a big one – and it has changed the dynamics of the business in a really positive way.” Moving into the timber frame arena had been “on and off the radar” for a number of years and had only remained on the back burner because of an abundance of caution ►
www.ttjonline.com | July/August 2022 | TTJ
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