UK News | 7
New merchant beats the pandemic in its first full year of trading
first two months of 2020. Its staffing level has also increased to 11, it occupies two units on its industrial estate location and there are three delivery vehicles making deliveries until 9pm six days per week. “We took a chance and made every effort to stay open when others closed,” the company said.
Above: Iain Fay and Chris Walker
A UK timber merchant that launched just before the Covid-19 pandemic hit in 2020 has celebrated its first full year trading with financial targets “surpassed”, according to its directors.
Founders Chris Walker and Iain Fay, who have worked in
the building and construction industry for over 25 years, launched the business in Rochdale just two months prior to the first Covid-19 lockdown. In its first full year, the business hit a turnover of over £1.5m and in the first week of 2021, its turnover matched the
Pinewood Structures Ltd celebrates 40th anniversary
Timber frame manufacturer Pinewood Structures Ltd is celebrating its 40th anniversary.
The business, which is finding Covid-safe ways to celebrate the milestone, was founded on the site of a former railway yard in the Cambridgeshire village of Gamlingay by two former directors of Potton Timber, Tony D’Alton and Terry Emery, on May 11, 1981. Like many long-standing businesses in the construction sector, Pinewood experienced the cyclic nature of the industry and after a tough start the company stuck to its core business of delivering timber frames to major house builders, becoming a significant employer in the village. During the 1990s, it built a lasting relationship with a number of core clients which saw the business transition into a valuable asset allowing Mr D’Alton and Mr Emery to exit the business in 2006.
Pinewood still holds true its
core focus of delivering timber frame walls, floors and roof trusses to the construction industry and counts several leading national and regional housebuilders as its clients. More recently, the company has increased its product range by offering ‘One-Roof’ panelised roofs to meet the increasing demand for a room- in-the-roof. It has already booked over £1m in orders for this product.
The company’s financial year runs April to March, and having just closed the books on last year, the company says that despite two months of government-forced shutdown in April and May 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, its results remain strong and bode well for the future. “We would like to take the opportunity to thank everyone who has worked with us over the past 40 years, as we look forward to our next milestone,” said Geoff Arnold, managing director.
As other suppliers in the area closed under the national lockdown, Castleton took the decision to remain open as an essential retailer, quickly learning what was needed to operate in a Covid-secure way. Its customer base expanded beyond all expectations. “It’s hard to explain what we’ve experienced as a new
business over the past 12 months,” said Chris Walker. “Back in January last year, I’d given up my job and taken a huge risk to set up on our own. We were working every hour to get our unit open, grafting into the night with no lights or utilities at our new premises, using the beams from our car headlights to get the unit stocked.
“The pandemic hit, which we could never have planned for and we had two options. Close, and probably lose the business within months, or find out how to open safely and carry on.” Now the business is open seven days per week, with several family members involved.
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www.ttjonline.com | May/June 2021 | TTJ
UK News
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