30 | Sector Focus: British Timber
◄ for,” said Mr Gordon. “We’re operating at about our existing capacity but are looking to grow that through efficiencies and further investments.”
Stock levels at the Nairn-based mill are slightly lower than this time last year [speaking in August] which is “a good sign, overall” and inventory is turning over every four weeks. “That’s pretty healthy,” said Mr Gordon.
Further investments under way – and integral to Gordon Timber’s plans to boost output – include two new scanners in an extended collaboration with RemaSawco. Totalling almost £500,000, the investment includes a log scanner for log grading in the yard and a board scanner for sawn timber production.
“The log scanner will give us a highly accurate picture of the logs we are cutting and allowing the batches to be more precisely sorted, contributing to higher productivity of the sawline,” said Mr Gordon. “The board scanner will give us more accurate grading of our sawn timber and will improve the quality and yield of our finished product.” A new log deck has also been ordered and the company is considering “AI cameras”, which would help improve the log gaps and reduce bottlenecks.
When it comes to investments, James Jones is focused on delivering its Durham redevelopment project, which represents “a major capital spend for the group”. The redevelopment of the former
Taylormade Timber Products site, which James Jones secured when it acquired Taylormade’s holding company GT Timber Ltd in 2021, is the first industrial scale sawmill to be built in the UK in many years. Construction work is continuing apace and
the mill is expected to be commissioned in the summer of 2026. “We have a majority of civil works completed and are now starting to install equipment for the new sawline,” said Mr Balfour. “We still have another 12 months hard work ahead of us to hopefully complete the project on schedule. It’s an exciting time for our team in north-east England.” Investments have included further acquisitions, of course, and James Jones has continued to bolster its presence in Australia with the purchase of another pallet business – Newcastle Pallets. The acquisition was made by James Jones’s Hyne Group through its growing Hyne Pallets division and is the fifth pallet manufacturing acquisition in less than two years.
Eddie Balfour noted that James Jones’s Australian business “has been facing the same challenges we have in Europe, with very sluggish demand in the construction markets. There are, however, signs that things are improving and we are positive about the short-term outlook”. The past 10 years has seen some significant acquisitions by the BSW Group (which itself has been part of Binderholz GmbH since 2021) and this has been one of the factors in its rapid growth. Now, said James Brennan, the focus is on “the integration and recalibration” of those businesses. At the end of last year, for example, it announced investment in BSW Timber Solutions and Bayram Timber sites in Melton, near Hull. The two sites were just a couple of hundred yards from each other, so when the opportunity to buy an adjacent third site arose, it made sense to bring them together. Bayram Timber is now officially part of BSW Timber Solutions and the move presents
a number of opportunities in the marketplace. “Their product mix is similar but what differs is the service offering,” said Mr Brennan. “While BSW Timber Solutions typically supplies the DIY and retail markets, Bayram is more specialist – kits for caravan manufacture, furniture and so on. In joining these two businesses and service offers together we are seeing more opportunities for both of them.”
Focus has also been on enhancing the offering of the various businesses acquired in recent years. Power Sheds has a new website and has had its first foray into TV advertising. Meanwhile, the tree nursery business has been trialling cold chain storage – refrigerated vehicles – thereby ensuring that the saplings remain in peak condition from the time they leave the nursery to the time they are planted. And on the subject of forestry, there has been significant investment in BSW’s fleet of harvesters and forwarders.
“This year we have invested £6m in the harvesting fleet and have more than 80 machines now,” said Mr Brennan. “None of the machines are over five years old, so they are all running as efficiently and productively as they can.”
Another more recent addition to the BSW family – Pallet LOOP – is now fully operational and “developing really well”. “We have produced around 1.5 million pallets,” said Mr Brennan. “We estimate there are 20 million pallets produced for the construction industry every year, so to get 1.5 million into circulation this year is a really strong start for a new part of the business. “The focus is now on collecting those pallets. We are already seeing much higher than industry average return rates, which is
Above: KD Scots pine for specialist markets PHOTO: GORDON TIMBER TTJ | September/October 2025 |
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