Comment | 3
COMMENT
C16 timber has certainly suffered from the over specification of C24 timber in recent years. The prevalance of C24 heavily
favours imports, due to the lack of C24 domestic material commercially available. But homegrown mills are
fighting their corner. News of the three largest sawmillers – BSW,
Glennon Brothers and James Jones teaming up for the first time to promote the domestic C16 product is backed by Confor and TDUK in a new campaign (Pg7). The campaign argues that C16 is suitable for
most standard construction applications, with lower embodied carbon than many imported alternatives. The collaboration also supports the UK government’s Timber in Construction Roadmap. The hope is that it leverages the full capabilities of C16
timber across construction, delivering cost-effective and sustainable solutions. This is certainly a unique partnership, and the mills
involved are excited about the potential to drive interest in their C16 timber and boost sales of the material. Keith Fryer, of FORT Builders’ Merchant, is one of our
opinion column writers this month and welcomes the initiative, making the point that merchants have wanted this kind of united British sawmill support for years to help sell the material. This campaign is potentially a powerful one and could
drive increased sales of domestic material in the coming years. Also in this issue is our sit-down interview with Hadleigh
GROUP EDITOR Timber Group. I spoke to Chris Rudd, the company’s CEO,
www.ttjonline.com
► MARKET UPDATE – SOFTWOOD Latest news on the softwood sector and how it is facing up to 2026 in the face of geopolitical challenges
► OPINION – 2026 PREDICTIONS TTJ asks key players in the industry how they think 2026 will pan out and where they think the challenges and opportunities will be
► SECTOR FOCUS – COATINGS & FINISHES
Our annual report from the world of coatings and finishes, speaking to major manufacturers of the products
► PLUS REGULARS
Latest UK and world news; technical news; comment from industry figures; and latest appointments.
www.ttjonline.com | November/December 2025 | TTJ
► SECTOR FOCUS – CLADDING & SHINGLES We look at the current market for cladding and shingles products
► TALKING TIMBER The Wood Technology Society continues its series of articles looking at new developments and key issues in the timber industry
TTJ – the voice of the timber Industry
who laid out a fascinating and ambitious growth ambition that would see the Group grow to a £500m turnover within the next 18 months. To our knowledge, this is the first interview that Chris has done. Hadleigh, comprising Meyer Timber, Panelco and Timbmet Trade, has positioned its distribution network, service and product offerings for the next phase of its growth. Huge central distribution hubs with next day delivery have been successfully established. Chris sees markets picking up over the next 12 months.
He also wants to see the industry evolve, modernise its approach and be proud of what it does. “This industry has huge potential — we just need to unlock it and focus on customers, innovation and service,” he says. A strong, experienced board has been established, and
a key mission is listening to customers and delivering value, with an ambition to become the supplier of choice across the UK timber sector. This is certainly a company which will be interesting to watch in the next two years. Elsewhere in this issue we have an excellent Focus
on Tropical Timber, German timber sector overview, an update on treatments, panel products and handling/ storage. We also have six pages of coverage from the TTJ Awards in September, where we had a fabulous time at the Hilton London Bankside!
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