TIMBER T


imber supplier James Jones & Sons has expanded its capacity following the construction of a new mill at its Durham site. To celebrate the mill’s opening, it also welcomed HM King Charles III to its Aboyne site in Aberdeenshire. The visit by His Majesty was to commemorate its significant upgrades and expansion. This £15M capital expenditure project formed part of its £126M investments that it made in 2022 across its sites in the UK and through its acquisition of Hyne Timber and XLam in Australia.


Tom Bruce-Jones, chairperson at James Jones & Sons, says: “Group sawmill capacity has been expanded, and work is well underway on the construction of a new mill at Durham. Across our pallet and packaging sites, new automated production lines and robotics have been commissioned to significantly increase capacity. In 2022, we started to export our JJI-Joists to Australia, and we have also established a strong foothold in Europe through the addition of new distributors in the region.


“We also acquired Mayflower Enterprises Pty Ltd in 2022, the holding company of Hyne Timber and XLam, in Australia and subsequently bought a majority stake in Rocky Point Pty Ltd, one of the leading horticultural and growing media companies on the East Coast - this is a big step for us.”


The company also acquired Lancashire Saw and Bruce-Jones explains that the motivating factor behind the acquisition was to further strength the long-standing relationship between both companies and to provide a stronger platform for further development. He continues: “The existing management team are staying on within the Group to provide continuity and the same quality


of service to all customers, facilitate the integration and to help realise our long-term strategic plans.


Next generation


“We wish to provide a strong platform so that we can continue to support our existing employees and to invest in the next generation of talented young people, in order to ensure that saw doctoring in the UK remains strong for all companies operating within the timber sector. James Jones wishes to inject capital expenditure to stay technologically advanced and at the forefront of R&D.”


Bruce-Jones says that reducing supply chain distances and miles to markets continues to drive consumer behaviour and consumer habits. “Our UK sawmills are very well invested and have some of the best sawmill equipment and value adding facilities so that we can provide the construction trade with low carbon substitutes for imported products and other high carbon intensity building products. “We are always talking to equipment suppliers about innovations,to align these with what we know our customer base is assessing. We are witnessing a steep change in timber frame construction in England as the


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major housebuilders acquire or invest in timber frame manufacturing facilities and we expect this sector to grow substantially.” The company has partnered with Volvo Group and Cleaner EV, on a three-year trial of electric timber trucks – funded by Scottish Forestry - in an effort to drive sustainability in the sector.


Bruce-Jones says: “Enhancing our environmental credentials has always been part of our Group ethos and strategy, and we are continually investing in new environmental initiatives. We operate biomass plants across our UK and Australian operations, and our UK plants have reduced their CO2 emissions by more than 32,650 tonnes per annum when compared with previous fossil fuel supply. We have invested in solar panels and we own and operate a 24MW windfarm.”


He adds: “All of our input costs such as employment, insurance, freight, raw materials, electricity etc have risen substantially whilst demand and consumer confidence has fallen. Political uncertainty, inflationary pressure, higher interest rates and the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East are all going to remain as problems to face in 2024, and we have had to cut production to avoid building stocks. “The demand for new UK housing remains as strong as ever, and locally sourced, fit for purpose timber products will be required to meet this demand, given the product’s significant advantages over steel and concrete in a net zero economy.” BMJ


www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net December 2023


ROYAL WELCOME TO NEW TIMBER MILL


To celebrate the construction of its new mill, timber company James Jones & Sons welcomed a special visitor – the King.


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