BSW Timber plans multi-million pound investment in Dalbeattie site
April 27, 2010
BSW Timber has unveiled progressive plans for a multi-million pound investment at the Howie Forest Products site at Dalbeattie, following a successful acquisition of the company in November 2009.
The Dalbeattie mill is the largest single-location sawmill in UK and plans to invest over £7 million into the site in a drive to increase productivity from 230,000 m³ sawn timber to more than 350,000m³.
The investment underlines BSW’s position as the UK’s leading sawmilling business and reinforces the company’s ambitions to grow the market for British timber.
First phase investment in Dalbeattie will see a new planer and grader line installed on site which will almost double production of Easi-Edge™ construction timber from 65,000m³ to 120,000m³ each year.
Manufacture of this added value timber product will be further increased by investment in a new stacker system to improve operational efficiencies and produce an additional 50,000m³ of Easi-Edge volume, whilst releasing greenmill capacity.
The Dalbeattie site will also benefit from investment in a new heat source facility for the operation and kilns. Current plans include the construction of a biomass boiler which will use the site’s natural timber bi-products to produce enough heat energy to sustainably supply the increased demand on the site.
Tony Hackney, BSW Chief Executive, said: “This major investment is all about delivering maximum value from our new Dalbeattie mill and shows our commitment to developing the site.
“State-of-the-art equipment and infrastructure development will help enhance value and give the sawmill total flexibility, not only will it be the largest mill in the UK but it will further develop its level of sophistication.
He added: “The investment underlines our confidence in the growth in the market for British timber due to a combination of technological advances and the high cost of imports. BSW has extensively reviewed all options to ensure it is armed to deliver maximum return on this multi-million pound investment, improve site efficiencies and build its reputation as the UK’s preferred timber supplier to its customers and create a stable demand for all forestry stakeholders including private sector growers.”
Laura Smith Sales Director HFP Ltd commented “This is a fantastic opportunity to improve service to our existing and new customer base and it can’t come soon enough, but we do expect to see the increased volumes in Spring 2011”