Sawmill finds its niche thanks to boom in roads investment

摘要

Charles Ransford, the Shropshire-based timber business, values quality relationships and investment in future-proof technology as key to successThere has been a timber business on the site of the Ransfords Sawmill in Bishop's Castle since 1876, when steam locomotion was the last word in technology. Almost 140 years later, and thanks to massive investment in recent years, it is widely regarded asone of the most advanced and progressive sawmills of its kind, processing around 75,000 tonnes of logs each year, producing 45,000m~3 per annum of sawn timber - mainly for the fencing market. 70% of the timber processed is derived from the more naturally durable redwoods, the main species used being Douglas fir, larch and spruce. All of it is sourced from sustainably managed UK forests.Like many businesses in the sector, Ransfords' journey has had its ups and downs. Financial problems in the 1970s saw the ownership of the mill pass from the Ransford family to the Evans family, local people who took on the huge debts as well as the name. The debts were paid off and the work of rebuilding the business began in earnest in the 1980s.