Summary
• There is a “heavy commercial push to go green”.
• ISO 9001 has played a key part in achieving FSC and PEFC approval.
• Turnover is expected to reach £1m in 2008.

Achieving both Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification schemes (PEFC) chain of custody approval has proved a big success for Quality Timber Decking (QTD) Ltd.

“We have definitely received calls because we are certified,” said director Sandra Sidey.

QTD was started in 2000 by managing director Chris Sidey as a residential deck building firm, offering bespoke garden solutions to one-off customers. Since then, the company has expanded from a one-man band to a team of eight, offering a range of decking and outdoor structures for residential and commercial clients alike. Products in its range include decking, balconies, boardwalks, balustrades, bridges, bicycle storage buildings and play houses.

These have been installed at several high-profile developments, including Legoland Windsor, a number of projects for Microsoft, the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust visitor centre near Welsey in Norfolk, and The Hamptons development in Worcester Park, Surrey, and feature a range of types of wood, including QTD’s key materials Brazilian ipe and Finnish Thermowood.

Demand

Over the same period, the demand from customers to supply environmentally-friendly products built from sustainable materials has grown significantly. “We were getting more and more enquiries about certified timber and the need to know its origin,” said Mrs Sidey.

Architects are one key group that she highlights as being in need of proof of sustainability. “There is huge pressure on them to design for sustainability and specifying materials which have been legally and responsibly sourced is a key part of that,” she said.

This led the Berkshire-based business to turn to BM TRADA to secure FSC and PEFC chain of custody certification, which was achieved on April 30, 2007.

“There is a heavy commercial push to go green and we wanted to be at the forefront of this in the timber industry,” said Mrs Sidey. She added that the process had proved to be easy, as QTD had already undertaken much of the work required by BM TRADA when it went for ISO 9001 accreditation.

“As we are ISO certified we had the majority of the processes in place and they just needed updating in places,” she said. “Because we had put a lot of effort in upfront, when the BM TRADA inspector came out we only had a few minor discrepancies to address before certification was awarded.”

Customer relations

And, added Mrs Sidey, ISO 9001 accreditation has helped QTD to improve its customer relations and meet the requirements of their tendering processes. “It has helped us to win large contracts in the commercial market as large companies have made it part of their tendering process and it makes them feel more comfortable that we have strong admin support,” she said.

QTD also holds membership to the Guild of Master Craftsmen, which required six independent customers to review its products and quality of service.

Further certification is to go on the back burner while the company looks to develop a new eco-friendly workshop, which Mrs Sidey said would be as “self-contained as possible”.

Although it’s too early to assess the financial impact of the certificates, which were on show on QTD’s stand at the Grand Designs Live and Home Building and Renovating exhibitions, Mrs Sidey said they have opened up new markets and extended the company’s customer base. This, she said, would help rack up sales in excess of £1m in 2008 and allow further growth.

“People care about the environment and do want to work with suppliers who can demonstrate their green credentials,” she said.