Roger Brownill, managing director of PETAL, delved into his briefcase and pulled out a moulding sample. “Beautiful isn’t it,” he said with conviction. The object in question was oak skirting from Malaysia and he wasn’t just referring to the way it looked. The beauty was more than skin deep.
He turned the moulding over to reveal a patchwork of tropical hardwood. “You see it’s an American white oak veneer laid on finger-jointed mixed offcuts which previously would have been waste. The laminated core makes it very stable and the veneer is paper-backed so it follows detailed contours without cracking. What you’ve got is a high performance product with a strong environmental story.”
From this you’d probably gather that Mr Brownill enjoys his work. It’s partly, he explained, because he’s working with a “great team of people” and because, 16 years after he and his management buyout partners, including deputy managing director Mike Bennie and director John Taylor, acquired Lancaster-based PETAL from Magnet, he still relishes “making the deal”. But his interest is also kept alive by the latest product and market developments, particularly in mouldings which make up 60-70% of the company’s turnover (other products include rough sawn hardwoods, flooring and engineered wood products).
“Environmental issues are a challenge, but the Far Eastern producers who supply most of our mouldings are finding solutions and technically they are now among the most advanced in the world,” he said.
Mouldings innovations
PETAL stays abreast of the latest mouldings innovations by visiting its suppliers regularly and also by constantly tracking down new contacts worldwide.
“We trade with a relatively small number of producers at any one time, but keep in touch with around 100 throughout the Far East,” said Mr Brownill. “It means we can turn on new sources in response to market developments.”
The evolution of the PETAL mouldings range is, of course, shaped by demand from customers. And the latter, who it services from 1,000m3 of stock held at Liverpool, Tilbury and Bristol, comprise chiefly importers and distributors and the bigger end users.
But the selection of product is also influenced by what manufacturers offer. “We’re always looking for new products, but we’ll also go to suppliers with a cutting list and say if this results in anything else from the log, we’ll consider taking it as well; we aim to be an attractive purchaser.”
Mr Brownill admits PETAL has made the occasional product selection blooper. “Our decision to import coconut timber for furniture frames wasn’t the best,” he said. “When it was dried, the sapwood was soft as anything, while the heartwood was like concrete. The upholsterers’ staples shot through the softwood and ricocheted off the heartwood like bullets!”
The latest additions to PETAL’s mouldings, however, look more promising. One is in Far East plantation-grown Honduran mahogany (which is available rough sawn too). “Because the trees are only 60-80 years old you can’t get very large cutting specifications, but it’s the real thing and £4-5/ft3 less than mahogany from South America,” said Mr Brownill. “We’ve got exclusivity in the UK and Ireland and sold the first shipment to a London importer.”
PETAL, which achieved FSC chain of custody last year, has also taken on dark red meranti and nyatoh mouldings from an FSC-certified Indonesian sawmill. “The same company supplies B&Q with hardwood garden furniture, so we’re confident about their credentials,” said Mr Brownill.
Philippines lauan mouldings, he added, are also now part of the PETAL portfolio. “The Philippines has been out of the picture because of its environmental record, but the industry is now very tightly controlled, with only 10 or so companies licensed to export, and one supplier expects to achieve FSC certification this year.”
Other key products in the PETAL range include angelim pedra and selangan batu decking and Malaysian rubberwood-based, white primed MDF mouldings “with a finish like glass”. It also sources the parana pine substitute agathis from Sabah which is gaining a following in both the UK and Ireland.
Expansion potential
Next to join the line-up will be Douglas fir and hemlock products which Mr Brownill discovered recently on his first foray to China, and he sees potential for further expansion in PETAL’s Malaysian wrapped mouldings (which can also use a plantation species core). “Using veneers, from American white oak to African sapele, we can offer mouldings from around the world from one supply area.”
As for PETAL as a whole, Mr Brownill believes the time is right to look for further development through some sort of synergy with another UK or overseas timber operation, even a merger. But that doesn’t mean he’s ready to wind down his globetrotting hunt for hardwood and mouldings opportunities just yet.
“I’m still enjoying the business too much for that,” he said, “and it’s better than today’s pension plans!”
