Nick Meyer has seen a few things in the timber trade.
He headed up the UK’s largest timber trading company during the early 1980s – Meyer International – with an annual turnover of more than £500m, while today he leads Consolidated Timber Holdings (CTH) – a group which today has an annual turnover in excess of £100m. He is also on the board of Accoya modified wood developer Accsys Technologies plc.
Mr Meyer has seen first hand how modern communication methods and timber handling technologies revolutionised the trade. He has witnessed the change in industry structures and seen a myriad of both challenging and booming UK economic cycles over six decades.
We met at CTH’s Shepperton offices. Large maps of sawmills in Canada and the Nordic countries adorn the walls, while his large wooden desk – once his father John’s at the former Meyer head office at Villiers House on the Strand – is a striking feature.
Family background
We start our conversation talking about the Meyer family’s history in the timber trade.
It began when his grandfather Montague "Monty" Meyer was a teenager and the family were fur traders in Bristol and the City of London.
"When he was 15, his mother was playing bridge with timber importer Louis Bamberger," said Mr Meyer.
"She told him Montague was a capable young man and would do well."
So Montague joined the Bambergers business selling timber.
"When he was 25 he suggested to Mr Bamberger that he be made a partner in the business," said Mr Meyer.
"Mr Bamberger’s son laughed at this and they apparantly had a bit of a fight about it."
His break came when a cigar merchant offered him a £2,000 loan to start a timber business, leading to the establishment of Montague L Meyer (MLM) in 1906.
He took his brother Percy and friend Bertie Williams into the partnership in 1910, becoming a limited company in 1919 and a plc in 1928, dealing mainly in softwood and plywood. The business grew over subsequent decades and moved several times, including to Palmerston House and Villiers House in London.
Nick Meyer’s involvement started in 1962, first as a stevedore, before working a stint at a timber door factory near Bordeaux and then entering the softwood trading department at MLM’s Strand offices, becoming a rep for the East Anglia area.
Industry changing
Mr Meyer’s arrival in the timber trade coincided with the move towards mechanical handling (forklifts and sideloaders). Packaged timber was replacing piece-by-piece shipment and the method of distribution was also changing.
"That had a knock-on effect with people, with companies getting more verticallyintegrated," he said. "The whole aspect of agents, brokers, merchanting and importing was changing very dramatically."
A notable moment came in 1966 with MLM’s formation of a joint venture with Macmillan Bloedel – called Macmillan Bloedel Meyer (MBM) – to efficiently distribute North American timber in the UK.
Another was the takeover of merchanting chain Gabriel, Wade and English, which had about 70 branches.
"In 1971-79 we made a large number of acquisitions, including a significant number of merchant businesses all around the country. We were manufacturing doors and windows, panel products and timber frame (Guildway)."
Mr Meyer eventually took over the reigns as managing director after his father’s death in 1979.
He remembers fondly the days at Villiers House.
"It was very exciting. I still remember an old timber trader when I was at the Strand offices saying to me: ‘Nick, no two pieces of timber are the same and no two days are the same.’"
The high interest rates and rapid fall in housebuilding of the late 1970s and early 1980s led to industry over-capacity, casualties and the need for rationalisation.
The result was a merger between MLM and International Timber Corporation in 1982.
At the time the merged company – Meyer International plc – had about 10,000 staff around the world, with company accounts showing a turnover of £536m in 1983, and profit of £21.5m.
His tenure with the company ended in 1985 when he left after a "disagreement" with the chairman.
"It was at a time when some of the group companies were beginning to suffer and it was decided to spin some of the businesses off."
"I was a very good buyer of companies but not a good seller. I did not want to see the business diluted."
After leaving, Mr Meyer had thoughts of "sitting on a beach somewhere" or doing some farming.
But a combination of backing from a merchant banker and the desire of friend and former colleague Mike Bacon to set up a new company led to the birth of Compass Forest Products on March 8, 1985 at Mr Meyer’s house at 24 Kensington Park Road.
With support from overseas mills, the operation managed to penetrate the existing powerful hierarchy of agents and importers.
Steady growth saw the company set up Falcon Panel Products, acquire MBM and take over a number of other companies under the CTH banner.
Mr Meyer identified the structural change in the industry and modern telecommunications as the two major changes he has seen in the trade.
He said the improved financial strength of importers in the 1950s-1970s meant they did not have to depend so much on agents/ brokers who had enjoyed a very powerful position for hundreds of years.
Then the advent of modern telecommunications further underlined the change.
"I remember the first fax machine in 1984 and the first mobile phone. I was at the bottom of Villiers Street in my car and called my secretary at the office in Villiers House.
"But the essence of trading has not changed. There still has to be a willing buyer and seller at the end of the day."
Mr Meyer also highlighted globalisation in the timber trade as a key change.
"People have to realise that today the UK is a very small cog in the world timber industry.
"You have to look at the global market – North Africa, the US and China are all larger consumers of timber.
"If you looked at the Scandinavian producers 30 years ago they would not be selling outside Europe or North Africa. But now it’s also the US and China and that’s a big change.
"This will have more and more impact as time goes on but I think in the future we will also see much more use being made of engineered wood products.
"You can do anything you want to with engineered and modified wood. This will take the place of competitor materials."
The future
"I think the timber industry has had wonderful opportunities in the past and also at this precise moment in time. Wood is a unique renewable resource.
"But the most important thing we must do is increase the per capita consumption of wood products in this country.
"One of the ways this is going to happen is by the industry trade associations getting together into one body.
"I still think the concept of a confederation containing everyone’s interests is the way to go."
He is very encouraged by the development of the Confederation of Timber Industries (CTI) – which launched on June 10.
In terms of the UK economy, Mr Meyer is largely positive about prospects. "If someone had said to me 20 years ago that we would have interest rates at virtually 0% I would have laughed.
"I think the UK economy has done well over the last couple of years in terms of economic growth and house building and construction in general. I think we have a couple of good years ahead of us."
And what about advice for the next generation of timber traders?
"Always treat people the way you want to be treated yourselves. Always remember that things are not quite as good as you think, but not as bad as they might be."
"I would also say to a young person that at some stage they will be faced with a difficulty. Always plan for the worst which will allow you to deal with it, but also hope for the best."
And to the wider industry he counselled: "Everyone should remember that it’s all in the margin. Anyone can make money when things are good but making money when things are difficult is really important."
"And never be frightened of employing people who are better than you are."
He said one of the industry’s biggest problems is the lack of sufficient numbers of good and able people employed in it.
"I personally think the industry has as good a future at this moment in time as I have ever seen.
"There is a reasonably stable UK economy and houses are being built, so timber products have to be consumed. I am also optimistic because of the technical development of new products."
Personal Profile: Nick Meyer
He has been married for 43 years, has two daughters and lives in central London. He enjoys spending time in Mullion Cove, Cornwall, where he is involved in the community. A keen rugby fan (Old Cranleighans) and golfer, he is also a member of various livery companies including the Furniture Makers’ Company.
He is involved in the Docklands Settlements charity, which runs three community centres on the Isle of Dogs, Rotherhithe and Stratford. In his spare time he likes reading political or historical books.
