You will have read, elsewhere in this edition, of the successful entrants and winners at the 2024 TTJ Awards, held at a prestigious event in London in September (see pp22-27). As well as at that ceremony, some award winners and entrants had got together previously at James Jones & Son’s Lockerbie sawmill, in search of education and skills. James Jones & Sons was to go on to win the Softwood Trader of the Year – Sawmiller of the Year, category at the TTJ Awards.

“We see education as an important part of what we do at Lockerbie and the wider James Jones Group, so have invested in facilities to enhance the delivery of sitebased learning,” said Rob McKenna, James Jones & Sons mill manager.

“We recognise the importance of reaching groups from both within and outside the UK forest and timber processing supply chains, to increase awareness of and build competence in the specification and use of UK timber. Regular visitors to the site include groups from a range of academic institutions, as well as customers, suppliers, training providers and specifiers.”

Also on the tour were delegates from Arbor Forest Products, which was shortlisted in the TTJ Softwood Trader – Importer of the Year award category.

“It was a real eye-opener to complement the work we did in the classroom (with Woodexperts’ Level Award in Timber Studies) on sawmilling and primary processing. You cannot get across the scale, sounds and smells of the real thing with just a PowerPoint,” said a spokesperson.

Another winner, this time of the TTJ Awards Timber Innovation Prize, was from WJ Group, Hull, specialists in timber engineering and treatment services. He agreed, saying: “The tour was very enlightening.

“Having the chance to see the whole process of producing packs of timber from locally sourced logs was great. The site itself is an impressive out­t and being shown round in the order in which the logs are processed gives you a better understanding of each processing stage.

“We would like to say a huge thank you to Neil Ryan and Woodexperts for organising it,” he added.

Also shortlisted, in the Career Development (over 25 Category) Award this year, was Peter Conway of Integrated Doorsets, Nottinghamshire. He successfully completed his Award Qualification in Timber Studies, with Distinction, and has achieved promotion, since visiting the sawmill as part of another group earlier in the year.

This group included students from James Latham, winners of the TTJ Awards Hardwood Trader of the Year, the Career Development (over 25) category (Mateusz Miczek), the Excellence in Marketing category and also the overall winners of the coveted TTJ Timber Trader of the Year.

“The tour by the Woodexperts students to the James Jones & Sons sawmill was organised as part of the Wood Science course the team have been embarking on throughout the year, led by expert instructor Neil Ryan,” said Jim Coulson, Woodexperts’ director.

“Afterwards they returned to the offices where they continued by learning about joinery timber and its applications in construction, such as doors and frames, windows, stairparts and roof trusses.

“We too would like to add our thanks to the team at James Jones for the tour, and their hospitality.”