Entering Timber Connection’s boardroom at its head office in Ware, Hertfordshire, you are met with a large, new, beautiful, sweeping black walnut meeting table and a distinctive new wood grain company logo.

The additions are symbolic of a period of renewal which the company has undergone during the last five years in its distribution operations, customer service and business planning.

Managing director Danny Catherall said despite successful growth at the hardwood importer and distributor since it was established in 1991, he realised a different approach was needed when sales plateaued at £25m.

“We recognised we needed a change in strategy and I felt we had to take the business to another level. We were a typical family business with a trader type attitude.

“We did not have a plan as such but the company kept growing. We were ‘sharp traders’ and did not have the relationships with importer and merchant customers we should have had.”

And after decades of trading and seemingly no time to take stock and be proactive, Mr Catherall wanted to move away from the day-to-day running of the company and look at the bigger picture.

Acknowledging the need for new, outside assistance, Mr Catherall appointed Keeley Baker as commercial director five years ago. Her background included long service with Saint-Gobain, chalking up 10 years with International Timber and seven years with International Decorative Services.

She spent initial months visiting customers and asking them questions to see how the company was perceived in the marketplace.

“Timber Connection was known as a typical male dominated importer, with assertive hardwood traders,” said Ms Baker.

“Customers wanted more clarity on products, such as the timber’s origin and specific productions.

“We started to improve our communication, becoming more transparent and changed how we presented the stockholding to the trade.”

A key element was establishing a Good – Better – Best product portfolio, offering value for money depending on customer requirements.

Also, a new fresh approach to succession and future-proofing has seen the company recruit several trainees to mentor alongside existing experienced staff, with the addition of more female staff achieving a more balanced gender ratio.

Kirkby Distribution Centre
High on Timber Connection’s wish list was a new warehouse operation.

It previously kept stock at Rainham and at the Port of Liverpool, which had resulted in a disjointed operation with some logistics inefficiencies and dual handling.

So in 2017 the company linked up with logistics group 3TL to move its stock to a 150,000ft2 undercover storage site in Kirkby, previously used by former Liverpool timber importer Vincent Murphy.

The message behind the move was that customers could depend on Timber Connection for all their requirements from one site.

A big investment in stock has seen the value of the company’s stockholding grow from around £7-8m five years ago to about £12m this year.

“Many people do not realise the breadth of products we have here,” added Ms Baker.

About 40% of overall stock is North American hardwood, with 30% split equally between European and West African hardwoods.

The balance is mainly Far Eastern hardwood and high-end clear-grade softwoods from Europe and North America.

American black walnut is one of 30 timber species stocked and is a specialism of Timber Connection, with over 500m3 of premium grade production.

European oak stocks have been reduced over the past 12 months due to price increases and restrictive specifications, with UK customers wanting long and wide sections typically available in American white oak.

“West African trade is very strong for us,” said Mr Catherall, with bulk sales of sapele, iroko and utile, especially on FSC and thirdparty accredited stock.

“Sapele is in good demand and there are shortages in the market,” he added, “When it comes to the hardwood trade we believe we’re a market leader,” said Mr Catherall.

“In comparison to some we have a small customer base, but in terms of market share of the hardwood trade by volume we are one of the biggest in the UK.”

Lignia Distribution Deal
One of the most exciting developments at Timber Connection is its recent five-year exclusive agreement with modified wood producer Lignia Wood Company Ltd to distribute the latter’s Lignia modified wood in the UK and the Republic of Ireland. The product is the first modified wood brand to be manufactured in the UK (in Wales).

Mr Catherall believes Lignia will open the doors to a wider customer audience. Timber Connection has taken delivery of its first shipment of Lignia.

“We are taking thin sizes to start with, aimed at the flooring, decking and cladding markets. We will be looking at thicker material later in 2019.”

New Image
With all these background changes and improvements implemented to turn the company into a more progressive, modern customer-focused operation, it became apparent that the existing brand needed updating too.

An external brand and communication specialist spent a period of time contacting clients and worked with the company to form a new set of core values based on the customer feedback they had gained.

With the staff seen as such a great strength of the company, a well-known photographer was hired to humanise the brand, recording images showing personnel in a natural, authentic setting.

A new logo came last. “It was not change for the sake of change,” explained Mr Catherall.

“The logo and identity now truly reflects what we see internally,” added Ms Baker. “By making this investment in the rebrand it demonstrates we are confident to be here and speaks of longevity.”

History and Future
Mr Catherall said the company had come a long way since its early roots, when it was established as a small timber broker back in 1991.

He was 25 at the time having gained invaluable experience working in a hardwood timber yard for a few years before joining the sales team at one of the largest timber agent and brokers at the time.

Timber Connection’s early break came after a couple of years when it purchased a large amount of distressed stock (30 loads of West African hardwood) from Northern Ireland.

“At the time it was our biggest commitment by far but we profited well from it and invested it back into timber stock.”

Today the business has a £36m turnover, with a goal of breaking past the £50m mark in the coming years, especially with the contribution from Lignia.

Mr Catherall says the continuing Brexit saga should not hold any great fears and he doesn’t foresee any problems with the company’s supply lines.

“Typically, in uncertain times we benefit because buyers prefer to buy little and often rather than committing too far ahead. Going forward I think the market should remain pretty stable” he said.

“With the improvements we have made as a company we pride ourselves on our service, efficiency and that we are easy to do business with,” Ms Baker added.