When judged by its importance to the industry as a whole, the annual TTJ Career Development Award is vital. Covering two age categories, under- and over-25, it clearly demonstrates that people working within the timber sector see it as a long-term and viable career choice that offers meaningful opportunities.

Glennon Brothers also recognises this, not only with its continued sponsorship but also with the follow up visit to Ireland for the finalists to gain an insight on how the company and wider Irish forestry and timber industries operate and flourish.

This year Ryan Smith from Lathams, Josh Sambrook-Jones from Clifford Jones Timber Group and Gareth Nicholls from Saint-Gobain Building Distribution flew out to Cork to meet the directors and staff from Glennon Brothers, as well as representatives from Coillte and Enterprise Ireland.

First stop on the itinerary was to visit a forestry site operated by Glennon Brothers to see the raw material being selected, cut, stripped and prepared for delivery to the mill.

Working as a team of two, the contractors on site are given a cut list detailing the logs required. These are selected, felled and cut to length by the driver of the John Deere tractor unit, which is fitted with a standard felling head. The prepared logs are then picked up and loaded onto the trailer by the other contractor on site. The duo is paid according to the weight of logs reaching the mill.

Having many years of experience in the forestry business they make the operation look effortlessly slick and efficient.

On to the Glennon Brothers sawmill at Fermoy we get to see the logs being processed and sorted in preparation for their onward journey through the mill operation. Every stage of the process takes place on site and it is a real privilege to be able to witness the entire progression from raw material to finished sawn and packaged timber.

Joint managing directors, Pat Glennon and Mike Glennon have invested heavily in this sawmill as well as the company’s other locations. The brothers also operate locations in Longford in Ireland and Troon and Windymains in Scotland with a total capital investment of €115m, resulting in a total sales volume of just under 500,000m3 and generating an annual turnover of around €150m across the business.

It takes in an average of 130 loads of logs every day and processes this into 58 loads of sawn timber, 37 loads of wood chips, 17 loads of sawdust, 4.5 loads of bark and 1.5 loads of butt chip. In addition to this, an equivalent of nine loads of sawdust and butt chip are consumed daily for the on-site kilns. Nothing goes to waste.

After the tour of the Fermoy sawmill the award finalists and other guests were treated to a tour and tasting session at the Jameson whiskey distillery before being dropped off at the Castlemartyr resort for our overnight stay and where the directors of Glennon Brothers joined us for a drinks reception and dinner.

Mike Glennon gave a very enlightening talk on Glennon Brothers, the Irish timber sector in general and the wider economy in the Republic of Ireland and how it relates to the entire British Isles.

The forest products sector in Ireland employs 12,000 people with a value to the Irish economy being close to €2.3bn and with exports totalling €450m. The Irish sawmilling industry has invested over €200m to create a very modern business.

“Fifteen per cent of the world’s infant formula milk is made in Ireland and 40% of the world’s fleet of leased aircraft is managed from Ireland. We are the largest exporters of beef in Europe and fifth in the world.

“Ireland is also home to the top 10 pharmaceutical companies and hosts eight of the top global IT companies, including Apple, Microsoft, Amazon and Google. In 2019 GDP was up 4%, making Ireland one of the fastest growing economies.”

Mr Glennon went on to describe the importance of the UK/Irish relationship with the UK being the destination for 40% of exports.

“Over half of the output from Irish sawmills is exported, with 95% of that going to the UK,” he said. “Ninety per cent of panel products are exported with over two-thirds going to the UK. The UK is the largest importer of wood and timber in Europe.

“Given the importance of transport costs on the sector, the likely delays at borders and ports will inevitably lead to increased costs for timber. This is not just an issue for Ireland but for every Eurozone country exporting to the UK.

“While panel products are likely to carry a post-Brexit tariff, sawn timber is expected to remain tariff-free.

“Whatever the future holds, the Irish sawmilling industry has always been committed to the UK and this will not change.

We have overcome massive challenges before and I am confident that if we work together, we can do it again,” he concluded.

MDF manufacture

A visit to the MEDITE factory in Clonmel, courtesy of Coillte, was scheduled for the following day. The company was acquired by Coillte, Ireland’s state forest company, in 2006. Since then it has developed into a facility with a capacity of over 410,000m3. MEDITE offers 10 different families of MDF with numerous possible variations in spec. Most is exported, with the UK being the main market.

Much as with the visit to Glennon’s Fermoy sawmill, our tour of the Clonmel plant saw raw materials in the form of logs and sawdust being delivered, through to MDF being dispatched, and every process along the way.

Award Finalists’ Reaction

Speaking about the TTJ Career Development Award, Gareth Nicholls, timber support manager for Saint-Gobain Building Distribution said: “I decided to move into the timber industry after working in branch management for 17 years as I needed a fresh challenge and timber has always interested me. My role as a timber support manager involves coaching colleagues and developing their knowledge of the timber industry. I am in a position to pass on the knowledge I have gained, so in many ways I am a case-study for the in-house training courses.

“It was a surprise to have even been considered for an award, so I am very proud to have won. I really enjoyed the TTJ Awards ceremony and meeting like-minded ‘Woodentops’. It was my first time at this kind of event and I am keen to return.

“It’s great that TTJ has a Career Development Award to recognise fresh talent that will ensure the continued success of the timber industry. It is clear that Glennon Brothers is passionate about the award, and I am very grateful for its hospitality during my recent visit to Ireland.”

“The award has not changed anything for my job yet but going forward, to have it noted down on my CV is something that will stand out and benefit me in the long run,” said Ryan Smith, purchase ledger clerk for James Latham.

“I really enjoyed my trip to Ireland. It was an eye-opening experience in understanding the process of how timber starts as trees to what is sold to customers and the huge array of machine intensive work that goes into achieving this.”