Garden and landscaping timber specialist M&M Timber has taken delivery of a heavyweight load handler to speed up output.

The Volvo L60E wheel loader, which has joined two other similar units at Kidderminster-based M&M, is part of the company’s £100,000 investment programme designed to meet increasing demands from the retail industry.

The L60E has been recruited to handle tons of timber at the sawmills.

Earlier this year M&M bought a Tec-Norton peeling machine and technology for assembling and fastening square-cut trellis panels.

Managing director Nigel Poyner said: “Demand for our garden and landscaping products is now such that we are having to replace many of the traditional manufacturing processes with high speed automation to keep pace.”

Mr Poyner said up to 15 jobs had been created in production and administration since the start of the year.

The company’s garden products range has attracted more than £1.5m of sales in the first year since launch and already accounts for a third of the company’s annual turnover.