BSW Timber has completed a £2.75m investment in planing facilities as part of a drive to grow its value-added timber market share.
The company has also announced a £220,000 spend on plant monitoring systems for all its UK sawmills.
BSW has installed in-line planing technology at its sawmills in Newbridge-on-Wye, Carlisle and Fort William, allowing it to treble production of the Easi-Edge product range to about 150,000m3 per year.
Paul Barham, BSW Timber chief executive, said increasing the production of Easi-Edge was in response to growing customer demand for a more sophisticated end-product.
He said: “The market for sawn timber is changing. Customers, especially from the construction industry, are now seeking a smoother and easier to handle product like Easi-Edge which has a precision machine finish rather than just rough product.”
BSW’s planing investment also includes extraction systems and other technology to improve health and safety, plus environmental performance. Integrated blade sharpening systems are designed to maximise the quality and delivery of Easi-Edge, which is kiln-dried and strength graded.
Meanwhile, the plant monitoring system investment will enable product flow to be monitored automatically at Fort William, Boat of Garten, Newbridge, Petersmuir, Carlisle and Senghenydd. Tascomp will implement the technology using Prodigy software.
BSW said the equipment will result in greater levels of sustainability at the mills through better operating efficiency, as well as improved product quality and value for money for customers.
