The UK timber industry is enjoying “unprecedented” trading conditions due to a growing fashion for wood products and the good financial health of the sector’s key customer base, a leading executive has told TTJ.
Nick Howarth, managing director of Leeds-based Howarth Timber Group Ltd, said the principal construction, housing and repair, maintenance and improvement markets had been growing since the late 1990s.
Added to this, he said companies had moved into new growth areas such as decking, timber frame housing, I-beams and fully finished timber windows.
Mr Howarth said he had noticed a difference in outlook between wood product companies and other material sectors while sitting on Construction Products Association meetings in his role as president of the British Woodworking Federation.
“Other product manufacturers have not been as upbeat as timber-based companies. I believe it’s been a particularly good time for timber products,” he said.
And he expects current momentum to deliver good figures for the present financial year. He said Howarth recorded a 14% sales growth in 2003 and predicted a double-digit increase again for 2004.
Mr Howarth believes the “double whammy” of customer growth and the popularity of wood for aesthetic and environmental reasons will continue.
However, he warned there was a question mark about the industry’s business propsects from about April 2005 when the full effect of interest rate rises could be felt. He said there was also a likelihood that after the election the government would cut back on public sector construction to control expenditure.
