Acquisitive pallet manufacturer Scott Timber Group (STG) has bought Widnes-based Hammond Pallets out of receivership for an undisclosed sum, thereby securing the jobs of 40 local staff.

The deal, which includes a £1.6m Italian-made Corali pallet-making machine capable of producing seven units a minute, will give STG substantially increased production capacity in an area which it regards as having “significant development potential”. The operation will trade under the Scott Timber banner.

Managing director John Scott said: “Hammond has an experienced workforce, a diverse range of customers, state-of-the-art equipment and it is in an excellent geographical location for future growth. By applying the same efficiency model that we have applied elsewhere, Hammond has all the ingredients to come back stronger than ever.” STG acquired Combine Pallets last year and has since “turned a loss-making business into a profitable one that is growing all the time”, he added.

This latest acquisition increases STG’s annual turnover to more than £40m and puts the group “well on course to achieve last year’s projection of £50m within the next three to five years”, it stated.

&#8220By applying the same efficiency model that we have applied elsewhere, Hammond has all the ingredients to come back stronger than ever”

STG managing director John Scott

Meanwhile, STG has clinched a new three-year deal worth £2.5m with Marley Building Materials Ltd to provide a manufacturing and repair service for the customer’s eight UK sites. Under the deal, which extends an existing seven-year relationship between the companies, STG rents site space from Marley and carries out operations on its premises, leading to “substantial logistics savings through lower haulage costs”.

STG currently produces over 700,000 pallets a year for Marley as well as carrying out a full repair service.