Timcon‘S warning followed the news that pallet manufacturer WH Shaw & Son has gone into administration.
The Saddleworth company, whose roots can be traced back to 1876, entered administration after suffering cash flow difficulties.
TIMCON executive secretary Stuart Hex said it was “regrettable” that such a long-established company had gone into administration.
“UK pallet manufacturers are currently facing a very challenging time due to substantial increases in the price of timber and energy, which is putting a much bigger financing requirement on them,” said Mr Hex. “In addition, clients are demanding ISPM 15-compliant products and a highly responsive service to meet their changing needs. This requires pallet manufacturers to invest heavily in automated machinery, pallet drying capacity and sharply more expensive stocks of raw material and finished products.”
TIMCON warned during the summer that rising timber prices would lead to higher pallet and packaging prices.
WH Shaw & Son’s administrators Kroll Corporate Advisory & Restructuring Group says the company was unlikely to remain trading beyond about November 17. “Unfortunately, it’s unlikely that we are going to sell the business as a going concern,” said Kroll’s David Whitehouse.
Eighteen staff who were already working out redundancy notices were told they were no longer needed. A further 14 have been made redundant, leaving about 12 remaining on site.
