Companies need to be hungry enough in order to succeed in the current market, according to specialist timber importer Richard Wilson.
Mr Wilson, chairman of RH Wilson (Lakes) Ltd, a specialty redwood importer/grader and supplier of packing industry timber, said belt tightening had got the company through the worst of recession and now more staff were being employed and salaries returned to normal.
“Demand from the pallet and packaging industry has remained good throughout these recessionary times and sales of redwood have showed a dramatic improvement since the beginning of 2009,” he said.
“The company is now producing good results and making up lost ground.”
He said trading was not easy, with margins being eroded due to the increase in replacement prices, “but there is still plenty of business out there for those that are hungry enough”.
Mr Wilson said the Kendal-based business had experienced a couple of difficult years immediately preceding the recession while under different ownership.
He originally started the business in 1993, building it into a £1.7m turnover company before selling the redwood side, serving joinery manufacturers and the furniture component sector, in 2004 with a view to retirement.
In 2007, Mr Wilson resumed control of RH Wilson (Lakes) Ltd, which had got into financial trouble, and reintegrated his successful packaging timber business. Two redundancies were made as recession hit and all staff took a 10% wage cut, but Swedish sawmill suppliers maintained their support.
Now, Mr Wilson said, there was no stopping the upward trend.
“There are ingredients to making a company successful. It’s the same running a corner shop as it is ICI – the principles are there and if you have the right people in place any company can be a success even in bad times.”
