Orders for new machinery and tooling have been placed and building work could start as early as next month, with commissioning expected in July.
Ridgeons said the £1.2m investment was designed to meet growing demand for its machined timber products from the 25 Ridgeons branches and third-party customers.
The Herringswell mill already operates two lines, with one featuring a resaw and Weinig Powermat 2000 moulder. This line increased output to two shifts last year.
Now Ridgeons has turned again to Weinig, with the order of a Waco BK60 band resaw, to add resawing capability to its other line, as well as upgrading tooling to the line’s moulder and the addition of bundling and packaging technology.
"We plan to run both lines on two shifts and dramatically increase our capacity," said Jem Slee, Ridgeons general manager.
As well as increased capacity, the move is designed to give more flexibility in machining operations.
