He prized home and family above all else, and he and his wife Lesley shared over 30 years of happy marriage. An inspirational father to their sons Dan and Josh, Rob brought a ready smile and genuine interest to everything in life.

He was a loyal supporter of Stoke City Football Club – which he frequently reminded everyone – and his zest for getting things done and exploring new ideas made him one of the trade’s most influential figures.

His appetite for exploration included Egyptology: his hunch that the Egyptian desert contained unidentified and proto-pyramids was recently proved correct by satellite imaging from space.

Having enjoyed woodworking at school, after ‘O’ levels Rob wanted to become a joiner but was offered an apprenticeship in wood pattern-making at a local Bedford engineering firm. He greatly valued his early experiences of shaping wood, and his natural feel for the material stayed with him throughout his life.

Deciding to change course, in 1984 Rob joined Howarth Timber Importers as a trainee sales representative. He went on to become southern sales manager and eventually sales director in 1994. In Rob’s words he was “very proud” to have played a part in the continuing success of a respected family-led business.

“Rob was a person of great integrity, passion and humour: one of the good guys,” said managing director Andrew Howarth. “He was 17 years with us, from coming on board as a trainee sales rep to his time as sales director. I consider myself fortunate to have worked with Rob. His death is a tragedy.”

Rob eventually moved on to become managing director of SCA Timber’s UK operations in early 2000. He brought with him a commitment to timber training that became a hallmark of his career, from initiating timber trade training courses to sponsoring the TTJ Career Development Award from 2003.

Asked by then Timber Trade Federation president Geoff Rhodes in 2004 to chair the nascent TTF Education, Training & Careers Committee, Rob helped to bring the industry together to create its first careers promotion campaign.

TTJ editor Mike Jeffree said Rob’s passion for training came through in his support for the TTJ Career Development Award. “Not only was he instrumental in its creation, he took his role as a judge very seriously, and was always excited by the enthusiasm entrants showed for the timber sector,” he said.

In Rob’s role as managing director at SCA Timber Supply, his revolutionary enthusiasm for challenging long-espoused business methods was evident to everyone who met him.

“Rob’s loss has deeply touched all of us at SCA, to whom he was both friend and colleague,” said the company’s UK chairman Anders Ek. “Our thoughts are now with his family, whose kindness and dignity have been an inspiration to us all throughout this difficult time.”