A prominent Scottish timber frame manufacturer has established a production presence in Northern Ireland and is already reporting “a healthy order book”.
Scotframe Timber Engineering (STE) is aiming to achieve a first-year turnover of more than £5m at its new facility in Hillsborough, County Down. The new division, known as Scotframe Timber Engineering (NI) Ltd, is targeting its production initially at builders and developers in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, although STE also sees potential for expansion in the self-build sector.
According to STE sales director Mike Cruickshank, his company had identified significant growth opportunities in the Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland markets some time ago. “There was a good potential order book and a lack of good timber frame manufacturers across there,” he said. “We felt Scottish expertise would fill a niche in the market place. We have already built a good reputation in Scotland and England for a quality product at a reasonable price.” STE started in Aberdeen in 1988 before moving its headquarters to purpose-built premises in Inverurie. A second factory was established three years ago at Cumbernauld in Scotland’s central belt. These two facilities now command annual sales of more than £19m – equivalent to around 1,500 timber frame units – with approaching 10% of this business sourced south of the border. The latest production venture in Northern Ireland “gives us total coverage of the UK and Ireland, so it is a natural progression having already developed from Scotland into England,” commented Mr Cruickshank.
Employing 20 people, the Hillsborough plant has a local management team but is being overseen from Scotland.
