The Clevedon company, established in 1920, has carried out extensive refurbishment to the new branch in Tweed Road to provide offices, a sawmill, shop area and warehousing.
It has also installed a computer-based accounts and management system for the first time. Staddons hopes to develop its former site in Parnell Road for housing, aiming to submit revised plans to the local planning authority.
Karen Dickens, Staddons IT and marketing manager and also cousin of company MD Ian Staddon, said about seven new staff had been recruited for the 12,000ft2 Tweed Road branch, while investments had been made in new forklifts, woodworking machinery, delivery vehicles and a briquetter.
“We have expanded into the building products side of things because we have a good customer base and we were finding they were coming to us for wood but needed other products as well,” she said.
Staddons MD Ian Staddon returned to day-to-day management of the company at the start of 2012 and has returned the company to its roots as a timber specialist supplying a range of products.
Staddons formerly operated a paper-based accounts and ordering system, but now it has invested in electronic point of sale software and Sage accounting software.
“It has been the most dramatic change,” added Ms Dickens. “The ledger books were still being done in pen and ink.”
The briquetter from Fercell Engineering will produce wood briquettes from shavings and sawdust created by the mill. Briquettes will be sold in the summer and burned by Staddons in the winter to create energy.
