Ernest Wilson, owner and managing director of Panel Agency Ltd, has decided to retire as managing director after 50 years in the timber trade.
Following National Service, Ernest followed his father and oldest brother into the timber trade, training at C Leary as a panel products agent. In 1980, after several promotions, he was appointed managing director of Swanboard Ltd and its subsidiary Panel Agency Ltd and relocated the head office to New Ash Green in Kent. In 1988 he purchased all the shares of Panel Agency and since then the company has been very much a family-owned operation.
It now has a staff of 12 and has expanded to specialise in engineered wood products including glulam timber and I-beams, and has also added softwood and hardwoods to its range.
At the age of 69 Mr Wilson has decided to step down as managing director but remain as chairman. He is succeeded as MD by his son Mark Wilson, who has been a director of the company for 20 years. Other family members within the company include Ernest’s wife Christine, the company secretary, and his daughter Claire who manages one of Panel’s subsidiary companies.
“My goal was always to hand on a healthy company to the next generation and I am pleased to say that, with the hard work of my team, we have achieved this,” said Mr Wilson.
Mark Wilson qualified as a solicitor in 1992 and was a partner in private practice until 1997, when he joined Panel Agency on a full-time basis. Obtaining an MSc in Forest Products Technology, Mark has developed the engineered wood products and thermal structure sides of the business. Formerly a consultant for STEICO AG, one of Panel Agency’s major supply partners, Mark has been the managing director of STEICO Ltd for the past two years, where he has overseen the establishment of the sales and technical team in the UK.
