The ability to supply railway sleepers from sustainable managed sources has won Calders & Grandidge (C&G) an environmental award from Railtrack. C&G, a subsidiary of Meyer International, undertook a worldwide search after Railtrack announced in January 1999 that all its track timber should be Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) approved by early 2001.
It tracked down a source of FSC certified karri, native to Western Australia but plantation grown in South Africa, through supplier Tradelink Wood Products Ltd.
Following trials, the timber was given Railtrack approval and C&G arranged for an independent UK quality engineer to visit the sawmill in South Africa to improve production and quality procedures.
Initially C&G supplied 500 sleepers for use in the Euston remodelling project in London. It has since supplied more than 4,000 karri sleepers into Railtrack via contractors. These are the only FSC-certified hardwood sleepers supplied in the UK so far, and C&G projects some 2,700 sleepers per month will be available from April.
