Timbmet’s chief purchasing director retires after 45 years’ service

In his 45 years in the timber industry, Mr Chambers has witnessed many changes.

"It was a different world when I started," he said. "There was no Health and Safety, HR or IT. We didn't even have calculators until the early '70s brought decimalisation. Accurate mental arithmetic was vital, especially when tallying a whole lorry load of hardwood was your responsibility. Manual handling meant lifting and carrying bigger and bigger planks of wood until you dropped them! And if you had an issue with someone or something, you stood up for yourself and sorted it."

Clearly, though, the biggest change is in materials.

"In the '70s, our fastest selling hardwoods were Japanese oak and utile," said Mr Chambers. "We didn't even touch American or European oak, there was no such thing as Far Eastern ply, and Romanian Beech was the cheapest ply available.

"I remember attending the official opening of the Medite factory, then having to give boards away to encourage customers to try it. No one could have predicted how that material would take off in future years."

Along the way, Mr Chambers had some good mentors. "From the late 1960s into the 1980s, Silverman's managing director was Jim Lennie who was highly responsible for the introduction of veneered panels. His rigorous training has stood me in good stead throughout my career. One of the most valuable things he taught me was to treat suppliers and customers with equal respect."

Mr Chambers' long career began back in 1968 when he responded to a newspaper advert in the London Evening Standard. "My father bought the paper on his daily commute from Surrey into London," he says. "About to leave school at 16, I was mulling over various career ideas. My mother spotted an advert placed by Silvermans, a timber supplier, and correctly thought it was right up my street."

When a naïve young lad from a small Surrey village turned up for that job interview in Bethnal Green, London's East End was full of timber yards, reproduction furniture manufacturers and French polishers. "When I left the depot 14 years later, the area had changed completely as the clothing manufacturers moved in, and today it is quite trendy."

He began as a management trainee. "Before you were allowed anywhere near a phone - let alone a customer - you did your time in the warehouse, getting to know the timber business from the ground up. Silvermans supplied panels, hardwood and softwood, so I spent the first 18 months working in all three yards."

This learning curve quickly took him from the yard to the sales office to office manager, overseeing the introduction of the first stock computers. "Suddenly, it only took four hours per depot to do a valuation!"

Various promotions followed: branch manager, operations director, running the transport fleet, then setting up the new ISO, FSC and PEFC accreditation. By the late 1980s, Mr Chambers was also purchasing director. "As company expansion and changing legislation made new demands on the business, the roles were split and I chose purchasing."

With Timbmet's purchase of Silvermans in 2001, Mr Chambers was promoted to his current role as chief purchasing director.

"I've really enjoyed my long career in the timber business, watching it grow and improve. At the same time, though, I'm now looking forward to having more 'us' time with my wife as we celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary with our two sons - as well as watching more of the mighty Chesham United and catching up with old friends from the trade," he added.