New headline sponsor for TTJ Awards

The family-owned company, which last year expanded with the acquisition of the Balcas Kildare MDF mouldings business, is taking the lead sponsorship role as it celebrates its 60th anniversary in 2018.

The TTJ Awards will also be moving to a new venue next year. An announcement will be made early in the new year.

W Howard group chief executive Jonathan Grant told TTJ that both his company and the journal were long-established and represented a strong partnership to help celebrate W Howard’s landmark year. The company has been a long-term sponsor of the Plywood Trader of the Year Award at the event.

“We are celebrating our 60th year of business and we want to thank customers for their ongoing support and patience during a difficult 2017,” said Mr Grant.

“Next year we are not standing still but investing in added value, better collection facilities, more stock, an increased supply chain, as well as better distribution. We are delighted that this will now enable us to once again give our customers an excellent buying experience.”

The company was originally a timber importer before entering MDF mouldings manufacturing in the early 1990s. It has gone on to become one of the leading brands of MDF mouldings on the UK market under the Primer Mould brand.

The company was established in 1958 by William Howard, serving the housebuilding and construction industries in the northwest. It was acquired by Alan Grant, Jonathan Grant’s father in 1969.

Mr Grant is also an angel investor of MDF Recovery, the award-winning MDF recycling technology initiative.