Founded in the early 1900s as a producer of traditional chestnut fencing, Morgan & Co (Strood) has evolved into one of south-east England’s largest timber suppliers, with recent growth in turnover of 10-15% a year.
With an emphasis on value-added production as well as upmarket supply – especially of hardwoods to joinery companies dealing mainly with offices, shopfitting, restoration and refurbishment – the family-run business is dedicated to offering quality, choice and flexibility.
Morgan Timber holds an average stock of more than 3,000m³ of different species of carefully selected timber. The company also offers versatile sawmilling and machining facilities, where recent investment has been made to replace the dust extraction plant with a Cattinair cyclonic filter system.
Supplied and installed by Cattinair’s UK agent Dustraction, the system has fully met Morgan Timber’s requirements. Its small footprint allowed the filter to be located close to the main manufacturing plant and, according to director Robert Morgan, the fact that it has few moving parts promises greater reliability and lower maintenance.
‘Everything is much cleaner,’ he said. ‘The operation is simple. In effect, all that is necessary is for the system to be switched on in the morning and turned off when production ceases for the day. The reality is that, since its installation, the Cattinair has run entirely smoothly.
‘We’re far too busy to afford downtime,’ he said – partly a reference to his earlier rejection of chain filter plant: ‘If the chain breaks, production ceases.’
Other features that attracted the company included the technology of automatically separating much of the waste material before it reaches the filters, the three-year guarantee, and the ability to recycle warm, filtered air back into the workplace.
Morgan Timber normally produces around 15 tonnes of sawdust each week, which is supplied to chipboard plants in the north of England. Another improvement following installation of the new extraction system is that sawdust is now ducted to a sealed store, rather than being conveyed in trailers to an open store as before.
Situated at Strood, Morgan Timber’s market covers Kent, Sussex, Essex, Greater London, Surrey and Hampshire – as far as it can reach in a day using its own transport.
Derek and Robert Morgan, representing the third generation of the family to run the business, are clearly pleased that the flexible, upmarket strategy has paid off. The com-pany is doing well with its supply of sawn timber, with mouldings, and with its production of decking and hardwood flooring – the latter turning the tide of the UK fixation with fitted carpets.
It’s a far cry from traditional chestnut fencing. Today, the company imports large quantities of hardwood and softwood, and its sawmill products range from high quality home-grown hardwood for joinery to structural timber for restoration, building and sea defence.
Shrewd plant investment has been a key to this: whether the demand is for structural sections up to 14m long or the matching of intricate mouldings, Morgan Timber has the machinery and expertise to complete the job successfully.
