Munro Sawmills doubles output

Munro Sawmills Ltd of Dingwall is installing a new slat production line as part of an almost £1.6m investment programme.

The new equipment will enable the company to extend its product range and double its output to around 100m3 per day, said managing director Philip Blake.

The £1.572m project has attracted funding of £256,700 from the Ross and Cromarty Enterprise agency and will increase the full-time workforce at Munro Sawmills from 20 to 25, he added.

Construction has already begun on the 1500m2 building that will accommodate the new slat line. With the exception of a log-sorting line and stacking machinery from Danish firm Brodbaek and bandsaws from Stenner, the rest of the equipment will be designed and built in-house, said Mr Blake.

“We have more demand for slats than we can produce,” he explained. “We will be looking to produce single waney slats as well as our normal double waney slats to widen our market.”

Mr Blake expected the investment programme to improve the company’s competitive position with relation to imports, most notably from Latvia and Portugal. He commented: “British timber producers have high labour, raw material and overhead costs in comparison with other countries. This investment will double our productivity and achieve economies of scale which will enable us to win a greater share of the UK market.”

The company began producing fencing slats for overlap panels in 1989 and, in a more recent diversification, has enjoyed “tremendous” success with its modular WoodBlocX pine blocks which can be linked together to form a variety of garden structures, said Mr Blake.

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