Cenci and SRC intend to stay successful sawmillers, but they’re also part of a value-adding trend in the French industry.

Cenci processes 40,000m³ of logs a year, mainly beech but with a sizeable volume of oak. It has its own forestry arm and runs two shifts at its 10ha Ronchamp site, where it has 16,000m³ annual kilning capacity, and produces waney and square-edged timber, with output of the latter at 11,000m³ a year

This operation exports worldwide and co-owners Noel and Patrice Cenci see it continuing to evolve. But they’re also committed to developing the company’s flooring and laminated product arms.

The latter produces oak and beech shelves, round-edged worktops, and furniture panels, plus scantlings, mostly for domestic consumption.

Cenci’s 14-21mm T&G flooring is exclusively oak, but comprises a variety of styles; including parallel and random length strip, parquet, and a finger-jointed industrial range.

"Grading is key and we bar code each piece to ensure matching batches," said Patrice Cenci.

While the company sees good prospects for both operations, he added, flooring seems to hold most potential. Currently, most output (and installed capacity is 100,000m²) is also sold in France.

"But we’re now selling in Germany and targeting other markets too," said Mr Cenci. "The UK looks particularly promising given its economic improvement and timber flooring market growth."

SRC’s mill processes 35,000m³ of oak annually, with 40% exported, and the UK is among prime markets for its square edged timber. It is also a major barrel stave maker and co-investor in the Bois Durables de Bourgogne thermal treatment facility.

But its flooring arm is its core area of development too. To date this has focused on solid oak, with annual capacity of 100,000m². But it is now building a facility to make a 21mm engineered variant, comprising softwood substrate and 4mm oak surface.

"The €400,000 investment will double flooring capacity," said a spokesperson. "We see good prospects for the new range where underfloor heating is common, like Switzerland, but also markets which are generally oriented to engineered flooring, including the UK."