Somerlap Forest Products prides itself on catering for any requirement so when one customer was wanted to use his garden shed for brewing beer and needed specific roof vents, it was not a problem.
Based in Mark, on the Somerset Levels, Somerlap manufactures pallets, fencing, garden sheds and summer houses; stocks play buildings, bark and wood chips; and recycles pallets and gates which are sold to Nexfor Ltd’s South Molton plant, or to the animal bedding market. It also stocks BSW’s Timeless Timber decking range and hardwood gates supplied by AJ Charlton & Sons Ltd.
The company was established 22 years ago in Ubley, 16 miles from Mark. It was a traditional sawmill cutting home-grown logs, mainly for pallets. The business developed and in 1991 Somerlap bought the site at Mark.
For a couple of years the company operated mills at both sites but, when market conditions for home-grown mills became difficult in the mid-1990s, the sawmill at Mark was taken out of production.
Taylor Maxwell is now one of Somerlap’s biggest suppliers, with others including Continental Wood Products and Rowlinsons. However, although the Mark sawmill was decommissioned, at five acres, the newer site was bigger and in a more favourable location, making it the better site for investment. “The first thing we did was install a pressure treatment tank,” said managing director Kevin Bond.
Production at the Ubley mill ceased in April last year when Somerlap bowed to market conditions, and all production and staff were moved to Mark.
Today, pallet manufacture, on four automated production lines or by hand with a nail gun, accounts for 50% of the business. In the garden products sector fencing, gates and timber buildings are aimed at the quality end of the market in both the trade and public sectors.
“We position our product range towards the top – lower volume but good quality products, together with service,” said Mr Bond. “That’s how we’ve developed the business rather than higher volume, lowest price.
“For a long time, people have had the impression that wood was a cheap commodity,” he added. “I believe in making the best of the opportunities that timber affords. Our fencing and buildings will be around for a long time and our overall objective is to provide a top quality product that is fit for the purpose.
“For example, a basic concept of fence panel installation has often been 3×3 posts, whereas if you spend a few pounds more and use a 4×4 post, providing it is pressure treated and installed correctly, it will last for 20-25 years,” said Mr Bond.
In terms of timber buildings and structures, the design is governed largely by the space available – and the extent of people’s imagination. “The increased number of home improvement and garden makeover programmes has provided the inspiration for a more imaginative approach and you can see what can be created with a piece of rope, a few planks of wood and a couple of lobster pots – the garden is transformed,” said Mr Bond.
While the majority of the gates sold are supplied by AJ Charlton, Somerlap does manufacture special designs and recently added an automated gate to its range.
This is the third year that Somerlap has stocked BSW’s Timeless Timber decking range and, while Mr Bond believes the decking market is almost saturated in terms of supply, sales are still going well.
“Suppliers moved in very quickly and decking became ubiquitous. I suspect that sales have probably peaked but hopefully a steady flow of interest will continue. It may be a flatter sales chart now instead of a climbing one so the important thing is to continue marketing because it’s a great product when you compare it to the alternative, which is pieces of concrete.”
Somerlap focuses on “the more straightforward” deck rather than sloping sites with elevated structures.
“Once you get into intricate work like that you
really have to rely on the experience of builders and structural engineers and that increases the cost considerably,” said Mr Bond.
BSW decking is pre-treated with Osmose timber preservative, an important plus point when a large proportion of sales is to DIY enthusiasts.
However, it is not the expertise of DIYers that concerns Mr Bond but the lack of it among “the cowboy element”, where people construct without specification.
“It’s what’s happened in the fencing industry for years – people setting posts just 9in in the ground with no concrete,” he said. Other potential problem areas to watch are the use of untreated fixings which will rust, and ensuring that correct spacing is maintained between the decking supports.
Somerlap counts house developers among its customers and the housing boom has seen them investing more in fencing in order to add value to their developments. Mr Bond sees this trend as good news for timber as people’s expectations are higher and they want to spend more time in their gardens. This creates a natural progression towards more elaborate and decorative fencing panels, timber structures and buildings, as well as the use of colour. “People are becoming more adventurous,” he said. “It’s not rocket science; it’s freedom of expression allied to common sense.
The site at Mark could cope with “considerable expansion” but Mr Bond does not have a “business plan built around doubling in size”. Manageable sales growth by the promotion of timber in a positive light is the plan. “I just want to give people what they want at a reasonable price,” he said.
