Timber cladding specialist Roger Arveschoug has started up a new business – Capricorn Eco Timber – selling speciality softwoods and hardwoods.

Mr Arveschoug’s new business, based at the site of Stafford merchant Henry Venables Timber Ltd, started trading in May, about six months after his former business Capricorn Timber became a victim of the credit crunch and went into adminstration.

He has taken on some former Capricorn Timber mill staff and said former customers and suppliers had been very supportive.

“It’s involved a certain amount of luck,” said Mr Arveschoug. “I’d been looking for premises for this new business and happened to be in a situation where Henry Venables Timber had a bigger premises than they needed.”

The business has a 13,000ft2 warehouse but Mr Arveschoug said he was keeping sensible stock levels. Main species include Western red cedar, Douglas fir, Siberian larch, hemlock and pitch pine.

“There are a lot of mothballed project out there which have to come to fruition at some stage. In the short-term future there will be a lot of stock shortages, so people need to keep their options open as far as stock is concerned or they might not get product.”