More than £1m is to be invested but jobs will be lost as SCA Timber Supply restructures its business in response to a doubling of sales in 18 months.

The company has announced that a new £1.1m high-speed wrapping line is to be installed at Stoke-on-Trent, and a closer partnership is to be developed with Severn Timber of Welshpool.

Meanwhile, a proportion of production will move from SCA Warrington to Stoke-on-Trent, and the Warrington site will be closed.

According to SCA, the closure is a result of changing product developments and volumes required by customers in both the builders’ merchant and DIY retailing sectors.

It said Warrington, which is to be sold for an undisclosed sum, no longer has the capacity or equipment to cope with rising demand. The closure will affect 26 jobs but some employees may relocate to the Stoke site.

Some planing capacity will be taken up at SCA’s existing planing facilities at Stoke with additional capacity provided by partner companies including Severn Timber.

Sales teams at SCA and Severn Timber will work together to market a larger range of products to a wider range of customers. The agreement includes continuing to service the mini-pack and bulk machined market while increasing capacity for regularised sawn timber packs for DIY and other customers.

The new high-speed wrapping line, which will help SCA’s growth in finished, wrapped timber production, is expected to be operational by summer 2005.