Vandecasteele Houtimport of Belgium is investing £3.25m to double its undercover capacity at its site at Kortrijk-Aalbeke.
UK sales manager Geneviève Standaert said: “A lot of importers don’t hold much stock any more because of the high investment involved – it is sleeping money – so we have seen this as an opportunity. It is always interesting to do the opposite.
“Of course it is very speculative – if the prices go down it won’t be very good but if timber becomes scarce we will have it in stock.”
The extension of the undercover storage from 30 acres to around 60 acres will allow the company to increase the amount of timber it carries from 65,000m3 to some 100,000m3. The stock is made up of 65% softwood and 35% tropical hardwood.
Vandecasteele Houtimport also has facilities at Dunkirk and Antwerp and Ms Standaert said: “They will remain but we are trying to centralise our operations. We started work on the extension in May and, if the winter is mild, will hopefully finish it in March next year in time for the company’s 120th anniversary.”
