Timber industry on the acquisition trail

The standout deal has to be BSW Timber acquiring forest management and harvesting company Tilhill Forestry from UPM.

In one fell swoop, what is thought to be the UK's largest forest products company has been created, with a combined turnover of about £330m.

BSW says the move serves to underline its ambition to increase the utilisation of UK timber.

The group also explained that BSW is a growing enterprise and the acquisition was a key component of the company's vision for future development.

Not to be outdone, the UK's largest timber pallet manufacturer Scott Group has acquired HLC (Wood Products) Ltd, in a move which adds service capacity and capabilities to the to the former, while also improving its geographical spread in the large South East market and increasing its potential access to European supply.

Elsewhere in this issue, new president of the European Organisation of the Sawmilling Industry Sampsa Auvinen charts recent market developments in Europe's sawmilling sector. While he highlights some challenges, he predicts a promising scenario for 2016 and beyond.

Overall production increased in 2014 by 3.3% in the 13 EOS member countries but consumption rose by less than 1%.

The current picture he paints is of a very fragile supply/ demand balance.

And meanwhile China, with its massive urbanisation programme, is forecast to draw in still more wood in the future to feed construction.

Also in this issue we feature a preview of this year's Timber Expo exhibition.

This year's show represents a change, both in terms of the event's owner and organiser - now Media 10 - and the format of the exhibition in that it is now part of the inaugural UK Construction Week. This wider event features eight other shows and organisers are predicting a big increase in numbers for Timber Expo, as visitors use the opportunity to visit several shows at the same time.

It is five years since the old Interbuild show folded and 10 years since the former Timber Show was launched. There are always new things on the horizon and it will be interesting to see how the positioning of Timber Expo as part of UK Construction Week works out.

But the initial signs from a clearly ambitious Media 10 are good and I personally expect the show to thrive in its new setting.

As you can see from our TTJ Awards supplement inside this issue, we also have our annual event on September 24, which recognises excellence across a range of sectors in the timber industry. Hope to see you there!