Wales\u2019s first timber laminating plant has created 10 new jobs at a Denbighshire company – with the help of a high tech glue used in the aircraft industry.<\/p>\n
Clifford Jones Timber have invested more than \u00a31 million in the new state of the art equipment at their eco-friendly 13-acre headquarters site in Ruthin.<\/p>\n
It gives them the capacity to supply high quality, durable laminated timber for the leisure and construction industries and has increased the workforce at Ruthin to 67.<\/p>\n
The project was backed by a Welsh Economic Growth Fund grant of \u00a3157,000 from the Welsh Government and means that a process that used to take days is now carried out in minutes.<\/p>\n
Company Chairman Alan Jones said: \u201cWe were reacting to requests from existing customers, particularly in the leisure sector where we supply timber products for playgrounds and parks.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey wanted material that was tougher, more durable and more stable \u2013 so that it didn\u2019t crack or splinter \u2013 and laminated timber provides all those qualities.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut we also believe that we can find new markets in the construction industry where laminated timber is strong enough to be used for lintels and beams and much more attractive than concrete as well as being much lighter.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe saw an opportunity and we took advantage of the grant that was available though it meant we had to work fast to produce and application and a business plan in just three weeks but we managed it and were successful.\u201d<\/p>\n
Previously Clifford Jones Timber had either made their own laminated timber by gluing together lengths of sawn timber and then clamping them together for three days, or imported it in batches from Finland.<\/p>\n
The new equipment can create moulded timber which is then passed through a \u00a3260,000 laminator in just six minutes.<\/p>\n
The process is powered by a 987 kilowatt biomass boiler which is fed with wood chippings taken from the 100,000 tons of timber which is processed on the Ruthin site every year.<\/p>\n
The imported batches of pre-laminated timber took three weeks to arrive and were of various lengths, some of which might be unsuitable for an order, and had to be prepaid.<\/p>\n
Alan Jones said: \u201cWe are now able to produce laminated timber to order more cheaply and much more quickly than we could before and we believe this will open up new markets for us.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe glue we use is the same as British Aerospace use for the wings for the Airbus and it produces a product that is four times stronger than a conventional wooden beam.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor the building industry it also has the advantage of being attractive. People like the feel and the look of wood \u2013 it\u2019s a tactile material and of course it\u2019s sustainable and stores carbon.\u201d<\/p>\n
Clifford Jones Timber was founded by Alan Jones\u2019s father in 1948 and has been at its Ruthin base for 25 years: \u201cWhen we started here there were two people employed here and now there are 67,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery piece of timber that comes through these gates is used. There isn\u2019t any wasted and there aren\u2019t many industries that can say that.\u201d<\/p>\n
The range of products they supply includes fence posts \u2013 they are Britain\u2019s biggest producer of round timber posts \u2013 and gates, bedding for horses and even cat litter, and a range of wood fuels from dried logs and wood briquettes to wood pellets for biomass boilers.<\/p>\n
They use timber from forests all over the UK and also have a second site at Gretna in Scotland where they employ a further ten staff.<\/p>\n
The wood fuel side of the business was launched in 2008 after the construction of a a \u00a35 million 20,000 square foot factory at the Ruthin site on Brickfield Lane and it now produces 30,000 tons of fuel pellets every year.<\/p>\n
Managing Director Keith Corbett said: \u201cBy its nature much of your output is seasonal with the peak time for fence posts in the spring and early summer and for wood fuel in the winter and we\u2019re looking to the laminated wood products to bridge the gap in the summer with sales to the building industry.\u201d<\/p>\n