Here, Stuart Sims, Falcon Timber’s Chief Marketing Officer, outlines the company’s operations and how the team works with West Fraser.

“It's not just a strict supplier/customer relationship. We believe that the company’s values and operations position West Fraser at the forefront of high-end panel production.”

Falcon Timber is a stalwart of the industry; how does the group look today?

Falcon Timber is the overarching distribution brand for Consolidated Timber Holdings. In 2023, Falcon Panels Products and MBM Forest Products amalgamated to form a new company, Falcon Timber Ltd, resulting in a strong, well positioned timber distribution model that offers true nationwide delivery in the UK.

Falcon Timber, alongside the manufacturing division of Hoffman Thornwood and Triesse Ltd, positions CTH as one of the leading timber distributors and manufacturing solution specialists; with a strong product catalogue and impressive team of experts.

What does Falcon Timber offer?

Falcon Timber, as a leading UK wood-based panel products and timber importer, distributor and solutions specialist, supplies softwoods, plywoods, engineered panels, OSB and everything in between, with the vast product library, service levels, and expertise, setting the company apart from others.

Providing market-leading ranges of quality products, matched with unrivalled pricing and nationwide delivery services, affords Falcon Timber the opportunity to meet customer expectations with ease. The on-site port facility at Tilbury, and additional depots in Nottingham, Birmingham, Haydock, Leeds, High Wycombe and Gateshead, are strategically located to offer a responsive, nationwide service and, at each location, we carry a full range of products including the STRE-branded ranges.  We also have an extensive collection of FSC© chain of custody-certified products. As the industry evolves, we continue to invest in the development of products.

West Fraser manufactures Falcon Timber’s exclusive STREbord® products. Tell us more about them.

STREbord®, the number one choice in the vast majority of mezzanine floor installations in the UK and abroad, features a specially-engineered T&G 2LE profile designed for strength and ease of fit. STREbord®38mm Mezzanine Decking is available as a P6 Standard or P5 (MR) Moisture Resistant chipboard core with a choice of surface finishes to meet end-user requirements. It is designed for strength and ease of fit while consistency of quality and specification from board to board ensures straightforward installation, a neat professional finish and high user satisfaction. Protective foil, in silver or white, applied to the underside of the board, provides excellent fire performance characteristics. It’s environmentally friendly, using wood from sustainable forests, and conforms with current formaldehyde emission classes to BS EN 120 – perforator test method.

Based on customer requirements and the installation environment, there could be all sorts of different treatments applied to the STREbord® product. Is it going into a chilled environment, for example? Does it need to be able to be moisture-resistant? Will it need to withstand forklift trucks driving over it; or will it need to have wires placed in it to ensure that robots know where they're going!?

What are your key markets? Who buys STREbord® from Falcon Timber?

STREbord® is effectively a one-product market, which is mezzanine flooring and, as such, we don't have hundreds of customers when it comes to STREbord® - it's tens, not hundreds, and they tend to be very high volumes. It’s the huge warehouses you see – think of a large omni channel retailer in the world and you are getting the idea!

What happens at the depots as customers do not generally collect product?

We distribute and deliver from our depots; we have a sales office and warehousing facilities at Tilbury where all our products are delivered to. We then distribute to the eight Falcon Timber depots which, in turn, deliver to their customers. At its simplest, Falcon’s customer base comprises builders’ merchants large and small, timber merchants, and buying groups.  In addition, we supply what we classify as end-users such as shopfitters, kitchen manufacturers, and housebuilders.

Why did you choose West Fraser to manufacture your exclusive STREbord®?

Falcon Timber has been working with West Fraser (Norbord and Nexfor beforehand) for over thirty years and supplies us with other panel portfolios including SterlingOSB Zero, CaberMDF, CaberDek flooring, and CaberFloor P5 particleboard. It goes without saying that the products are of the highest quality in the market; that’s why we have supplied them to our customers for decades.

The organisation, and people we work with, match our group values in terms of their environmental positioning; this is the thread that is so important to them and us.  Geographical proximity is also key. We are not transferring products too far – which is great for logistics and the environment!

It's a long-standing partnership built on mutual trust. Everyone we deal with at West Fraser is a willing participant in our business.  It is not just a supplier/ customer relationship; the West Fraser team is involved with all of our depots and our teams. People such as Mark Lewis-Ranwell, our Account Manager, is effectively embedded within our depots. West Fraser supports the growth of our business by being actively involved in our depot network and looking for opportunities that may be more appropriate for Falcon Timber than West Fraser direct. We understand our lines of demarcation!

A recent anecdote which reinforces our joint brand values was when Falcon Timber’s Operations Director, Aidan Hudson, visited the West Fraser sites in Scotland. He was really impressed as the discipline is front and centre of everything that they do, so there’s some lessons that we’re learning there!

Then there’s their investment in the United Kingdom. I think they hide their light under a bushel somewhat! West Fraser should be justifiably proud of the investments they make in ensuring their equipment is state of the art. Most people know that manufacturing has been on the decline in the UK for many decades, so to see a business like theirs, thriving, is fantastic.

For further information, call 01786 812 921 or visit https://uk.westfraser.com/