We’re in the home straight now in the construction of the new incisor and post pointing line. The inciser has completed its journey from Oregon to Shropshire and the electricians are starting the process of making everything work.. We were delighted to receive this 3D render of the new line from manufacturer Kalfass over the… Read more »
Category: Ransfords acoustic fencing
Our new line is coming together nicely
As you can see from this image we’ve made huge strides in setting out the new lines for adding various added-value finishes to posts from 75mm to 200mm. There’s still a lot to do and even more equipment to arrive – but we’re ge…
Now this is what you call a full load
We set great store here by being as efficient as we can with our deliveries. A full wagon load is an efficient wagon load: good for the environment and sound business sense. Even we were surprised however by this beauty: 43 cubic metres of air dried timber ready for delivery in a covered trailer to… Read more »
3 nations timber – and a pat on the back
Here’s a sight for sore eyes: a full load of Welsh Larch that has been cut at our sawmill in England ready for delivery to a customer in Scotland. Talk about Great British Timber! On the subject of delivery, it was really good to receive this feedback from a customer in Somerset yesterday: “We just… Read more »
This is what we do…
When people new to sawmilling ask us what we do at Ransfords we have a standard answer which is perfectly demonstrated in this picture: we take round logs and turn them into rectangular-shaped lengths of timber. The trailer on the left has a nice load of 4.9m redwood logs from Savernake Forest to the south… Read more »
Ransfords from the air
One of things that visitors coming to the sawmill for the first time comment on is the sheer buzz of the place: there’s always something going on as the we take logs in, process them, and then send the finished timber products on their way. One important feature of that process is that nothing in… Read more »
There’s tidy for you
Many of our customers never get the chance to visit the mill (although those that do always enjoy the experience) so we like to post pictures from time to time to show how things are. These shots were taken from a cherry picker undertaking some maintenance work, Above we see the area around our Timber… Read more »
When the cobbler’s busy…
…his childrens’ shoes have holes in them. It’s the same for us with fencing: we’ve been so busy making acoustic fencing panels for customers that it has taken us literally weeks to finally get round to making and installing the final section of fencing round our new Timber Treatment Centre. The fencing is designed to… Read more »
Keeping the family busy during lockdown: Ransfords style
These two members of the Evans family (owners of the sawmill) normally work at sister business Mellington Hall Hotel and Holiday Home Park. Alex came in for a day to cover holidays helping out at an extremely busy sawmill with some fork lift driving (for which he is fully trained) whilst his younger brother Sam… Read more »
The finished colour of treated timber
We’re often asked about the different colours of treated timber and these two packs illustrate things nicely. The posts in the two packs are of the same timber cut the same day but treated two weeks apart. The pack on the left goes a warm honey colour in the sun exactly as it is supposed… Read more »
Within sight of our sawmill and home town
Here’s another sight to lift the spirits. It’s taken at Bury Ditches, home to one of the best-preserved hill forts in the country which dates from around 500BC. It’s located within sight of the mill, deep in the beautiful Shropshire hills. Bishop’s Castle and the Mill are at bottom left, then following the hills round… Read more »
The new chip store is working exactly as it’s designed to
In order to better manage the peaks and troughs in demand for woodchips we’ve constructed a new store here at our mill in Bishop’s Castle. These two pictures show it in operation with a chipper outside working on undersized logs and feeding chips into the store. You can see the operation in a video clip… Read more »
Lovely morning, lovely load!
Maybe we should get out more but some days just start perfectly: a cracking, bright frosty morning here in Bishop’s Castle and a trailer load of treated timber ready to leave us for the customer. What more could anyone ask for?
Air dried Larch
Here’s another benefit to increased storage capacity at our mill: 3.6m larch boards kept in the dry ready and waiting for swift delivery. Larch of course is incredibly durable and has become very popular for use as cladding as well as being a traditional material for fencing. Delivered in bundles of 160, there’s plenty more… Read more »
A picture perfect acoustic installation
As the very last of the concrete storage area around our Timber Treatment Centre is poured (above) we’re cracking on with the installation of the acoustic fencing barrier which will reduce noise which might drift over from our long-established sawmill to the relatively new homes nearby. Panels like these are used throughout the UK near… Read more »
Keeping the noise down for the neighbours
Our business is in a small town which has grown and spread in recent years so that houses now stand quite close to the sawmill (which has been here for well over 100 years!) in what once were fields. We are keen to minimise the impact of our activites on our neighbours so, the new… Read more »
The investment never stops
Those who know Ransfords well will know that we’re always looking for ways to make the business more efficient and more effective. It’s good for our customers and so its good for us too. An investment a few years back enabled us to start producing dry chips from what would otherwise be waste from our… Read more »
No post-brexit supply log-jams with Great British Timber from Ransfords
Even now the exact terms on which the UK will be leaving the EU are still unclear, so there’s a great deal of uncertainty about delays to imported supplies of a whole host of goods including timber. Great British Timber from Ransfords is grown here, felled here, and milled here so there will be no… Read more »
It’s all about teamwork
One of the features of our business is the close relationships we have with other family businesses in the area. One such is David Ford Transport Services who regularly haul logs from the forest to us and finished product from us to the customer. When things get busy we’re not averse to using our Terberg… Read more »
Strength in numbers
Our mill is laid out in such a way that unnecessary movement of product is avoided. The material flows from one stage to another in the most efficient way possible. Of course some movement is unavoidable and, in the end, trailers have to be loaded for the despatch of finished product. These three beauties join… Read more »