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: timber treatment
TWELVE STEPS TO SUSTAINABILITY: #1
Forestry and sawmilling are among the most sustainable activities in the UK economy. During the course of the year we aim to demonstrate 12 ways in which Ransfords plays its part. Here’s the first. We mill most of our timber from forests very close to home thus reducing timber miles. Wood from sustainably managed forests… Read more »
Nearly time to toast your toes. Happy Christmas from everyone at Ransfords.
More progress on the new production lines
Work on the new lines for adding various added-value finishes to posts from 75mm to 200mm s coming on very well thanks to a superb team effort. Above we can see the new 4 head saw being installed and, below, we can see our new inciser being loaded onto a truck in Oregon, USA ready… Read more »
Latest statistics on UK forestry and sawmilling
The latest National Statistics on forestry produced by the Forestry Commission were released recently in line with arrangements approved by the UK Statistics Authority. They include information on woodland area, planting, timber, trade, carbon, environment, social, employment and finance & prices as well as some statistics on international forestry. Where possible, figures are also provided… Read more »
Our permanent war on waste
Here at Ransfords we ensure that no part of the timber taken into our yards (often from our own forests) is wasted. If any of the timber isn’t good enough to be cut as Great British Timber because of damage or its size we leave it to dry then chip it to run the boilers… Read more »
Sound sense in West Yorkshire
This impressive load is part of an order bound for West Yorkshire to create an acoustic barrier round a distribution hub being built close to a residential area. Planning authorities, whilst keen to encourage economic development, are becoming increasingly aware of the impact of noise from commercial activities on nearby residents. This has led 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 »
Bishop’s Castle timber for a Bishop’s Castle school
Bishop’s Castle Community College is one of our home town’s most important assets and one which as a business we’ve been pleased to support over the years. Many of the team who work at the Mill attended the school, as have their children and in some cases grandchildren. We were especially pleased to help… 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 »
The amazing Great British Timber maze
The keen reader of these news updates will recall that a while back we supplied Great British Timber from Ransfords to Farmer Teds’ Adventure Farm at Ormskirk in Lancashire. It’s good to learn that the timber is performing well and that despite the recent difficulties we’ve all gone through, the attraction has become a firm… Read more »
Even more (solar) power to our elbow!
Here’s a dramatic picture to start the week with. It’s taken on the roof of our Timber Treatment Centre where we are installing solar panels to add to the 2000 panels already installed on various buildings at our mill. The energy generated is used to power the mill. This means that the same solar energy… Read more »
A sight to gladden any mill worker’s heart
We joke in our sawmill that what we do is best summed up as taking round logs in and cutting them up to send square bits of timber out. Doing so efficiently and using the best equipment available lets us take huge pride in what is an essentially straightforward process. Making sure that none of… 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 1000th load goes into our Timber Treatment Centre
Just over a year since it became fully operational, this is the 1000th load of timber being sent into our new fully automated Timber Treatment Centre which is one of the most advanced of its kind in the UK. Built at a cost of £2.75 million, the new facility not only dramatically increases the efficiency… 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 »
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?