This year sees the centenary of the passing of the first Forestry Act which established the Forestry Commission and, in the immediate aftermath of the First World War, recognised the strategic importance of forestry and home grown timber. Confor will be marking the centenary throughout the year and has produced this logo to mark it.
The establishment of Charles Ransford & Son Ltd predates the passing of the 1919 Act by over 40 years – the business was established in 1876. In the time since its establishment the efficiency of the milling operation has been transformed. Logs that were cut, first, by hand, then steam power, then rapidly changing technologies now pass through a sawmill that is, in part, solar powered.
The mill is still an important part of our local rural economy creating jobs both directly and indirectly and its success has been built on continuous investment, better use of co-products, and the creation of added value products. This is all well and good, but after all these years log supply may well be as big a problem in 2019 as it was in 1919!