MEMBER PROFILE
A ‘FRANKLY’ FLEXIBLE FAMILY BUSINESS At Ridings Sawmills, sisters Lindsay McKechnie and Amanda Bradley are committed to keeping their father’s legacy alive – while adding their own touch of leadership in line with the modern zeitgeist. Stef Kaiser visits them on the Scottish West Coast.
R
idings Sawmills, based in the coastal village of Cardross, almost touches the water when the tide is high. Annually bringing in around 70,000 tonnes of softwood logs from West Argyll and Cowal forest districts, the mill aims to cut around 6000 tonnes per month, sometimes more, with an average production of 4000m3 per month. The products range from fencing products and slats for garden sheds, to ungraded carcassing, arris rails, pallet boards, blocks and bearers. Co-products (woodchips; bark; shavings; sawdust) go into chipboard manufacture and biomass. Since Frank Riding – the ‘heart and the soul’ of the sawmill – passed away in 2018, daughters Amanda and Lindsay have been running the family business as man-
aging directors.
An evolving family business Amanda and Lindsay were born in Wigan, Lancashire, where their grandfather, Fred Riding, had been running a sawmill since the 1950s, specialising on pit props for the coal industry. Their father Frank and his brother Alfred worked at the mill. After a windblow incident in the North, Fred capitalised on an opportunity to invest in the Cardross mill, taking over fully in 1976. After the decline of the mining industry, Frank and his family moved to Scotland in 1981 when the Cardross Mill became the sole focus. From the onset, Frank poured his heart and soul into building and modernising the new sawmill. The business initially continued catering for the mining sec-
22 FORESTRY & TIMBER NEWS • February 2022
tor, however, having learned the lesson in Wigan, diversification became a strategic priority. Relentlessly, Frank continued modernising the mill and striving for efficiency until his untimely death in 2018. He was very hands-on both with machinery and in building relationships with staff, customers and suppliers. The late Frank Riding is still at the very core of Ridings Sawmills. The new directors Amanda and Lindsay are surely adding their own, progressive touch to the business, but the original spirit and direction of the family remains unaltered.
What matters is people After Frank’s passing, Lindsay was already a company director and decided to take the lead in the business. Amanda was
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