WHY USE METSÄ WOOD UK

• We offer twice-weekly deliveries directly from mill to branch

• We supply high-quality, slow-grown machined timber, ranging from skirting and architraves to decking, claddings, PSE and panels.

• We are one of the biggest softwood producers in the UK and all our products are machined in the UK to British sizes and standards

• We provide support and engagement to ensure your customers have a great experience within your branch

• Metsä Wood Academy, a free online training course, so your staff can further their knowledge in all things timber.

• Our northern wood is perfect for building the future. Sustainable, reliable, renewable metsawood.com affected by the Ukraine war, inflation and the ongoing energy/costof-living crisis. “Compared to Covid times, post-pandemic, the market has become a lot more dynamic with different products experiencing different supply and demand pressures,” says Gerard. “As a natural consequence, this has led to deviations in pricing. During the pandemic, the industry as a whole saw orders coming in thick and fast, which was a pleasant surprise given we couldn’t visit our customers.

FROM BUILDERS OF TOMORROW. FOR BUILDERS OF TOMORROW.

“The key factor at that stage was availability and making sure we had product, so that is what we focused on. We worked hard to ensure we didn’t let customers down and provided them with enough product to keep up with the demand from their own customers. We have now reverted to more traditional methods of selling, including engaging with customers, and discussing their projects, which works better as the construction industry is all about relationships and people. There is a level of uncertainty in the market as people are trying to read the next 6-18 months and work out what the new norm is post-Covid. It was 2019 when we had our last normal trading year, because the last three years have been impacted by Covid and various other more recent external influences. The market will be very fluid, and it will be a mixed bag of supply and demand. We will see changes as each quarter goes by.”

More at  www.samonline.co.uk

As a commitment to bringing the best in market products and setting the bar on quality and standard, and as part of an overall project to improve its service package, SAM has invested over £1 million in developing its latest primed mouldings solution.

The investment has enabled the delivery of an improved primed product, ensuring the profiles have a superior and robust finish. Trade professionals, contractors and housebuilders can now expect a better standard and higher quality on level with a semi-finished product. The new primed finish also brings a trio of benefits for the merchant network and their customers:

Cat McCrea, commercial director at SAM said: “We pride ourselves on quality and service and want to ensure we are always bringing the best products to our customers. This initial £1 million investment is the first of many improvements we will be making in 2023 to strengthen our stock range and lead times. Through our customer network, we want to give contractors and house builders the confidence that they will achieve the best possible standard and finish on their MDF mouldings, and this new primed finish does exactly that.”

The product launch is already exciting merchant customers, with Paul Broomhead, national account manager at Jewson, commenting: “It is fantastic to see SAM continuing to invest and deliver a new and improved product. It’ll really enhance our offering as a result, as the brighter and whiter product will without doubt capture our customers’ attention and help us to stand out from the competition. The smoother finish will achieve a more superior final result, saving our customers time on site. The substantial financial investment that SAM has made to improve their products is impressive and it’s great to be able to offer our customers a broader product range into 2023. We are excited about the future partnership and to see how SAM’s investment continues to improve the products we sell.”