EGGER UK Summer Newsletter

Update from Egger UK

Summer 2023

EGGER Hexham

EGGER Barony

A message from John Paterson

Welcome to the summer newsletter from EGGER (UK) Ltd. It’s been a busy six months, with significant investments announced, numerous donations made to charity, and productive ministerial visits, focused on the challenges and opportunities for the wood panel industry.

Earlier this year, the EGGER Group announced a major investment into our 21st production plant, located in Caorso, Italy. This summer, we will commission our new Timberpak ‘super site’ in Leeds which will significantly increase the amount of recycled wood we can process.

We also include an update on our apprentice and graduate programmes, our new Texture Meets Colour product range, and share a fantastic story from two of our employees and their boatmaking skills.

I hope you enjoy our update. If you have any feedback or suggestions, please don't hesitate to email me (john.paterson@egger.com).

New plant in Italy

EGGER has acquired a 60% share of Italian wood-based materials producer, SAIB. This takes the number of EGGER plants to 21 worldwide.

Based in Caorso, SAIB has been one of the leading companies in the Italian furniture industry for 60 years, with a very strong focus on design and sustainability.

Both companies will grow together and bring development potential, as EGGER will be broadening market access, increasing capacity and expanding its product portfolio with Italian design expertise. SAIB has been given a growth perspective for its production plant and employees. It will benefit from EGGER’s expertise and network and will be able to sell its successful product portfolio in other markets.

As two family-run firms with similar ideas, in regards to sustainable business development, sustainable production, and strong partnerships, EGGER and SAIB are a perfect match.

Timberpak super-site opens this summer

Timberpak Ltd, will unveil its new super-site this summer following a multi-million pound investment into the six acre site on Crossfield Industrial Estate, Leeds.

The new site will increase the amount of recycled material processed to 150,000 tonnes per year, with potential for this to increase by 50% as the demand for wood based recycled material continues.

Waste wood sourced by Timberpak Ltd is used by EGGER (UK) Ltd to produce carbon negative chipboard panels at its production sites in Hexham, Northumberland and Barony, East Ayrshire.

The bespoke loading pit offers safe and efficient loading, and a streamlined layout of the shredders, picking stations and stock system will reduce handling time.

A sustainable approach has been taken at every opportunity. This includes 1,282 m2 of 265kw solar panels across the roof of the main building, and a borehole to provide water for dust suppression.

Health and safety is top priority for the site, which has thermal cameras for stock heat control and a one-way traffic management system.

Over the last two years, EGGER has invested more than £30 million into waste wood recycling. EGGER has also commissioned a new recycling plant at its Hexham site in order to increase the recycled content in its panels, by improving the quality of the processed recycled material used.

John Paterson, Public Affairs Manager/ Wood Purchasing Adviser

ITV feature on Forestry

In March, ITV Tyne Tees aired a three-part series about the race to plant three million trees in Kielder forest.

The feature illustrated EGGER’s production process and explained the application areas of its products. It highlighted the ongoing campaign for more trees to be planted to support jobs and investments in the UK.

Head of Woodbuying, Max McLaughlan, gave a clear overview of the products EGGER use from harvested trees and explained why

they are sustainable. Andrew Laidler, Sales and Marketing Director, spoke about the number of jobs, value of the industry and called for more trees to be planted to meet the demand for wood in the years to come.

Howdens was also included in the feature and Rob Black, Director of ESG at Howdens, explained how many employees and depots Howdens has, along with how many small builders it supplies. He talked about the chipboard supplied by EGGER and celebrated the short, UK based supply chain.

Environment Minister visits EGGER Hexham

EGGER Hexham welcomed the UK Government’s Minister for Natural Environment and Land Use, Trudy Harrison MP, along with Guy Opperman MP, to the wood-based materials manufacturing site in January.

Wood-based panel material manufacturers are looking to ensure that wood security is at the forefront of future UK business and energy policy. The wood panel manufacturing sector uses over 25% of the 11 million tonnes of wood delivered from UK forestry every year.

Andrew Laidler, Sales Director at EGGER (UK) Ltd, commented, “I was delighted to host this meeting with the Minister, where we had constructive discussions about wood security as a key component of sustainable UK manufacturing.”

WPIF Director General, Alastair Kerr, commented, “The Industry welcomes and supports the UK and the Devolved Government’s ambition to plant 30,000 hectares of new woodland per year by 2025 and hopes to see the Government meet this target majority of new planting being productive forestry to meet the needs of UK industry.

Being able to showcase first hand through EGGER Hexham the nature of the industry and products and processes, is extremely valuable as it creates a more informed context to future discussions that we hope to have with the Minister and her Department.”

Employees handcraft a wooden canoe

Keith Nelson and Chris Campin have been firm friends since they started working together at the Hexham plant in 1997 and together they have accumulated sixty years of service.

They both agreed on building a 15 foot Guillemot sea kayak after seeing pictures of beautiful strip built canoes online. With Keith’s love of the outdoors and a good knowledge of kayaking along with Chris' background as a carpenter and his passion for furniture making, the boats become a perfect blend of art and functionality. The kayak took just over a year to make, but the second build, a 16-foot Prospector canoe, took almost three years, mainly due to pandemic closures.

Both boats are mainly built from western red cedar with ash and walnut used for the seats, gunwales and accent patterns. The bow and stern decks on the canoe and some parts of the paddles were made from sapele reclaimed from the old front door to Chris’s house.

Barony Career Open Day

In March, EGGER Barony welcomed over 150 people to its Career Open Day. Visitors got the chance to explore EGGER’s state-of-the-art chipboard production site and get an insight into the apprenticeship and production roles available at the plant.

The team was on hand to answer any questions and give first-hand experience of what it is really like to work at EGGER.

As a result of the open day, EGGER Barony received over 63 job applications.

Charity Committee Update

Over the last six months, the EGGER Hexham Community Fund has donated £6,000 to six local charities. Charities include the Oncology Day Unit in Hexham hospital, Tynedale Hospice at Home, Lupus UK, Wag & Co and the Hexham and Tynedale Community Trust.

For the first time, EGGER joined the RED January initiative to raise awareness of mental health. All UK employees were encouraged to join the EGGER UK Red January Strava Group and record at least 30 minutes of exercise each day during the month. EGGER’s charity committee sponsored each successful employee £100 and by the end of January, 51 employees completed the challenge and raised a staggering £5,100 to be split between three charities.

After the success of the RED January, EGGER UK launched the February challenge to walk, run or hike 56 miles throughout the month. EGGER donated £56 per employee that took part to Cancer Research. The 47 employees that completed the challenge collectively did over 3000 miles and raised £2,632.

EGGERCharity Committee EGGERCh rity C i tee

New Texture Meets Colour range

EGGER has revamped its Texture Meets Colour range, to offer a timeless, cost effective alternative to painted timber.

The demand for painted timber kitchens and cabinetry shows no sign of slowing, but a high price tag means the desired finish often exceeds the budget. EGGER has developed an affordable solution available with its Texture Meets Colour range.

The colour palette is standout, offering heritage shades of green, blue and grey paired with realistic textures, making it simple to design timeless furniture.

Hand selected by EGGER’s Design Manager, Aimee Fletcher, there are 14 decors and three textures to play with, putting you in control of the finished surface look and feel. Simply pick a decor and choose a texture from the 42 combinations available.

Aimee Fletcher, Design Manager, EGGER UK, said, "We’ve created a range of decors that can be tailored to individual projects. Our mix and match approach means elegant and timeless designs can easily be created with this lowmaintenance and cost-effective alternative to painted timber."

Texture Meets Colour offers modern innovation paired with contemporary colour tones and textures.

Apprentice Taster Days

In April, EGGER organised taster days for potential mechanical and electrical apprentices. 12 people were invited per day to complete various mechanical aptitude tests.

The mechanical taster included hand fitting, drilling and tapping and they finished up with the final challenge of building a tower using drawings and parts list. The electrical taster was executed in a very similar format but the participants completed an electrical circuit build .

At the end of the Apprentice taster days, a number of participants were shortlisted for an interview to join EGGER UK as an apprentice.

Undergraduates and graduates go team building

On Thursday 4th May, an event was organised for all graduates and undergraduates of EGGER UK.

The event took place at the Sill, the National Landscape Discovery Centre. The day included a range of activities, including presentations, landscaping to repair the land next to a new tarmac walkway for visitors, and orienteering along Hadrian’s Wall while focusing on team-building and sustainability.

The event offered the chance for fellow colleagues to network and build relationships and it was a valuable experience for everyone who attended