Wood trade is a valuable boost at port

SINCE last May Euroforest has used a depot at the old cattle market in Bideford from where thousands of logs have found their way around the country and Europe.

The company buys wood from up to 500 estates around the country.

LOADING: The skipper and first mate of the Dutch ship, Flinter, in Bideford harbour as wood is loaded by Euroforest.
BUSY: Cranes load nearly 2,000 tonnes of wood onto the Dutch ship, Flinter, on Bideford Quay.

Mark Williams is the company's area manager: " We are involved in everything from small farm woodland to large commercial parcels.

"We price any parcel of standing timber. So if there is a group of farmers who want theirs harvested we can price them together."

The wood cut from many parts of the region is stored in Bideford until it is moved on by land around the region or is loaded onto ships exporting to places like Wismar in Germany and Scandinavia and Russia.

The company moves about 170,000 tonnes of timber a year, of which 15 per cent is exported. The ships are often Russian or Dutch-owned, and can carry up to 2,500 tonnes each from Bideford.

But most of the wood goes to sawmills in the South West, including to nearby Norbord, the processing factory near South Molton.

The timber is used in agricultural buildings, farm and garden fencing, and in the building trade for flooring and roofing.

Euroforest indirectly employs around 60 people in the South West and has its own marketing and administration team.

The export trade in timber continues to look healthy for Euroforest. "There's a lot happening over the next 12 months," said Mr Williams.

"The price for export material is very good.

"And we have a base of UK customers we supply with material and we don't want to let them down.

"We've started transporting by train with loads of timber going out every week to two of the big sawmills. We use specialised railway wagons going from a railhead near Newton Abbot."

The company has found a strong market in felling and marketing larch trees because of a disease spread by rhododendron that's hit the species and disturbed the pattern of soft wood forestry.

"We can't export the larch but we've set up a group of markets for it and we have the licences to move it," said Mr Williams.

"There's a lot of wood out there that has had to be felled."