SterlingOSB Zero goes full circle for Alexanders’ Timber Design

Politicians in both Westminster and Edinburgh are fond of talking about creating a ‘Circular Economy’, and the First Minister of the Scottish Parliament, John Swinney, recently had the satisfaction of opening the new Alexanders’ Timber Design Ltd timber frame plant which is demonstrably putting this theory into practice.  Inverness-based West Fraser is supplying its highly sustainable SterlingOSB Zero in a manner which can truly be described as a closed loop process, while keeping road miles to a minimum. 

The state-of-the-art, 9,600m² plant at Irvine, Scotland, has been built to the demanding specification of Alexanders’ Timber Design, part of Glennon Brothers, (www.glennonbrothers.ie) a 112 year old family business in the timber processing sector. The business moved from a site adjacent to its parent company’s long established sawmill business, six miles away.  However, not only are the open and closed cell timber frame systems produced using home-grown Scottish timber, but waste wood chippings from the Glennon Brothers sawmills form an important part of the responsibly sourced, FSC-certified West Fraser supply chain, from which it produces its renowned SterlingOSB Zero.

John Swinney remarked during the opening of the £18 million facility that its output would help deliver on the Scottish Government’s Net Zero and affordable housing aspirations.  Indeed, as a trusted supplier to long term customers such as Ashleigh Construction and national housebuilders Taylor Wimpey, Bellway, and Persimmon, Alexanders’ Timber Design has a capacity of 2,500 homes a year working two shifts.

The Head of Timber Frame for Alexanders’ Timber Design, Jim Patterson, commented, “The company was founded in 1990 and where we were previously on a seven-acre site next to the sawmill, our new factory is on a 14-acre brownfield site owned by the business.  As well as the open and closed panel systems, we also produce roof trusses, floor cassettes and floor joists here in-house.  While we have always prided ourselves on sustainability as a business, the decision was taken that the new plant would focus on using as many Scottish-made products as possible.  Not only is West Fraser, our nearest manufacturer of OSB, but the sawmill business supplies wood chips to West Fraser to produce chipboard and OSB etc, so there is a genuine cyclical benefit. We utilise 9mm SterlingOSB Zero for the sheathing to all the wall panels, and also the 15mm version as a ‘sacrificial’ floor for the cassettes, which is covered on site with another finish.  They meet all our criteria for timber frame manufacture.  We carry substantial stocks of all the materials we require and for instance, with West Fraser, provide them with three month’s ‘visibility’ on the volumes we will need.”

The Group Compliance Manger for West Fraser, Julie Turner, reflected: “Sustainability is at the core of everything we do, with West Fraser making very good progress towards complying with the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) while the group’s UK operations are also ahead of schedule on the journey towards Net Zero.  West Fraser is very proud of the due diligence systems we have in place; and we have taken them to a whole new level.  We go the extra mile on sustainability and have a very strong commitment to legislation.”

All West Fraser panel products produced in the UK are net carbon negative and manufactured in mills that have obtained the coveted environmental ISO 14001 accreditation. Responsibly sourced, the panels are FSC® certified (C012533).

For further information, call 01786 812 921 or visit https://uk.westfraser.com/