Sustainable forests needed
A wood panel company which employees more than 600 people on the Shropshire border says the industry is struggling to source sustainable supply of raw materials.
Representatives from Kronospan which has a headquarters in Chirk travelled to Westminster to champion the contribution of one of the UK’s largest manufacturing industries to the economy.
They attended an event hosted by The Wood Panel Industries Federation to mark the reconstitution of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for the Wood Panel Industry and the launch of an expert working group for the sector.
Kronospan apprentices Dan Morris and Sion Smith were among the group who met with politicians at the launch.
The new working group will assess the challenges facing the sector due to lack of security of domestic wood supply, how the industry can meet 100 per cent of UK demand for wood panel products and how it can coexist with the wood processing and wood fuels sectors which also rely on a finite wood source.
Kronospan chief executive, Ludwig Scheiblreiter said: “As an industry, we are increasingly struggling to source a sustainable supply of forest roundwood and thinning, sawmill products and recycled wood. Over the coming months Kronospan will be supporting the working group to develop proposals that will support the sector through it industries including construction, furniture, packaging and transport, as we look to maintain our contribution to the UK economy and provide material for future growth.”
Kronospan’s Chirk site provides work for over 600 employees, with 90 per cent of the workforce living within 10 miles of the factory. The wood panel industry contributes in excess of £850m a year to the economy with 7,500 direct and indirect jobs dependent on the industry.
