John Brash hits million milestone
John Brash & Co has set a new record for the amount of timber roofing batten that it is able to process at its factory in Gainsborough.
For the first time, it has hit the million metres milestone – which means it is now scanning and grading enough timber roofing batten each week to stretch between John O’ Groats and Land’s End.
The achievement highlights strong sales of its JB-Red timber roofing batten, which is used for both the construction of new houses across the UK and home renovation and re-roofing projects.
The company is already reaping the rewards of the near £1m investment last year in both its premises and the introduction of Goldeneye, the only timber scanning line in Europe, which are enabling it to meet demand for timber roofing batten that is fully compliant with the new British Standard for roofing that came into force last year.
Chairman Christian Brash says that the unprecedented demand highlights the level of house building going on across the UK as the industry aims to deliver on the ambitious targets that Chancellor George Osborne set in last year’s Autumn Statement.
“The pressure is on for the house-building industry’s supply chain to keep up with demand from developers building more homes across the UK, and our ability to scan and grade one million metres of timber each week is an incredible achievement that shows that we are responding to that demand,” said Brash.
“Producing one million metres per week is all the more remarkable when you consider that Goldeneye scans and x-rays each length of timber at 0.1mm intervals. But that is the degree to which we have to work in order to ensure that every length of timber roofing batten is fully compliant with BS5534:2014.
“The introduction of BS5534:2014 has been the biggest shake-up to roofing standards for 50 years, and John Brash has been at the forefront on producing timber roofing batten that was fully compliant with the standard from day one.”
Six in ten UK houses have John Brash’s timber roofing batten, and the company produces enough each year to stretch one and a half times around the world.
Brash paid testament to the team at the company, which recently celebrated its 110th birthday.
“Like a lot of businesses, we have come through tough times in recent years, but everyone has been fully focused on producing products that are market leaders in terms of being of the highest possible quality standards,” he said.
“Our commitment and the confidence to invest heavily in our business mean that we are not just one but two and three steps ahead in a competitive marketplace.”
