Investment In Brisbane Facility Paying Dividends
Britton Timbers newly-appointed state manager Martin Jones says Britton's major investment in infrastructure and stock at its Brisbane facility is paying dividends.
Martin, who has a long history of sales management in the timber industry with firms such as Auspine and FrenchPine, sees huge potential for Brittons in the Queensland market.
“The investment Britton’s has made in warehousing, the new kiln and increased stock levels means we are in a unique position to supply a huge range of timbers to market quickly and efficiently. Britton’s is in the Queensland market for the long haul and customers are now seeing that.”
Martin says that Tasmanian timbers and imported species such as American White Oak are being imported directly to the Brisbane warehouse, and this means delivery to the customer is even faster.
“We now dry New Guinea Rosewood and NSW hardwoods here in Brisbane and this means we have a wide variety of timber species that are consistent in quality and ‘ready to go’ to customers all over Queensland.”
Britton Timbers Joins Ahec
Britton Timbers has accepted an invitation from the American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC) to join its ranks; the first non USA-based company to be accorded this honour.
Britton Timbers’ Dominic McNeil says Britton’s and AHEC have enjoyed a long-standing partnership in promoting the virtues of American timbers.
“We’re probably Australia’s largest importer of American sawn temperate hardwoods and over the years we’ve collaborated closely with AHEC at trade shows and the like to market American hardwoods.”
According to Dominic, the market in Australia and around the world for American timbers is increasing.
“At Britton Timbers we’re experiencing strong demand for American White Oak, Ash, Black Walnut, Black Cherry and the thermally-modified Cambia range. Architects and Specifiers in particular, are finding the timbers to their liking.”
Britton Timbers carries large domestic stocks of American hardwoods and ships worldwide.
BT Tasmanian Dry Mill Upgrade
Britton Timbers continuous improvement programme has now seen a major upgrade to its Tasmanian dry mill production facility. A Marinus Powermax end-matcher has been imported from Europe, and that has meant a total reconfiguration of the flooring line.
This significant investment in new technology will provide for more product flexibility to meet customer’s requirements. For the technically-minded, the upgrade has also involved increasing the dry mill by approximately 300m2, re-positioning the moulders and the inclusion of new docking lines and associated transfer and cueing decks.
At our Brisbane distribution centre, a new state manager has been appointed and a kiln has been installed to facilitate on-site drying of a range of species.
Tasmanian Myrtle Is Back!
It's not surprising that the rich red tones of Tasmania's time-honoured Myrtle are experiencing resurgence among architects, specifiers and developers.
Tasmanian Myrtle’s exquisite figuring and warm feel has again found favour among customers who are looking for a ‘different’ timber for cabinetry and feature walls. Harvested from Tasmania’s temperate north-west forests under strict environmental guidelines and processed at Britton’s state-of the-art Tasmanian mill.
Myrtle has always offered something special, and now its properties are being utilised in new ways – flooring being the latest example. Properly laid expanses of Myrtle flooring are providing talking points for homes and commercial fit-outs. Myrtle is easily worked and hard-wearing which makes it perfect for all flooring applications.
Britton Timbers carries stocks in all popular sizes and distributes Australia-wide. Overseas orders are handled by Britton Timbers International.
Cambia Ash - Contemporary And Versatile
Queensland’s tropical Stradbroke Island forms the perfect backdrop for a stunning architect-designed home renovation featuring Cambia Ash from Britton Timbers. The Cambia thermal modification process has been applied to resilient American Ash hardwood to enhance the properties of the wood to add dimensional stability and decay resistance.
Cambia is the perfect choice for timbers that are used in humid conditions. Cambia limits the ability of the wood to absorb moisture which means an extended life for finishes applied to the wood and less maintenance. The Cambia thermal modification process also acts as a barrier to wood-destroying insects and fungi, without the use of toxic chemicals.
Cambia Ash has been used extensively throughout the Stradbroke Island home and its dark, uniform colour and beautiful grain works superbly with the architect’s vision for a modern, functional beachside residence. Cambia’s thermal modification process can be applied to a variety of species including American Ash, Red Oak, Maple and Tulipwood, all 100% FSC ® (FSC-C113479) certified.
It can be used to great effect as decking, cladding and flooring and in the case of the Stradbroke Island home, Japanese inspired joinery to add a modern oriental feel to the interior (joinery supplied by Duce Joinery).
Britton Timbers is one of the largest importers of American hardwoods into Australia and the exclusive supplier of Cambia thermally modified hardwoods.
New American White Oak Overlay Flooring Launched
American White Oak flooring is a favourite here in Australia. Its clean, modern look and hard-wearing characteristics continue to excite architects, specifiers and builders.
Now there is a new cost-effective way to achieve the classic White Oak look. While 19mm flooring is still popular, new solid, 14mm overlay tongue & groove flooring retains all the sought-after American White Oak features, but at a substantial cost saving.
Britton Timbers now has stocks of this exciting new product ready for delivery. The new 14mm overlay is machined in Australia to the following covers: 80mm x 14mm, 100mm x 14mm, 130mm x 14mm and 180mm x 14mm.
Britton Timbers is one of the largest importers of high-quality American White Oak in Australia and has been distributing to all major centres for more than twenty years.
The new 14mm overlay is expected to satisfy a major gap in the flooring market. It has the ‘look’ that everyone is after and will be very attractive to a broad range of customers.
New Premises For Lifestyle Furniture, Hobart
One look at Lifestyle Furniture's airy new showroom in Bathurst Street Hobart is enough to confirm that the demand for quality Tasmanian timber is alive and well.
Lifestyle Furniture is owned by Martin Bowen who is also behind Launceston’s Tall Timbers Furniture. His commitment to procuring Blackwood, Tasmanian Oak and Sassafras from Britton Timbers, is paying handsome dividends.
“Customers come to us from all over Australia and the world, and they want one thing- quality Tasmanian timber.” Martin says Lifestyle Furniture ships dining, bedroom and occasional furniture as far as the U.S.A., U.K. and Europe. “Tasmania is known for its fine furniture and apart from the ‘walk-ins’ to our showroom, we got a lot of web-hits.”
“Our customers want solid furniture made from Tasmanian timbers, rather than Chinese imports. Our four staff in Hobart have been kept very busy since we opened our doors November,” Martin said.
Lifestyle Furniture and Tall timbers Furniture have had a long association with Britton Timbers and the relationship looks set to continue for as long as customers continue to value top-quality furniture made from sustainably produced Tasmanian timbers.
Inspired By The Place From Where It Came
Andrew Grant’s furniture can be identified by smooth curves sculpted from natural timbers. The organic forms are inspired by the landscape that the material is sourced from – the undulating terrain of Tasmania.
The furniture isn’t the only thing inspired by the place from where it came. It seems working with timber was inevitable for Andrew. You could say that it is in his blood. His grandfather was a boat builder, his father an avid maker, and his school encouraged the passion that he inherited.
Enrolling in the Bachelor of Environmental Design, majoring in Furniture Design, was a natural step for this aspiring designer.
Andrew recently graduated (his work can be viewed at the UTAS Furniture Design Grad Show in Launceston, closing February 22nd), but has already been working in furniture design for over a year.
Andrew was snapped up by renowned Tasmanian Furniture Designer Simon Ancher to work alongside him at Simon Ancher Studio. Simon was previously the Head of Furniture Design at the University of Tasmania.
“I’m learning so much from Simon. It’s great to be able to continue to learn and develop my skills. I create my own furniture in my time off.
“The dream is to start my own business one day where I can develop a range of furniture: made to order, one of commission pieces, public fit outs and corporate work. I’m a fan of organic forms, creating furniture that is not square edged.”
The pieces displayed in the graduate exhibition are made from Tasmanian Oak, a timber ideally suited to furniture that gets heavily used.
“I crafted a side board called ‘Contour’ with 3D curved drawers, and a table with bench seats called ‘Flow Table and Bench’. The flowing apron rails on the side of the table mirrored the same feature on the draw front of the sideboard.
“This type of furniture is well used, which makes Tasmanian Oak an ideal choice, because it is incredibly hard wearing.”
The other thing that Andrew loves about the native Tasmanian timber is its versatility.
“Tasmanian Oak is neutral in colour and consistent in grain. I tend to prefer a natural finish, adding Osmo Oil, but I sometimes like to stain in black, which emphasises the grain and structure of the timber.”
The inspiration for the two pieces struck when Andrew was mountain biking along the Derby trails of the north east coast.
“I was inspired by the terrain and artwork along the tracks. The artwork followed the contours of the terrain, was crafted with the rockwork, and flowed through the forest with minimal impact.”
Using local timbers that are sustainably sourced is a priority for Andrew, who saves the use of specialty timbers for smaller projects.
“We’re spoilt in Tasmania with such a broad range of beautiful species that are totally unique.”
Britton Timbers is a proud sponsor of the University of Tasmania Furniture Design Grad Show.
Queensland Expansion for Britton’s
Britton Timbers has responded to strong growth in sales of its products during the past ten years with a multi-million-dollar investment in new offices, warehousing, distribution and drying facilities at Narangba just behind popular Redcliffe, north of Brisbane.
The new facility sits in a park-like setting and has already proven to be a boon for transport operators who can now get timber to customers faster than ever before.
With easy access to major highways from the facility, Britton Timbers can now supply timber as far as the Northern Territory and south to northern New South Wales in record time. With huge stocks of sought-after American White Oak, Rosewood, Surian and Durian, African species and of course, quality Tasmanian Oak and Blackwood, the whole process from initial order to fulfilment is very fast.
Having a kiln on site has also helped ‘control’ the product from initial delivery to the warehouse, right through to the customer’s door. Quality control is paramount and is highly-valued by Britton Timber’s customers-from Architects and Specifiers through to high-end joinery and furniture manufacturers.
Britton’s large sales and administration team also now has the advantage of being able to show customers the fabulous Blackwood table and Tasmanian Oak flooring in the company’s meeting room as prime examples of high-end use of the company’s timbers.
Britton’s is proud to add the new Brisbane facility to its distribution network which will build on the success of its well-established centres in Melbourne and Sydney.
Britton’s Adds FSC Chain of Custody Certification
Britton Timbers is proud to announce it has earned Forest Stewardship Council ® (FSC-C113479) Chain of Custody certification for its range of imported timbers from Scientific Certification Systems - one of the world’s leading FSC certifiers.
Chain of custody certification provides a guarantee about the production and source of FSC-certified products. The main objective of Chain of Custody certification is to ensure that material from FSC certified forests is tracked through the production and distribution process.
Britton Timbers certification manager David Moore, said that FSC certification for popular timbers such as American White Oak, Ash, European Beech and others, was important to customers.
“Environmentally-sustainable products are increasingly sought-after in today’s market and Britton Timbers takes its responsibilities in this regard very seriously. Customers are entitled to seek reassurance about the fine timbers that are used on their floors and in their furniture, so certification is one major way to provide that additional environmental information.”
Complying with the FSC standard for Chain of Custody certification has meant that Britton’s has had to meet the specified requirements across a number of areas including:
Quality management-responses, procedures and records, materials sourcing and specifications, materials receipt, storage, identification and segregation and transport controls.