Northumberland sawmill launches recruitment drive to meet growing demand

To help prospective candidates get a feel for the opportunities available, the company is to hold a recruitment open morning on Thursday, May 19 from 10am-12pm.

A&J Scott Ltd, based at Wooperton, between Alnwick and Wooler, produce sawn timber products, predominantly used in the fencing and landscaping sectors across the UK.

The company sells timber fencing products and railway sleepers to wholesalers, distributors and timber merchants throughout the country, as well as to contractors and farmers in the local area.

After several years of consistent investment and growth, the company’s turnover topped £45m for the first time in 2021, and, having invested over £25m in state-of-the-art sawmill equipment in the last decade, the company is primed for further growth.

The last year has seen the installation of a new log sorting and grading line on a newly acquired 20-acre parcel of land which takes the overall site to around 40 acres, and plans are in place to develop further production facilities on the site in the next two years.

In order to strengthen its existing team of over 180 employees, the company is recruiting now to fill a number of new roles requiring varying levels of skills and experience.

It is expecting to create 15 new positions this summer and a further 10 over the next two years.

Roles available as the company grows will cover the entire range of its production activities, including timber processing and machine operation and driving forklifts, timber handling vehicles and lorries.

In addition, the company will be growing numbers of site maintenance and management staff, including mechanical and electrical engineers.

The family owned company will use the extra production capacity to meet growing demand from those existing long-term customers as well as expanding to serve new customers.

Robert Scott, managing director, said: “This is a very exciting time for the company as a decade of investment in our production facilities translates into increased production output.

"Looking ahead, continuing investment in facilities and our product range will bring further growth and employment opportunities.

"We’re very keen to hear from people in the area and looking for a wide range of skills so would encourage people to get in touch.”