DJ Laing, one of the pioneers of wood recycling in Scotland in the early 1990s, sold its skip hire business to NWH in 2015 [amended 8 June].
Mark Williams, managing director at NWH Group, said: “This acquisition represents the addition of a new product to our portfolio, and ensures we have the in-house expertise to further process our wood waste into a product which can be taken to a sustainable end use. It means that we are in better control of wood commodity prices, stabilising the market for our customers, and ensuring that the wood is being recycled responsibly.”
Biomass
The six-acre Petterden site will supply around 60,000 tons of biomass per annum, said NWH. And, no redundancies are being made with the acquisition and 10 staff will transfer to NWH Group. Laing has also been supplying panel board manufacturers Egger and Norbord with high-grade chipped material from Petterden.
Input material has come from local councils, including Dundee and Arbroath, as well as from the construction industry and skips sources and Laing took in grades A-B.
NWH said it expects to increase the site’s output of biomass chip and recruit more employees to support the growth with the Laing wood division having an annual turnover of £1.8 million. Laing is understood to be a supplier of biomass feedstock to the Markinch power station in Fife.
David Laing, managing director at D J Laing, said: “I have always had a special interest in waste recycling and enjoyed our company’s role in pioneering wood recycling in Scotland. I’d like to thank the Petterden team for all their hard work and commitment throughout the past 25 years. I look forward to seeing the team and the business continue to progress with NWH.”
The purchase of Laing has been financed with the support of a revolving credit facility (RCF) with Royal Bank of Scotland. NWH was advised by Wright, Johnston & Mackenzie LLP, and D J Laing was advised by Stewart Brymer Legal.
NWH Group
First established in 1967, NWH Group is a second generation family-run business. The company said it has demonstrated strong growth in recent years and now employs 275 staff located across five sites offering a variety of industrial services such as waste recycling, road sweepers, concrete and aggregate supplies, skip hire, and winter gritting services.
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NWH Group
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