Closure of Boat of Garten Sawmill

Due the downturn in the economy one of the oldest BSW sawmills will be closing its doors for good by the end of 2022.

The closure of Boat of Garten Sawmill will have a detrimental effect on the rural economy of Badenoch and Strathspey. The mill employed 40 people, some who will have to relocate for work.

The 5 ha site is BSW’s most northerly sawmill and located in the beautiful Spey Valley five miles northeast of Aviemore. It worked on a single shift pattern with an input of 98,000m³ of round timber, producing 56,000m³ of sawn timber.

The Pandemic, the war in Ukraine and an increase in energy costs have all contributed to the decision to close the mill.

BSW Group is the largest integrated forestry business in the UK – and it has five main operating divisions: tree nurseries, forestry, sawmilling, timber manufacturing and energy. The group has six sawmills in the UK – in Newbridge-on-Wye, Southampton, Carlisle, Dalbeattie, Petersmuir and Fort William – and one in Riga, Latvia. The headquarters remain in Earlston, Berwickshire, where the business originated.

BSW were acquired by global sawmiller Binderholz in 2021.

Tillhill, a subsidiary of BSW Timber, has been under fire recently due to changes in its payment system to some of their larger forestry contractors who carry out harvesting operations. Contractors are now having to wait up to 10 weeks for payment which has replaced the two-week self-billing system that had previously been used.

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