Danny Alexander, Chief Secretary to the treasury, showed his support for sustainable timber on a visit to a Highlands sawmill last week.

Mr Alexander visited the Boat of Garten mill, which falls in his constituency of Inverness, Nairn Badenoch and Strathspey, and took a tour of the site with its manager David Mills and Hamish Macleod, the head of public affairs at BSW, the company that owns the mill.

Boat of Garten employs 62 people and has an annual turnover of £10m.

The largest manufacturing site in the Cairngorms National Park, it produces 92,000 cubic metres of roundwood logs a year, destined for use in construction, fencing, landscaping and pallets.

-- Advertisement --

Recent investment has seen new low pressure treatment tanks installed in the mill, as well as introducing training initiatives geared to developing more apprentices and graduate trainees.

Mr Alexander said: "BSW is an important local employer and I look forward to seeing how the company develops and continues to support sustainable forestry production and use in the Highlands."

Mr Macleod said: "It is important that the Government works to develop sustainable solutions from UK grown timber to achieve enhanced rural employment, improved trade balance and value added manufacturing capacity.

"Of critical importance is the creation of productive woodland so that the timber sector can continue to develop and grow. We welcome recent reports on the Government's plans to stimulate house building and we hope to support these efforts along with initiatives to improve the existing housing stock."

For more information, visit www.bsw.co.uk.

(NE)