Danny Alexander MP, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, recently visited BSW Timber’s Boat of Garten sawmill to mark the government’s growing confidence in the UK’s manufacturing sector.
Mr Alexander, who is constituency MP for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey, was welcomed by BSW chairman Martin Gale and mill manager Dave Mills, and used the opportunity to highlight UK government commitment to manufacturing in the light of newly published gross domestic product figures.
BSW Timber is currently investing £70m as part of a five-year investment plan to bring cutting-edge technology to all of its mills, as well as creating modern manufacturing sites and improved customer services across the UK.
Welcoming Mr Alexander to Boat of Garten, Mr Gale said: “We are pleased to capture the attention of a senior government minister. His visit gave us the opportunity to reinforce the importance of the government sticking to its resolve in driving forward its economic recovery plan, as well as recognising the heightened focus on rebuilding the UK’s manufacturing sector. Both issues will give the BSW board future confidence to continue our ongoing investment.
He added: “We also had constructive dialogue around our support for the Grown in Britain initiative which highlights the huge potential of forestry products manufactured in the UK, using trees grown in the UK. Our recent investment has resulted in a major shift towards the supply of home-grown British products and we have placed great emphasis in the last few years on working downstream with the UK construction sector to grow markets for UK timber.
“We must now ensure that the business confidence of the sector is underpinned by continued investment in sustainably managed productive woodland.”
