Sustainable
P.Irving & Sons Ltd are committed to sustainable development with a long term vision.
Following industry guidelines allows us to meet our present business needs and ensure the needs of future generations.
Our established program encompasses sustainability into all areas of our operations - managing transport, energy consumption and waste, along with the sourcing the timber.
Harvesting Sites
Situated in between two national parks - the Lake District and the Yorkshire Dales - we source most of our softwood sawlogs within a 60 mile radius of our sawmill.
These conifer woods are crops which have been planted for the specific purpose of future harvesting. They are only perhaps 25-45 years old, rather than being historic woodlands that have stood for centuries.
FSC© Policy
Being FSC® registered, P Irving and Sons are committed to buying our raw timber from responsibly managed forests.
Our Chain of Custody Certification means the sawlogs are tracked from the felling site to our sawmill, and then on to our customers. We work hard to ensure every link between the forest and the consumer is certified.
Our FSC® label guarantees that the trees that are harvested are replaced or allowed to regenerate naturally.
Timber for the Future
Wood is very much a material of the future. By working closely with landowners and CONFOR, the organisation for sustainable forestry and wood-using businesses, we are helping do our bit to help the environment and promote the sustainability of this natural resource.
This ongoing commitment gives customers the assurance that future generations will be able to enjoy the benefits of the forest and that they are managed with consideration for people, wildlife and the environment.
Timber Felling
Working in partnership with approved forestry contractors ensures that timber is harvested efficiently by highly skilled and experienced professionals.
Commercial timber harvesting needs to be planned and conducted with the utmost respect for the environment and also for the safety of operatives and the general public.
We work with a trusted network of contractors and have direct input on their operations.
This is a year-round, all weather activity; even with advances in machinery and technology, it is still not without considerable danger - activities worth remembering when thinking about the provenance of even a modest piece of wood.
Gathering Felled Timber
Once felled, the timber needs to be removed from the site as quickly and efficiently as possible - it's not stretching the truth to say that wood that was growing on the flanks of Grizedale Forest could be a fully processed product from our sawmill in Hutton Roof later the same day.
Depending on the species and requirements from the crop, the logs are stripped of superfluous small branches and foliage before being cut to length and stacked.
This timber is then systematically loaded and transported back to our sawmill yard for sorting and processing.
Transportation
Our network of partnerships also extends to Cumbria and Lancashire's hauliers - a vital link in the chain for transporting the raw timber to the Irving and Sons sawmill.
Each year approximately 55,000m3 of logs are transported from harvesting sites across the North of England, South West Scotland and North Wales back to our Hutton Roof facility.
A huge amount of wood yet, by sourcing as locally as possible, we are helping to reduce our carbon footprint by cutting timber miles.
Hutton Roof Sawmill
Our business and fcilities have grown considerably since Phil Irving started cutting and selling firewood from a shed in Kirkby Lonsdale.
Over the subsequent decades we have invested heavily in the Hutton Roof site - in the buildings, advanced automated machinery from the world's leading manufacturers and also in the people we employ.
Timber Sorting
Upon arrival, the round logs are sorted by species, size and suitability for their end uses and application.
It's a process which tracks every piece of wood from end-to-end and ensures that as much of the log is used as possible - wood is a valuable natural resource and it makes sense that we recover the most out of every single log.
Wood is a valuable natural resource and it makes sense that we recover the most out of every single log.
Automation
We continually invest in our automation process so that we can offer our customers the best quality sawn timber with every order.
Close industry links to our machinery suppliers ensure that continued planning for the future and flexibility in our saw milling process allows us to quickly change to market demands.
Automated machinery has revolutionised the industry, yet this equipment is only as good as the people who operate it and know the raw materials, the timber, inside out.
The Sawmill Team
Irving & Sons employees 30 full time employees in roles which vary from sales and customer advisors to yard staff, skilled machinery operators, hauliers and mechanics.
A third of our staff have been with us for over 20 years, a commitment which is never taken for granted and something which has been instrumental in the business attaining such a healthy standing.
This level of support runs true to the family sawmill ethos and no advancement in technology will ever change this.
Finished Timber Products
Overview of end products.
Nam porttitor vitae diam sed vehicula. Morbi aliquet turpis
at tortor ultricies, eget posuere quam mattis. Integer risus lectus, rhoncus...
Biomass
The production of high quality timber in our sawmill naturally results in residues and co-products such as offcuts, bark, sawdust and chippings.
As well as supplying this material to large companies with their own converting and biomass energy systems, P Irving and Sons have invested in advanced machinery for processing co-products into high quality biomass fuel.
This investment means that we have the capability to process every piece of wood that enters our yard into a specific end-product.
A Bespoke Service
If you want something is not "run of the mill" then we will always try our best to help.
We have designed our manufacturing process so that we can handle all types of enquiries, whether it be a one-off order or a customer seeking a long term commitment from a trusted supplier.
Bespoke truly means bespoke with us - if there is anything you can't find here on our website, call us on 015242 71510 and we'll be happy to discuss your requirements.
Firewood
The production of firewood is very much a by-product of our main operations. Even though wood is a sustainable resource, producing this material to burn is never going to be an efficient output.
Only wood which we consider to be unsuitable for our end products is chopped into firewood. That's not to say it isn't a quality product for putting onto your fire or stove!
