Celtic Offsite teams up with Premier Forest Group as it targets exclusively Welsh supply chain

Caerphilly-based social enterprise, Celtic Offsite, has teamed up with one of the UK’s leading timber suppliers, Premier Forest Products, as part of their ambitious plan to develop a Welsh supply chain to reduce its carbon footprint and support the local economy.

Celtic Offsite, part of the United Welsh Group, manufactures low carbon homes by producing high quality, sustainable timber frame structures, complete with factory fitted insulation and windows, to build up to 250 low carbon homes a year.

Premier Forest Products was initially approached by Celtic Offsite to supply Oriented Strand Board (OSB) for sheathing for timber frame panels, plywood and chipboard. However, thanks to Premier’s growing product offering, they have recently started supplying roof trusses, engineered floor joists and Laminated Veneer Lumber (LVL) for structural beams, taking Celtic Offsite ever closer to their goal of using Welsh suppliers for more of their manufacturing work.

Neil Robins, Managing Director of Celtic Offsite said: “We are actively committed to making the areas in which we work better and more environmentally sound. We have been certified as a Climate Positive Business by Earthly, meaning we will remove more greenhouse emissions than we produce. One of the ways that we will do this is by working with local suppliers who have a similar mindset to our own.

“We have been so impressed by the service and quality of the products supplied by Premier Forest that we have consistently increased the range of items that we order from them.”

Co-founder and CEO of Premier Forest Products Terry Edgell said: “As an organisation, we firmly believe that the use of timber should be at the forefront of sustainable housing development. At the moment, wood in construction is the only commercially viable carbon capture and storage system so, simply by using more wood in construction, we can turn our built environment into a weapon against climate change.

“It is so inspiring to be working with an organisation in Wales that not only recognises the benefits of using timber but is actively working to build a sustainable supply chain, hopefully changing the way that homes are built.”

Premier Forest Products is a vertically integrated timber operation engaged in the importation, sawmilling, processing, merchanting, and wholesale distribution of timber and timber products from its 12 sites in the UK.

As part of its commitment to the local community, Celtic Offsite offers an on-site training suite to provide skills development and apprenticeships for green construction jobs.

The factory has been awarded two prestigious International Organization for Standardization (ISO) certifications; ISO 9001 for quality management and ISO 14001 for environmental management. Celtic Offsite has also achieved PEFC certification for the chain of custody of forest-based products and were awarded Gold by the Structural Timber Association in their latest audit.