THE closure of a sawmill in Welshpool has made more than 40 employees redundant.

BSW Timber Solutions has made the job cuts at its site on the Severn Farm Industrial Estate in Welshpool, after a review of operations recommended ceasing operations at the Powys sawmill.

Most employees had their last working day at the site last week, while a few have reportedly been kept on to manage the transition of moving everything out of the site to another BSW location.

Notice of a consultation regarding the site’s future was given to employees in November, as BSW Group said they were “changing the way in which we operate”, identifying that operating sites in both Welshpool and Melton in East Yorkshire “does not support customer requirements”.

In November, employees were told, “a thorough consultation process will commence, and BSW anticipates that it will be in a position to confirm the result of said consultation in early December”.

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At that time Mike Lomas, group operations director, said: “Following a comprehensive review of operations across all functions and business lines, BSW Group is proposing to cease operations at BSW Timber Solutions in Welshpool, with a view to improving profitability and strengthening its position in a challenging marketplace.

“BSW will be commencing a redundancy consultation, which will affect the majority of employees at the site. Operations will be moving to the BSW Timber Solutions site in Melton, while sales operations will be moving to Carlisle.

“This decision is driven by the aforementioned review, which identified that changing the way in which we operate can have a considerable impact on our operating costs and improve our internal processes, allowing us to better meet the demands of our customers.

“Our existing BSW Timber Solutions business operates across two manufacturing facilities, in Welshpool and Melton, and this does not support customer requirements. Moving operations to Melton will increase the output of that site, which has already received significant investment, helping to ensure that efficiencies are maximised." 

BSW says it is making significant investment in Melton, including the opening of a third location. This will also see Bayram Timber merged into BSW Timber Solutions from April 2025. 

BSW has closed a number of sawmills in recent years, including Boat of Garten in Scotland and its mill in the New Forest. 

This story originally appeared in our sister title, the Powys County Times.