Navigation
Visit Kenny & Mervyn Richardson at their sawmill on its 1 acre site at Edingthorpe and you'll find it hard to believe that in 1969 the business started when the two brothers were selling firewood door to door. They ran their firewood round from 1960 to 1969, during which time they gained enough knowledge of the timber business to set up their own Sawmill. At first, working from rented premises at Witton with one band saw, one lorry and one mobile timber crane, their main work was tree felling and sawing the timber into pit props for the coal mining industry. Their business grew steadily and in 1973 they moved to their present site on Edingthorpe Heath.
First though they had the massive task of clearing the dense scrub and undergrowth before building their new sawmill sheds and installing their massive saws and equipment. At this time their business was feeling the effect of the miners' strikes and as the demand for pit props fell off the Richardson brothers had to diversify into other timber products, including fence panels and posts. It was in fact the sturdy construction of their fence panels, all made from quality timber, which earned them a countywide reputation with both trade and private customers and following a further wave of mining strikes they decided to drop pit prop manufacturing altogether and concentrate on fencing. In order to keep pace with the demand, Kenny's wife Janice was brought in to help with the construction work and 20 years later they are still turning out their top quality fencing.
In 1985, Neil Richardson, Kenny's 16 year old son joined the family business and today plays a major part in the day to day running of the Mill. The family connection doesn't end there however for Neil's wife Marie handles the general administration work at the Sawmill. Both Kenny and Mervyn live on the site in bungalows they have built themselves and in true Richardson tradition Neil and Marie have recently built their own bungalow there. Whilst each member of the family has their own specialist tasks, they all pitch in to help each other when required to do so. The Richardsons also provide work for students during the summer holidays. The quality of their work and competitive pricing has main tained a constant flow of orders even during the recent long period of trade recession and the family are always introducing new ranges and ideas in order to keep ahead.
Their latest range of children's play houses for example, are proving to be very popular indeed. They will also manufacture and produce to the customers' own requirements and have just completed a three cornered summer house for a local resident. As Richardsons Sawmill depends on the constant availability of quality timber they are only too aware of the need to deal with managed estates where re planting programmes are strictly adhered to.
As you would expect in a long running family business there are stories galore and once Kenny and Mervyn get started there is no end to the humorous tales they tell. One such tale however, really does stretch the imagination, but the brothers swear to its truth. Having travelled many miles to fell a row of oak trees they were appalled to discover Kenny had left behind the vital spanner needed for tightening the saw, a job normally necessary after felling each tree. However, they decided to see how much work they could get through before making the long trek back home for the spanner. The first oak fell to the ground and as the brothers set about removing the branches they came across a rusty spanner on a piece of string hanging from one of the top most branches, and to their absolute amazement it was the exact size needed to tighten the saw. Whilst the only conceivable answer is that it was probably hurled into the air by a child and had caught in the branches by accident, Kenny still claims that 'someone up there was looking after them that day'.
It goes without saying that the timber business is hard work and the Richardsons certainly work very long hours. Nevertheless, Kenny and his son Neil are able to make some time for their two main hobbies, Motorcycling and Clay Pigeon shooting. They both hold several shooting trophies. Mervyn enjoys travelling and has spent 9 weeks in Australia where, apart from having a well earned break, he took time out to study the Australian timber business. The Richardson family are celebrating many years in the business and it stands to reason that with this experience behind them, if any one knows about timber products, they certainly do. So if you need new fence panels, posts, a shed or summer house etc., or you want something built to your own design, get in touch with Richardsons Sawmill if they can't help you, in all probability nobody can.
