Russwood reflections 2021
As 2021 draws to a close, we reflect on some of our highlights from throughout the year. It has been a busy year for Russwood, with the launch of new products, systems and virtual tools on our website as well as a number of staff completing training courses and qualifications. Read on to find out more about what we’ve been up to, our favourite projects of the year, and what we're doing for Christmas this year.
Virtual views
We wanted to offer our customers a quicker, more sustainable alternative to visiting our showroom or waiting for samples to arrive through the post. After months of research, we introduced our 3D Virtual Samples to the website, bringing you the capability to browse and compare our range of Cladding, Flooring, Interior Cladding and Decking from the comfort of your own home or office. Another virtual tool we launched this year was our Flooring Visualiser which uses the latest technology to bring your project vision to life, showing you how our floors will look in your room before you buy, giving you peace of mind that you are making the right choice. With so many flooring options to choose from, we want to help you narrow down your choice, allowing you to select your dream floor with ease. Check out our Floor Visualiser.
Sustainable systems
Working alongside Robert Gordon University on a joint project to create a panel, Russwood have also launched a new cladding battening system. Bringing a more durable and dimensionally stable alternative to traditional preservative impregnated battens. Russwood’s battening system has been independently assessed by an engineer: it complies with EN 1995-1-1: Eurocode 5: Design of timber structures, and is suitable for fixing external timber cladding in the harshest UK conditions. It is environmentally friendly, offers enhanced longevity and performance and above all is easy to install, disassemble and reuse.
Award winning projects
Russwood have been lucky to have been involved with award-winning projects throughout the UK. One of our favourites was even featured on Grand Designs House of the Year series. The stunning ‘Narula House‘ by John Pardey Architects, features SILA Select® Plus Cladding factory coated with SiOO:X Original. We were also delighted to see Hoskins win the 2021 Andrew Doolan Best Building in Scotland Award for Aberdeen Art Gallery, which proudly showcases Russwood Classic Oak flooring. Another award-winning project is the low carbon design at Queensferry High School. Ryder Architects won the award for best large project at the EAA Awards. The building is clad with our fire treated SILA Select® and looks fantastic. Congratulations to everyone involved! Case studies for these projects can be found on our Inspirations page.
Learning & development
Russwood is committed to helping our staff learn and develop so that they have opportunities for progression and growth. These are just a few of the courses completed by our team members this year, well done to everyone involved! Naomi, Thea, Michael, Dominykas and Gareth all achieved Level 4 Certificate in Wood Science and Timber Technology with TFT Woodexperts Ltd, a course which provides in-depth knowledge on wood as a material. In our Production Team, Christian, Daniel, Dave C, Declan, Kenneth, and Richard all passed their novice forklift training, and one day refresher training was completed by Andy P, Blair, Bryan, Derek, George, Niall, Norbert and Paul. Gillian completed a diploma in HR after many months of study.
Under construction
Exciting building works happening at Russwood; Phase 1 of the storage shed extension, which has been designed by HRI Architects and D Narro Structural Engineers. Grampian Builders have cleared the site and it’s now ready for the foundations to go in. CR Construction and JD Construction are taking on other components of the works. The building will be constructed using natural materials where possible, such as; cross-laminated timber (CLT) and glulam beams, timber cladding. The roof sheets of the demolished buildings will be re-used internally. There is new office space within the building along with extra production team welfare facilities.
Phase 2 is our new Production Hall – this has gone in for planning this week. This has been designed to give us flexibility and to improve our production flows, whilst also providing more natural light for a better working environment. Stay tuned for progress photos and updates in our email newsletters. And it’s not just the buildings that are expanding, this year 12 new starts joined the team. Welcome Amy, Andrew, Andy, Ann-Louise, Eve, Kelsey, Mark, Neil, Richard, Rory, Scott and Tammie!
Our Christmas mission
Instead of sending Christmas cards Russwood have made donations to two amazing charities: Mikeysline and The Lodging House Mission in Glasgow. Mikeysline, based in Inverness, supports people of all ages when struggling with mental health. They aim to break down the stigma associated with seeking support for emotional distress and raise awareness that it is okay not to be okay but nobody should suffer in silence. The Lodging House Mission located next to our Glasgow office, provides care and support to homeless, vulnerable, and socially excluded people. We also held a charity coffee morning in aid of MFR Mission Christmas, raising £355. Our staff also generously donated gifts to Cash For Kids which are then given to disadvantaged children, so they’ll wake up to something under the tree on Christmas morning.
Please note we are closed from the 23rd December until the 5th January 2022 – see our Visit Russwood Page for more information. From the whole team at Russwood, we wish you and your family a Happy Christmas and a Happy New Year!