BORDERS company BSW Timber has landed several industry awards as the largest sawmiller in the UK goes from strength to strength.

At Jewson’s belated awards – cancelled in 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic – BSW Timber scooped gongs for ‘Best Overall Supplier of the Year’ and ‘Best Sales Support of the Year’ at the Jewson 2021 Supplier Conference & Dinner in Birmingham.

The awards were presented in front of 300 supplier partners and Jewson employees at the Hilton Metropole in Birmingham, and Neil Horton, sales director for national accounts, said the two wins encapsulated the hard work carried by the BSW Timber team over the past two years.

Border Telegraph: From left, category director Lisa Young from Jewson, James Brennan, Group Marketing Manager; Karl Grimble, Area Sales Manager; Darren Pack, Head of Sales – National Merchants, and comedian Kerri Godliman. From left, category director Lisa Young from Jewson, James Brennan, Group Marketing Manager; Karl Grimble, Area Sales Manager; Darren Pack, Head of Sales – National Merchants, and comedian Kerri Godliman.

He said: “We are honoured to receive these awards which we feel reflect the efforts of the entire BSW sales and operations teams as we’ve strived to support Jewson in their sales growth strategy.

“We worked collaboratively with the category team to react to the unprecedented demand throughout the pandemic to ensure branches received the support they needed.”

Nadine Matthews, Managing Director at Jewson said: “We were delighted to have awarded BSW Timber our Supplier of the Year for 2021 in our recent Supplier Awards. They went above and beyond to help our colleagues and customers.

“They provided excellent communication, with regular updates on product availability, and developed great relationships across our branch network to help keep product moving, including for increasing deliveries on Saturdays to help meet demand. Above all, BSW offered a customer-first attitude to find the right solutions for our customers. Thank you and congratulations.”

Border Telegraph: From left, category director Lisa Young from Jewson, James Brennan, Group Marketing Manager; Karl Grimble, Area Sales Manager; Darren Pack, Head of Sales – National Merchants, and comedian Kerri Godliman. From left, category director Lisa Young from Jewson, James Brennan, Group Marketing Manager; Karl Grimble, Area Sales Manager; Darren Pack, Head of Sales – National Merchants, and comedian Kerri Godliman.

Industry-leading customer interactions landed BSW Timber the ‘Best Sales Support Award’, with Jewson highlighting ‘regular clear communication on stock shortages’ during the material crisis, which allowed Jewson to advise customers of any delays. BSW was also recognised for ‘training support to employees’ and ‘excellent working relationships with housebuilder hubs and teams’.

BSW Timber followed up with another trophy at the Wood Protection Association (WPA) 2022 Awards and Conference held at the Windmill Hotel, Coventry.

BSW Group Marketing Manager James Brennan collected the Trader of the Year Award for ‘outstanding customer service, marketing initiatives and good trading practice’.

WPA Director Gordon Ewbank said: “The WPA Trader award marks out companies who are specialists in wood preservation and in the production of treated wood products.

“In this case, BSW’s Big Book marketing programme, which includes essential and clear information on how to specify and use treated wood, pushes the customer service bar still higher in our sector. Well done to all concerned.”

It is the third year running that BSW Timber has collected a WPA award, having claimed the Treated Wood Campaign Award last year, and the Innovation Award for IRO Timber in 2020.