From disaster to rapid growth led by a new management team

Company: Certainly Wood

20 years ago, brothers Nic and George Snell set up Certainly Wood, a firewood company, which has been instrumental in driving a positive change in the firewood industry.

It all began with a farm diversification to grow poplar trees which were made into kindling, and drying ash logs in the barns to produce ‘barn dried’ logs. With the invention by George of a unique rapid kiln drying system to dry the kindling, logs followed and ‘kiln dried logs’ were pioneered.

Talking with a local stove distributor who admired the significant improvement in the quality of firewood, highlighting the fact that over 80% of stove problems were caused by customers burning wet wood, the brothers had identified a big opportunity and a gap in the market. In those days, black glass, tarred flues and very smokey chimneys were common place.

Frustrated by the lack of industry focus on dry wood, Nic worked closely with Hetas to set up a new Quality Assurance scheme to drive standards and quality to develop what is now known as the Ready to Burn approval scheme, which guarantees the logs to be dried to below 20% moisture content. The industry has now come along way and long gone are the days when supermarkets and garage forecourts stocked nets of wet logs.

The business grew significantly over the years, expanding its production facility yearly which led to drying over 20,000 tonnes of timber annually in 8 wood fired kilns. In 2024, however, a large fire engulfed the site and destroyed all the kilns, boilers and much of the stock. The support received from staff, customers and competitors was humbling but the experience put everyone’s resilience to a test nonetheless.

This major setback, however, was not to change the fact that Certainly Wood prides itself on being an industry leader and always being at the forefront of change. 12 months down the line, the company is now pleased to report an exciting merger with a local supplier, Gwernyfed Wood – a company with similar values and approach to quality. It’s owner, Iain Burgess has now joined the joint business as a Commercial Director.

With the merger now complete, Nic and George have taken the decision to step back from the day to day running of the business. Nic has handed over the role of Managing Director to Sandra Taylor who has been with the business for over 7 years. He commented: “I have loved every minute of the Certainly Wood journey, but there comes a time when one needs to recognise that the best opportunities for growth lie within the team which have grown with the business over the years. With Iain’s business expertise, I have absolutely no doubt that Sandra and her team will take Certainly Wood to the next level, upholding its values, every inch of the way.”

Whilst the business still produces large volumes of British kiln dried logs, it now supports this and has expanded its range with a selection of imported products enabling it to increase its supply. A brand new, state of the art warehouse facility has been built on site enabling the efficient receipt and dispatch of a much wider range of products which now includes a selection of firewood species in crates as well as barbecue fuel products. Sales are soaring and expected to exceed £10m this financial year.

Nic and George will remain with the business as Non-Exec directors and Nic continues his role within the Stove Industry Association (SIA) exec committee.

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