The Elephant in the Town Turning trees into tables
Elephant Timber Supplies is a small, specialist business supplying bespoke furniture makers and the general public with a unique selection of soft and hard woods. Located in a quiet corner of a north Hastings industrial estate it produces ‘live edge slabs’ (big planks!) up to 3.5 metres long and so called because they retain a irregular edge in the original shape of the tree.
What owner Carl Foreman terms “the ultimate sustainable enterprise”, most of the wood prepared by Elephant is felled locally by a sister firm, The Tidy Tree Company. Sourcing wood from a mixture of private and public clients these are usually trees which have become damaged in storms – the recent high winds provided many opportunities – are diseased, or simply outgrew their natural surroundings. None of the timber is imported and none goes to traditional construction trades.
Once cut the wood must be removed from site, no easy task with large tree in small garden. Originally Tidy Trees simply cut it up for firewood or chippings. However, in 2016 Foreman realised there was a market for high quality timber suited to table, desk and bar tops. Making the transition from felling trees to supplying planks initially proved difficult. Buying a portable sawmill and wood finishing machines was extremely expensive, a planer alone cost £25,000.
Carl Foreman
Niche market
Elephant serves a particular niche market – “Not many people do this and it’s easy to see why,” admits Foreman, “the investment nearly broke us, originally people thought I was crazy.”
Not only were there some early missteps, the biggest problem is that once ‘planked’ it takes years before the timber gets to market. First stacked outside in racks for two and half years to air dry then slowly kiln dried over numerous weeks. At the latter stage it may still warp and end up unusable. “It’s high-risk, wood will do what it wants,” says Foreman.
Consequently, when raising the initial capital to buy machinery, he knew it would be three years before seeing any return, not the sort of cash flow most companies can sustain. On the plus side, there is a constant free source of raw material from the tree surgery business and Elephant controls the complete process, from felling to the sale of finished wood.
Once established it became clear that exactly where the wood came from was very important to buyers. “People want to see it’s been part of a tree, with defects and all, customers like to know the provenance of the timber,” explains Foreman who often takes pictures of locations where trees are felled. Even diseased sections (typically bacterial) can provide interesting patterns within the grain when the surfaces are finished.
Combined with a special resin to fill gaps (which the firm also suppies) the planks are primarily used to make table and desktops, and shop and bar counters such as at Bexhill football club. Elephant can also put customers in contact with a network of high-end carpenters who work on bespoke commissions. To ensure continuity of supply they also source wood from other Sussex tree surgeons and recently bought the stock of a Seddlescome sawmill that closed 30 ago.
Years of experience
Carl Foreman has been in timber for a quarter of a century and trained in arboriculture. After only a year spent working for others he decided, “I loved running my own show, we’re forever learning. no day is ever the same”. Originally from the Berkshire/Buckinghamshire borders he is based in Hastings by accident. “I was on my way to a job offer in California,” but local house prices were cheap….
Adamant he doesn’t want to become solely office based “not just to be about buying and selling” Foreman is frequently found out on site and when HIP visited was working a planer in the workshop.
“Both businesses are built on reputation and recommendation,” says Foreman. The tree surgery operation doesn’t advertise but realising he could do more to market Elephant, especially online, Foreman has recently, “put stuff on Instagram and been surprised at the response.” Consequently, the firm is developing a countrywide reputation, “we’re better known outside Sussex than locally” reveals Foreman.
His eight staff (including a trainee) are all longstanding. “I’ve never lost anyone, the longest has been with me 17 years, one came for a day 15 years ago and is still here. They’re all very skilled and experienced, the tree cutting almost runs itself. I’m fortunate in having a fantastic team.”
Different timber has different uses, elm suits long tables, cedar makes excellent external cladding, each internal grain has a different pattern. Nothing is standard sized; customers visit in person to handpick pieces. The market sector both throughout the UK and exports is steadily growing.
“The business has grown organically and sustains Itself,” explains Foreman “We very much hope these pieces of once majestic trees get a second chance to live on again by being crafted into unique, characterful planks from the heart of Sussex.”
And nothing goes to waste, rejects and offcuts go to a local industrial wood burner and to make wood chips used by wildlife trusts, golf courses and allotments – one tonne a day.
• For some fantastic examples of tabletops go the website: elephanttimbersupplies.co.uk
For tree surgery: www.thetidytreecompany.co.uk
Timber types
Ash
Beech
Pine
Yew
Sweet chestnut
Cedar
English horse chestnut
Sycamore
Oak
Pine
Lime
Monterey cypress
Elm (in diminishing supply)
Ash
Beech
Do you know a business which could feature in HIP?
We’re keen to feature makers, innovators, start-ups and long-established local enterprises. (Not food or arts ventures please, they have their own sections in the paper.) If so, please contact [email protected]
We hope you have enjoyed reading this article. The future of our volunteer led, non-profit publication would be far more secure with the aid of a small donation. You can also support local journalism by becoming a friend of HIP. It only takes a minute and we would be very grateful.
Leave a Reply