Forestry Journal talks to Matt Kelly, formerly a harvesting manager at RTS Forestry, now employed as timber buyer for Bedmax, about the demands of his role.
BEDMAX is the UK’s foremost producer of horse shavings, a pioneer in the equine bedding industry.
It began some 24 years ago, conducting research which revealed a large proportion of UK horse owners were facing two major problems trying to keep their horses healthy in their stables – respiratory illness and hoof disease.
Bedmax founder and managing director Tim Smalley set about making his company the first to produce large-flake, low-dust, antibacterial bedding – Bedmax – which was specifically manufactured to improve respiratory health and performance of horses. Tim identified British pine, with its naturally occurring antiseptic properties, and the need to extract dust during the production process, as the two key components to produce a successful product.
Bedmax was joined a few years later by Littlemax, which retained all the benefits of Bedmax in a lighter shaving. Individual horse owners, veterinary establishments, racing stables and trainers use both products throughout the UK and overseas. All are manufactured at dedicated production plants in Northumberland, Nottinghamshire and Hampshire.
Keeping these plants supplied with timber is the job of Matt Kelly. “While we predominantly use pine in our production process, we also can use a small percentage of spruce,” he told Forestry Journal. “Pine is the preference as it easier to shave. The strength of its fibres also means it does not break in the shaving process, unlike Douglas fir and other conifers, which can be quite brittle once dried.
“It lends itself to our dust-extraction process and the end shavings absorb well. I look for any kind of pine, but preferably Scots pine. During the production of our Littlemax product, we use a higher percentage of spruce, roughly 3:1. We can use Sitka or Norway, which is preferred as it is softer and easier to shave.”
Matt is the timber and straw buyer for Bedmax’s three plants across England, negotiating the purchase and supply of around 140,000 tonnes of pine a year. He is also involved in the sale of by-products like bark, ash, log-ends and offcuts.
“The vast majority of the timber I purchase comes from managed forests,” he said.
“Smaller volumes will come from small and medium-sized landowners with small parcels of woodland that do not merit a forest plan. I monitor our sites’ weekly stocks to ensure suppliers are delivering as scheduled and not over- or under-supplying us. Agreeing new contracts and bidding on national e-sales with Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) and Forestry Commission England is also part of my role.”
Each Bedmax plant has a different sourcing catchment area. “For our plant at Berwick, I source timber from in and around both the Scottish and English border areas as well as central and southern Scotland,” Matt said. “For the Midlands plant, which is near Newark, I look to get the timber from the Midlands, Wales, and Norfolk. Finally, for our Hampshire plant, which is located near Andover, my primary source of wood is from central and southern England, from places like the New Forest, South Downs and Surrey.”
One critical requirement for the pine Matt sources is that it has to be non-stained. Stained pine shavings will look mouldy after going through the production process – a major aesthetic issue from a client’s point of view.
“It’s a hard one for me in terms of timber buying,” said Matt. “Fresh-cut timber can be tricky and in moist weather it turns black, as it oxidises in the air. That said, it can be very random. I have had examples of buying pine from Storm Arwen, which may have been down for a couple of years and not turned, but then in a couple of days, when I get it into the yard, it does. While I try to minimise the chances of this happening I do sometimes have to ‘manage’ the situation and sell this timber on as chipwood for biomass.”
Straddling two markets, with an exit route of pine pulp, helps to minimise waste, though the Bedmax production process can tackle timber ranging from high quality to gnarled and twisted equally well. Obviously, the better the quality, the more volume of product. A ton of good-quality pine will produce up to 32 bags of Bedmax, but poorer quality, or a high percentage of smaller-diameter logs, can see production drop to as little as 23 bags.
At the time of our meeting, early in 2024, Matt said the log market in the South was horrendous.
“The proportion of new-build housing in England that is timber framed is very small compared to Scotland, with most of the timber going to produce fencing and panelling,” he said. “There are times when, as a result, logs are not moving and supply can be challenged. I am always aiming for a proportion of our timber to be moved as a ‘back haul’ from hauliers, as they move logs to major sawmills around the country.
“For example, they may take logs south to Thomson’s at Norfolk and bring our timber back from my long-term contract with Forestry Commission England, at Thetford. This contract is an agreement for them to supply 2,500 tonnes of pine a year for four years. If no logs are going south, it can create a logistical problem for me getting my timber to the plants. I spend a lot of my time building relationships with contractors, sawmills and hauliers to ensure success.”
Bedmax uses a specification of 2.8m long and a diameter of 7–45 cm and its Matt’s job to ensure the timber meets that. The plants run 24/5 but can ramp up to 24/7 when higher production is required. Matt can access camera feeds from the three Bedmax plants on his phone and home office to see in real time what is happening.
Talking through the production process, he said: “Each plant holds around 1,800 tonnes of timber as a norm. Each has their own method of stock rotation to ensure the timber is being used in the sequence of arriving at the plant. Given the issues of pine stain, this is very important. The logs are loaded onto the log deck and they move forward, falling onto an auger. This agitates the logs and ensures they are all flush before falling into the shaving boxes. The shavings from this process are then taken by a conveyor belt to be sieved to take out the bigger shavings and splinters and they are sent to a waste pile.
“The shavings then go through a coal-fuelled drying process to get the wet shavings from around 40-per-cent moisture content down to around 11 per cent. The drier the flakes, the better the absorbency they offer. After the flakes have been dried they are fed into the Ken Mills, which uses a series of pressurised chambers to separate the larger particles, dust and the Bedmax flakes. Large particles are rejected, the dust is extracted and used in our Hotmax heat log product, and the Bedmax flakes continue on to the bagger.
“Finally, robots are used to bag the shavings. During a normal shift, depending on the timber and site, between 80 and 140 tonnes of timber can be processed. Each shift can produce in the region of 1,800 bags. The production process has a sophisticated alarm system, which can not only identify problems but tell the operatives exactly what is causing the problem and direct them to the right part of the process quickly.
“Part of my job role is also to secure long-term contracts to deal with our waste products from the production process. The coal ash goes to help in the production of concrete, the bark is sent to become garden bark, our over-sized log ends are stored in skips and then collected and used for biomass. Smaller ones we recycle ourselves by shredding them and they go to Hotmax production. Our plants produce a pretty constant volume of bark which is uplifted by Westland to turn into garden bark products.”
Juggling timber supplies is part of the role Matt carries out for Bedmax and, like most things when dealing with timber, it is never easy. Sometimes there is a glut of timber in one part of the country and dearth of it in the rest. From time to time, he has to move timber between plants to keep production going. This does add to costs, and decisions are not taken lightly. It is much cheaper moving from the north to the south, so it is good for Matt if this is what is needed.
“I find myself frequently reminding operators and landowners that we need pine and to keep Bedmax on their radar when they have supply of it,” he said. “For Berwick, I source a lot of our timber through major forestry management firms, but also smaller independent firms and contractors. For Nottingham, we are right in the middle of Sherwood Forest, with second-rotation pine, albeit at a smaller diameter.
“I can also pull across from Norfolk and I work closely with a number of sawmills and management companies. Andover is near Salisbury Plain, where there is old pine available and spruce. It is our busiest plant and unique in that it has two shavers. We use a 3:1 mix of pine to spruce and increase the ratio of spruce during times of Littlemax production.”
Matt’s working week is quite unusual in that it starts on a Thursday, when he has a Teams call with the three plant managers “This is to check on the production, stock, and to discuss incoming loads and to establish what logs, bark, and ash from the previous week needs picked up,” he said. “It’s a great way to keep in touch, because while I have the camera links, it is so much better to discuss and chat things through face to face, albeit virtually.”
Friday, then, is spent following up on the points from the Teams call, as well as checking and chasing deliveries and balancing stocks at the plants to ensure production plans are being met.
Monday, the beginning of the week for most people, is Matt’s mid-week, with a chance to process the information on deliveries, quality and any issues from the previous week into his KPIs, allowing him to assess if there have been any issues he needs to raise with suppliers.
“It gives me a chance to follow up by phone and make sure what I have agreed is actually being delivered,” he said. “Monday also gives me a chance to follow up on new contacts and supplier leads for timber, sales calls and to take part in e-sales.”
Tuesday and Wednesday are for project work and sorting out possible new contacts for log ends and bark, as well as continuing to seek new contacts, suppliers or timber sources. “Then, I am also starting to think about preparing for the Thursday Teams call, thinking ahead to the next week, preparing to start the whole process again.”
It’s a real mixture of tasks, challenging but definitely offering a varied working week.
Matt said: “I enjoy the connections and relationships I’ve developed with contractors, colleagues and our suppliers, and the challenge of building and delivering the year-round log supply. The goal posts are always moving, which is both a negative and a positive. Weather can quickly affect our supply chains and result in me scrabbling to source replacement volume. The volatility of the market can be a struggle; the peaks and troughs can hamper supply at times.
“I am two years into the role and have worked hard to make useful contacts, to keep them relevant and up to date. I plan three months in advance, but I also need to keep tabs on the timber I have purchased, to make sure it’s cut, and makes its way to the roadside, and then into our plants. We have never run out of timber at any of the plants in my time in the role, but I remember being down to the wire at one. Then a lorryload turned up and production kept going.”
Matt came to the woods working with his brothers Kieran and Kevin at their arboricultural and forestry firm, Kelly Tree Care (KTC), after graduating from the University of Dundee with a BA in Interactive Media Design.
“KTC gave me a solid foundation in commercial forestry,” he said. “My brothers actually interviewed me for the role, and I started by dragging hag and chipping, and worked my way through my tickets on chainsaws and climbing, to play a full role in the business. From KTC, I then spent six years with RTS Forestry, as a harvesting and marketing manager. Initially, I started as an assistant, but I got the manager’s role, and I put my heart and soul into it.”
Matt said he is revelling in his current role with Bedmax and enjoying the day-to-day challenges, but with a wife and young family, he is striking a good work-life balance. He recently received his level 4 diploma in Procurement and Supply, which Bedmax fully supported him with.
Looking to the future and the challenges facing the forestry sector, Matt said: “The UK as a whole is massively behind its targets for planting and this push to plant more diverse woodlands will only negatively affect our timber industries. We need to better utilise and see the value in home-grown timber, especially in new-builds in the south. Pine woodlands offer a not only amazing product for production and milling, but also from an ecological standpoint, the open canopies of pine let in more light and encourage more understorey to come through, unlike the dense, dark Sitka plantations.”
So from gaining a Media Design degree, to moving into the forestry sector, how does Matt look back on the past near two decades?
“Forestry seemed like a good idea at the time,” he said. “Truthfully, I did not know what I wanted to do and the opportunity came at the right moment. My time as an owner-operator was invaluable as I moved into commercial forestry and beyond. Having ‘sat on the seat’ has given me a unique perspective.
“In the commercial setting, it is always going to be a combination of spinning plates, juggling, and putting out fires, on a day-to-day basis. The drive is to always deliver a positive, productive outcome, and that is at the core of my personal drive. It has not always been easy, but I have found that rewarding in itself.”
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