Extraordinary times.

We are all painfully aware of the war in the Ukraine and our thoughts and support go out to the people of Ukraine. The combined effects of the war and the Covid pandemic have put serious pressure on all supply chains. We continue to monitor the situation and maintain dialogue with our suppliers to be as competitive as possible in an extremely difficult market.

The situation is unprecedented and the impact on prices remains difficult to predict. We would encourage early discussion with our staff for any planned projects as this will help mitigate any additional costs. The embargos on Russia and Belarus have created a huge shortfall in the timber market and driven prices up. Fuel and energy price rises have had a knock on effect across all industries, including the steel industry, plastic is an oil derivative and metals such as zinc and aluminium are also seeing surges in prices. Galvanised livestock equipment, gates, Clipex posts, silage plastics will all be affected.

Although this is an exceptional situation that we are all working hard to get through and hopefully it will be temporary.

Our thoughts remain with the people of Ukraine.