DWP Harvesting - consortium co-operative of 36 forest owners

The consortium

DWP Harvesting is a consortium co-operative of 36 forest owners from Perthshire to Morayshire.

Established in 1987, the members produce 25,000 tonnes of wood products a year. These include saw logs, pallet logs, chipwood and biomass for the UK market and pulpwood for export to papermills in Sweden and Finland.

The co-operative itself has no employees, but Andrew Nicol, a Chartered Forester, is retained as DWP’s managing and marketing agent on a commission basis. He said: “Our members are able to achieve more working together than they would on their own. Everyone benefits from economies of scale. We can provide continuity of supply to the sawmills and wood processors and continuity of work for the harvesting and haulage contractors. We are here to help the members meet their strategic objectives and put cash in their pockets.”

The co-operative retains a percentage of revenues from timber sales to cover running costs including the managing agent’s commission and auditor fees.

Pooling volumes allows the members to benefit from lower harvesting, haulage and processing costs and better prices for their goods. The co-operative also lobbies on behalf of its members in Westminster, Holyrood and at local government level.

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