A&J SCOTT WELCOMES GAVIN CRUICKSHANK AS MILL 10 PROJECT RAMPS UP
A&J SCOTT WELCOMES GAVIN CRUICKSHANK AS MILL 10 PROJECT RAMPS UP
A&J Scott, one of the UK’s leading homegrown sawmills, is delighted to announce that Gavin Cruickshank has joined the business, bringing with him more than 30 years of international sawmilling and timber industry experience.
Gavin will join the Mill 10 project management team, supporting the development of the company’s most significant investment for the future. With the new building taking shape and machinery beginning to arrive, the project is set to pick up pace over the summer as the company targets production through the new mill in 2027.
Originally from Wales, Gavin began his career as an electrician before pursuing his passion for forestry and timber production. Graduating with a B.Sc. in Forestry from the Scottish School of Forestry in Inverness, Gavin’s early career combined hands-on forestry and sawmilling experience, working on private estates in Wales and sawmills in northern Scotland during his studies.
Over the last three decades, Gavin has built an extensive international career in industrial sawmilling, with Finland serving as his main base while working across Russia, Eastern and Central Europe, the Nordic region, North and South America, and Malaysia.
A significant chapter of his career was spent with IKEA Industry, where he worked for 12 years as a sawmill expert and Managing Director/Site Manager across a range of vertically integrated solid wood operations, including harvesting, sawmilling and furniture production. During this time, he also led the development of a greenfield HewSaw sawmill project for IKEA in Poland.
Following his time with IKEA Industry, Gavin spent almost a decade running his own Finland-based industrial sawmill consultancy, supporting leading international timber businesses including Stora Enso, Koskisen, Binderholz and Södra, alongside many other major operators across the sector.
Speaking about joining A&J Scott, Gavin said:
“I’ve always been passionate about sawmills and particularly enjoy being involved in developing new sawmill capacity and helping businesses evolve for the future. A&J Scott has a strong reputation, a proud heritage and great ambition, so I’m very excited to be joining the team and contributing to the Mill 10 project.”
Robert Scott, MD, said, “We are delighted to welcome Gavin to our team, and look forward to the experience, leadership and global industry knowledge he will bring to the business as we continue to invest in future growth and innovation.”
The company is now well positioned for sustained growth in its main markets for fencing products, railway sleepers and other outdoor timbers in the years ahead, building on its record of delivering quality sawn timber products and high standards of customer service to its loyal base of customers across the UK. The company has also extended its product offer, adding NHSS4 highways standard fencing to its existing range.
