It has acquired just under 60% of the shares in Mayflower Enterprises Pty Ltd in Australia, which is the holding company for Hyne Timber and XLam. The deal follows approval by Mayflower Enterprises’ shareholders and the Australian Treasury’s Foreign Investment Review Board.
Mayflower Enterprises is a sixth generation, family-owned company with an annual turnover of AU$380m (£200m) in the year ending 30th June 2021.
Hyne Timber, dating back to 1882, operates two sawmills (Tuan, Queensland and Tumbarumba, New South Wales) producing circa 800,000m3 of sawn timber, employing 750 staff and having a 21% market share in Australia. The mills source approximately 1.6 million tonnes of pine logs from plantations in Queensland, NSW and Victoria. Hyne Timber also operates a new glulam factory in Queensland, commissioned in 2020.
XLam, originally based in New Zealand, was the only cross-laminated timber (CLT) manufacturer in the southern hemisphere and was acquired in 2015. The company has since relocated to Wodonga, Victoria, where Australia’s first-ever CLT manufacturing plant was commissioned in 2018.
Tom Bruce-Jones, chairman of James Jones & Sons, said: “We first commenced discussions with the Hyne family members in late 2020, and it quickly became apparent that the two companies were very similar culturally and shared complementary values regarding service and quality and looking after their employees. The executive management team is very experienced, has been involved in the negotiations and is fully aligned with the new ownership strategy. We believe that this transaction will be an excellent addition to the James Jones & Sons Group and will provide a strong platform for further consolidation and growth in Australia and New Zealand.”
Jon Kleinschmidt, CEO of the Hyne Group, said: “This is an exciting day for Hyne Group with the partnership of two likeminded, multi-generational family-owned timber companies opening up significant growth opportunities that will deliver benefits to our customers, suppliers, our people and the communities in which we operate. Importantly, there is no overlap in the operations of the two companies because of our locations, with the Hyne Group focused on Australasia and JJSL on Europe. We can now concentrate on identifying and developing growth opportunities in our region and beyond, through organic growth and acquisition, and through a cross fertilisation of ideas.”
James Jones & Sons harvests and processes more than 1.4 million tonnes of roundwood per annum. It produces British-grown sawn timber for the construction, pallet, packaging, fencing and agricultural sectors as well as pallets and packaging. The James Jones & Sons Timber Systems Division produces I-joists, branded JJI-Joists, supplying major UK house-builders. James Jones & Sons also supplies the UK construction industry with glulam and laminated veneer lumber (LVL) and supports users with a specialist team of engineers, designers, technicians and I-Joist design software.
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