Bucking negative industry trading trends in a volatile market has enabled a Bradford timber business to create new jobs and set ambitious targets for 2012.

C R Taylor, based in Denholme, with a depot in Thornton Road, Bradford, is looking to double sales of both roof trusses and joists to £2 million each.

The firm also aims to employ another four staff in its engineered timber division this year after taking on four extra staff in 2011.

The family-owned business, which plans to leave its 13-acre Denholme site and is on the lookout for a three- acre site closer to the M62 as a base for future growth, is also planning to invest £60,000 in an additional roof truss press this year to help achieve its sales target.

Executive chairman Charles Taylor, who took over control of the business in 2010, said its strong position at a time when other timber firms were struggling followed a major restructuring and rebranding which was completed last year.

This had helped C R Taylor to achieve record sales of engineered timber products, with roof truss turnover up 100 per cent in 2011.

Mr Taylor said: “As well as meeting the needs of our nationwide customer base, we are increasingly supplying roof trusses to other timber firms and builders merchants who do not have their own manufacturing or design capabilities. Sales of I-joists are also running at an all-time high, up 15 per cent on 2010, with a further 80 per cent growth expected in the current year.”

C R Taylor is also set to move into manufacturing spandrel panels and introduce a supply-and-fit operation for roof trusses. Mr Taylor said the firm was also expanding its presence in the social housing, care homes and education sectors.

A new 40ft articulated vehicle was being added to its five-strong delivery fleet to meet growing nationwide demand, primarily for engineered timber products. Management and sales teams at the Thornton Road branch had been strengthened and the depot continued to perform well.

Mr Taylor said: “We are increasingly focusing on lean manufacturing procedures to remove any inefficiencies.

“We have improved our stock profiling and our spread of higher margin products. We have also committed to go for the Investors in People recognition, as our staff remain key to our future evolution.

“Such growth does not come easy and needs to be carefully controlled. It is a process of consolidation as we seek to further increase our market share in both our core and engineered timber operations.

“We have seen a lot of changes in the business and have achieved a great deal over the past 12 months. We now have a much more efficient business structure and much more visibility in the trade. We feel very positive.”