Behind the Business: Taylor Maxwell Hardwood with Dan Mathews

Taylor Maxwell Timber has more than 60 years of experience supplying timber products to the UK market, with hardwood forming an important part of its specialist offering. The Hardwood team works with established sawmills and suppliers across Europe and North America, combining long-standing supply relationships with specialist product knowledge and stockholding.

We spoke with Dan Mathews, Hardwood Manager at Taylor Maxwell, about the hardwood side of the business, the products available, what customers look for when selecting hardwood, the flooring offering, responsible sourcing and how the team supports customers from initial enquiry through to supply.

The Hardwood business is based out of our dedicated warehouse, office and showroom in Portishead near Bristol. As well as selling Hardwood by the pack from Portishead, we also work with sawmills and customers selling direct full and part loads. I have been at Taylor Maxwell for 21 years (running the Hardwood Division for 18 Years) and seen the industry change so much over this period but our approach to business has remained the same throughout. To work with good quality suppliers and products and set ourselves apart with great service, to enable us to build long term relationships.

The foundation of our range has always been European Oak, selling everything from Oak Sleepers and cut to list beams, Square edge Rustic through to Prime grade and everything in between, we are able to cover a range of requirements across different areas of the trade. We also stock American White Oak, Tulipwood and Sapele enabling our customers to mix species and grades in one order.

There are so many factors to consider, with colour, grade, price, suitability for application and more,  it’s a long list! We stock the main joinery Hardwoods in a range of sizes, grades and price points, to enable us to cover a variety of potential customer projects.

Hardwoods are wonderful products, with different species suited to different applications and situations. From marine uses in harsh environments, through to handcrafted buildings or more delicate items of furniture and joinery. Each piece of Hardwood is unique with its own character and charm and I always enjoy getting to see the diverse products that are made from the hardwoods we supply.   

We have a carefully curated supplier network that we have honed over time, to enable us to offer consistent quality and service. We have worked with many of our suppliers for 15-20 years, so we know the nuances of the individual suppliers and therefore are able to match customers with the production that is right for them.

We have a dual approach to flooring, with both stock and specification sales. Our stock is held at Portishead and we are able to supply a small range of engineered Oak floors in a variety of sizes and finishes in room sets or full pallet quantities. We also work in specification sales, supplying a broad range of engineered and cork flooring options to order. All of our flooring ranges and products that are available from us, can be viewed in person at our showroom in Portishead. We love to welcome customers to visit, so please get in touch.

Generally our customers know exactly what they are looking for and we are able to supply according to their needs. However when help or advice is needed, we are able to tap into our combined experience and knowledge of both the products and individual suppliers and productions we offer, to make sure that or customers expectations are met and they keep coming back.

One of the most enjoyable aspects of the job, is the diverse range of customers and industries we supply. Selling to Oak Framers who produce amazing high end homes, Timber merchants splitting packs down for their customers, Builders merchants selling sleepers to landscapers to name a few. We get to deal with some great people and good businesses across the different products that we supply.

We pride ourselves on offering great quality products, with excellent service at a fair price. We have a fantastic team of people and value our customers and look to create long term relationships with them and also with our suppliers. As we are a relatively small team, we like to offer a personal feeling service to all customers. We are always keen to get existing and new customers to visit us in Portishead, so that they can see our expanding product range and get a feel for our business and get to know our team. We would love to grow our customer base a little wider and get the word out further, we are the best kept secret in the trade.