1840
James Jones is born
1872
Tom Bruce-Jones is born – later in his life he is awarded an OBE for services to industry.
1874
James Jones moves his timber yard to Larbert, installing the company’s first steam driven sawmill
1888
Jones & Campbell starts the Torwood Foundry manufacturing stoves, grates and heating appliances
1901
The company supplies the oak keel and other timbers for Captain Scott’s legendary Antarctic exploration vessel, Discovery.
1914
Operating at least 11 mills and employing 400 men, James Jones & Sons Ltd is the leading British timber merchant and a major contributor to the war effort.
1916
The ship building company Jones Buckie Slip & Shipyard Ltd is created in Buckie.
1919
The Forestry Act creates the Forestry Commission.
1921
James Jones displays a house built entirely from timber at Glasgow’s Ideal Homes Exhibition. The house could be erected in just 11 days.
1930 - 1950
During the 1930s tractors began to replace traditional ‘horse power’ in timber harvesting operations. Tom Bruce Jones joins the company in 1930, and becomes a Director in 1936. By 1948 James Jones & Sons’ turnover breaks through the £1 million barrier.
1950s
The company opens its Kirriemuir sawmill. Woodcutters start to adopt chainsaws and we see the advent of forklift trucks.
1953
The great windblow brings down millions of trees all over north eastern Scotland.
1954
James Jones’ new head offices are completed in Larbert. This building remains the company’s head office.
1960s - 1970s
The Sixties and Seventies were a time of great change across the James Jones business, but an era of significant modernisation and expansion were soon to begin following the appointment of Tom A. Bruce-Jones as Joint Managing Director in 1979.
1984
Dumfries Sawmill opens – the company’s first high volume sawmill, dedicated to strength graded timber.
Tom Bruce-Jones dies and is succeeded as Chairman by TD Bruce Jones.
1989
James Jones acquires Kinnoir and Mosstodloch (pictured) sawmills from Riddochs and sells the engineering division via an MBO.
1990
A replacement sawmill is commissioned at Aboyne along with the installation of kilns to dry our timber.
1993
Stella Jones Inc is created as a joint venture between James Jones and Italian company Stella SPA and the wood treatment assets of Domtar in Canada are purchased.
1995
TD Bruce Jones retires as Chairman, and is succeeded by TA Bruce-Jones.
1996
Tom A. Bruce Jones becomes first UK timber processor to be appointed as a Forestry Commissioner.
1998
James Jones establishes its Timber Systems Division and creates the first UK-based I-Joist production line producing its JJI-Joists. The pole division is also sold to Finnforest.
1999
Unit Pallets in Golborne, Cheshire is acquired for £1.2M
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The Lockerbie site at Stevens Croft is acquired and the first sawmill, Lockerbie 1, is commissioned on what will, over the next decade, be developed into Europe's most technologically advanced sawmilling site.
2000
Stella-Jones Inc acquires Guelph Utility Pole Company
2002
Tom R Bruce-Jones joins the company as a Director
2003
Tom A. Bruce Jones is awarded a CBE at Buckingham Palace for services to the forestry industry.
2005
Lockerbie II, the state of the art secondary processing and value adding facility at Lockerbie is commissioned.
A new sawline is commissioned at Kirriemuir and the company's Joint Managing Director, John Kissock, is awarded an OBE for services to the forestry industry.
James Jones & Sons helps fund the MBO of Scottish Woodlands Ltd, and Tom A Bruce-Jones becomes Chairman.
Stella-Jones Inc acquires Webster Wood Preserving Company as its first assets in the USA.
2007
Tom R Bruce-Jones and Ian Pirie are appointed Joint Managing Directors following the retirements of Michael Leslie and John Kissock
2008
Stella-Jones Inc acquires Burke-Parsons-Bowlby Corporation
2009
Our Lockerbie 3 sawmill is commissioned, creating the Lockerbie ‘super site’ at Stevens Croft – one of the largest, most advanced wood processing facilities in Europe.
The Grangemouth site is opened as a Chep repair and inspection depot.
2010
Tangent Rail Corporation, with annual sales of $175M, is bought by Stella-Jones Inc
2011
Pallet manufacturer Larch in Wrexham is acquired and James Jones & Sons’ annual sales exceed £100 Million for the first time. Stella Jones Inc acquires Thomson Industries for CAD$46 Million.
2012
Stella-Jones Inc purchases McFarland Cascade for $250M.
2013
Europe’s first large scale mini-bundling line is commissioned at Lockerbie; the UK’s first incising line dedicated to fencing and landscaping products is commissioned, also at Lockerbie, and Stella Jones Inc acquires The Pacific Wood Preserving Companies for US$33 Million.
2014
James Jones & Sons purchases Trueperch Export Services Ltd
Stella-Jones Inc acquires Boatright Railroad Products for US$60 million, while its annual sales exceed CAD$1 Billion.
2015
Stella-Jones Inc buys Ram Forest Products, establishing the company as Canada’s leading residential lumber sales company.
2016
James Jones completes the purchase of TWP Packaging in Gateshead significantly expanding its manufacturing capacity, in addition to its repair and inspection centres.
The Timber Systems Division installs a new high speed finger jointing line capable of manufacturing 13 metre flanges.
Tom R Bruce-Jones succeeds his father as Chairman of Scottish Woodlands.
2017
The new £17.5 Million, 22,500m2 development at Hangingshaw, three miles north of the Stevens Croft site at Lockerbie, is commissioned giving the James Jones Group a secondary processing, undercover storage and distribution facility unique in our industry.
James Jones (Pallet & Packaging) Ltd is formed to amalgamate all of the Group pallet companies in to one entity. The company commences its repair and inspection contract for LPR at Stretton and Castleford.
2018
An £8.5 Million investment plan to build what will be a world leading I-Joist assembly line at our Timber Systems Division in Forres is announced, commencing production in Q2 2019. The line can produce 20 Million linear metres, or the equivalent of 200,000 new build intermediate floors per annum.
James Jones & Sons Ltd sells its stake in Stella-Jones Inc through a combination of a bought deal and a private placement with TD Securities as the bookrunner. Stella-Jones Inc’s sales had reached CAD$2.1Billion by the time of the sale, operating from 40 sites in Canada and USA.
2019
Tom R Bruce-Jones succeeds his father, Tom A Bruce-Jones CBE, as Chairman upon his death. David Leslie and Eddie Balfour are appointed Joint Managing Directors.
The Aboyne sawmill benefits from a major capital expenditure programme thereby increasing sawn production by 30%.
James Jones (Pallets & Packaging) signs a deal with IPP, which sees the company take over operations at a new state-of-the-art £2.5m pallet repair centre in Bardon Hill, Leicestershire.
2020
James Jones (Pallet & Packaging) Ltd opens a new repair and inspection site at Coventry for LPR.
The Lockerbie site is expanded through a major logyard extension, designed to significantly increase production.
New biomass plants are installed at Aboyne and Mosstodloch, thereby reducing our total Group CO2 emissions by 17,200T per annum.
Inverclyde Windfarm, the UK’s first subsidy free windfarm producing 24MW of electricity, is purchased.
2021
James Jones & Sons Ltd acquires GT Timber Ltd, the holding company of Taylormade Timber Products Ltd and Kerr Timber Products Ltd, increasing annual sawn output to 800,000m3 and thereby consolidating its position as the UK’s largest privately owned sawmill, timber engineering and pallet manufacturing company.
James Jones & Sons completes construction of a new visitor building at its showcase Lockerbie sawmill. The building wins two categories in the Scottish Design Awards 2021.
2022
James Jones & Sons Ltd acquires just under 60% of the shares in Mayflower Enterprises Pty Ltd in Australia, the holding company of Hyne Timber and XLam. Mayflower Enterprises Pty Ltd is a sixth generation, family owned company.
Hyne Timber, dating back to 1882, operates two modern sawmills (Tuan, Queensland and Tumbarumba, NSW) producing c. 800,000m3 of sawn timber, employing 750 staff and enjoying a 21% market share in Australia.
XLam (New Zealand) was the only CLT manufacturer in the Southern Hemisphere. The company commissioned Australia's first ever CLT manufacturing plant in Wodonga, Victoria in 2018.
2023
Hyne Timber acquires a majority share in Rocky Point Pty Ltd, based in Gold Coast, Queensland.
His Majesty King Charles III visits Aboyne sawmill on 3rd Oct 2023.
James Jones & Sons acquires Lancashire Saws Ltd, a leading bandsaw manufacturer and saw servicing provider.