Ayrshire building contractor William Skinner branches out into tree houses

(2006-07-30) Murdoch MacDonald

AYR-based building contractor William Skinner & Son’s continuing development programme has now taken it into tree houses, custom-built to individual client specifications. And a model tree house will feature on William Skinner & Son’s stand at the Ayr Flower Show, on 4/5/6 August.

AYR-based building contractor William Skinner & Son’s continuing development programme has now taken it into tree houses, custom-built to individual client specifications.

Much of the work will be fabricated at the company’s wood and metal shops at its St. Quivox HQ site on the perimeter of Prestwick Airport.

And a model tree house will feature on William Skinner & Son’s stand at the Ayr Flower Show, on 4/5/6 August.

Tree houses were used by man’s earliest ancestors, but the oldest surviving examples in the UK date only from the 17th century. They are still used as homes in some as yet undeveloped countries, where they provide protection from predators, and they are sometimes used where dry land is scarce but shallow wetland plentiful.

But their more common use in this country is for extra accommodation, as offices, work-rooms, hotel and restaurant extensions, or just as family rooms.

The space tree houses provide is entirely practical, with plumbing, power and heating as required. William Skinner’s versions will be offered with an entirely energy-free option – with solar water heating, or even PV panels to develop electricity directly from the sun.

The renewed national interest in tree houses was reflected in a major article in the May 2006 issue of Saga magazine.

William Skinner & Son’s new project is led by Derek Saunderson, who has wide experience of building tree houses and who has featured in recent specialist publications.

ABOUT WILLIAM SKINNER & SON

Skinners now employ around 100 people from their head office at Highfield, St Quivox, just on the perimeter of Prestwick Airport.

In the last three years the company has trebled its turnover, quadrupled its profits, and opened new offices down south in Saffron Walden, Essex.

Skinners concentrate predominantly upon refurbishment work rather than the construction of new buildings on green field sites, but also specialise in several other construction disciplines like joinery, tiling and plumbing.

Over the years the company has been successful in winning many large high-value contracts - for instance the refurbishment work it has done on outlets of the giant supermarket chain Tesco.

Looking to the future, renewable energy figures prominently in William Skinner & Co’s plans.

The company is installing a 6kW wind turbine at its St Quivox headquarters, in addition to a photovoltaic system and two solar panel heating systems.

The wind turbine is supplied by Stewarton company Proven Energy. Both the wind turbine, generating electricity from the wind, and the photovoltaic cells, which generate electricity directly from the sun, will feed into the National Grid any energy that Skinners generate but don’t need at the time, and the solar panels will produce much of the hot water they need.

Company chairman John Quinton commented: "Most people won’t want a wind turbine in their back garden, at least not until the new range of small domestic models becomes available, but everybody, surely, would like some free hot water.

"We shall shortly be offering locally, and installing in one day, a solar hot water system which will generate half the hot water a typical household needs.

"It costs nothing to run it, what it produces is free, and there is a 30% grant available towards the very modest cost of installation."

And finally, detailed business targets have now been set by William Skinner & Son for the next five years, and this eminently successful Ayrshire company confidently expects to double its sales turnover again by 2010, whilst still maintaining its current profitability ratio.

-ends-

Contact:
Derek Saunderson
William Skinner & Son
Cunningham House
Highfield
St Quivox
AYR, Ayrshire
KA6 5HQ
Scotland

Telephone: 01292 671188
Fax: 01292 671133

E-mail: dsaunderson@williamskinner.co.uk
Website: www.williamskinner.co.uk

Issued by:

Murdoch MacDonald
Fame Publicity Services
10 Miller Road
AYR, Ayrshire
KA7 2AY

Telephone: 01292 281498
Mobile: 07833 667322

E-mail: famepublicity@aol.com
Website: www.famepublicity.co.uk