A.W. Jenkinson acquired land at the Steven’s Croft Development Area just off the M74 at Lockerbie in the year 2000. At the time the adjacent site was occupied by James Jones Sawmills and Forest Garden. These two large sawmilling businesses were already associated with A.W. Jenkinson, making the location an ideal choice for development in support of the Scottish timber industry.

Initial development saw the construction of LGV parking, a weighbridge, bulk storage building for sawmill co-products, a workshop and a driver rest building with toilets, showers and a canteen. On-site offices also accommodate admin and traffic staff. As the fleet grew, the bulk storage building was converted into a three-bay truck workshop manned by Volvo mechanics, with additional trailer servicing and fabrication capability provided by an A.W. Jenkinson team.

Today Lockerbie operates and maintains 130 units, with vehicle refurbishment activities extending to service the entire fleet. The Group’s walking floor and chipliner trailers are also regularly overhauled here, ensuring they operate to the high standards expected by customers, required by the authorities - and demanded by A.W. Jenkinson.

Green Power Generation at Lockerbie

In 2005 Powergen (now E.ON) took control of a section of the Lockerbie site for the construction by Siemens of a revolutionary 44 Megawatt CO2-neutral biomass power station. Alongside the power station there is now a large-scale log yard and round wood chipping building, where new material is combined with pre-chipped biomass to achieve a final blend that meets the ideal specification to feed the station. The chipping building feeds directly into the power plant via an overhead conveyor.

A.W. Jenkinson, which is responsible for supplying fuel to the site, has built a close working relationship with E.ON; a key factor in achieving maximum efficiency from the new facility. Steven’s Croft has become a lynch pin in A.W. Jenkinson’s Scottish operations, collecting material from most of the sawmills in Scotland, as well as servicing other major biomass and panelboard customers. The transport department makes extensive use of local drivers, providing a good source of employment for the Dumfries and Galloway area.