In today’s unpredictable global landscape, few things are certain – except rising pressure on manufacturing businesses. Ongoing geopolitical instability, particularly in the Middle East, continues to disrupt energy markets, driving volatility in fuel prices and leaving businesses exposed to forces beyond their control. For the woodworking sector, where tight margins and rising operational costs are already part of daily life, this instability is more than background noise; it

Powerpoles Ltd (PPL), a UK distributor of high-performance preservative-treated wood poles, has joined the Wood Protection Association (WPA). Based at Alexandra Dock, Newport, PPL was established in 2015 to source and supply poles for utility and telecommunications transmission lines. These are manufactured from slow-grown pine sourced from sustainably managed forests in northern Sweden and Finland. Every log is individually selected and processed by PPL’s parent company,