Margin protection: A new survival skill for woodworking workshops

Across the woodworking industry, margins are tightening in ways few workshop owners could have predicted even five years ago, as David Ward, Woodworking Manager at BPI shows

David Ward, Woodworking Manager at BPI

As such, material skills continue to fluctuate, skilled labour is increasingly difficult to secure and customers expect faster turnaround without any corresponding increase in budget. This has created a climate where simply being busy is no longer enough. Woodworking businesses must now operate with a heightened level of financial awareness and margin protection has become a core survival skill rather than a distant accounting concern.

Machinery in the workshop

Much of the conversation around profitability focuses on workflow efficiency, staff productivity and job costing. These factors are important, but they aren’t the whole picture. One increasingly overlooked contributor to margin erosion is the machinery 

sitting on the shop floor.

Many workshops are carrying equipment that no longer serves the business as it once did: a CNC that rarely runs a full shift, a wide sander kept only for occasional use, or a second forklift that spends most of the week parked against a wall. These machines occupy valuable floor space, tie up capital and continue to depreciate while requiring maintenance, storage and compliance. Individually, they may not appear to be major threats, but collectively, they quietly erode margin week after week.

Machinery as a strategic asset

The most resilient woodworking businesses have begun adopting a different mindset – one that treats machinery not as permanent fixtures, but as strategic assets that must earn their place. This shift has led companies to reassess their equipment mix, invest only where measurable value is added and release capital tied up in underutilised machinery. For many, the difference between a tight quarter and a strong one has been the decision to sell equipment at the right time.

Selling woodworking equipment

The industry is increasingly recognising that auctions are no longer a last resort for distressed businesses, but a strategic tool for healthy companies that want to operate with agility. A well-timed sale can strengthen cashflow, fund upgrades, free valuable floor space and remove operational bottlenecks caused by outdated equipment. Strong demand in the used machinery market makes this approach even more compelling.  

Buyers are actively seeking quality woodworking equipment and sellers are achieving returns that would be difficult to secure through private sales, while avoiding the delays, negotiations and payment uncertainty that often accompany them.

What makes this strategy particularly effective is speed. Margin protection often depends on timely action and releasing capital locked in machinery gives owners the flexibility to respond to opportunity rather than react to pressure. Many woodworking businesses that have partnered with BPI have found that selling underused machines provides the liquidity needed to stabilise margins across an entire season.

As the industry approaches 2026, agility will be a defining advantage. The workshops that thrive will not be those with the most machinery, but those with the right machinery and the financial strength to make strategic decisions without hesitation.

Protecting margins is no longer just about controlling costs or increasing throughput; it’s about ensuring that every asset actively contributes to the business’ future. For many workshops, that begins with a simple conversation about what truly belongs on the shop floor and what belongs in the next BPI auction catalogue.

To find out more, visit www.bpiauctions.com.