About Us
Our Past
Yorkshire Plywood began in 1986, founded by two determined staff working from a modest rented office and warehouse in Hull. In those early years, the business relied on shared haulage and handling facilities, building its reputation through hard work, reliability and a commitment to quality.
As demand grew, we took our first major step forward with the purchase of premises on Oxford Street. This site provided dedicated office and warehouse space and soon became home to our very first Yorkshire Plywood vehicle. For the next 30 years, Oxford Street served as the foundation of our operations and the launchpad for our continued expansion.
Our success supplying wood‑based panel products to both local and national timber merchants led to a natural evolution of our capabilities. We invested in our first bonding machine—followed shortly by a second—allowing us to manufacture high‑performance internal and external panels for the construction industry. This marked a significant milestone, opening the door to new sectors and strengthening our position within the market.
Continued growth brought further investment, including a major addition on Lockwood Street: a 30,000‑square‑metre warehouse dedicated to the storage and distribution of our expanding product range. This site enabled us to scale our operations, improve efficiency and meet increasing customer demand across the UK.
Our Present
Today, Yorkshire Plywood operates from a purpose‑built 5‑acre site on Leads Road in Hull, East Yorkshire. Our modern facilities include offices, warehousing and manufacturing space designed for efficiency, safety and future expansion. With over 50 skilled members of staff and our own dedicated fleet of vehicles, we continue to evolve, innovate and strengthen our service offering.
Our comprehensive product range allows customers to source the core selection of wood‑based panel products from a single, trusted supplier. By closely monitoring global markets, we ensure our materials remain competitive, high‑quality and backed by exceptional service.
Investment in advanced machining technology has transformed our manufacturing capabilities. Our rapid press‑and‑bond service delivers components produced to precise specifications and strict tolerances. Alongside this, our in‑house machining service offers cut‑to‑size products—with or without profile—providing added value and flexibility for a wide variety of applications.
From our base in Hull, we distribute across the UK and Ireland with short lead times and a commitment to accuracy from order placement through to dispatch. Our experienced sales team ensures the right products reach the right jobs, supported by a company‑wide focus on detail, reliability and customer satisfaction.
Sustainability remains central to our operations. We continually assess our suppliers to ensure our timber products originate from well‑managed, responsibly sourced forests. Our aim is to support a balanced approach to economic, environmental and social responsibility—creating a sustainable path for our business, our customers and the wider industry.
Our Future
Yorkshire Plywood continues to build on four decades of steady growth, driven by investment, innovation and a commitment to meeting the evolving needs of our customers. As demand for high‑quality wood‑based panel products increases across the UK and Ireland, we are expanding our capabilities, strengthening our infrastructure and preparing for the next generation of manufacturing.
A key part of this progression is our recent investment in a new warehouse facility. Designed to significantly increase storage capacity, it enables us to hold a broader and more diverse range of stock, improving availability and shortening lead times. The building also acts as a seamless extension to our existing factory, creating additional space for production, workflow efficiency and future machinery upgrades.
This expansion marks our next major step forward:
Increasing capacity to support growing customer demand
Enhancing manufacturing space for new technology and improved processes
Strengthening logistics through greater on‑site storage and faster dispatch
Supporting future innovation with room for additional product development
As we look ahead, our focus remains on sustainable growth—expanding responsibly, investing wisely and ensuring our facilities, people and processes continue to reflect the high standards our customers rely on. With new infrastructure in place and further developments planned, Yorkshire Plywood is well positioned to move confidently into the future, delivering greater value, reliability and performance across every sector we serve.
The Environment
-
Timber remains one of the most versatile and environmentally beneficial construction materials available. Throughout its life, it absorbs and stores carbon, and with a wide variety of species to choose from, it offers flexibility across countless applications. Timber is also highly recyclable, making it a responsible choice for long‑term use.
We recognise, however, that timber sourcing comes with serious global challenges. Illegal logging threatens biodiversity, damages fragile ecosystems and harms the communities who depend on these forests. As a company, we take these issues seriously and work proactively to ensure our supply chain does not contribute to deforestation or unethical practices.
To safeguard our standards, we work closely with the Timber Trade Federation and operate a rigorous due‑diligence system designed to eliminate risk within our sourcing processes. We also choose not to market certain species identified by CITES or listed on the IUCN Red List, ensuring our product range aligns with responsible forestry practices.
-
Our high‑performance products do more than meet regulatory requirements—they actively enhance the sustainability and efficiency of modern building projects.
Acoustic boards — Improve sound insulation and support healthier, more comfortable living and working environments.
Fire‑resistant boards — Strengthen building safety and long‑term durability.
Impact‑resistant boards — Achieve severe‑duty ratings for public spaces, reducing maintenance and extending service life.
Thermal boards — Support energy conservation and help reduce CO₂ emissions.
Through continuous innovation, we develop boards with enhanced performance characteristics, enabling contractors to use less material on site without compromising strength, safety or efficiency.
-
Sustainability is embedded in the way we operate. We have set clear internal targets to reduce water usage, minimise waste sent to landfill and lower our overall carbon footprint. Our commercial vehicle fleet has also been upgraded to incorporate improved low‑emission technology.
These efforts are reviewed regularly to ensure we remain a trusted supplier of sustainable, responsibly sourced products.
-
The European Timber Regulations (EUTR), introduced in March 2013, prohibit the trade of illegally harvested timber within the EU. Importers must gather detailed product information and carry out a due‑diligence process to ensure compliance.
All timber panels we purchase and supply conform fully to EUTR requirements, giving our customers confidence that the products they use meet strict legal and ethical standards.
-
Since July 2013, construction products sold within the sector must comply with the Construction Products Regulation (CPR). This legislation ensures that products perform exactly as declared.
We source all structural and flame‑retardant panels exclusively from manufacturers who demonstrate full CPR compliance. CE Marking documentation and Declarations of Performance are available upon request, providing complete transparency and assurance.
-
Many of our premium products are sourced from Indonesia—a nation of more than 13,000 islands and over 91 million hectares of forest. Although Indonesia has historically faced challenges with deforestation, recent reforms in forest governance have significantly strengthened protections against illegal logging.
Indonesia is the first country in the world to complete a Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) with the European Union. This agreement requires the implementation of a national licensing system to ensure all exported timber is fully traceable and legally verified.
All timber exported from Indonesia is certified under the SVLK timber legality assurance scheme and, since November 2016, carries a FLEGT licence. A FLEGT licence is currently the only certification that guarantees full compliance with the European Timber Regulation.
-
We are committed to acting responsibility in all our business practices through making sound decisions which take social, economic and environmental factors into account. We want to be part of a socially and environmentally responsible supply chain, sourcing and delivering worldwide and choosing business partners who share our company values and targets.
Our values underpin everything we do. People matter, the well-being of our employees us crucially important to us and we continue to build long term business partnerships and long lasting relationships with our supply chain based on our fundamental principles.
We have a zero tolerance approach to modern slavery and human trafficking, which is reflected in our policies and controls on Ethical Trading throughout our product supply chain. With over 30 product suppliers based worldwide, some of whom we have been working with for more than 10 years, we have established strong business partnerships. We will continue to nurture these relationships and remain true to our values.