About Vincent Timber

W.J. Vincent started in 1923 when W.J. Vincent Snr, known as “The Governor”, bought at auction 473 Bristol Road, Selly Oak. Soon after, his son, Bill Vincent, joined, founding the Vincent business.

After the war, when we machined timber for military vehicles amongst many other Government requirements, we supplied large quantities of whitewood on our own two Robinson bandsaws, for the manufacture of packing to export Cadbury’s chocolate.

This period saw the development of sales on a much wider scale. There was much work and reorganisation throughout the business leading to the buyout of Richard Cliff Birmingham (RCB) Limited (including employees) in August. Based at Selly Oak, above the mill.

In 1973, a very large fire broke out at Selly Oak Station where a third of stock was destroyed. Firemen were on the scene for four days. The remaining stock was re-organised, following which, in 1975, W.J. Vincent & Co took over Jones Manley (where W.J. Vincent first started in the timber trade), Montgomery Street.

The sawmill from Selly Oak had now also been moved to Montgomery Street, leaving RCB to expand into the whole of the premises at 473 Bristol Road. This led to extending the sheds at Montgomery Street.

During these difficult trading times, RCB’s case-making was rejuvenated and began manufacturing TV scenery for the BBC, which eventually moved to Montgomery Street. At about the same time, the first of many Mercedes HGV’s fleets were bought.

The company first began supplying sheet material just after WWII. However, on the 1st of February 1988, the supply grew significantly through the goodwill of D. Hood & Sons Limited.

Meanwhile, the scenery department got busier, so a new division was set up, called Heathcliff. Named after Cradley Heath (where a new unit was to be rented) and Richard Cliff. Scenery poured out in all shapes and sizes for some time.

The company now changed its name to Vincent Timber Ltd. Our presence in Selly Oak ended when we were forced to close our timber centre known as VTC. Our retail unit was under the railway arches and was becoming part of the redevelopment of Selly Oak.

The project that saw Vincent Timber branch out from solely Cedar – Millennium House, London. A new living concept full of energy saving ideas for the future, presented on the BBC by Carol Vorderman. Little did we know the impact this house would have upon the market and on VT.

A pre painted softwood cladding, Cape Cod, was added to our range. One of our first orders came from the Falklands following a visit from a government official who left a magazine in a hotel. The owner spotted our ad and ordered cladding for two houses.

As Vincent Timber expanded its cladding range, a beautiful choice of pre-weathered timber from the French Alps, Sivalbp, was introduced. A partnership that still stands strong today, Sivalbp is now available in a range of species, colours, textures and profiles.

On the 14th of July 2018 the CEO, John Vincent, sadly passed away from a long-standing heart condition. He would be greatly pleased to see how his son, Jake, has become an established leader, moving from mill operative in 2013 to Operations Director today.

Promoted from within Vincent Timber, Darren Powell took on the role of MD. During the early days of the pandemic the opportunity was taken to remodel the offices. A new state of the art computer system was also installed, offering significant software upgrades across all departments, providing a greater insight into the business.

Through all the turmoil, a keen eye was kept on costs and waste. Major projects were identified, including the closure of a costly storage facility. Moving the production staff’s lunchroom resulted in the demolition of the old, dilapidated offices, making way for an extension of the sheet material department.

Vincent Timber turned 100 years old! Celebrations were held onsite where historian Carl Chinn gave a talk on the heritage of the company, the local area and the ‘Real Peaky Blinders’ from Birmingham. There was a band, magician, caricaturist, chip van and plenty of fun!

Substantial savings from recent years resulted in much needed investment to move the company towards its Net Carbon Zero targets. This included the purchase of an eco-friendly extraction, new electric side loaders and neighbouring land. We also acquired a new digital business, Benchmark Timber.