DUFFIELD Timber, of Melmerby, near Ripon, has secured its largest order to date.

The company has been specified as principal suppliers of oak to the new Scottish Parliament building at Holyrood, Edinburgh.

The first phase of the order, worth more than £150,000, is to supply oak for all screens and doors to the offices of the members of parliament. The final phase will be for the completion of the debating chamber and public rooms.

The managing director, Mr Howard Duffield, said they were delighted to have been awarded the contract, after much competition.

Their past experience in supplying similar material for the Houses of Parliament in London and other major national projects, as well as being a major stockist, had proved invaluable in securing the order.

Duffield Timber occupies a seven-acre industrial estate site and employs 27 staff.

The company was founded 44 years ago by Mr Robert Duffield. In the early years it was a major supplier of pit props to the Yorkshire and North-East coalfields and made pallets and potato boxes. Today the sawmill still produces timber for the chairframe industries in the South Yorkshire and Lancashire areas.

Now the company is one of the United Kingdom's leading stockists and suppliers of quality hardwoods to national refurbishment contractors, specialist manufacturing joiners, kitchen manufacturers, shopfitters, furniture and cabinetmakers.

The Melmerby site consists of a new office and administration centre; 8,500 square metres of modern warehouses, storing more than £1m worth of timber; four large timber drying kilns; a sawmill and a modern fleet of lorries to deliver to customers.

Another recent development at Duffield Timber is the installation of a flooring and moulding factory to add value to raw timber.

"The recent investment in new buildings and plant is now showing dividends and the company is confident of further growth and continued success," said Mr Howard Duffield.