The Highlands group follows the Highlands & Islands Enterprise boundaries which extend from the Shetland Isles in the north to the Cumbraes in the South, the entire west coast and over as far as Keith on the east coast. The region is a real mix with a large population around Inverness contracting with remote mainland and island communities.

The region is home to some significant forest industry processing facilities and these include:

• James Jones & Sons Ltd : JJI Joists production facility in Forres.

• Norbord:  OSB (Oriented Strand Board) production facility on the outskirts of Inverness.

• John Gordon & Son Ltd: major sawmill processing facility in Nairn.

• BSW: sawmill facility at Fort William.

• Balcas: the UK's largest wood pellet production facility at Invergordon.

These key businesses are important contributors to the economy of the region and consume around 1.8m tones of round wood on an annual basis. A significant volume of the processed material leaves the region to other parts of the UK and beyond. They support significant direct local employment and support a huge range of smaller businesses right down the supply chain.

In addition to these large facilities there are numerous smaller processing facilties throughout the region which serve, local and niche markets.

Highlands events are run during the September to May period annually and are designed to:
• Encourage cooperation within the industry
• Facilitate development of the Industry.
• Increase awareness and uptake of innovation.
• Identify further opportunities for knowledge transfer.
• Provide links between the industry, HIE, SFIC and SFIAB.
• Provide strategic advice and knowledge to HIE

Given the large geographical area the regional group covers we try to alternate the location of events with Fort William and the Inverness areas providing a good balance.

We are always open to suggestions from the industry so if you have any that you would like to share with us please drop Stuart, the facilitator an email (contact details above).

Our activity is supported with assistance from Highlands & Islands Enterprise.