Meet the team
At Buckland Timber, our team consists of engineers, project managers, carpenters, joiners, and administrative staff.
Robin Nicholson is the Managing Director of Buckland Timber, a Chartered Structural Engineer with approaching two decades of experience in structural engineering and design consultancy – specifically with timber, along with his knowledge of building and traditional construction methods and materials.
Hobbies: Wildlife and swimming.
Brent Dicks is our Production Manager. Brent has a background in the design and manufacture of aerospace components and provides a link between the design and manufacturing process. He plays a key role in informing the practical implementation of design in the workshop and during installation on site.
Hobbies: Marathon running and motorcycles.
Tasha Currie joined the company in 2016 and manages quotations, ordering and haulage. She provides a key link between our customers and the production team.
Hobbies: Amateur dramatics, walking her three Huskies and women’s rugby.
Keith O Ceallaigh is a graduate of Edinburgh Napier University. As our Technical Manager Keith has extensive knowledge of both the structural design of glulam buildings coupled with the technical aspects associated to glulam manufacture and logistics of installation.
Hobbies: Yoga and meditation.
Antonio Savinelli is an Engineer graduate of the University of Naples (Italy). Antonio joined our technical team in 2018 and focuses on structural design – from simple projects to complex geometry needing three-dimensional structural modelling.
Hobbies: Flamenco dancing and guitar.
Julie Fishleigh is Buckland’s office manager, she plays a critical role in coordinating the company’s logistics and finances.
Hobbies: Charitable work for her hometown of Hatherleigh.
Richard Bateman is responsible for daily sampling and testing of our glulam beams. When away from the testing machine he can be found ordering fixings and generally filling in on any carpentry in the workshop.
Hobbies: Walking his dogs, refurbishing and selling architectural antiques.
Andrew Glover is one of the key glulam production workers, he is a certified timber grader and co-ordinates the finger jointing, clamping and timber preparation processes involved in glulam manufacture.
Hobbies: Anything to do with food, you will find Andrew in the front row.
Nick Gilham has been a carpenter at Buckland Timber since 2013, Nick has experience in fabricating and erecting all types of glulam structures. Nick comes from a timber framing background and calls on this experience in any site troubleshooting that is required.
Hobbies: When not at work Nick can be found on the north coast surfing.
Lajos Varga has been a carpenter at Buckland Timber since 2014, with a background in bench joinery. He is able to work on any scale of glulam structure right down to where furniture grade jointing is required.
Hobbies: Fine wines and dining.
Umberto Zaninotti joined the company in 2015 as a experienced glulam specialist draughtsman. He is an expert in deciphering scribbled sketches and converting them into fabrication ready CAD files.
Hobbies: Skiing and cooking.
Tom Houlden joined the team in 2019 as a carpenter with experience in both making and carpentry fabrication of glulam building elements.
Hobbies: Cycling.
Rhys Warren – Draughtsman
Rhys studied Industrial Design at Loughborough University. He enjoys using CAM programmes to 3D model and has a background in CGI, mainly to do with furniture design. He joined Buckland Timber in early 2021 and uses his skills to communicate the project designs through drawings and is involved with some project management.
Hobbies: Rhys can be found campervanning around looking for spots to surf, paddleboard and kayak.
Flynn Simpson – Graduate Structural Engineer and Estimator
Flynn studied Architectural Engineering at University of Sheffield and joined Buckland at the start of 2021. Flynn is responsible for structural calculations and drawings and also general design work. He might be your first point of contact on a project and does estimating and quoting and he also gets drafted in at the later stages of a project.
Hobbies: Flynn is a climber. Some of his favourite climbing spots are North Wales, the Peak District and Scotland.
Steve North
Steve joined us in 2019 and works on the factory floor making our glulam beams.
Hobbies: Steve is a beef farmer, his farm is in Morchard Bishop in mid Devon.
Patryk Pazdan
Patryk makes the glulam beams which involves cutting, clamping, glueing, planing in our factory. He joined us in July 2021 from working in the meat industry.
Hobbies: Mountain biking around Devon.
Ian Halsey – Operations Manager
Ian joined Buckland in November 2021. With a Diploma in Business-Improvement Techniques and a GNVQ in Engineering, he brings years of operational experience to the team. Ian oversees day-to-day operations, covering most elements of a project from customer enquiry right through to installations onsite.
Hobbies: Anything motorcycles & gardening