The firm has seen a 40% rise in orders as major UK house builders look for ways of beating shortages of traditional materials.

Stewart Milne has timber frame manufacturing plants in Aberdeen and Oxford.

Alex Goodfellow, managing director of the timber arm, told The Scotsman he has recently been approached by a number of Britain’s largest house builders.

He said: “The growth has mostly come from the big builders, who are trying to 
secure their supply chain.

“Some people are waiting 30 or 40 weeks for bricks – that will sort itself out but at the moment there’s a real shortage of materials and we are able to address that.

“The brick and block guys will rise to meet the demand but in the meantime it’s an opportunity that has allowed us to kickstart our growth, and also speak to people we might not otherwise have had the chance to.”

Stewart Milne is now moving both its timber frame factories on to double shifts over the next three months to cope with demand.

The group has taken on about 25 workers in recent weeks, taking the factory workforce to more than 200, and it could double production by 2016.