A NORTH Yorkshire businesswoman has received her MBE from the Princess Royal for services to rural business and skills in the county.
Emma Woods, who owns Duncombe Sawmill in Helmsley, was on the 2016 New Year’s Honours list and was invited to Buckingham Palace for her investiture, accompanied by her husband William, their daughters Milly and Isabelle, and her parents, Nigel and Jackie Packer.
In 2003, as a customer of the sawmill, she received a letter saying the 100-year-old business was closing. With no previous industry experience, she took it over and has spent 13 years creating a niche timber business which focuses on its core strengths to manufacture good quality British products and offer outstanding customer service.
Today the sawmill has a team of eight people. Though Emma was the first female to work in the business, it now employs an equal amount of men and women.
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