| 33
Mr Cadman doesn’t see the situation easing in the short term. “Demand levels are high worldwide and, with disruption to key trade routes, it’s highly likely that timber will remain in short supply, with prices further underpinned by high container rates.” Companies have taken steps to minimise their exposure on the issue as far as possible. “After talking to our merchants, we bought
Above: Decorative work at Haldane
£100,000 of wood already on quayside, mainly European oak and US black walnut,” said Mr Adam. “We figured it was a better investment than leaving the cash in the bank.” PTP has also been able to “cover itself quite well”. “We’ve got arrangements with UK companies who warehouse for us, so we buy in bulk, then call material off,” said Mr Wakeman.
kit housing suppliers in the 40-100 units a year range. “Many of this scale disappeared in the financial crisis, but we’re seeing resurgence in response to housing need, with new businesses coming on the scene,” said Mr Adam. Most of West Port’s focus is on commercial buildings and social housing and activity here also continues to gather pace. “In fact, due to our diverse market sectors, overall we didn’t notice much of a slowdown at all,” said Mr Newey.
All companies polled said they’d continued to develop new products through the crisis. “In particular we’ve updated specifications to comply with Building Regulations Document Q on security,” said Mr Wakeman. West Port’s product development team has
kept busy too.
“This period has given us time to reflect on the condition of the UK timber window market and we’ve been working on two new ranges for social and private housing,” said Mr Newey. “We’re also developing new fire door options.”
JB Kind has just introduced three new styles; Urban Industrial, a pre-painted timber alternative to black metal industrial, unfinished Palomino Oak and dark grey laminate Tigris Cinza.
Vicaima’s R&D has also lined up new doors and door kits for 2021. These include Portaro and Easi-Fit fire, acoustic and security kits, figured and random grain Heritage oak, real veneer and Vicaima H2P technology Stained Extra, embossed Dekor 3D Glacier and Silver Oak and foil-faced, textured feel SD Touch.
And Haldane reports taking on some challenging high end projects, including handrails for 13 flats in the prestigious Chelsea Barracks redevelopment and 300m of US white ash balustrade for Glasgow University. It is also replicating the grand staircase in fire-damaged Cameron House Hotel near Loch Lomond.
“The 120 rope twist balusters feature flowers on each face of a squared section that were originally hand-carved,” said Mr Adam. “We used our 14-lazer scanner to reproduce these, with the scan fed directly into our CNC machines.”
The pandemic also prompted investment. “It’s given us the opportunity to focus on where we want to be and what we need in terms of people and technology,” said Mr Adam. “Consequently we’re looking at major investment, including new equipment. We’ve recruited three more people to operate it and a new production director from the electronics industry.” Likewise PTP has scrutinised operations to drive productivity, with a new Homag flexible manufacturing system going in at Mumford and Wood and a new treatment plant. Total investment approaches £1m. West Port has added a further paint line and four additional door lines, while also taking on 24 more production personnel and recruiting sales staff.
Having Brexit to deal with besides the pandemic doesn’t seem to have caused major issues. Joinery businesses attribute this to their own and suppliers’ stock building to hedge against customs disruption. PTP also “employed expertise in forward shipping so paperwork was spot on”.
Of bigger concern are timber supply and price inflation. “We must collaborate timber industry-wide on this to avoid snuffing out recovery,” said the spokesperson for one company. Mr Adam agreed: “We must keep prices at levels that are commercially viable for us, not just suppliers.”
Vicaima has absorbed and mitigated timber price fluctuation as far as possible. “However, there are limits, so, in common with all UK timber product manufacturers, there will need to be adjustments,” said Mr King. “But there is a desire to work together with customers to find solutions.”
Above: Installation of an additional door line at West Port’s 176,000ft2
factory to cope with
the increased demand for fire doors and to maximise capacity
www.ttjonline.com | May/June 2021 | TTJ
He predicted continuing hardening on prices and lead times extending. But like other joiners consulted, he’s upbeat about prospects for his business “and timber generally”. Vicaima anticipates a booming market.
“We see fresh impetus for interiors that reflect not only nature and the world around us, but with assured performance and safety,” said Mr King.
While seeing good prospects through into the first half of 2022, JB Kind also forecasts output being constrained by timber supply and skilled labour availability. “But that will smooth out what could have been a post- Covid spike, followed by similarly significant contraction, something we’d want to avoid,” said Mr Cadman. Mr Adam is positive too. “Bullish is probably the wrong word,” he said. “But I am enthusiastic!” ■
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85
