46 | Sector Focus: Timber Construction
NEXT GENERATION TIMBER HOMES
Donaldson Timber Systems’ £10m investment at its Witney factory signals the next phase of its plans to meet the UK construction industry’s requirements for next-generation timber homes. Stephen Powney reports
Robots, laser projection, 3D printers and inspiration from the automotive sector may not typically be things you associate with UK off-site timber frame home production. But those are some of the developments implemented by one forward-thinking UK timber systems producer as it seeks to supply the low-carbon homes required for a construction sector short on traditional building skills.
Donaldson Timber Systems (DTS), part of the long-established family-owned timber products company The Donaldson Group (DG), has set down an industry marker with a recent £10m investment at its timber homes factory at Witney, Oxfordshire.
Some of the pieces of new technology were created specifically for DTS and have never been used before in the industry. For DG, the venture into timber frame systems is a recent one, having acquired Stewart Milne Timber Systems (SMTS) in
2021, then comprising three factories in Witney, Aberdeen and Falkirk. When TTJ caught up with DTS managing director Rod Allan and manufacturing director Frank O’Reilly following the £10m factory investment, it was an opportunity to explore in more detail how the company is seeking to position itself in the off-site low carbon homes market.
FULL TIMBER CONSTRUCTION SOLUTIONS
Mr Allan explained the reasoning behind DG’s venture into timber frame.
“Timber frame was a natural addition to The Donaldson Group, which is timber through and through,” said Mr Allan. “It’s a bit of vertical integration and it fits nicely with the Donaldson roof truss business. “With the Group being based in Scotland, we have a good view of the marketplace as timber building in Scotland is more than 95%
of new houses. We see the low-carbon and environmental credentials of timber frame and the opportunities in England.” When DG added timber frame it meant there were three parts to the Group’s Off-Site division – Donaldson Timber Engineering (DTE), which manufactures engineered timber floors and roof trusses; Donaldson Door Systems; and the newly-created DTS business.
Essentially, it added wall production to be able to provide full timber construction kits to the building industry.
Mr Allan estimated timber frame’s market share of the English new homes market to be around 15-16% but it is set to break 20% as the market picks back up.
“Some of the big builders have seen what the future looks like and have invested in their own timber frame businesses, such as Barratt, Miller and Avant, through acquisition,” he added.
Above: Donaldson Timber Systems has invested £10m in its Witney factory TTJ | July/August 2024 |
www.ttjonline.com
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