Job losses at a number of timber firms provide growing evidence that the housing slump is now having an effect down the construction supply chain.
Amid a background of national housebuilders shelving new work and struggling to raise cash, several timber engineering firms have announced redundancies.
The Construction Products Association says the sharp decline in housebuilding has “now translated into a dramatic fall in sales in the second quarter for product manufacturers”. This follows NHBC stats showing that private housebuilding starts fell by 56% year-on-year during May, with completions also dropping.
Kingspan Off-Site’s timber frame factory in Tredegar is to close with the loss of 59 jobs and Howarth Timber Engineering Ltd has invited voluntary redundancies from some sectors of its workforce. But it has redeployed many staff to reflect expanding work in the social housing sector.
Saint-Gobain Building Distribution has announced plans to close the Wardle site of Pasquill Roof Trusses with the loss of 37 jobs. The proposal, the company said, reflected the need to align capacity with current demand from the UK housing market.
Wolverhampton manufacturer Hickman Industries Ltd is also laying off staff, with local newspaper the Express & Star quoting managing director Mike Burlton saying the company’s head count will be reduced. TTJ tried to verify the paper’s claim of up to 60 job losses, but Mr Burlton was unavailable for comment.
Administrators at off-site OSB build system producer Panaloc have made 80 people redundant.
But JELD-WEN said there was room for optimism amid the gloom. “No-one would deny the market is tough, with the newbuild sector affecting sales particularly in our staircases division,” said JELD-WEN product manager Tony Pell.
But he said innovation and selling into new markets, such as the commercial sector, gave grounds for optimism, while the firm’s market share continues to grow for external joinery products.
