Summary
• Steico is setting up national distribution in the UK.
• It has product in stock at wholesaler Puhoswood’s Rochester facility.
• Steico‘s European factory produces more than 25 million linear metres a year.
• It’s products include hemp insulation and an insulated wall stud.
• The company is to be sole European distributor for a new Russian LVL factory.

When German I-joist manufacturer Steico appointed Andy Moore as managing director of its UK operation in July, it knew it had chosen a man with a track record in product development.

As managing director of Puhoswood, Mr Moore had taken standard chipboard flooring and added value to produce Weather Dek2, a flooring system used by many volume housebuilders.

He has equally big plans for Steico. “Our ambition is not to be a bit player,” said Mr Moore. “We want to be a major supplier to the UK.”

Since setting up a UK arm two years ago, Steico has built up a customer base in the timber frame sector. Now, it seems, it has decided the time is right to give the brand an extra push and go for market share.

Puhoswood as wholesaler

Formerly iLevel Trus Joist‘s wholesaler, Puhoswood is now fulfilling the same role for Steico. In the coming weeks Mr Moore will announce a number of new distributors, giving Steico national distribution in the UK for the first time, and it also has product in stock at Puhoswood’s Rochester facility, ready for just-in-time delivery.

Steico has unveiled new design software and three designers have been installed at the Rochester office to provide customers with product training courses and a design service.

Steico’s product, Steicojoist, comprises fibreboard with a softwood flange and its factory is claimed to be the biggest I-joist plant in Europe, with annual capacity exceeding 25 million linear metres. Among the 10 or so products that come out of the complex are Steicowall, an insulated wall stud; Steicocanaflex, a flexible insulation made from hemp; and various other insulations for floors and roofs, including T&G sarking and sheathing boards.

LVL will be added to the mix when a Russian factory, for which Steico has the sole distribution in Europe, starts production later this year.

“Where Steico has an edge is starting off with the core I-joist product but the portfolio of products is very exciting,” said Mr Moore.

Environmental credibility

A strong theme running through all Steico’s products, and one that is increasingly important in establishing a UK presence, is their environmental credibility, he added.

All the timber used is FSC certified and nearly all the products carry Nature Plus certification, a European quality mark against which a product’s environmental impact is measured.

Boosting their environmental credentials, Mr Moore says that Steicojoists contain 60% less glue than similar products as adhesive is needed only where the fibreboard is bonded to the softwood flange.

At the company’s manufacturing plant in Poland, little goes to waste. For instance, the hemp stalks, which are a byproduct of the insulation, are used in hemp chipboard – a lighter alternative to traditional material and suitable for door cores and the caravan industry (and the company is also developing structural flooring using it).

As with the insulation, the board may be more expensive than existing products, but Mr Moore believes its environmental credentials – it’s produced from a crop with a one-year rotation and also needs less glue than conventional chipboard – will appeal to housing associations. He also sees a market for it among smaller builders trying to differentiate themselves from volume competitors by offering higher value houses.

Opportunities

With housebuilding in a slump, it may not seem the ideal time to be trying to strengthen market position, but Mr Moore believes the opposite is true, especially as the dust settles on the takeover and assimilation by Finnforest of the iLevel Europe TJI-joist business. Mr Moore believes the eventual loss of the TJI brand name in the UK will create opportunities for others.

“It’s a good time to develop our position,” he said. “Everyone is thinking about change and we’ll all pick up some [TJI] customers.”

As I-joist manufacturers compete over a more demanding market, it will become even more important to find new customers, and Mr Moore has identified two key target areas: DIY and the self-build sector.

For the serious DIY market he envisages a bespoke range, supplied as an “easy build” package with basic loading criteria, accessories and concise instructions.

Smaller or self-builders are another untapped customer base. “Someone doing a project may be employing a builder or an architect but the client is having a much greater say in the material that’s being used,” he said.

While he accepts that I-joists are a commodity, Mr Moore believes they can be sold into the market as much more. “Selling I-joists is interesting because it’s not just about the cost. It’s the software, the engineering, and you have to sell it not just to the distributor, but to the housebuilder too,” he said.

It is also about service and technical support which, he said, Steico has in spades, and on the front line, that translates into being “the friendly face to the market, trying to go the extra mile to help”.