Gary Treanor, director of product and business development at Kingspan Century, has been elected as chairman of the Irish Timber Frame Manufacturers’ Association (ITFMA) for the coming year.
A chartered civil engineer, Mr Treanor has been with Kingspan Century since 1998 where he has held a number of senior management positions. Prior to that he worked on several large scale civil engineering contracts in the UK. On his return to Ireland he held contract management roles on a variety of commercial projects including several substantial design and build projects in the pharmaceutical and hi-tech sectors.
Mr Treanor is a member of the Building Regulations Advisory Board and also sits on the technical committees of both the Irish Timber Frame Manufacturers’ Association and the UK Timber Frame Association. He regularly presents for both organisations at Continued Professional Development events and industry seminars.
Addressing members at the ITFMA’s AGM Mr Treanor acknowledged the challenges that the timber frame industry faced in 2009. “Demand for new residential housing is forecast at 20,000 units in 2009,” he said. “This brings us back to 1991 demand levels and the self build sector will be the main market driver. However, the difference now is the build quality required. Government policy and consumer demand is now for airtight, well-insulated, energy-efficient and low carbon homes. Precise manufacturing techniques, design flexibility and the natural attributes of timber can meet these requirements.”
