The market for I-joists in the UK has grown rapidly over the past year, and James Jones & Sons Ltd’s Timber Systems Division has demonstrated its commitment to the sector by announcing further investment at its plant in Forres.
The company, which is the only British I-joist maker, has started the building work for the new production line which will boost its capacity to 6 million lineal metres per year. The new production facilities will also include a finger-jointing line, an automated production line and a curing facility, in addition to increased storage capacity and a cut-to-size facility. It is expected to be commissioned in December, with full production being attained in the spring of 2003.
“We have seen a massive surge in demand over the past few months, equating to nearly 80% year on year, and we have taken a number of steps to cope,” reports Tom Bruce-Jones, Director of the Timber Systems Division. “In addition to the capital expenditure on the new line, we have introduced another shift, effective on September 15, which will further increase our production by 40%, adding to the implementation of extended hours at the beginning of August. As a result of these measures we have recruited more personnel, all of whom will be fully trained by the time the new line is operational. The capital expenditure at Forres is coming on stream as the sales curve steepens further, and the company’s goal is to maintain its commitment to quality, service and technical expertise in these challenging market conditions.”
As well as the increase in production staff, the Timber Systems Division has added two further graduates to its engineering and sales support operation to assist its distributors in providing “the highest levels of technical support which are essential to the successful use of I-joists”.
James Jones says its JJI-Joists are now supplied to the majority of the top 20 national house builders and the major UK timber frame manufacturers. And the division expects that at least one additional technical sales support person will be needed soon to cover rising sales in the North.
To provide customers with further information about the product, the company has launched a new website at www.jji-joists.com. This carries a range of technical data covering both manufacture and installation.
