Changing trends in the building industry have kept the trussed rafter sector on its toes but they haven’t daunted Wolf Systems Ltd.
While the changes bring challenges, Wolf has turned them into opportunities, which is evident by the company’s growth: in the past six years it has doubled its staff and increased the number of manufacturers from 40 to 60.
Last year was a particular milestone for the company as annual turnover rose 20% and sales of its nailplates – the core of its business – grew month by month. In addition, Wolf has invested £1m, including buying a factory and office unit adjacent to its existing premises in Coventry. The additional office space has enabled the company to relocate its expanded design and software departments and turn the original offices into a training suite – trebling the size of its training facilities in one go.
So, as the construction of more apartments, rather than houses, means fewer, and often, smaller roofs, Wolf has diversified. In addition to its range of nailplates, the company provides software packages for trussed roof design, timber frame, production management, scheduling, and for the design of its own panel roof system smartroof, and metal web easi-joist beams. And it backs all this up with the supply of a range of machinery for truss, joist and timber frame production, the most recent addition being machinery from Swedish company Randek BauTech. UK manufacturer AV Birch installs and services all of Wolf’s equipment.
“Standing still is not an option,” said sales and marketing director Alan Ritchie, who could well be summing up the company’s business philosophy.
Fewer roofs, more floors
Although more apartments mean fewer roofs, they also mean more floors – providing trussed rafter manufacturers with the opportunity to add joists to their product range. This is where Wolf’s easi-joists come in. While the product offers benefits on site, it allows manufacturers to add another string to their bow, using the same TR26 timber they stock for trussed rafters.
There’s also more variety in roof designs, which may not necessarily mean more volume but it can offer a chance for the trussed rafter manufacturer to add value.
This variety can make it difficult for truss manufacturers to keep up with architects’ imagination but upgrades to design software such as Wolf’s ease the way.
“That’s why we have to keep developing,” said Mr Ritchie. “They [architects] want more and more space and less and less structure.”
Mr Ritchie points out that the growth in timber frame – which now accounts for around 20% of UK housing starts – also opens the way for other products, such as panel roofs.
Here Wolf has provided its solution in the form of smartroof. The SIPs system can be craned into position, ready for tiles, in just one day. As smartroof spans from gable to gable, Wolf has also developed complementary spandrel panels for the gable and party walls – again building on the technology of trussed rafter production.
Smartroof recently signed up its first manufacturer in Ireland (p10) where, with the recent boom in the housebuilding sector, the potential market is huge. Ireland’s population is only just over 4 million but its annual housing completions are almost half those of the UK.
Smartroof is more expensive to manufacture, said Mr Ritchie, but the ease and speed of installation provide savings on site. “So what we lose on the swings we gain on the roundabouts”, he said.
Covering bases
The closed panel system – which uses nails rather than connector plates – is attractive to the social housing market but Wolf does not envisage a “mass migration” from the connector plate roof truss. “Covering bases is altogether a different proposition and Wolf’s driving force,” said Mr Ritchie.
These developments not only help Wolf’s business, but also benefit the trussed rafter sector as a whole.
“If trussed rafter manufacturers come up with these solutions then it’s easier to keep away the competitors,” said Mr Ritchie. “Wolf is working hard to put space between our customers and our customers’ competitors.”
