Summary
¦ Housing starts improved slightly last year.
¦ About 33% capacity has been removed from the roof truss sector since 2007.
¦ Fewer apartments are being built.
¦ The TRA expects the use of metal-web beams to increase.
¦ Panelised roof systems also provide an opportunity for roof truss fabricators.

Last year UK housing starts were still 40% down on 2007 but, although construction has been below par for several years now, UK trussed rafter manufacturers remain fairly positive.

They don’t expect dramatic recovery any time soon, but the slight pick-up in starts last year produced some reasonable company results.

“The industry has reacted well to the reductions in the market, with plant closures and reduced labour lowering overall industry capacity. About 33% of capacity has come out since 2007 so it’s pretty close to what the market is,” said Philip Bell, outgoing chairman of the Trussed Rafter Association (TRA) and managing director of Crendon Timber Engineering.

Donaldson Timber Engineering (DTE) is among those that reported growth last year. “In the last 12 months our sales have grown year on year, even taking into account timber price inflation,” said managing director Jonathan Fellingham, although he added that margins were tight.

DTE’s order books have been helped largely by the company’s national manufacturing and distribution capabilities, he said.

National coverage has also provided a backbone for business at Pasquill and over the past two years the company has continued to invest, opening five new manufacturing sites, taking its total to 14, and a couple of design offices.

Pasquill started its investment programme just as the market collapsed but it persevered and managing director Stuart McKill said this year the company plans to work on “maturing the sites and maximising their potential”. It will also endorse the Pasquill brand with the name of its parent company Saint-Gobain to provide greater support to customers.

“There is always a market and it’s how we address that, and the solutions and service that we provide will be our success,” said Mr McKill.

Scotts of Thrapston has also invested, spending about £100,000 on a new bed and CNC saw. The machinery will provide extra production capacity and prepares the company for an upturn in the market.

And despite the weather, Scotts had its best ever January. “It’s the first January we’ve ever made money,” said chairman David Scott. “Since then orders have been flying out the door.”

He put the improvement partly down to the company’s range of customers and products. “You really want a customer list as long as your arm and our order book is spread widely rather than being in one or two companies’ pockets,” he said, adding that if Scotts can keep the momentum it will be more than happy.

Expansion

Following its record sales of £1.2m in 2010, North Yorkshire Timber (NYT) has expanded its design and production teams and increased roof truss capacity by 50% with the addition of a new press. The new machinery will reduce turnaround times and enable NYT to produce an “unlimited” range of truss styles in sizes up to 4.2m high and 18m long.

NYT launched its roof truss business in the difficult economic climate of 2009 which managing director Nick Kershaw said was “not an easy time” to start a new business but the company had successfully established a customer base in the north-east.

Any marked improvement in housebuilding this year is unlikely but within what is being built there are some positive trends for the roof truss fabricators.

One development in their favour is the emphasis moving away from apartments back to houses as the market becomes geared more towards family homes rather than investors and first-time buyers.

“According to NHBC figures, at the peak the proportion of apartments exceeded 50%; that’s now fallen to below 40% and is still falling,” said Mr Bell.

One housebuilder, he added, was talking of its proportion dropping to as low as 20% and nearly all those apartments would be within the M25.

Mr McKill agreed that the trend was good news for the roof truss sector. “It gives us a fighting chance,” he said.

Another positive is the growing demand for metal-web beams and about 18 months ago the TRA adopted the mandate for the product.

“The vast majority of open web beam manufacturers are also trussed rafter manufacturers,” said Mr Bell. “We believe that over the next few years there will be increasing numbers of open web beams in new house construction and there will probably be a shift away from I-joists because of the ease of running services through an open web. That will create further opportunities for TRA members.”

Wolf Systems, which is responsible for easi-joist, has also noted the trend. “Metal webs were traditionally used in floor joist production but we’re seeing more opportunities for easi-joist in roof construction,” said sales and marketing director Karl Foster, adding that this area was evolving too.

“Initially their use was limited to flat roofs because services could run through the roof void rather than over the roof, but now we’re seeing more being used as pitched rafters.”

Changing roof shapes

Part of the reason is that roof shapes are moving away from the traditional gable roof in order to accommodate more insulation and renewable energy production such as photovoltaic panels.

“An easi-joist can be 300mm deep so the ability to fill that with insulation is a huge advantage. They also work well if you have PV cells on the roof. You can have a series of roof slopes that are angled to get the most possible sun. The reverse side is not used for that purpose, so why build it?” said Mr Foster.

The same advantages apply to using metal-web joists in wall construction.

“There’s enormous interest in using metal webs in walls because of the insulation values. It gets over the problem of using extra-wide solid timber studs; you can run services; and they’re a lot lighter,” he said.

In fact, there’s been so much interest that Wolf Systems has tested various stud designs to find the most cost-effective solution that provides optimum performance. The research should be completed soon and Mr Foster said the outcome would provide a “major market” for joist manufacturers who could make the products as stock items.

Panelised systems

Although panelised roof systems may seem like competition for roof truss fabricators, the TRA regards them as opportunity rather than threat.

“The use of panelised systems is limited because they need a fairly high-pitched, gable to gable roof,” said Mr Bell. “The impact on the trussed rafter industry of losing those projects isn’t very great but the opportunity for the industry to supply higher value panel systems is real.”

Reflecting housebuilders’ growing interest in roof systems, last year Wolf Systems signed up three new licensees for its panelised smartroof and Mr Foster sees it as another product in a truss manufacturer’s armoury.

“It helps fabricators protect their existing market,” said Mr Foster. “If your customer announces he’s building 100 houses, a proportion of those will be panel roof construction. If as a trussed rafter manufacturer you’re not open to panel roof systems the chances are someone else will be doing work for your existing customer. The manufacturer that can supply the customer with all of their products is going to win out.”

The year ahead

And these developments give roof truss manufacturers options in what is still a difficult market. With so much uncertainty hanging over the economy, and consumer confidence dented by the higher than expected inflation rate and the likelihood of interest rates rising, there is little prospect of the housebuilding market improving this year.

“We deal with a lot of the national housebuilders and none of them have talked about increasing numbers this year,” said Mr Bell. “They’re looking for better margins rather than playing the numbers game.”

However, if volumes are maintained at last year’s levels most in the roof truss sector would be satisfied. “We would be happy if we maintained a similar level of turnover [to last year] but improved our margin,” said Mr Fellingham.

Mr Bell agreed. “We expect overall volumes will be similar to 2010 and if that proves correct then many in the industry will breathe a sigh of relief.”

At Pasquill, Mr McKill believes it will be “a tough battle”.

“It will probably be well into 2012 before we see anything that might get the blood rushing a bit but in many ways we understand the market we’re in and we have to learn to operate at these levels.”

But the TRA believes that when construction does pick up truss manufacturers will be ready. “Some of the capacity that was lost can be fairly easily switched back on,” said Mr Bell. “We remain in good shape to service the market.”