Imported timber Suppyl & demand · 2018. 9. 28. · My belief is that one of the major reasons for...

NO. 369 // APRIL 2017

PAGE 13

MASTER BUILDERS’ FIRST FEMALE CEO

PAGE 41

PROTECTING YOUR BUSINESS

PAGE 34

MITEK’S SAPPHIRE MANAGEMENT

Supply & demand

Imported timber

TTN369_01_cover_2017.indd 1 16/3/17 4:03 pm

Innovation in timber engineering

The fastest and most versatile truss and frame component cutting machine ever

INTRODUCING THE ALL NEW SUPERCHARGED TIMBER COMPONENT CUTTER

www.hundegger.com

The fastest and

My Hundegger and me! Never change a winning team!

Hundegger Australasia Pty LtdCharlie Hutchings58A Whiteside Road Clayton South Victoria Australia 3169Tel: +613 9540 0130 Email: [email protected] Web: www.hundegger.com.au

• Designed specifically for high speed production of roof truss, and timber framing components

• Minimal footprint

• Latest technology

• ln built board-stretching optimisation = more yield, less waste

• Fast, accurate, flexible and affordable

most versatile truss and frame component cutting machine ever

The fastest and

TURBO-DRIVE

4c 210 x 297 Australien_eng_2.indd 1 13.12.2016 12:24:04TTN366_03_Industry insite.indd 2 16/12/16 2:27 pmTTN367_03_Industry insite.indd 2 19/1/17 2:38 pm

Hundegger Australasia Pty LtdCharlie Hutchings2 Hi-Tech PlaceRowville Victoria Australia 3178Tel: +613 9540 0130 Email: [email protected] Web: www.hundegger.com.au

Hundegger_368_march 17.indd 1 17/2/17 11:37 am

www.timbertradernews.com TIMBER TRADER NEWS / APRIL 2017 3

PUBLISHING DATAPublisher: Ian Brooks(02) 9126 [email protected]

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Circulation: proprietors, managers andexecutives in all sectors of the timberand building materials industriesincluding merchants, building materialcentres, hardware stores, timber windowand door manufacturers, truss andframe manufacturers, timber flooringretailers, stair, balustrade and solidtimber furniture manufacturers andtheir associated suppliers and industryassociations throughout Australia.

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PERSONNEL

Sales Director:Julie McConachyPhone: 0409 381 [email protected]

PUBLISHERIan BrooksPhone: 02 9126 [email protected]

Ausframe ......................................................... 33

Australian Sustainable Hardwoods Pty Ltd ........ 6

Bliss & Reels Pty Ltd ....................................... 37

Hundegger ......................................................... 2

Hyne Timber ...................................................... 9

Mathews Timber .............................................. 25

McCormack’s Hardwood Sales .................... 5, 35

MiTek Australia Ltd .......................................... 44

Multinail Australia Pty Ltd ................................ 39

Outdoor Timber Treatment ................................. 8

Simmonds ....................................................... 21

STS Timber ...................................................... 15

Vekta Automation ............................................ 43

ADVERTISERS’ INDEX – APRIL 2017

Innovation in timber engineering

The fastest and most versatile truss and frame component cutting machine ever

INTRODUCING THE ALL NEW SUPERCHARGED TIMBER COMPONENT CUTTER

www.hundegger.com

The fastest and

My Hundegger and me! Never change a winning team!

Hundegger Australasia Pty LtdCharlie Hutchings58A Whiteside Road Clayton South Victoria Australia 3169Tel: +613 9540 0130 Email: [email protected] Web: www.hundegger.com.au

• Designed specifically for high speed production of roof truss, and timber framing components

• Minimal footprint

• Latest technology

• ln built board-stretching optimisation = more yield, less waste

• Fast, accurate, flexible and affordable

most versatile truss and frame component cutting machine ever

The fastest and

TURBO-DRIVE

4c 210 x 297 Australien_eng_2.indd 1 13.12.2016 12:24:04TTN366_03_Industry insite.indd 2 16/12/16 2:27 pmTTN367_03_Industry insite.indd 2 19/1/17 2:38 pm

Hundegger Australasia Pty LtdCharlie Hutchings2 Hi-Tech PlaceRowville Victoria Australia 3178Tel: +613 9540 0130 Email: [email protected] Web: www.hundegger.com.au

Hundegger_368_march 17.indd 1 17/2/17 11:37 am

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CONTENTS

RegularsIndustry insights .........................................4State of the industry ...................................5

Association updateAssociation news .......................................7

NewsNews in brief ...........................................10

Feature articleHome & away ...........................................18

Product profileVekta Razer ...............................................26

Company profileSTS Timber ...............................................28

Watt about the workplaceProtecting your business ..........................41

Timber floor newsBauBuche Flooring ....................................30 Brice on Boards ........................................32

AutoBuild NewsProduct profile: SAPPHIRE .......................34Alpine Truss turns 15 .................................36

FTMA newsletterWith Kersten Gentle .................................38

GN guidelinesTimely documentation ..............................40

Truss talk With Paul Davis ........................................42

TTN369_03_contents.indd 3 17/3/17 1:08 pm

4 TIMBER TRADER NEWS / APRIL 2017 www.timbertradernews.com

As I talk technology and the benefits of the internet and ecommerce to members

of the timber and hardware industries within Australia, I often find myself saying, “Don’t hate me, I didn’t invent the internet”.

What do I mean, “Don’t hate me”? The reality is that the internet is both a threat and an opportunity to the traditional business model of many long-standing businesses within this industry. Many of these discussions turn to what competitors could be or are doing to disrupt their traditional channels to market by using e-commerce. Often the discussion then turns to me being told that the timber and hardware industries are immune to such threats and we don’t need to be concerned, or at least concerned for a very long time.

Well if that’s the case, as an industry, can we put our heads in the sand and confidently say that the timber industry doesn’t need to explore the threats and opportunities the internet offers? Should timber merchants in 2017 be looking at an omni-channel option to ensure the success of their business into the future?

The first place to start is with the statistics – and they are compelling in regards to the use of the internet – and more specifically smartphones in the process of researching products and companies prior to purchasing. The process is known as “webrooming”, which is slang for the consumer practice of researching products online before buying them in a physical store. Some research indicates webrooming can be as high as 90 percent within Australia. This is helped by the fact that there are over 15 million smartphones operating within Australia. The Nielsen mobile report from October 2015 stated the average smartphone use was more than one hour of internet browsing on each smartphone per day. One of the most popular responses when asked what smartphone users did with their phone was “research products to buy”. In fact, the Sensis e-Business Report 2016 reported that 55 percent of all Australian mobile users are ordering goods and services from their phones.

What makes the use of smartphones even more interesting is that the smartphone in your pocket has more computing power than all of NASA did when it put the first men on the moon in 1969! Several large technology blogs have reported that in less than two

years your smartphone could be the only computer you own. As the processing power of phones increase and internet speeds delivered by the NBN blow previous speeds away, it’s conceivable that the smartphone will replace computers, especially for consumers such as builders and tradesmen who are not anchored to their office or who spend a large amount of time on- site and their ute is their office.

Your ability to increase customer service and improve efficiency in the ordering and fulfilment process once came at great expense, in both time and money. The benefits of embracing an omni-channel solution for your business lie in the benefit you’re offering your customers in improved customer service and in your ability to be able to attract new customers to the business inexpensively. But does any of this answer the question, “Should timber merchants in 2017 be looking at an omni-channel option to ensure the success of their business into the future?” In truth it probably doesn’t, as these are easy things to say. For the timber industry, the overwhelming reason to adopt this change lies with the term “bricks-n-clicks”, as that is where this industry has the most opportunity.

The term “bricks-n-clicks” relates to companies combining their physical store with their online presence to increase sales. Online businesses such as Amazon are starting to now add physical stores to complement their online offer. The reason the shift towards omni-channel is happening is consumers want the security and experience of buying in-store but the convenience of browsing online. For the timber and hardware industry it is here where the most potential lies, as the industry has a huge benefit it can exploit in this area in its current resources of store–people–suppliers.

Let’s face it, timber and hardware stores are fascinating places to visit, full of interesting characters, expertise and product displays offering ideas and loads of potential add-on sales. Therefore, the industry should embrace the move to omni-channel as this industry already has a very important component that’s a key to the success of an omni-channel and that’s the bricks and mortar that consumers want when buying online. Combine these resources with a click-and-collect option that allows the customer to purchase what they

INDUSTRY INSIGHTSWith Justin Newman, CEO, Vesta Timber and Hardware

want and pick it up in-store and the efficiency and customer service of your business increases dramatically.

Leveraging the bricks-n-clicks model for your business may not just increase sales, it may keep out competitors. The reality is that, as an industry, there aren’t currently any exclusively online timber merchants doing any significant volumes or using their ability to operate at a lower cost than you to impact on your sales and affect your margin. My belief is that one of the major reasons for this could lie with the ability to get supply in significant volumes at wholesale rates, which allows the margin gap required for growth.

But again, we aren’t the only industry that would have faced that issue, and to think we can avoid it forever is dangerous. For current industry participants with strong businesses, the best method to avoid this type of online-only competition and the issues of low-cost distribution it would present is to leverage the bricks and mortar you have now and develop an omni-channel solution.

Many of the reasons for not adopting an omni-channel solution lie in the perceived cost and time investment that the industry must make. One hurdle the industry has faced is the sheer number of different products that the industry requires information on to effectively sell online. That issue was resolved using our Vesta Central platform that maps merchant and supplier products and creates a single source of truth, making omni-channel easy. There are no excuses as there once was – if you want to make a start you can, and the time and cost should not be a hurdle.

“Should Timber merchants in 2017 be looking at an omni-channel option to ensure the success of their business into the future?” I believe I have made a case for the answer to be yes. But I know you will all make up your own minds, and in an industry so full of opinion, that is sure to be a dynamic discussion. But if I can leave you with one thought? As an industry we need to take our heads out of the sand in this area in regards to technology overall and realise that our industry is not so different that it is immune to the changes taking place in regards to disruption in other sectors.

As I see it, we have two choices as participants in the industry – we can choose to do something and ensure success or do nothing and take our chances.

TTN369_04-05_industry insites + SOI.indd 4 17/3/17 12:47 pm


State of the Industry March 2017Results from March show an decrease in budget performance in comparison to last month.

44% ExceededMARCH: 6% Made 31% Just missed 19% Missed badly

MAR JULY SEP OCT NOV DEC 2016 JAN 2017APR JUNEMAY AUG FEB MARFEB

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50

40

30

20

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KEY FINDINGSPerformance against budget

• 50% made or exceeded budget (25% lower compared to February) – consisting of medium businesses (43%) and small businesses (57%).

• 25% either missed budget or missed badly.

Staff hires• 25% employed more staff (the

same as February). Of companies who employed more staff, all exceeded their budget.

• 75% reported no changes (8% higher compared to February).

• No respondents reduced staff.

METROPOLITAN vs. REGIONALThe majority of survey respondents were located in Victoria and Queensland (both 31%) and NSW (19%), with respondents also from the ACT, South Australia and Western Australia.

63% of respondents were from a regional area. Of these respondents 40% exceeded budget (23% lower compared to February), whereas 38% of respondents were from a metropolitan area. Of these, 67% made or exceeded budget (17% higher than February).

Profile of survey participants this monthParticipants included Frame and Truss Fabricators (38%), followed by Merchants

(31%) with respondents also being Wholesaler/Supplier/and Flooring Retailer/Contractors.

PARTICIPANT COMMENTS“The market is flying and the rest of 2017 looks good. Most builders on our books are booked solid for the year. Worrying sign is lack of tradies as well as hard to get good reliable staff to fill positions.”

“Still very competitive. Many suppliers putting in price increases which will be hard for us to implement.”

“Electicity prices are becoming a burden.”

“Still busy, huge amount of quotes.”

“Sales slow and not much forward enquiries.”

This survey is a guide only as to the ‘state of our industry’.

Sample size for March: 16

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Using innovative technology, now you can specify Victorian ash throughout a home and outside too – seamlessly integrating the much appreciated beauty of this gorgeous product inside and out – instead of having to specify dense, heavy species externally. It’s all thanks to our unique Tru-Core treatment that gets deep into the core of the hardwood. We call this IRON ASH! This is much more than a mere surface treatment. IRON ASH is transformed so dramatically that it comes with a 25 year

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ASSOCIATION NEWS

TABMA Colin Fitzpatrick

TABMA WebsitesThe websites for TABMA Australia, TABMA Apprentices & Trainees, TABMA Training and Building Trade Credit Australia are currently being redesigned and will be released in April. These updated sites will have completely new looks and will generate huge interest.

TABMA VictoriaAs part of her introduction into the machinations of TABMA, Natalie Reynolds recently spent time in Sydney. Natalie is well versed in the operations of both a GTO and an RTO having had vast experience with the HIA, MEGT and FSC and is excited about the potential in Victoria, a state that has been neglected by TABMA for too long.

Gow-Gates Insurance BrokersGow-Gates were established as insurance brokers in 1963, advising businesses and individuals on how to mitigate and transfer risk. TABMA has had a long association with Gow-Gates as our general insurance brokers and the company will shortly be announcing a new program that will be seen as a huge benefit to TABMA members.

State Manager NSWThe TABMA Apprentices & Trainees Division of TABMA Australia is currently advertising for a state manager in NSW. The appointed person will work as an understudy to Steve Cunningham in NSW and will help to relieve Steve of his many state duties, enabling him to concentrate on the broader national landscape which is becoming more and more time consuming in this rapidly growing division of the TABMA Group.

TABMA South AustraliaTABMA works closely with the government of South Australia through Primary Industries & Regions SA (PIRSA) and in April, in conjunction with AFPA, we will be holding a seminar in Adelaide to discuss industry related issues. The Premier of South Australia has agreed to attend.

TMA Emma Watt

Forthcoming eventsMembers are invited to a professional development workshop on industrial relations and human resources. This session will be held in Geelong on Wednesday, April 5, and will cover:

• Awards and agreements• Recruitment• Performance management• Policies and procedures• Termination of employment

The session will be suitable for anyone whose normal responsibilities include managing staff. Please contact Emma Watt on [email protected] for more information.

Penalty rates – is anything changing for TMA members?On February 23, a Full Bench of the Fair Work Commission (FWC) handed down the Penalty Rates Decision.

Which awards are affected?Several years ago, a group of retail employer associations applied to the FWC to vary six modern awards. There are approximately 130 modern awards all told, but this decision applies only to employees covered by these six awards:

• Fast Food Award• Retail Award • Hospitality Industry Award• Pharmacy Award• Clubs Award• Restaurant Award

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Australian Sustainable Hardwoods

Beautiful. Strong. Durable. IRON ASH, from Australian Sustainable Hardwoods, perfectly answers your exterior timber needs.

Using innovative technology, now you can specify Victorian ash throughout a home and outside too – seamlessly integrating the much appreciated beauty of this gorgeous product inside and out – instead of having to specify dense, heavy species externally. It’s all thanks to our unique Tru-Core treatment that gets deep into the core of the hardwood. We call this IRON ASH! This is much more than a mere surface treatment. IRON ASH is transformed so dramatically that it comes with a 25 year

durability guarantee. You’ll harvest a huge time, cost and labour saving when you specify the most affordable Australian hardwood fit for external use, easily stained or painted, straight line machined and durable to H3 classification. For your brochure, just speak to an IRON ASH specialist on 03 5139 7070 or head to vicash.com.au/ironash where you can download the PDF and request a sample.

Image supplied by Austim. IRON ASH cladding

and battens with a ‘walnut’ tint.

@sustainable_hardwoods Australian Sustainable Hardwoods

bygoodwood Australian Sustainable Hardwoods

Inside.Outside.

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TTN367_07-08_Association news.indd 6 20/1/17 3:08 pm TTN369_07-08_Association news.indd 7 17/3/17 9:38 am


The case was run over a period of two years, with 39 hearing days, 143 witnesses (most requiring cross examination) and 5900 submissions, resulting in a 550 page decision. When this application was made previously in around 2011, the FWC declined to change Sunday penalty rates on the grounds that not enough evidence had been supplied that the change was warranted. Clearly, looking at the volume of evidence in this case, the employer parties had taken that criticism on board.

What did the Commission decide?The Commission has decided to reduce Sunday penalty rates in the Hospitality, Fast Food, Retail and Pharmacy awards. The actual rates vary slightly, however, as an example, the Sunday penalty in the Retail Award will drop from double time (200%) to time and a half (150%) for full- and part-time employees and time and three quarters (175%) for casual employees.

Public holiday penalty rates will also be affected – in the Retail Award, the public holiday penalty for full- and part-time employees will drop from 250% to 225%, while casuals will reduce from 275% to 250%. The change will be transitioned over time, to avoid a sharp drop in employees’ take home pay. No decision has been made yet on the way that will happen.

What about the Timber Industry Award?The Timber Industry Award 2010 is not changed by this decision.

The Timber Industry Award covers employees who sell timber and timber-related products, hardware and building

ASSOCIATION UPDATE

products in wholesale and timber merchant/retail outlets. As this award expressly covers a specifi c type of retail work, the Timber Industry Award 2010 applies instead of the General Retail Industry Award 2010.

The TMA will be looking at this decision, and discussing how best to respond on behalf of members. If you have any questions, please contact me on [email protected] or 0411 708 073 .

TTIABrian Beecroft

Penalty rates caseThe Fair Work Commission’s penalty rates case was released on February 23, 2017, however it does not affect the following awards:• Timber Industry Award 2010 • Commercial Sales Award 2010 • Manufacturing and Associated Industries

and Occupations Award 2010 • Joinery and Building Trades Award 2010 • Clerks – Private Sector Award 2010 • Road Transport (Long Distance

Operations) Award 2010 • Road Transport and Distribution

Award 2010

Some of the penalty rates in the General Retail Award 2010 will change on July 1, 2017. Full-time, part-time and casual workers will be affected by the changes. The Sunday penalty rates for full-time and part-time workers will decrease from 200% to 150% of their ordinary hourly rate. The Sunday penalty rates for casual workers will decrease from 200% to 175%.

The Full Bench of the Commission agreed with the argument that there were likely to be some positive employment effects from reducing penalty rates but said they were diffi cult to quantify. It accepted that for many workers Sunday work had a “disutility” higher than Saturday work but said it was much less than in the past.

This decision obviously has political implications and there may well be some adjustments made prior to the commencement date.

Members are invited to call the TTIA hotline on 02 9264 0011 if you have any queries with regard to this subject.

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“The Full Bench of the Commission agreed with the argument that there were likely to be some positive employment effects from reducing penalty rates but said they were diffi cult to quantify.”

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When performance matters, let LGL do the heavy lifting. Long, straight, stable, cost efficient and with excellent nail holding capability, LGL is a breeze to work with. H3 treated as standard for protection outdoors, it can be used in conjunction with other termite resistant materials to provide total peace-of-mind.For pricing and availability call us now on 1300 784 963.

TTN369_07-08_Association news.indd 9 17/3/17 9:38 am


NEWS IN BRIEF

INDUSTRY NEWS

NEW PRODUCT ON THE MARKET? BIG NEWS? DON’T KEEP IT TO YOURSELF! If you are launching a product or your business has an announcement, send it to [email protected] for the chance to be featured here.

Ups and downs

The latest ABS construction activity data for the December quarter 2016

confirms there is still some transitioning to go before the Australian economy moves past the post-mining boom phase.

“The surge in housing construction will continue to soften the landing through the end of the resources boom,” says Matthew Pollock, Master Builders National Manager – Housing. “But this has not been a one-for-one trade-off, with the latest data showing a fall in engineering activity of $434 million in the December quarter 2016, partially offset by a $197 million increase in the value of residential work done.”

Over the year residential building work contributed over $70 billion and accounted for around four percent of Australian GDP, while the value of engineering construction work fell by $20 billion, equal to 1.2 per cent of GDP. The value of engineering construction work has fallen for six consecutive quarters, with value of work done falling to its lowest point since March quarter 2009. Total construction work done in Australia fell by 0.2 percent in December 2016, adding to an extended run of negative growth that began in June 2015.

“The ongoing fall in resource-related investment highlights the need for the budget settings to support continued investment in infrastructure, and for the tax system and other reforms to encourage private sector investment into infrastructure projects,” Pollock says.“Master Builders expects the deterioration in total engineering construction work to continue, dragged down by the completion of over $50 billion in LNG-related major project activity.”

Total building and construction work is slated to fall by 10 percent in 2016-17, driven by a fall in the value of engineering construction work of over $17 billion. But the residential sector is set to pick up some of the slack, with more houses expected to be built in 2016-17 than any other time in history, and the value of work expected to reach over $66 billion.

Registrations open for national manufacturing week 2017Showcasing leaders in manufacturing solutions.

Registrations have opened for Australia’s largest manufacturing showcase,

National Manufacturing Week (NMW), running from 9 – 12 May 2017.

Themed “Delivering the Industry 4.0 Revolution”, NMW 2017 is free to attend and will feature five critical areas facing the manufacturing sector: Industry Capability Development, Product and Service Innovation, Technology Innovation, Process Improvement and Sustainable Manufacturing.

CSIRO Manufacturing Director Dr Keith McLean, Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre Managing Director Dr Jens Goennemann, Innovative Manufacturing CRC Chief Executive Officer David Chuter and the Australian Advanced Manufacturing Council Chairman John Pollaers are all confirmed as 2017 speakers.

Eleven specialist Product Zones will apply these categories to specific subsections of the manufacturing industry, which are Advanced Materials, Air Technology, Automation and Robotics, Digital Manufacturing, Electrical, Engineering, Process Control and Instrumentation, Research and Development, Safety, Supply Chain Logistics and Welding Technology.

Live demonstrations of the latest technologies and products are scheduled to run each day on the exhibition floor, which will feature more than 200 exhibiting companies from around the world. These include Bosch Australia, BOC, Supagas, Central Innovation

(Intercad), 3M, Lincoln Electric, ATOM, HIWIN, Impact Robotics, KOBOT, SIKA Australia, Universal Robots and WAGO.

“National Manufacturing Week is Australia’s only fully integrated annual manufacturing exhibition, and provides an unrivalled opportunity for delegates to network, collaborate and learn from one another,” says 2017 event director Robby Clark.

“The 2017 theme and subsequent programming offer attendees the latest expert opinion on the future of ways in which people will work, advances in new technologies and process improvements as well as taking a deeper focus on global sustainability for the manufacturing industry.”

Major partners for this year’s event include the Australian Advanced Manufacturing Council, the Welding Technology Institute of Australia and the Supply Chain and Logistics Association of Australia. NMW 2017 will again be co-located with the Safety First Conference & Expo, along with Austech and the ISSA Cleaning & Hygiene Expo. Manufacturers will also be able to access the Business Advice Hub which will run one hour, drop-in style information sessions. National Manufacturing Week will run from May 9-12 at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre. To register for NMW 2017, visit nationalmanufacturingweek.com.au

TTN369_10-17_news in brief+whats new.indd 10 17/3/17 9:41 am


NEWS IN BRIEF

“Timber will be a large part of the solution for our built environment in years to come.”

Winning solutionsBox Hill student’s CLT multi-residential apartment design wins inaugural Dangerous Designs competition.

Paul Morgan, a building design student at Melbourne’s Box Hill Institute, has

taken out the first Dangerous Design prize of $500 cash and is in for a chance to win the $10,000 Grand Prize or the social media voted People’s Sur(Prize)!

Launched in 2016, Dangerous Designs is an online competition created to promote the use of wood and wood products in sustainable design and to encourage the commercialisation of appropriate designs. It’s sponsored by WoodSolutions, an initiative of Australia’s forest and wood products industry and supported by a wide range of professional organisations, including the Australian Furniture Association, the Australian Institute of Architects and Planet Ark.

Originally intended to be purely a student competition, the response to the concept from across the design community was so positive that Dangerous Designs was restructured to include both student and open categories.

Dangerous Designs is judged by a panel chosen from leaders in a range of design-related fields, including architecture, exhibition curation, design and publication. One of the features of the competition is that it seeks to build bridges between designers, manufacturers and marketers to facilitate the commercial production of items designed for Dangerous Designs.

Morgan’s winning entry, Laevo Cross Apartments, offers a functional solution to a real-world problem – sustainable and lower cost housing. A building design student when he entered Dangerous Designs, Morgan is now employed by a leading architectural practice and looking forward to continuing study in architecture at Melbourne University.

“It was a great opportunity to enter Dangerous Designs,” Morgan says, “I am passionate about sustainable design and I think timber will be a large part of the solution for our built environment in years to come.”

Eileen Newbury, National Marketing and Communications Manager at FWPA, congratulates Paul on his success, as well as all the other contenders in the first

round of Dangerous Designs. “I would also like to thank our judges

for giving their time to the difficult task of choosing between a wonderfully diverse range of high quality entries,” she says.Entries for the second round of Dangerous Designs are now open. First round entries are available for viewing at dangerousdesigns.com.au


NEWS IN BRIEF


Despite reports that females are making gains in the trades services

sector, a new survey by jobs website ServiceSeeking.com.au reveals the opposite.

According to the new statistics released today, 82 percent of customers have never hired a female tradesperson, and three in four admit they would choose a man over a woman if given the option.

“Trades are a historically male-dominated field, so many have the incorrect assumption that women aren’t up to the job,” says Jeremy Levitt, CEO of ServiceSeeking.com.au.

It appears that age certainly impacts choice when it comes to gender assumptions. Gen Y respondents were the most likely generation to give female tradies a go, with 30 percent admitting they’d prefer a female to do the job.

“It’s the 21st century and there’s no doubt women are equally talented and skilled in the trades business,” Levitt says. “Perhaps women find it more intimidating to pursue a trade as a career and to make the commitment to starting their own business.”

Plumbing and electrical work are the most popular fields for female tradies.

“The trades industry may have the most skewed gender imbalance of any profession in Australia,” Levitt says. “But what’s worse is the Australian perception that women aren’t up to the job. We’d really encourage more women to learn a trade, and hope that with time the backward opinions change.”

75% of Aussies won’t hire a female tradie

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The peak state body for the timber industry has today called on the

Queensland Government to ensure sustainable materials are included in the sustainable buildings policy in the Queensland Building Plan.

“All over the world there is increasing recognition that the choice of actual building material can have just as an important impact as energy efficiency measures when it comes to lowering the carbon emissions from buildings,” says Timber Queensland CEO, Mick Stephens.

“The Queensland Building Plan discussion paper places a strong emphasis on the role of energy efficiency ratings, but says nothing about the carbon impacts of the building materials used.”

Research has shown that the choice of building material can represent up to

50 percent of the total greenhouse gas emissions from a new house in Brisbane over a 50-year cycle.

“There is a significant opportunity to deliver sustainable building outcomes by promoting materials that have low embodied energy,” Stephens says. “Relative to other products such as steel, aluminium and concrete, for example, wood products have very low embodied energy, with very low fossil fuel energy inputs used in their production.”

Concrete’s embodied energy impacts can be more than six times higher than timber. This is because trees use the sun and photosynthesis to produce timber and remove carbon emissions from the atmosphere in the same process.

“Switching to a greater use of timber in buildings can generate significant carbon

benefits for the state,” Stephens says. “For example, if half of all new residential

dwellings built in Queensland in any one year were ‘timber maximised’, this would equate to a saving of 600,000 tonnes of carbon emissions per year compared to other materials, or 6 million tonnes over a 10-year period.”

Timber Queensland is recommending that the Queensland Building Plan put equal weighting on embodied energy impacts when it comes to promoting more sustainable buildings into the future.

“We look forward to working with the Queensland Government on the final formulation of the Building Plan,” Stephens says. The Timber Queensland submission to the Queensland Building Plan discussion paper can be found at timberqueensland.com.au.

Sustainable materials must be in Queensland Building Plan



NEWS IN BRIEF

Master Builders appoint first female CEO

The Board of Master Builders Australia has announced its

appointment of Denita Wawn as the new CEO of Master Builders Australia, effective March 20.

Wawn will be Master Builders’ first female CEO in its 127 year history to represent the $200 billion building and construction industry and only the third CEO in thirty years.

“Wawn’s qualities, skills and experience as a highly accomplished industry leader and advocate saw her emerge as the successful candidate from the comprehensive recruitment process undertaken by the board,” says Dan Perkins, National President of Master Builders. “The board is confident that Wawn’s leadership will see the implementation of its vision for Master Builders as a modern, credible and influential national voice for its members.

“She has impeccable credentials for success, including her wealth of experience spearheading game- changing advocacy and industrial relations campaigns at the National Farmers Federation and the Australian Hotels Association.”

As CEO of the Brewers Association of Australia and New Zealand, Wawn implemented a highly successful reputational change strategy at a national and international level. She has spent the past 12 months as General Manager Operations at Master Builders, giving her a strong foundation to understand the issues impacting on Master Builders and its members.

“The board is excited by Wawn’s leadership, her strong grasp of the factors which drive success in industry associations and her passionate commitment for standing up for the interests of members,” Perkins says.

Wawn replaces long-time CEO Wilhelm Harnisch, who stepped down after 15 years at the helm. Harnisch has been with Master Builders for 26 years, appointed as Chief Economist in 1991, Deputy CEO in 1996 and CEO in 2002.

He has been one of Australia’s leading advocates for the building and construction industry, as well as one of its preeminent economists. The re-establishment of the Australian Building and Construction Commission is one of his many advocacy successes.

Wood product imports top $1.2bn in Saudi marketValue of sector spurs launch of Wood Tech & Design Expo, debuting in Jeddah in January 2018.

The climbing value of the wood sector in Saudi Arabia, which currently imports

some $1.2bn worth of timber and wood products each year, has spurred the launch of the country’s first event dedicated to the industry, the Wood Tech & Design Expo.

Developed by dmg events Middle East, Asia & Africa, a leading international exhibitions company, the event will debut at the Jeddah Centre for Forums and Events on January 22 to 24, 2018. The event will focus on the growing potential of the wood sector, the demand for timber products and the supporting tools and machinery that can speed production and improve efficiency.

“This adds up to significant opportunities across all parts of the wood sector’s value chain,” says Mariana Montiel, Project Manager for dmg events. “Whether you are tackling the 70 percent of demand that comes from the construction sector, or grabbing a share of the furniture market’s nine percent annual growth, wood technology and design in Saudi Arabia is on the rise.”

The Wood Tech & Design Expo is being run by the company behind The Big 5 – the region’s largest construction event – and will share many of the features that have made those events so successful. For starters, the two-day International Wood Conference will focus on the latest innovative, design-led wood solutions and modern wood manufacturing best practice. A series of CPD certified workshops will also take place during the event, offering attendees expert training on project management, sustainable practices and construction contracts.

Live product demonstrations and a special Hotel Solutions Zone will combine with a Sustainable Village packed with eco-friendly

construction building systems and a specialist advisory area for furniture factories, all highlighting the diversity of wood products and their potential applications.

“Event features like this directly address the need for more information about new technologies and improved technical skills we’ve identified in the Saudi market,” Montiel says.

The Wood Tech & Design Expo, along with the International Wood Conference and the CPD certified workshops are all free to attend, but visitors must register to do so. Visit wtdexposaudi.com to find out more.

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Sustainable materials must be in Queensland Building Plan


NEWS IN BRIEF


Want the full story? Subscribe to the TimberTrader News fortnightly e-news at www.timbertradernews.com/subscribe/newsletters

Automated building construction is here

The growing nexus between construction and manufacturing

will be highlighted at this year’s Frame Australia conference through the work of Sydney firm Strongbuild.

Company chief Adam Strong will explain how his firm’s research and development over more than 10 years has ushered in construction’s “brave new world”: the manufacture of key building elements in a controlled, factory environment.

Strongbuild, which has built a fully automated, advanced panelisation plant in Sydney, exemplifies the “new look” Frame Australia conference, now known as Timber Offsite Construction.

The 2017 conference will be held in Melbourne on June 19 and 20. It will be a two-day event with an expanded program comprised of Monday speaker sessions and Tuesday workshops followed by delegate tours.

Strong will set out how the concept of panelisation works. It is the automatic manufacturing of key building elements – floors, walls, roofs and joinery components – which are pre-finished to millimetre accuracy in the factory, then transported and assembled on the building site.

It gives Strongbuild control over the construction process and dramatically reduces the risk from building’s usual

negatives: skilled labour shortages and costs, skilled sub-contractor shortages, bad weather and excessive waste.

The plant has an automated production line for timber framing and CLT prefabrication. Strong will speak on the options available for lightweight timber and construction systems for housing, mid-rise and high-rise residential projects.

Conference director Kevin Ezard says that around Australia, designers and builders are increasingly using offsite panelised construction systems in timber framing and mass timber to building heights not previously contemplated. “In addition, low-rise housing construction is moving to fully panelised timber floors and walls for site erection in only a few days,” he says.

Similarly, there is a move to mid-rise multi-residential buildings in timber framing of three to five storeys that could be built in just weeks, providing huge savings to builders.

Ezard says the rising demand had led to a big increase in the capacity of automated manufacturing plants to supply prefabricated building systems.

“Production output in Australia is

currently growing at its fastest rate ever to meet the projected supply levels in the next decade,” he says.

Delegate registration for the conference is now available on-line at the Frame Australia website. Early bird registration fees receive a $150 discount.

Registration gives delegates access to all activities: Monday speaker sessions including discussion forums; Monday delegate hospitality and networking event; Tuesday morning workshop sessions; and Tuesday afternoon delegate tour. The conference also includes the exhibition display, which makes available the most up-to-date information on international trends and emerging technologies.Timber Offsite Construction will be held on Monday 19 and Tuesday 20 June 2017 at Park Hyatt Melbourne. For event details visit frameaustralia.com

For information on participation in the exhibition display or sponsorship opportunities contact Adam Contessa, Sponsorship Manager, Building Brands on 0416 081 259 or at [email protected]

AVEO’s retirement precinct in Sydney’s north west, currently

under construction by Strongbuild.



NEWS IN BRIEF

For the last 15 years STS Timber Wholesale Pty Ltd has been a proud supplier of all outdoor timber.

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The building sector contributes up to 30 percent of global annual greenhouse gas

emissions, so it plays a vital role in mitigating climate change. Building with wood is a part of the solution, as wood is the only construction material that stores carbon. Wood products have a surprisingly small carbon footprint during their lifecycle and can be used in practically all buildings to store carbon.

One of the most important ways to mitigate climate change is to find new ways of capturing carbon from the atmosphere. The construction sector can support these positive developments by using wooden construction materials that capture carbon for their entire life span. For example, timber products lock approximately 1 ton of CO2 per 1m3 of wood.

“The dry mass of wood is 50 percent carbon, and this carbon is taken from the atmosphere and does not contribute to the greenhouse effect,” says Matti Kuittinen, researcher from Aalto University, Finland.

“While planning any new building or renovating an existing one, we must look at emissions created during the entire life cycle of the building,” Dr Frank Werner from Frank Werner Environment & Development continues.

WOOD PRODUCTS CAN BE USED IN ALL BUILDINGSWood-based materials can be used in most parts of any building to capture carbon from the atmosphere. This allows designers and builders to reach ambitious CO2 reduction

Construction battles climate change through carbon storage

goals. The largest potential for storing carbon can be achieved in external walls, intermediate floors and roof structures. For example, a passive house was designed for a cold climate with two alternative construction material combinations: wood frame with wood-fibre insulation and an aircrete frame with EPS insulation. “Both options gave the buildings’ shell the same level of energy efficiency. But producing the wooden alternative caused approximately 40 percent less CO2 emissions. Also, the amount of atmospheric carbon stored in its wood frame was almost four times as much as in the alternative,” Kuittinen explains.

As large amounts of carbon can be stored in wooden parts of buildings, it’s important to ensure that the carbon storage is as long-term as possible. Long service life requires good design, moisture safety during construction and good maintenance. And when the wooden parts are no longer used in buildings, they have the potential to be recycled into other products – so the atmospheric carbon stays locked away. Wood material can be used as biofuel. .

“If buildings were re-invented today, renewable materials would play a key role. A revolution of more climate-friendly and sustainable building is possible with the help of well-developed, green building products. The rest is up to designers and constructors,” Dr Werner says.

Trees absorb CO2 from atmosphere through photosynthesis

Raw material harvested from sustainable managed Nordic forests

Bioenergy

End of life cycle

Pulp

BioenergySawdust, bark, branches and treetops are processed into pulp, heat and bioenergy

Wood turned into products and building materials

Wood products used in buildings store CO2 for their entire life cycle reducing greenhouse effect

Recycling the materials

The award-winning Metsätapiola office building.

Carbon-cycle process


NEWS IN BRIEF


Essentials to know• In Victorian regions and cities

21,000 people are directly employed in the industry.

• Another 40,000-50,000 people in Victoria work in jobs associated with the timber sector.

• Nationally, 120,000 people are directly employed in forestry and forest product industries. Whilst the majority of the employment is in rural and regional areas, many roles are also found in the city including manufacturing and marketing jobs.

• Nationally, 180,000 jobs are indirectly associated with timber, bringing the total associated jobs tally to 300,000.

• Wood continues storing carbon for life. The trees grown to replace the trees harvested ensure this is a continuous carbon storing cycle.

• Australia imports more than $5 billion of timber products annually and exports about $3 billion.

• TCA recommends two Australian websites as references about the values and benefits of responsibility sourced wood, these are: planetark.org and fwpa.com.au

Young prideBallarat Apprentice of the Year served a top award.

Carpentry apprentice Steven Butler from Ballarat has been named the Master

Builders Ballarat Section Apprentice of the Year. He was among four apprentices from the Ballarat region to be recognised for their dedication, skill and hard work.

The other three winners on the night were Employer-Nominated winner Jack Grayland from Ballarat, Chairman’s Award winner Brady Jenner from Horsham and Ballarat Diploma Student of the Year John Davison from Ballarat East. Master Builders’ careers officer Kathleen Peachey says that this year’s nominees demonstrated admirable determination and commitment to developing their careers in building.

“Steven loves working on older homes and the challenges they present,” she says. “He impressed the judges with his belief that his trade has presented him with life lessons, making him into a better person.”

Employer-Nominated winner Jack Grayland impressed the judges with his mature, dedicated approach to his carpentry trade.

“Jack has a strong business focus and is eager to build his business slowly to help ensure its longevity,” Peachey says.

Chairman’s Award winner Brady Jenner was described by the judges as mature and enthusiastic, with a keen interest in the importance of design.

“Brady values the efforts and support others have invested in him, and he is eager to help younger apprentices,” Peachey says. “He looks forward to staying with his boss to show his appreciation.”

The judges said Diploma student John Davison impressed them with his keen interest in understanding the goals of others and working collaboratively to achieve them.

“John is planning to pursue registration as a draftsperson, and then wants to study architecture part time to help him toward his own building design business,” Peachey says.

Master Builders Chief Executive Officer Radley de Silva has emphasised that apprentices are essential to Victoria’s building industry: “We need a skilled workforce in the

building and construction industry that will continue to provide the homes and infrastructure Victoria needs,” he says. “Apprentices help to build our communities. Acknowledging their hard work and dedication encourages apprentices across Victoria to continue their career path to achieve better and greater things in our industry.”

Regional winners are selected after an interview with a panel of three judges. Once awarded, they are invited to attend the State Apprentice of the Year Awards on May 12 when the overall winners will be announced.

Supporting Gippsland timber communities

Timber Communities Australia (TCA) supports the Gippsland communities

facing uncertainty about their jobs and future. TCA urges all negotiating parties, including the Victorian government, unions and commercial parties to prioritise the community and ensure it has a strong, secure future. Australia’s Regional Forest Agreements and two voluntary, internationally recognised forest certification systems are based on a triple bottom-line of healthy landscapes, healthy economies and healthy communities.

“People and their security and livelihoods are integral to this,” says TCA National Coordinator Helen Murray. “The debate we must move to is how we unite in Australia to produce more sustainably grown timber, not less. That’s where industry, community and government really need to focus.”

Global and local population growth means more timber is needed and timber production is a perfect match for a 21st Century greener economy, Murray says.

“Forest products are carbon friendly,” she points out. “Every tree harvested in our native forests has to be regenerated. Skilled ecologists work in the industry. PlanetArk endorses that wood is good.”

Australians love hardwood timbers in

their homes and offices. Plus we’re a world leader in sustainable forest management and local timber communities are at the coalface.

“With these positives, we must ensure enough forest area is available to harvest and regenerate our own natural forest timbers,” Murray says. Otherwise Australia inevitably faces shipping in higher volumes from other countries.

“That isn’t acceptable,” Murray says. “It means our own communities, like Gippsland, will continue to be hit. Imports can also lack the very strict environmental standards we insist on for our home-grown timber.

“The starting point is our timber workers operate lawfully under very strict regulations. These are designed so forests are managed and harvested in a sustainable way. We have dedicated and well-trained forest scientists. We have internationally recognised and certified forestry practices. Our skilled timber workers use top class technology in the field and in mills. All this paves the way for mills and manufacturers to turn out beautiful timber products which are needed and used by us all.”

“We have everything it takes right here. Let’s be smart and get on with it.”

Above: Steve Butler (left) with Ballarat Vice Section Chairman Stuart Allen.



WHAT’S NEW?

Product Directory

Vesta Timber and Hardware (VTH) and Hardware & Building Traders (HBT) are

pleased to announce, following on from the agreement announced on December 19, that the new technology being developed by Vesta for the HBT Group will be known as “Product Directory”. This pioneering technology developed exclusively for HBT/ITT members will be powered by the Vesta Central Data Distribution Platform and will be the fi rst of its kind in the Australian Hardware industry offering signifi cant benefi ts to suppliers and members.

Phase 1 of the project commenced early February with over 400 suppliers to the HBT group being sent an introductory email explaining the project and for suppliers not already signed up to Vesta introducing them to the Vesta central platform and its many features and benefi ts. Suppliers on the Vesta Central Platform can track, maintain and update product data all in one place. HBT Members will have the Product Directory exclusively and can access all its benefi ts as well as the advantage of seamlessly accessing their supplier’s information for use in setting up a Vesta eCommerce site.

NEW PRODUCT ON THE MARKET? If you’re launching a new product, let us know! Email us at [email protected] for the chance to be featured here.

WHAT’S NEW?

First-of-its-kind technology offers ground-breaking new e-commerce solutions to the industry.

Vesta is a SaaS company providing its ecommerce solutions for the industry on a subscription basis and counts many HBT/ITT members and suppliers already as customers. Specifi cally suited to the independent, the ecommerce and data distribution platform Vesta provides is affordable and easy for suppliers and retailers to set up and can be adapted to suit all industries, not just the hardware industry.

“The Product Directory powered by the Vesta Central Data Distribution Platform will revolutionise how HBT suppliers share and distribute information and content with HBT members,” says Justin Newman, CEO of VTH. “We are very excited about this opportunity to showcase the platform and

develop it for other industries outside of the Australian hardware industry”.

Aimee Innes, marketing manager for HBT, sees the Vesta alliance as a competitive advantage for the buying group’s ecosystem.

“HBT will effectively be showcasing their group’s strength like never before,” she says. “The Vesta platform will show members just how much they can purchase through our group. We see this building volume for our suppliers and truly supporting a healthy ecosystem for the group, it’s members and suppliers.” For further information regarding this or the Vesta Central Data Distribution platform, please contact Justin Newman on 0457 457 354 or [email protected]



FEATURE STORY

As domestic supply dwindles, Australia looks overseas to keep up with timber demand. But what is to become of our local timber industry – do we plant or perish? In this special feature, we look at the benefits of importing timber, as well as what needs to be done to protect and promote this precious, renewable resource – here and overseas.

Home & awayAbove: cross laminated timber panels imported from Europe being installed on a Melbourne building site.

The demand for houses in Australia is increasing. In 2016 almost a quarter of

a million new houses were built, and the need for more houses and apartments continues as our population grows. This means we need more timber, but where will it come from?

“No one is establishing new tree plantations, so in the future, ongoing domestically produced softwood timber supplies could be a bit like Mother Hubbard’s cupboard,” says John Halkett, general manager of the Australian Timber Importers Federation (ATIF), which represents the interests of the Australian timber importing and wholesaling sector of the timber industry.

“So, with building and construction buoyant and timber product demand

strong, the other side of the ledger shows domestic supply capacity flatlining at best.

“If you’ve got a big sawmill that’s producing products out of radiata pine and you look 20 years down the track, there’s going to be a big hole there because no one is currently planting trees. When I first came to Australia, about 20 years ago we were planting trees all over the place, and that was with government money. But now most of the plantation assets have been shifted into the private sector.”

Thankfully for the building and construction sector, imported timber products are, and will continue to fill this widening breach.

“It’s clear that without timber importers doing the heavy lifting, house construction targets would not have been achieved and TH

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FEATURE STORY

“No one is establishing new tree plantations, so in the future, ongoing domestically-produced softwood timber supplies could be a bit like Mother Hubbard’s cupboard.”

Main picture: Merbau decking, which Simmonds directly imports out of Indonesia;

bottom left ands top right: Pine F/J Mouldings which Simmonds import out of Chile.

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FEATURE STORY

the 26,000 imported timber product-linked jobs [as estimated by the Housing Industry Association] in construction and building would be under serious threat,” Halkett says.

PLANT POLITICSThe problem doesn’t just lie with softwoods, the “utilitarian” products that go into such things as plywood and framing. Hardwood comes from native forests, and there’s generally been a move in Australia to make native forest into National Parks.

“That’s always been a political issue,” Halkett says. “It’s happening now in Victoria.”

At the time of writing, more than 100 workers from Australian Sustainable Hardwoods (ASH) had just marched on the offices of the Victorian Government after contract negotiations between state-owned VicForests and the ASH mill owners stalled. The ASH sawmill processes 150,000 cubic metres of timber a year, however VicForest is only offering half that amount in a new contract – an amount that mill owners say will leave the company financially unviable, putting hundreds of jobs at risk.

“So one thing is, you’ve got a sovereign risk issue – saw millers don’t know if they’re going

to get logs next year – and secondly, you look forward at the potential yields from the North Coast and the current supply agreements, once they terminate in 2023, there is going to be a lot less wood available,” Halkett says.

Of course, this doesn’t affect the demand side. People still want wood, so where will it have to come from? Overseas.

“This correlates well with Papua New Guinea, who now have a policy in place that in 2020 they will ban logs going out as exports,” Halkett says. Papua New Guinea is currently China’s largest hardwood supplier, however, with no more logs going out as exports they will all be processed in Papua New Guinea, and that wood will logically come into Australia.

“We’re a high value market, so that will fill that gap,” Halkett says. “It’s likely, looking at hardwood and softwood, that if you accept that demand will continue to increase and domestic supply will continue to flatline at best, the gap is going to have to be filled by imported timber. Or substitutions like steel.”

The downside to all of this is that timber demand and consumption in Australia and other Western countries is driving poor forest practices in places like South East Asia, where technology is not as advanced and forestry

Above: MDF being manufactured for export to Australia in southern Chile. Below: Mathews Timber laminated US Oak stair treads.



FEATURE STORY

[email protected] www.s immondslumber.com.au

BRISBANE 146-164 Buchanan Road, Banyo QLD 4014Phone: (07) 3267 0244Fax:(07) 3621 7755

MELBOURNE 22-32 Nathan Road, Dandenong VIC 3175Phone: (03) 9791 2241Fax: (03) 9791 2243

SYDNEY Head Off ice 1 Durham St reet Rosehi l l NSW 2142 Phone: (02) 9638 7333 Fax: (02) 9684 6466

*When 1st January (New Years Day) falls on a Saturday, there is to be an additional

public holiday on the following Monday.

Monday 13 March Labour Day Friday 29 September (Friday Before AFL Grand Final) Tuesday 7 November Melbourne Cup Day

Monday 1 May Labour Day Wednesday 16 August Royal Qld Show (Brisbane area only) Monday 2 October Queen’s Birthday

Monday 2 October Labour Day

VICTORIA PUBLIC HOLIDAYS QUEENSLAND PUBLIC HOLIDAYSNEW SOUTH WALES PUBLIC HOLIDAYSNATIONAL PUBLIC HOLIDAYS

*Sunday/Monday 1 & 2 January New Year’s DayThursday 26 January Australia Day Friday 14 April Good FridaySaturday 15 April Easter Saturday Sunday 16 April Easte Sunday

Monday 17 April Easter Monday Tuesday 25 April Anzac Day Monday 12 June Queen’s BirthdayMonday 25 December Christmas DayTuesday 26 December Boxing Day

www.simmondslumber.com.au www.dnalumber.com.au

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BRISBANEP.O. Box 5, Northgate QLD 4013 146-164 Buchanan Rd, Banyo QLD 4014Phone (07) 3267 0244 Fax (07) 3621 7755

SYDNEYLocked Bag 6664, Parramatta NSW 2124 1 Durham St, Rosehill NSW 2142Phone (02) 9638 7333 Fax (02) 9684 6466

MELBOURNEP.O. Box 293, Doveton VIC 3177 22-32 Nathan Rd, Dandenong South VIC 3175Phone (03) 9791 2241 Fax (03) 9791 2243

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management is not as sustainable as systems used in countries like Australia. The issue of illegal logging is a particular area of concern.

“How do you know that timber has been logged legally?” Halkett asks.“That’s the challenge. What our illegal logging legislation does, is that it requires importers to be able to attest to the fact that the timber they’ve brought in comes from trees that were legally harvested. But, how do you do that?”

Legislation requires that importers undertake the process of due diligence when bringing timber into Australia. This, Halkett says, is effectively a risk assessment.

“At the end of the day it’s your call as the

timber importer,” he says. “It’s a risk assessment based on such things as where the timber comes from – countries such as Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Myanmar and Indonesia are not low risk countries, so that puts up a red flag. Also, is it made of natural forest as opposed to plantation? Those are issues that you have to look at.

“There are still significant issues around people satisfactorily undertaking due diligence, but it tends to be more in the furniture space because the supply chain is more complicated. With straight timber product, you harvest a tree, you put it through a sawmill, you put it in a box and you send it off to Simmonds, ITI

People still want wood, so where will it have to come from?

Mathews TimberMathews Timber imports a very wide range of different timber species from all over the world, including the United States, Europe, parts of Africa as well as Asia. They also carry all the native Australian hardwood species.

“Currently our US Oak is by far our most popular imported species,” says sales and marketing manager Ben Mathews. “Architects and furniture makers like the grain and colour that the US Oak provides, so that would easily be the biggest trend in the market.

“With the popularity of US Oak at the moment, an increase in the use of imported timber here in Australia is definitely a possibility. The trends in the market rely heavily upon what designs are popular with architects at any given time – but currently there is no reason why we wouldn’t see an increase in imported timber usage.”

For more about Mathews Timber go to mathewstimber.com.au

Above: Mathews Timber’s Accoya stocks.



FEATURE STORY

or another Australian importer, so it’s quite a short supply chain. But furniture that’s coming from China, for instance, where’s the wood coming from? It is difficult to know.”

However, new technologies are helping to solve this problem. Australia’s own Simmonds Lumber was the first company in the world to use DNA technology to certify the legality and provenance of timber imported from Indonesia.

“That’s a system that gives you some confidence, because you can determine if the particular piece of decking came from a tree that was within or outside a concession,” Halkett says.

“The Australian government has also worked with Indonesia to develop their own legality tracking system called SVLK [Sistem Verifikasi Legalitas Kayu], which has now been accepted in Europe and Australia.”

Mathews Timber, a family business that offers a very wide range of imported timbers – the majority of which are used for furniture making – are also doing their part to ensure the legality of the product they import: “We have attained certification from the Forest Stewardship Council and the Program for the Endorsement of Forest Certification,” says sales and marketing manager Ben Mathews

Australian Timber Importers Federation members recognise that timber is a valuable, renewable resource and support best forestry practices that are directed at:

• Legally-sourced forestry yields;

• Multiple use of forests;

• Safeguarding cultural and social needs;

• Maintaining the dignity of indigenous forest inhabitants and rural communities; and

• Safeguarding forest biodiversity and the environment.

ATIF members confirm their commitment to working collaboratively with the Australian Government to give effect to the policy of importing timber and timber products from legal forest operations and to eliminating illegal logging and associated activities in supplier countries.

ATIF requires its members to comply with the following Code of Ethics:

ATIF members will source their timber and timber products from lawful and well-managed forests

and plantations. ATIF members recognise that the independent qualification of forests and the process chain is the most useful tool in providing assurances that the timber they handle comes from lawful and well managed forests. ATIF members will develop and encourage the adoption of processes that can verify legality through dealings with suppliers and other stakeholders in supplier countries.

Evidence of a lawful timber and timber products may include:

• Documentation verifying that timber has been harvested in accordance with the laws of the country of origin;

• Documentation that timber sourced is compliant with supplier country Government endorsed forest management systems and/or codes; and

• Documentation that verifies compliance with a recognised forestry management or certification scheme and/or third party certification scheme.

ATIF Code of Ethics

Above: Simmonds’ Merbau decking.

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Below: Sydney warehouse – some of the substantial volume of imported softwood structural timber imports into Australia by Stora Enso Timber Australia.

“Therefore, wherever possible we attain timber that’s sustainable to the environment.”

All ATIF members are also required to adhere to a code of ethics [see opposite page].

“Our code and the due diligence requirements of importing timber mesh together quite well,” Halkett says. “As far as the association is concerned, if we find out that people are non-compliant, we have a discussion with them about that. And at the end of the day, they could be invited to resign from the federation. But in terms of illegal logging legislation, there are two types of penalty – if it can be demonstrated by the federal government that you have knowingly, recklessly and intentionally imported timber that’s illegal, you can go to jail. But what’s more likely, if you don’t have an adequate process of due diligence, you can be prosecuted for that, and there’s a significant fine. But at the moment, the federal government is still in what they call a ‘soft start phase’ which means that they’re still undertaking compliance, but no one has been prosecuted. People have been warned, but there have been no prosecutions thus far.”

So legislation provides for criminal sanctions and provides for fines for not having due diligence. Our system here in Australia is similar to systems that are now operating in Europe and in the US. A number of other

countries are also developing similar sorts of requirements. Some have them in place but they’re voluntary (Australia started with a voluntary system but now it’s compulsory), however overall there is a general move internationally to try and ensure that most imported products are legally harvested.

FUTURE FOCUS While it may appear that imported timber products are taking over, in terms of the total volume of timber that’s used in Australia, it’s only about 15 percent of the total amount of timber that goes into the construction sector, according to Halkett. The bulk of this is manufactured in Australia, however the more sophisticated products are currently imported.

“The big shift we’re seeing is, most of the more sophisticated building products that everyone is excited about – only modest volumes are manufactured here,” Halkett says. “All the CLT being used is imported, for instance. Some is manufactured in Australia but the more sophisticated are imported.”

The other problem is that the cost of running a sawmill here in Australia is significantly higher.

“The biggest mill in NSW puts through about 700,000 tonnes of logs a year,” Halkett says. “The mill that Stora Enso is drawing from in the Czech Republic puts through two million tonnes a year. There are better

“If you have this infrastructure and industry that needs a log supply, and you look down the track 20 years, there’s not going to be enough wood to supply your needs.”

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Machining options and laminating available.Extensive racks, professional service and advice as well as product knowledge that only comes from many years’ experience. Call or visit us for your next timber experience

Mathews Timber Melbourne41-43 Rushdale St, Knoxfi eld(03) 8756 [email protected]@MathewsTimberMelbourne on Instagram

Mathews Timber SydneyUnits 1 & 2, 19 Harris St, St Mary’s(02) 9833 3100 [email protected]@Mathews_Timber_Sydney on Instagram

Mathews Timber BrisbaneBuilding 5, 858 Nudgee Rd, Northgate0477 555 [email protected]@MathewsTimberBrisbane on Instagram

Three locations in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane Visit us online at mathewstimber.com.au

• Bubinga• Ebony

We have a wide selection of Australian and imported timber, including the following exotic timbers:

At Mathews Timber we believe in creating modern day timber experiences. No job is too large or too small – Mathews Timber can handle any size project. We have a display located at our headquarters for you to experience the quality of our timbers firsthand.

Accoya available in cladding, screening and decking. For more info on the product please give us a call!

• Burmese Teak• Purpleheart

• Wenge• Zebrano

MATHEWStimber

Mathews Timber_369.indd 1 15/3/17 11:34 am

economies of scale, plus they often have improved recovery because they’ve made greater investments in sawmilling and wood processing technology. In the sawmilling industry in Australia there’s been a lack of real investment in technology. So some measures that indicate international competitiveness are not as good as they could be.”

Ultimately, if Australia is to keep up with demand, the solution is to either import more timber or plant more trees. But the political and financial issues surrounding this are up in the air.

“We need to start planting trees,” Halkett says. “Because if you have this infrastructure and industry that needs a log supply, and you look down the track 20 years, there’s not going to be enough wood to supply our needs.”

For businesses like Mathews Timber, who also carry all the native Australian hardwood species, this is definitely an issue that must eventually be addressed.

“Timber, being a natural product, relies on plantation and sustainable growth,” says Mathews. “We have seen the issues that Australian Sustainable Hardwoods is having and it is worrying. Should they be forced to have their supply cut it will cost them and the industry – so it is definitely of concern to us.”

There must be ways to make planting trees more attractive. One solution is for growers to be able to measure and trade the carbon.

“So if you’re a grower of pine trees you can also measure and claim and trade the carbon stored in the trees,” Halkett says. “That makes a difference when you’re waiting on a 20-year rotation – you plant new trees and get a return in year 20. But with carbon, every year you can trade the carbon that’s stored in those trees. And if the trees are growing 20m3 per hectare per year, a bit less than half of that is carbon. Making planting more trees more attractive from an investment point of view is critical.”

Just before this issue went to print, senior representatives of timber industries and superannuation funds gathered in Sydney to brainstorm ways to prevent the slow death of timber plantations. Liberal Democrats Senator David Leyonhjelm organised and hosted the meeting, which heard thousands of jobs could disappear if current trends continue.

“Despite having one of the world’s largest landholdings and forestry reserves, Australia is still running yearly timber trade deficits of over $2 billion,” Senator Leyonhjelm said at the time. “There have been no significant plantations established in the last 15 years, and if this continues there will be a major shortfall in timber supplies within 20 years. Meanwhile we import timber from countries with far weaker environmental protections.”

Senator Leyonhjelm told the meeting that more timber will be grown if we make it profitable: “But it must be private sector investor driven, with the government interfering as little as possible,” he said.

“If it requires government subsidies, it shouldn’t happen. The days of tax-driven investment, like the Managed Investment Schemes [MIS], are over, never to return.

“The problem as I see it is in the aftermath of the failure of the MIS, there is a disconnect between the investment community and the plantation forestry sector. The purpose of [this meeting] is to reconnect them.”

The meeting heard that Australia’s comparative advantage in land, water, skilled people and an established industry framework need to be promoted more to institutional investors. But because land availability is tight and expensive, farmers need to be further encouraged to increase timber plantings.

Senator Leyonhjelm will bring outcomes from the meeting back to the Assistant Minister for Agriculture, Senator Anne Ruston. While this is only one small step in the way forward for the industry, it may well be a step in the right direction.

Insights and Outlook ConferenceThe 2017 Insights and Outlook Conference will be held in Melbourne on October 5 as a joint venture between DANA, Forest and Wood Products Australia (FWPA) and the ATIF. The event will also provide opportunities for collocated events and meetings that will include the FWPA and ATIF annual general meetings.

“It will focus on market trends and changes, new technologies and products that are, and will continue to grow the size of the timber industry with its related benefits for company commercial performance and employment in building and construction industries,” says DANA director Dennis Neilson.

“The conference will address global and regional market demand and supply issues for timber products that will impact on the forest growing and wood processing industries. We will also be examining major new industry policy settings, mega trends, domestic wood demand outlook for housing and other uses, and the importance of data in providing context for changes in markets or movements in the business cycle.”

For more information, go to danaevents.co.nz/2017melbourne

“There have been no significant plantations established in the last 15 years, and if this continues there will be a major shortfall in timber supplies within 20 years.”


Machining options and laminating available.Extensive racks, professional service and advice as well as product knowledge that only comes from many years’ experience. Call or visit us for your next timber experience

Mathews Timber Melbourne41-43 Rushdale St, Knoxfi eld(03) 8756 [email protected]@MathewsTimberMelbourne on Instagram

Mathews Timber SydneyUnits 1 & 2, 19 Harris St, St Mary’s(02) 9833 3100 [email protected]@Mathews_Timber_Sydney on Instagram

Mathews Timber BrisbaneBuilding 5, 858 Nudgee Rd, Northgate0477 555 [email protected]@MathewsTimberBrisbane on Instagram

Three locations in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane Visit us online at mathewstimber.com.au

• Bubinga• Ebony

We have a wide selection of Australian and imported timber, including the following exotic timbers:

At Mathews Timber we believe in creating modern day timber experiences. No job is too large or too small – Mathews Timber can handle any size project. We have a display located at our headquarters for you to experience the quality of our timbers firsthand.

Accoya available in cladding, screening and decking. For more info on the product please give us a call!

• Burmese Teak• Purpleheart

• Wenge• Zebrano

MATHEWStimber

Mathews Timber_369.indd 1 15/3/17 11:34 amTTN369_16-21_cover feature_imported timbers.indd 25 17/3/17 12:49 pm


PRODUCT PROFILE

Auto powerEmbracing new technologies can cut costs and boost production.

“Gold Coast Timbers & Trusses has been a customer of ours since about 2008,” says Ed Serrano, managing director, Vekta Advanced Automation. “They were a little doubtful when they first started looking at our saw and they did a great deal of research into other saws at that time.”

The Gold Coast team eventually brought a whole load of timber out to where the Vekta crew had set up a demonstration Razer saw, with the intention of running a job through the saw and timing it.

“We did this, but I was able to convince them to try some of the more advanced optimising options included in the saw,” Serrano says. “After addressing their concerns, they gave it a go and loved it.”

Co-owner Glenn Ferguson, who runs the business with his father and brother, says that another reason they chose the Razer

“It’s time-saving at both the cutting level and at the manufacturing level.”

A lot has changed in the timber business in the past 30 years. New technology

and advancements in machinery mean that manufacturers and fabricators can produce more products more efficiently while also reducing cost and waste.

Gold Coast Timbers & Trusses is a manufacturer of quality pre-nailed timber frames, trusses and floor trusses, and a supplier of engineered floor systems, timber framing (treated and untreated timber), flooring, cladding, blue board, hardware and fixtures, timber posts and landscaping supplies. The business has been around for 26 years, employs 35 staff and supplies customers as far afield as Sydney and North Queensland.

Around 10 years ago, the company owners began looking into purchasing one of the new linear-style saws.

The Vekta Razer linear saw has helped businesses like

Gold Coast Timber & Trusses save money and boost production.

TTN369_24-25_company profile_vekta.indd 26 17/3/17 9:43 am


PRODUCT PROFILE

saw was because of its small footprint. “Also the fact that we could get

service in Australia,” he says. “Knowing that we could get it up and operational rapidly if something went wrong.”

The benefits the saw brought to the business became apparent immediately.

“It’s time-saving at both the cutting level and at the manufacturing level,” Ferguson says. “There’s a waste disposal saving, and there’s the benefit of timber optimisation. It’s a cost saver as well as being a much safer option. There are a lot of benefits to using this saw. We ended up with production benefits as well – I’d say it boosted production by about 12 percent.”

The Gold Coast team recently installed a second Razer to help cater to the recent increase in volumes they are producing.

“We bought the second to move all of our cutting onto the Razer saws,” Ferguson says. “New optimising options are added to the saw as Vekta develops them. The improvements in the software are ongoing, and have provided benefits years after we first purchased the saw.”

Ferguson and his team have become great fans of the Vekta Razer, and recommend its use to other businesses.

“Now, one of the main suggestions they give to plants moving towards a linear saw for the first time is to be open to completely drop the way they did things traditionally and let the technology work for them,” Serrano says. “Over the years they’ve become very good customers.” To find out more about the Vekta Razer saw, head to vekta.com.au For more on Gold Coast Timbers & Trusses head to gctt.com.au

“The improvements in the software are ongoing, and have provided benefits years after we first purchased the saw.”

TTN369_24-25_company profile_vekta.indd 27 17/3/17 9:43 am


COMPANY UPDATE

STS Timber Wholesale Pty Ltd offers finished products in:• CCA• ACQ• MicroPro SiennaCustom treatment is also available

MOVING TO SOLAR POWERSTS is pleased to announce that it will be installing 400+ solar panels at the STS site in Woori Yallock later this year.

“Following on from another year of strong growth, it’s evident that our production levels of our core products will continue to rise, and consequently so will our demand for power,” says managing director Peter Giosserano. “This is an important environmental decision and the solar

option blends in perfectly at the Woori Yallock site situated in the beautiful Yarra Valley.”

The new panels will generate up to 80 percent of the company’s power, offering immediate savings to the business.

“The solar power will provide immediate benefits, with more substantial savings after a few years when the panels are paid off,” Giosserano says. “This is an environmental consideration as well as a cost control exercise designed to partially offset the continuous increased cost of day to day business.”

HUMAN RESOURCESIn realising their continued strong growth in CCA / ACQ and MicroPro Sienna sleepers, Cypress, Merbau and F7 Treated Pine markets, STS Timber has now made the

More growth and going greenerA step forward for business – a step forward for the environment.

An aerial view of the STS Timber Woori Yallock site.

CCA Lifewood® – Copper Chrome Arsenate

• ACQ® NatureWood® – Non-Arsenic based preservative formula

• MicroPro Sienna® – Long – Lasting Colour, Non-Arsenic based preservative formula

SALES TEAM: Craig Cunningham 0403 050 714 Danny Kingston 0419 475 791 I Ange Arendse 0411 313 175

SITES: Dandenong 03 9791 9555 I Woori Yallock 03 5967 3993

STS TIMBER WHOLESALE PTY LTD

TTN369_28-29_profile STS.indd 28 20/3/17 12:02 pm


COMPANY UPDATE

decision to enact a major restructure of the company’s organisational structure.

Giosserano is pursuing his dream of continual growth and diversity and has now created three new senior positions within his company.

“We are currently recruiting high level candidates with the precise aim of taking this business to a whole new level of customer service, as per my vision,” Giosserano says. For more about STS Timber, contact Peter Giosserano on (03) 9791 9555.

DON’T MISS AN ISSUE - SUBSCRIBE TODAY!TimberTrader News is the industry’s top resource, including sector news, profiles on industry personalities and in-depth features.12 month subscription is only $99. www.timbertradernews.com/subscribe or phone on (02) 9439 1955

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Dual timber treatment plant at Woori Yallock.

Above: STS Timber offers three different timber treatment options.

VICTORIA NEW SOUTH WALES

TimberFloor News is proudly endorsed by:

R

TIMBER FLOOR NEWS


Pollmeier uses a high-tech process to turn beech lumber into BauBuche. BauBuche

flooring products combine exceptional strength with a most attractive uniform look and an unobtrusive texture that’s far removed from that of conventional beech timber.

Beech is the most important deciduous tree in Europe and widely appreciated for its hard and resistant wood. Beech furniture has a long tradition, not least due to the distinct grain of the hardwood. However, woods with a prominent grain structure are subject to changing tastes and fashions in interior design. By using beech harvested in Germany for its innovative laminated veneer lumber, Pollmeier has created a product with

BauBuche flooring German beech lumber in a new look.

an understated and timeless finish that can even be combined with other wood types.

PRODUCTION OF BAUBUCHEBauBuche is produced at the company’s new plant, built in 2014 in Thuringia, Germany. The beech logs are steamed, cut to size and peeled in a rotary mill to thin veneers. After drying, these layers are stacked and glued together under high pressure before they’re machined into building construction and decorative interior design elements. Thanks to the parallel laminated structure, BauBuche has a unique look that reveals the wafer-thin veneer and glue layers. The pleasing, calm finish retains

a natural look, as the smooth tonal values of beech lumber are still visible.

CLIMATE-FRIENDLYThe raw material for BauBuche is sourced exclusively from German forests, where sustainable management has a long tradition, stretching back over 300 years. This ensures that only legally-cut timber from responsibly-managed forests makes it into the BauBuche production chain, as is certified by the PEFC seal.

In contrast to conventional plastic or carpet flooring, BauBuche helps protect the climate: each cubic metre of beech lumber stores nearly one ton of CO2 from the atmosphere.

Best of both worlds: the aesthetics of natural beech

combined with high tech manufacturing processes.

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seminar hotel. The listed main building and the adjacent cheese dairy now feature a contemplative, minimalist interior ideal for seminars, yoga classes, retreats and similar events. The bedrooms combine traditional and ultramodern design features that create an atmosphere of relaxation and contemplation with floors in the relatively dark BauBuche #410 tone (see bottom left). The natural look of the flooring material and its deep, warm colour turn the rooms into oases of well-being. The dark hue makes the typical veneer structure of BauBuche less visible, adding to the calmness of the interior that reflects sophistication and timeless quality.

BAUBUCHE IN OFFICE BUILDINGThe BauBuche floor in an office building in Augsburg (below right) gives the room a warm atmosphere in which creativity can flourish. The elements are treated with hard wax oil, which brings the natural colour of the beech timber to the fore. As BauBuche

is also one of the main construction materials in this building, the exposed structural elements and the floor form a pleasing unity. Floor-to-ceiling windows make the rooms bright, so the daylight brings out the beautiful smooth tonal values of the beech. The parallel veneer and glue layers create an atmosphere of calm purpose and productivity.

REVOLUTION IN TIMBER FLOORINGBauBuche flooring is about to revolutionise the solid timber flooring industry. There are three factors that make BauBuche the ideal material for universal use in public and private buildings: sustainability, durability and timeless finish. This Pollmeier product is available in carefully chosen colours ranging from transparent white to natural red hues and warm dark brown tones. Detailed installation and care instructions make sure that you will enjoy your BauBuche floor for many years to come. For more info, visit BauBuche.com and meyertimber.com.au

Clockwise from top left: BauBuche production; Augsburg office flooring; Hochstrass convent school building; colour menu.

APPLICATIONS AND INSTALLATIONBauBuche Flooring elements are micro-chamfered on four sides and come with a tongue-and-groove connection system. The true-to-size elements are precision-machined to make floor laying easy. They can be glued directly to screed (14mm and 20mm thickness) or nailed or screwed onto suitable substructures (20mm thickness only).

BauBuche flooring is suitable for virtually any type of floor in homes, kindergartens, schools, hotels, museums, offices, shops and gym halls. The surface is sealed with environmentally safe hard wax oils or hard-wearing solvent-free varnish. BauBuche flooring elements come in various attractive colours, including natural. BauBuche is also available unfinished (square-edged, not sanded, open gaps are not filled with putty) for bespoke on-site treatment.

BAUBUCHE IN RETREAT RESORTIn 2015, the Hochstrass convent school building in Austria was converted into a

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chemical make-up can go a long way towards helping us understand why some products yellow and others don’t.

The building blocks for polyurethane are polyols and isocyanates. These chemicals can be:• Dissolved in solvents in unreacted

form as the basis of solvent based floor coatings; or

• Dispersed in water in reacted form as the basis of a waterborne floor coating.

There are two types of isocyanate used to form polyurethane:• Aromatic isocyanates that contain

double carbon bonds, which react with ultra violet radiation and cause yellowing to occur; and

• Aliphatic isocyanates which do not contain double carbon bonds and therefore do not react to ultraviolet light.

Aliphatic isocyanates are more expensive than their aromatic counterparts, hence the higher cost of non-yellowing floor finishes.

Like their solvent-based polyurethane counterparts, oil- and wax-type floor finishes tend to yellow over time, even those that appear totally void of colour, like linseed oil. While imparting a gold or amber hue to the timber, oil and wax finishes – while generally considered less durable, given the need for more frequent refurbishment – are often a viable solution for floors that experience excessive movement or where a more visible grain structure is a desirable aesthetic.

Interested to observe the yellowing of polyurethane for himself, an associate of ours applied a coat of solvent-based polyurethane to a sheet of clear glass. In a relatively short period of time the

The solution to this problem is to educate all stakeholders, and a good place to start is to demystify the concept of yellowing.

BRICE ON BOARDSwith Sharon and Ray Brice

Yellowing timberAddressing colour changes in timber floors, consumer expectations vs. reality and which coatings are best for your needs.

As is often the case, this month’s article was inspired by recent events.

While we were visiting a family member in Adelaide, she asked us to coat her new timber desk top with a water-based coating that’s low sheen, hard-wearing and wouldn’t cause the pale straw colour of the timber to yellow.

This reminded us of the late seventies/early eighties when pine timber was all the rage and friends of ours – with a penchant for all things Scandinavian – purchased a piece of pine furniture especially for its pale blonde colour only to be disappointed later when they realised it had yellowed over time, despite the fact that they had lovingly coated it with Danish oil to prevent this from happening.

But the clincher for us was an enquiry from a timber advisory centre about a client who was disappointed because their polyurethane-coated timber floor had turned an unacceptable shade of yellow.

The problem here is clearly consumer expectation – a common cause of consumer concerns and complaints. Consumers, be they ill-informed or poorly educated about the products available, are prone to unrealistic outcome expectations. The solution to this problem is to educate all stake-holders, and a good place to start is to demystify the concept of yellowing.

There are two aspects to the colour changes that occur in timber floors. One is the oxidisation of the timber. This occurs when the pigments, tannins and other resins in timber are exposed to air and UV light. Over time this will cause yellowing in light timbers, while darker timbers usually develop rich

brown or pink red tones and uncoated timbers will grey or silver. Oxidisation is a natural process, and the effect is noted in both coated and uncoated timber. The degree to which timber will change colour depends on the extent of its exposure to direct and indirect UV light and will vary from species to species.

While the chemicals in floor finishes are known to influence the oxidisation process in timber, they in their own right change colour over time. Solvent- based polyurethanes, tung oil and wax- type finishes are more prone to yellowing than their water-based counterparts.

Polyurethane coatings are known for their durability, chemical resistance, abrasion resistance and film clarity, however a little information about their

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TIMBER FLOOR NEWS

Ray and Sharon Brice specialise in mediation training and project management. They have four decades of experience in the flooring industry. Phone: 0407 591 697 | Email: [email protected]

coating material took on a warm yellow glow. This experiment can also be conducted by partially coating a white painted board. This is a great way to show to consumers the effect of age and UV light on polyurethane coated materials.

There is nothing like a physical representation to illustrate a given range of variables; such as the boards in the photos at right. Here a set of display panels each feature a different species of timber. Baltic Pine, Jarrah and Radiata pine have been divided into three sections, the top section of each panel is coated with Hardwax, the centre panel with a water-based finish and the bottom panel with a solvent-based polyurethane. The purpose of this exercise is to provide the customer with a comparative example of colour and texture variation across the range of coatings offered by this organisation, in particular the non- yellowing effect of water based finish.

Historically, water-based finishes were

Above: three different species of timber divided into three sections – the top section of each is coated with Hardwax, the centre with a water-based finish and the bottom with a solvent based polyurethane.

The ALL-IN-ONE assembly machine for

TIMBER FRAME WALLS

Unit 1+5, 125 Russell Street, Emu Plains NSW 2750

Tel: (02) 4735 1011 www.ausframe.net.au

Baltic PineHardwax - Satin

Water based - Satin

Solvent based - Gloss Solvent based - Gloss Solvent based - Gloss

Water based - Satin Water based - Satin

JarrahHardwax - Satin

Radiata PineHardwax - Satin

thought to be less durable than solvent-based counterparts, as well as slower curing and more environmentally friendly. But technology changes, and in a relatively small space of time the manufacturers of these coatings have closed the gap and are now offering products with comparable durability

and super-quick drying times. Some of the products currently available are dry enough for use 24 hours after application and all without altering the key characteristics; as well as being environmentally friendly and non-yellowing, which is what made them popular in the first place.

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AUTOBUILD NEWS

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A real game-changerMiTek’s SAPPHIRE Management can offer a multitude of benefits to your business.

Management would be felt right through The Truss & Frame Factory.

“Everyone benefits from this because it monitors, manages and delivers extremely valuable feedback on jobs through a very smart workflow process, all while producing extremely accurate, instant business analytics which provide performance and productivity reports we can use to improve efficiencies,” Campbell says. “We’re getting facts and figures daily – not after a monthly review. In the past, assembling all that information from various sources was time-consuming and sometimes misleading because you couldn’t relate one issue back to another. SAPPHIRE Management puts

It’s been no secret Darren Campbell, Managing Director of The Truss

& Frame Factory in Kelso, NSW, has been a big fan of MiTek’s SAPPHIRE™ program from day one. In fact, he’s been championing its development and shared his experiences with the program from the very beginning. Campbell has been using SAPPHIRE Management for almost two years, and marvels at the impact it is having on his business.

“This has been a real game-changer for us,” says Campbell. “There are so many advantages; I’m not sure where to begin.”

After only a few short weeks, it soon became clear the ripple effect of SAPPHIRE

TTN369_34-35_autoBuild_sapphire.indd 34 17/3/17 9:50 am


AUTOBUILD NEWS

“SAPPHIRE Management is an invaluable business tool.”

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everything in front of you, at call.”Before introducing MiTek’s

SAPPHIRE Management, The Truss & Frame Factory’s data was collected and reported from a variety of systems.

“We had regular Excel spreadsheets, word documents, graphs and fl ow charts covering different aspects of our business – a paper mountain,” Campbell says. “There was a massive duplication of data input, all done manually. And that’s a recipe for potential errors. It was time-wasting at best. SAPPHIRE Management brings all that data under one umbrella.”

Campbell laments the fact that there were instances in the past where he believes the business lost jobs (and revenue) because they got lost in the old systems. “Or staff couldn’t handle the extra work-load because the demands and deadlines crept up on us,” he says. “That just doesn’t happen with MiTek SAPPHIRE Management.”

Ready access to all aspects of management data has produced immediate fl ow-on benefi ts for Campbell and his team.

“Because SAPPHIRE Management gives us instant information, we can then make informed decisions and relevant changes to maximise output from staff, workstations and our general operations,” he says. “The positive effects are even felt in the yard and on-site.”

The timing of SAPPHIRE Management couldn’t have been better for Campbell and the team at The Truss & Frame Factory.

“The last 18 months for us have been so busy, and I’m sure a lot of fabricators in NSW would say the same,” he says. “I don’t think we would have coped with our old management systems, let alone KPIs and reporting, given the increase in building activity we have experienced recently.”

Campbell noted peaks and troughs during this period were sometimes so extreme it became a nightmare to monitor activity and react accordingly.

“I honestly believe that if we weren’t using MiTek SAPPHIRE Management we would have missed out on some substantial work,” he admits. “We would have struggled to keep up with demand.”

The obvious options for Campbell would have been to initiate extra hours/overtime for existing staff or put on more staff. However, both scenarios carry signifi cant fi nancial implications.

“I didn’t have to put on more staff or run the plant at extra time because I had a better grip on what our workload required,” he says. “I could see, at a glance, where tasks could be allocated, quoting deadlines met, production completed and delivery ensured.”

The advantages of MiTek SAPPHIRE Management have even extended beyond the immediate.

“SAPPHIRE Management has freed up my time,” Campbell says. “I’m not wasting it collating, digesting and processing data that I need to run my business

effectively and profi tably. I now fi nd I have free time to focus on other areas of our business. I’m not drowning in paper work, trying to evaluate the effectiveness of hours spent on converting jobs, staff allocations or profi t outcomes.”

Campbell has no reservations espousing the benefi ts and future of MiTek SAPPHIRE Management with his business.

“SAPPHIRE Management has proven itself time and time again,” he says. “It’s so far ahead of any other management system, I’m surprised others even try to compare. We are currently using SAPPHIRE Walls and love it – and are eager to incorporate SAPPHIRE Roofs into our business. We want a true whole-house solution and I know MiTek SAPPHIRE will deliver.”

Campbell’s belief in SAPPHIRE has been vindicated – above and beyond. “I am really looking forward to having my truss plant 100% SAPPHIRE in the next 12 months,” he says. For more info, head to mitek.com.au

Phil McCormack : 0438 255 118 Nick Arfaras : 0438 255 115 Glenn Lawrenson : 0438 255 116 Matt Leplaa : 0403 724 184

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AUTOBUILD NEWS

A proud milestoneAlpine Truss celebrates 15 great years in business.

Between them, Alpine Truss managing director George Prothero and

director Chris Vafiadis share 85 years of experience in the timber industry.

“I’ve been in the timber industry for 40 years, Chris has been in the Timber industry 45 years,” Prothero says. “We were both working together for a large national frame and truss company when we decided to give it a go on our own, but we never imagined we would become one of the larger fabricators in Australia.”

The two celebrated with staff recently to mark the company’s 15th anniversary. Over this time the company has steadily grown from three employees in 2002 to a healthy 86 staff. The business’s main site in Wangaratta is based on seven acres

with two main production buildings – the roof truss factory is 3600m2 and the wall frame factory is 2200m2. The business also recently purchased a 15-acre site for future expansion. There is also a sales and design office based in Melbourne.

“Our core business is roof truss, wall frame and Posi-Strut floor trusses,” Prothero says. “We also supply I-beam joists and LVL beams.

“We currently run 11 of our own crane trucks with 27 semi-trailers and we have one contractor with a truck who has been with us for the entire 15 years. We deliver to the entire state of Victoria and regularly into southern NSW, including Canberra.”

As long-time MiTek fabricators, the team at Alpine Truss have found MiTek’s software and service to be superior.

“Especially the new SAPPHIRE software,” Prothero says. “Chris and myself have always been involved under the Gang Nail/MiTek banner. It’s very exciting, but like all fabricators, it’s what you grow up with, so it’s hard to teach an old dog new tricks! One of the advantages of being a MiTek fabricator is the ability it gives us to utilise the services of Platinum Global, which is very important to our business.”

Much has changed in the timber industry over Prothero’s 40 years, the main change

Above: The “Fifteen Year Club” – 10 of the 11 staff who have been with Alpine Truss since the beginning, including George Prothero (far right).

“A main change the industry has seen is the size of houses we’re manufacturing now.”

Above: Alpine Truss Director Chris Vafiadis.

TTN369_36-37_autobuild_Alpine truss.indd 36 17/3/17 10:01 am


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of which is a shift from a manual labour-intensive industry to a less labour-intensive one with a greater focus on safety.

“Since day one we have invested in technology and continue to invest in the latest, most cost-efficient safe equipment on the market,” Prothero says. “We continue to try to eliminate as many hazards in our workplace as possible, as our staff are our greatest asset.

“I think another main change the industry has seen is the size of houses we’re manufacturing now. They’re much more complex now, with larger spans. But with the investments we’ve made in equipment over the years, our business is much more efficient now than it was in the early days.”

To celebrate the company’s 15-year milestone, Prothero and Vafiadis took a group of staff to Uluru and Alice Springs over a long weekend, and the team also held a special get-together for customers and long-term suppliers.

“We have 11 staff reaching the 15-year milestone this year, who will be presented with a gift as a token of our appreciation,” Prothero says.

“I must say the business would not be anywhere near where it is today without our loyal staff – we have the very best in the industry.” For more information, head to alpinetruss.com.au and mitek.com.au

Above: The entire Alpine Truss team, headed up by Prothero at centre.

The business would not be where it is today without our loyal staff – we have the very best in the industry.”

TTN369_36-37_autobuild_Alpine truss.indd 37 17/3/17 3:19 pm


“We support you!”

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For a full list of the conditions of membership and a downloadable

application form visit:

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FTMA NEWSLETTERwith Kersten Gentle

Multinail Australia recently held an open day for builders, fabricators, timber

suppliers and architects at the site of their new head offi ce construction in Stapylton to demonstrate the laying of fl ooring cassettes.

To say it was an impressive display is an understatement, with 324m2 of fl ooring laid in a total of 43 minutes. There was added time to put a Go-Pro on the crane boom but the actual time spent lifting the cassettes in place was only 43 minutes.

If that wasn’t impressive enough, before the cassettes were put in place, temporary safety barriers were also laid out so immediately after the cassettes were laid people could walk on top. On a construction site, framing and other work could commence immediately.

It’s great seeing companies within our sector walking the walk and not just talking the talk. Like the Carter Holt Harvey plant in New Zealand which is full of timber trusses – absolutely beautiful to see.

FTMA Australia was pleased with the work we did on prefabricated fl oor cassettes and to now see them becoming a part of the norm for a lot of our industry is fantastic. Things don’t happen overnight, but I have no doubt the next step is the exciting new opportunities in the mid-rise market for our sector, which FTMA is working on with our new Market Implementation Group.

2017 FTMA AUSTRALIA NATIONAL CONFERENCEThe largest Australian fabricator attended event is coming again on May 15-16,with the FTMA Australia conference being held at the Sanctuary Cove Intercontinental Resort on the Gold Coast.

As with past years, the day prior to the conference we will host the Red Activities Day to enhance networking. Golf is always on offer but this year golf is at the impressive Sanctuary Cove Golf and Country Club, which is only open to members. The other activity this year will be barefoot bowls, which is a fun relaxing yet competitive way to network.

The offi cial ice-breaker is at Dreamworld’s Peter Brock Centre, which contains every one of Peter Brock’s cars. It’s spectacular

viewing and we are working on a few surprises for delegates who are motor heads to get their blood pumping.

FTMA loves and promotes healthy competition and I have no doubt many delegates will have their skills tested on the V8 Simulators, with the top six racing it out for the FTMA Fastest Driver Award. Throw in dodgem cars for two hours, plus great food and beverages and the ice-breaker is sure to be an outstanding night.

The conference is held on Tuesday, May 16 and the FTMA Australia board has focused on key issues for our industry, such as:• Do you know your business costs?• Avoiding shonky builders and getting

paid for your work.• Fabricators’ responsibility in OHS

and industrial relations.• Housing forecasts and changes

in the housing market.• Prefabricated fl oors and where our

industry has been working.• Mid-rise opportunities for our sector:

it doesn’t all need to be panelised.• Understanding fi t for purpose timber.• Timber treatment.• Is steel a threat to our industry?

These are a few of the topics and, as always, FTMA will rely on the input of fabricators, whether it be through panels or discussions from the fl oor, as this is your industry and we want to hear from you.

The conference fi nishes with the national conference dinner, which this year has the theme of a Hawaiian luau, with a dress code of Hawaiian shirts, grass skirts and perhaps even a few coconuts!

The dinner will be held at Sanctuary Cove’s Lagoon and will be a relaxing networking evening that will include the presentation of the inaugural Clive Martella Service to Industry Award.

TTN369_38-39_FTMA newsletter.indd 38 17/3/17 9:54 am


AUTOBUILD NEWS

The selection panel of Phil McCormack, Michael Read, Doug Maxwell and Steve Collier has chosen the right candidate/s who they feel have made huge contributions to our industry.

We look forward to seeing you all on the Gold Coast in May, and if you have any questions please call me on 0418 226 242.

A: Brett’s Timber & Hardware Darren Harris and Jason Turner; B: Cassettes being put into place; C: Scott Millis (CHHWP) with Travis Taylor (Multinail); D: Ryan Mansell (Pine Design) with builders Darryl Hodges, Tim Sayce, Dave Currie and George Sotiropoulos.

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TTN369_38-39_FTMA newsletter.indd 39 17/3/17 9:54 am


Visit mitek.com.au for all guidelines

AUTOBUILD NEWS

Robert Tan, Manager Technical Services

ANOTHER MITEK ADVANTAGE – APRIL 2017

GN GUIDELINES NO.237

Timely documentation

and within the timeframes specified, including full truss details, before frame construction starts.

Building inspectors must ensure they conduct the frame inspection by reviewing all approved documentation, including the full truss details. Under no circumstances must the building inspector approve a frame inspection without reviewing this documentation approved by the RBS. Also, they must not approve the frame inspection subject to the builder providing the truss details to the RBS.

Where there has been an inspection and the full truss details were not provided to the RBS for approval, the RBS may issue an order to stop building work until they are provided so the frame can be inspected.

Note: builders and tradespeople must not modify floor or roof trusses without first consulting the truss manufacturer and having the RBS approve the design of the truss modification. The building inspector must not approve the frame inspection if truss modifications have not been assessed and approved by the RBS.

MESSAGE TO BUILDERS AND FABRICATORSAlthough this recent article from the VBA website is aimed at building surveyors in Victoria, the message is just as relevant to builders and truss fabricators in every Australian state and territory by understanding the processes they have to follow.

The message is that we should support the building surveyor by supplying them with adequate documentation in a timely manner, so that they may do their job effectively. It benefits the builder by ensuring that there will be no delay in inspections and job progress.

WHAT SHOULD BE DONE? Roof and floor trusses are custom designed and built for each project, with individual trusses able to include design features that are important to its successful performance.

Trusses are often supported on internal loadbearing walls, have web and chord members of different sizes and stress grades, and include web stiffeners, special braces and fixings. The computations provide the individual truss specifications that need to be assessed on site to ensure they are constructed and installed according to the intended design.

WHAT CAN YOU AS A PRACTITIONER DO? The RBS should continue to ensure that the building permit incudes a condition that the full truss details are provided before frame construction starts. This will satisfy the RBS’s obligations set out in Practice Note 2014-62.

Where the builder is requesting a frame inspection, the RBS should confirm that they have been provided with the full truss

details as per the building permit. If the builder has not provided them, the RBS should advise that there can be no inspection until the full truss details are submitted for assessment; and when approved, can be given to the building inspector to conduct the frame inspection.

Builders must comply with all the conditions set out in the building permit

The VBA’s Inspection Services Team has issued a reminder about the importance

of roof and floor truss computations, layout plans and certification (the truss details) being supplied to the relevant building surveyor (RBS) before frame construction starts.

While assessing complaints lodged with the VBA, Inspection Services found that many frame inspections are being requested by the builder and arranged by the RBS without the roof and floor truss details being supplied to the RBS before the start of frame construction. Inspection Services also found that many building inspectors are approving the mandatory notification stage of a frame inspection without having the full truss details available on site at the time of inspection to allow for a full and accurate inspection. In many cases, the RBS is withholding the occupancy permit or Certificate of Final Inspection because they are still waiting on the full truss details at the end of the project.

Reminder on roof and floor truss computations, layout plan and certification PUBLISHED 17 FEBRUARY 2017 Reproduced with kind permission from the Victorian Building Authority (VBA)

Below: Full truss details should be provided before frame construction starts.

TTN369_40_GN guidelines.indd 40 17/3/17 9:54 am

WATT ABOUT THE WORKPLACEwith Emma Watt

This information is of a general nature only. Emma has been advising timber industry employers on their employment rights and obligations since 1998. She is currently the Chief Executive Offi cer of the TMA. Email her on [email protected]


Many employers worry about the potential damage an employee

could cause to their business by virtue of access to confi dential information and the employee’s relationship with clients, suppliers and other employees. In order to protect the business, suitable confi dentiality and restraint clauses could be included in an employee’s written contract of employment.

The restraint of trade principle clashes with the legal concept that when two parties freely enter into a contract, they should be bound by it. Also, courts typically are reluctant to enforce restraint of trade clauses because they can restrict the ex-employee from earning a livelihood. Because of this confl ict of legal principles, restraint of trade and confi dentiality clauses in employment contracts must be very carefully drafted to ensure that the restrictions only go as far as is strictly necessary to protect the legitimate interests of the employer.

These types of clauses can protect goodwill, which includes customer, supplier and employee relationships, and confi dential information. Confi dential information that can be protected are the “trade secrets” of the business, not just an employee’s know-how – the general knowledge and skills gained by an employee during the course of employment. Employees are usually free to use know-how, but can be contractually restrained from using or disclosing trade secrets.

You can put clauses into contracts that restrain employees from poaching employees, suppliers or clients, but you do need to put boundaries on the clauses, such as geographical boundaries, or time boundaries.

Restraint clauses are often qualifi ed by reference to geographical area and time. The reason for including such qualifi cations is the recognition that a restraint of trade clause will only be enforced to the extent that it

Protecting your business through the contract of employment

was reasonable to protect the employer’s legitimate interests. Restraining an employee from working for a competitor of the employer for an unlimited time and across an unnecessarily broad geographical area will generally be unreasonable overreach in protecting the employer’s interests and may be unenforceable.

The clause will typically include restraints which prevent the employee from:• Soliciting clients of the business with

whom the employee dealt post-employment (non-solicitation clause);

• Poaching employees of the business post employment (non-poaching clause);

• Establishing or working in a business that competes with the employer post-employment (non-compete clause).

When there is a change in your business, for example, if you move from servicing one state to providing product into several states, you need to look at restraint clauses to ensure that the clause protects your expanded area of operation. This is one of the reasons why “cascading clauses” are used, to provide the widest possible coverage while still allowing the courts to interpret the clause as narrowly as is necessary to protect the legitimate interests of the business.

If action were taken to enforce restraint clauses, bear in mind that a court is likely to reject a restraint of trade clause if it considers the restraint to be unreasonable, and therefore unenforceable. A restraint of trade clause won’t be enforceable if it’s designed to:• protect your business against competition

from an ex-employee who is simply good at their job or has a strong reputation; or

• prevent an ex-employee from doing business with their friends or family.

These clauses should also be supported by a confi dentiality clause imposing obligations to keep certain information secret from the

employee, and defi ning what information is to be protected as “confi dential information”. This information can’t be anything that’s public knowledge or in the public domain.

Any clause that attempts to defi ne “confi dential information” too broadly runs the risk of being unenforceable, and therefore useless. If you’re considering this kind of clause for an employment contract, you need to carefully defi ne what is actually confi dential, and the way the information is handled in the business needs to refl ect this designation. Think about drafting the clause to ensure that the obligation to keep information confi dential continues even after the contract of employment is terminated.

Employers should also consider whether the employee’s position and work genuinely warrant this type of restriction. If, for example, you have a sales rep, then it’s quite common to restrain the employee at least from soliciting clients post-employment, and potentially also from working for a competitor for a period of time. But attempting to restrain a forklift driver who barely has any contact with clients, and who does not have access to sensitive trade secrets, could be deemed to be unreasonable.

Contracts of employment with clerical employees may warrant a good confi dentiality clause, but depending on the employee’s work, may not warrant restraint of trade clauses. It would also be wise to consider a company-wide policy on the treatment of confi dential information, prohibiting employees from disclosing information that is clearly identifi ed as confi dential.

If you are ever in the unfortunate position of needing to enforce this type of clause post-employment , you will need to be able to quantify the damage the employee is causing, or could reasonably cause, by breaching their contract of employment.

TTN369_41_watt about workplace.indd 41 17/3/17 9:55 am

Paul Davis is an independent structural engineer managing his own consulting fi rm Project X Solutions Pty Ltd. The views in this column are Paul’s and do not refl ect the opinions of TimberTrader News.Phone: 02 4576 1555 | Email: [email protected]


AUTOBUILD NEWS

TRUSS TALKwith Paul Davis

I had never gardened naked before and, indeed, I had no intention to garden

in the nude this time. But it happened that I wandered up to the vegetable garden to turn off the sprinklers with just a towel wrapped around my waist after having a shower. I realised that I still had a punnet of onions to plant out and now was the perfect time.

But fi rst, just to set the scene, I live on a few acres on the edge of the city and we can’t see our neighbours. The road runs past but it’s very quiet. I have a sizeable vegetable garden about 50m from the house which I sporadically maintain.

And so it was that as I bent to plant some onions my towel dropped into a pool of water. Without really thinking about it, I kept planting out – with the sun novelly and pleasantly beating down on my bare behind.

Even when a car does come along the road I can hear it from a long way away and so that just wasn’t a concern. However, what you can’t hear is a gaggle of Sunday bike riders, who pulled up on the road next to vegetable garden. And for some reason they did it silently.

I will leave you a vision of me starkers, holding onion seedlings with one hand and groping for a sodden towel with the other – just wilting under the bemused gaze of a bunch of blokes in lycra. But to avoid further trauma, the subject now moves off me and to a “pants-down” moment for the truss industry.

I can say from personal experience that the engineering design of timber trusses is fi endishly diffi cult. Superfi cially it may seem straightforward, but there are just so many permutations of timber, nail plates, loads and truss geometry that it’s very hard to predict all possible outcomes back at truss HQ.

One particular challenge is that the truss confi guration and loads lead to the timber design. And the timber design and cutting naturally lead through to the nail plate design. But on rare occasions the plate

So, with this particular combination of a relatively deep bottom cord and a relatively large heel plate, the net downwards force has resolved itself about 150 mm off the wall plate. Thereafter, the only way for the load to get sideways to the support is through the tiny sliver of bottom cord and the 90x35 top cord – which weren’t strong enough.

I think that the take-home message is displayed quite nakedly: be wary of this confi guration connection whether it’s produced by your computer software or else by some sort of ad-libbing in production. Solutions might include using a double girder truss and/or better timbers that have smaller chords and plates. A smaller bottom chord means that the load is resolved closer to the wall plate. The effect of a shallower heel plate is that it can be pushed more out towards the heel. Or, of course, the timbers between the plate and wall can be made strong enough to cope with these nasty stresses.

My expose in the vegetable garden is the third time I have been caught out naked in public. One I recounted in a previous article where I was doing a karate-kid imitation standing on a fence post in a car-park. My then-girlfriend “dacked” me in revenge for an earlier

misdemeanour. Because of my unbalanced position, with my pants stuck around my ankles, I couldn’t get off the post and I couldn’t bend forward to pull them up. It took a lot of awkward manoeuvring to get them back on – much to the amusement of the school bus full of girls!

As for the other time – well I can’t tell you about that. Suffi ce to say that it was more compromising than either of the incidents that you have just read!

design can affect the timber. This somewhat circular relationship has the potential to lead to trouble. And so it has.

The photo you see is of a genuine girder truss failure. This is the girder heel over a garage carrying a tile roof and it is about 15 years old. I have deliberately obscured the nail plate as my intention is not to point the fi nger of blame. At various times in history this could have been any of us. I should note however that what you see is the size of the actual plate.

Physically what’s happening is that the compression force in the top cord is balanced out by a tension in the bottom cord through the nail plate. The leftover force, through the magic of structural mechanics, equals the accumulated weight of roof that arrives at this support.

“The engineering design of timber trusses is fi endishly diffi cult.”

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When it comes to service and maintenance of your saw we believe you should have as many options as possible.

Vekta’s online support system, Vekta Rescue, lets you choose how your linear saw is supported. It Includes extremely detailed service checklists, instructions and up to date information.

So relax, we’ll support your decision. Feel free to choose almost anyone you want to carry out your services and repairs. Key word: almost!

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Girder truss failure, nail plate

obscured.

TTN369_42_Truss talk.indd 42 17/3/17 12:54 pm

WITH VEKTA RESCUE, ALMOST ANYBODY CAN SERVICE YOUR RAZER.

When it comes to service and maintenance of your saw we believe you should have as many options as possible.

Vekta’s online support system, Vekta Rescue, lets you choose how your linear saw is supported. It Includes extremely detailed service checklists, instructions and up to date information.

So relax, we’ll support your decision. Feel free to choose almost anyone you want to carry out your services and repairs. Key word: almost!

Go to help.vekta.com.au to get started.

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VEKTA RESCUE

TTN369_42_Truss talk.indd 43 17/3/17 12:54 pm

MGB

0639

H O M E O F G A N G - N A I L B U I L D I N G S Y S T E M S

For more information about MiTek PosiStrut Flooring Cassettes, call your local state office or visit: mitek.com.au

VIC (03) 8795 8888 NSW (02) 8525 8000 QLD (07) 3861 2100 SA (08) 8234 1326 WA (08) 9412 3534 New Zealand (09) 274 7109

Many builders and developers – especially those working on large, multi-storey projects are specifying PosiStrut

Flooring Cassettes. The floor includes allowances for deflections, reactions, plumbing locations, voids stacks, wastes

and duct chases and recessed wet areas. Plus, PosiStrut Flooring Cassettes can utilise top chord support for ease of

installation. This means they can be craned into position on-site and fixed in minutes! The implications this has on-site

are substantial…with more square metres of flooring laid by less labour in a lot less time!

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TTN362_46_Truss talk.indd 48 22/08/2016 12:06 PMTTN369_42_Truss talk.indd 44 17/3/17 12:54 pm

Imported timber Suppyl & demand · 2018. 9. 28. · My belief is that one of the major reasons for...

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