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frame & truss
Riviera Prenail starts over
Riviera Hardware Holdings is in go-ahead mode North of Auckland, with a new store, new DC, and a from-scratch approach to its new frame & truss factory in Silverdale.
Boasting some 3,000m2 of manufacturing floor space, along with team amenities and offices, the new Riviera Prenail facility also has over 10,000m2 of yard space across two sites for timber and manufactured product storage.
Moving from a very manual plant demanded an in-depth review of processes and systems, on top of which dialogue with Waikato Frame & Truss brought additional fresh perspectives which have been taken on board to future proof the new facility.
Currently still looking to understand the true capabilities of its all-new technology, and with the team currently sitting under 30, the plant is aiming for more than 100 cubes a week per shift.
Key machinery includes a Hundegger Turbo saw, Spida wall assembly line and automated puck/jig and press truss line.
Having converted to MiTek, Riviera Prenail is installing MiTek’s OptiFlow paperless factory management system, which provides real-time production information electronically to all areas of production and management.
The new Silverdale factory may be a greenfield operation, but
the existing prenail factory team have adjusted to the new site with ease and are enjoying the spacious and well-lit new work environment.
Says the company:“Our new machinery has been embraced by the team and has given them a new lease of life, despite the significant changes they have been through.
“Another key advantage with the new site and machinery is a significant increase in health & safety measures and an environment that helps attract great experience and knowledge.”
As you’d expect, the new technology is not only far more productive than the previous site, but also makes for greater accuracy and a reduction in waste.
“These are key focus points in our desire to deliver quality frame & truss at a competitive price with shorter lead times,” says the company.
“Another key output we wanted from our investment was an increase in quality, reducing remedials and therefore visits to site. “The technology of the automated puck table is an example of
where we get increased speed and production along with increased accuracy.”
www.rivieraprenail.co.nz
up the factory again and send frames and trusses to customers, even those outside of Auckland.
Although there are many plants outside Auckland that might have borne that load, these were all already flat tack coping with their own customers.
Part of the reason no Auckland prenail plant was granted
an exemption is, believes Mark Buckenham, because “We need do a better job of marketing frame & truss to the broader constituency.
“I don’t think as an industry we’ve done a good job of promoting ourselves,” he says, despite there being some really good stories to tell, including timber framing’s very positive
carbon argument over concrete and steel.
“I am not criticising any one person, it’s just that we’re now
saying this is something we need, and it’s been shown up with these lockdowns that we need to do a better job of how we do it.”
FTMA’s Peter Carruthers is less outspoken but clearly on the same page that, despite its central role in the building process, there is work to be done around lifting the profile of frame & truss.
“You can’t put a roof on without something to hold it up, and you can’t do anything with plasterboard unless there’s something to nail it to,” he says with meaning.
Fair comment.
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OCTOBER 2021 | NZHJ 33