Page 41 - HW October 2020 NEW

frame & truss
 Continued from page 17
truss, they can’t really engage in trade properly,” believes Mike Stanton.
We’ll be following up on this unexpected proliferation of frame & truss plants in due course.
TOWARDS PREFABRICATION?
Frame & truss is a quiet achiever compared to the more vocal prefabrication lobby, but existing frame & truss players aren’t sitting on their hands.
Indeed, Daniel Howe confirms that “more and more FTMA members are investing in cutting and it’s not just the big corporates – people are investing.
“There’s definitely a focus and understanding that improved technology is going to move us forward. It’s about increased efficiency, that’s what everyone’s looking for.”
All of which will be music to the ears of the likes of Pryda (www.pryda.co.nz) and Steve White, National Sales Manager, who isn’t giving too much away when he says: “Our business has performed better in 2020 than it did in 2019, which is pleasing.
“And we believe we’ve got a couple of good initiatives that will
“If people start to say ‘we must have RAB boards fitted’, ‘we need floor cassettes’, ‘we want finished panels’, then the prenail industry is the most obvious place to start that discussion”
allow that growth to continue,” he adds. (Find out more about SpeedTruss, one of Pryda’s initiatives for 2021, below.)
How does Steve White characterise where his customers are at the moment? “It’s even more competitive than it was last year,” he says.
“But look, it’s always been a competitive industry – it never loses that competitive intensity. However, competition has increased recently, it’s definitely tightened up.”
Given a steady increase in prefabrication or offsite manufacturing what’s the word around frame & truss about prefab, enclosed framing or panelisation?
Like other frame & truss players, Daniel Howe says: “What we need is demand...
“If people start to say ‘we must have RAB boards fitted’, ‘we need floor cassettes’, ‘we want finished panels’, then the prenail industry is the most obvious place to start that discussion because we’re already making the frame, so add-ons would be easy.”
But demand for added value products like those mentioned above remains patchy at best.
“Most residential builders are still using the conventional method,” says Daniel, although floor cassettes are increasingly popular among group home builders doing single-design multi- unit housing developments.
CHANGES AHEAD IN TIMBER SUPPLY?
More than one pundit polled for this article has put it that timber supply has been “challenging” for frame & truss recently. Has this meant an exponential increase in demand for LVL?
Not by the sound of it – with his Akarana Timbers hat on, Daniel Howe estimates 95% of Akarana’s frames are standard pine, sticks, rather than LVL.
Although admitting some reservations remain about the effect of moisture on LVL, he also readily admits: “Let’s face it, it’s straight, strong and it’s consistent and those are the things you cannot get with a standard piece of timber.”
He continues: “I’m looking forward to seeing a lot more engineered timber being used in the future. I think it’s going to be necessary.
“With the high demand that we’re experiencing I think the mills are struggling a little bit with supply. And I think that timber supply could be an issue going forward for anybody that hasn’t got strong relationships with their timber suppliers.”
Although Daniel Howe does definitely see a place for LVL in
New Zealand gets SpeedTruss in 2021
Pryda is set to roll out its SpeedTruss Truss Installation System across New Zealand next year.
Used with Pryda Build Truss Software and already proven in the Australian market, SpeedTruss is described as “a new approach to roof truss installation, enabling builders to work faster, easier, safer, and altogether smarter.”
The first of two key SpeedTruss elements is Hinge-Out, a patented system that hinges the jack truss off the girder truss, immediately stabilising the girder truss. Each jack truss is fitted with Pryda’s Truncated Standard Truss Stop (TS Stop) for easy and accurate installation of a truncated standard truss.
The second key element is Pryda’s Easy-Fix pre-installed 150mm or 200mm screw configuration, designed to accurately and permanently connect each truss to the wall frame top plate.
Together, these truss assemblies, including pre-installed hinges and pre-fixed screw arrangements, can reduce installation time significantly by removing temporary fixing.
www.pryda.co.nz
MORE AT www.facebook.com/nzhardwarejournal
OCTOBER 2020 | NZHJ 39