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hard news
National Frame & Truss Conference coming soon
The 2021 National Frame & Truss Conference is taking place in Wellington, over 7-9 September 2021.
Entitled “Sharpen your Vision” FTMA promises expert insights into business, improving team productivity and optimising technology.
The key sessions take in industry reform and regulations, timber supply, prefabrication, panelisation and technology, a climate change session, technical sessions driven by MiTek and Pryda, Te Radar as MC, and Nigel Latta and Rod Oram amongst other guest speakers.
Conference gala dinner is sponsored by MiTek, the Ice Breaker function by Pryda and there will be an expo showcase of solutions for your business to the very latest cutting-edge tools and machinery.
www.ftma.co.nz
Towards a more
connected industry
Fletcher Building has established the first Chair of Future Environments at AUT “to tackle head on the challenges facing New Zealand which will require a new way of working to achieve a more sustainable future.”
The new Fletcher Chair, Professor Charles Walker, says the challenges facing the industry require greater collaboration and a common language between construction professionals.
“When we established the School
[of Future Environments – the home of AUT’s architecture and built environment programmes], we purposefully brought together disciplines that have historically not worked together. The reality is that to achieve a more sustainable future, we need to change the way we think about the design and construction of our future environments.”
Students, academics, and
Fletcher practitioners will share learning experiences around design, sustainability, resource management and future trends, while for Fletcher Building, AUT will provide a key talent pipeline and the ability to provide an industry viewpoint on the school’s curriculum.
https://www.aut.ac.nz/
Kingspan acquires Thermakraft
NEW ZEALAND’S THERMAKRAFT
Ltd is now part of Irish building products company Kingspan’s Asia Pacific Insulation Division, following a trade sale that concluded in July.
Kingspan Insulation is a global player in high-performance rigid foam insulation and building envelope solutions for residential and commercial buildings but has so far supplied most of its range of high-performance insulation products into New Zealand from its four-year-old, AU$40 million manufacturing facility in Melbourne.
Kingspan sees the Thermakraft buy
as a “significant strategic acquisition”: “We are delighted to welcome Dwayne Warby and the Thermakraft team into the Kingspan family, it is a fantastic business with enduring brands and terrific people in both Australia and New Zealand”, says Scott Gibson, MD of Kingspan Insulation APAC.
Auckland-based Thermakraft has a 34-year history of supplying breathable building wraps and roofing underlay
in New Zealand, across a broad range
of building merchants, and in recent years has made significant in-roads into the
Australian market with the acquisition of the Australian Mesh (Ausmesh) business in 2017.
Of the Kingspan deal, the company says: “Kingspan Insulation products will complement Thermakraft’s
range by providing next-generation insulation solutions into the evolving requirements of the New Zealand insulation market, satisfying the need for better insulated, condensation- resistant buildings.”
Thermakraft MD, Dwayne Warby, says the acquisition will “allow a
wider range of products and expertise to be offered to the New Zealand and Australian markets,” adding: “This is an extremely exciting opportunity for us as a team to be part of something bigger, while remaining true to our values and our culture.”
He continues: “While we will have a new owner, our company will remain the same, continuing to manufacture its market-leading products under our well- established Thermakraft and Ausmesh brands.”
www.thermakraft.co.nz www.kingspan.com/nz/en-nz
6 NZHJ | AUGUST 2021
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