Page 8 - HW FEBRUARY 2022

hard news
Mitre 10 rolls out “Smarthome” concept
One of the entries in the Retail Interiors Association’s 2021 RED Awards that will be of interest to our readers is the first of Mitre 10 NZ’s smart home concepts, as seen at Mitre 10 MEGA Albany.
Entered by GDM Retail Systems, the concept enables Mitre 10 customers to get hands on with numerous products from a range of smart home categories, from voice assistants to security, smart locks and lighting in one interactive spot.
The initial concept was prepared
by Spaceworks Designers and GDM engineered it to create a durable, modular house-shaped stand that is easily assembled and disassembled and with a small footprint (3m long by 2.8m wide and 3m high).
Smaller versions of the Smarthome have also been created for in-bay and end of bay displays if in-store floor space is restricted.
GDM’s entry says Mitre 10 is “thrilled with customer response to the Smarthome, both at the tradeshow and in-store. It is something of a one stop spot for all smart home devices, allowing customers the opportunity to try the products and to learn insights from staff.”
You can see all the other RED Award entries at the URL below.
https://red.awardsplatform.com/ gallery/vxznvBxj
BBI goes big in new “wood- first” development
BBI WOOD PRODUCTS’ new Hastings Distribution Centre will be the largest clear span engineered timber structure in the country, we’re told – bigger than MOTAT in Auckland by all accounts and a touch bigger than a rugby field with its 45x100m internal clear span with 8m and 7m canopies around the perimeter.
“We like it for the warm, softening feel inside, its carbon storing properties, and its strength... And well, I’m a timber guy,” says BBI MD, Brendan O’Sullivan.
Brendan says it was his brother Barry O’Sullivan, already with experience building smaller LVL-based clear span sheds at Kiwi Lumber and Tumu Timbers, who convinced BBI to build using LVL from Nelson Pine.
Plus, says Brendan: “BBI being a plywood and timber company it aligned with our wood-first approach – sustainable timber solutions that designers and builders can create endless possibilities with.”
Once completed in July-August this year, the new Hastings DC will also make for additional efficiencies: “Because our treatment plant is within kicking distance of the new build, it will enable us to process and store our timber a lot more efficiently and allow us to supply more timber, which is desperately needed at the moment,” says Brendan.
“Our investment in the new Hastings DC will allow the BBI team to better support our merchant customers’ plywood and decking needs. Structural plywood and in particular treated product
are in desperately short supply.
“We have a lot sympathy with what merchants and builders are having to
navigate in regards to the supply chain – it’s a very difficult operating environment.”
Brendan says the team led by Rowe Mcgregor have done “an outstanding job given the constrained space, and the new facility will make a significant difference, along with new equipment such as another beam saw for cut-to-size panels.”
In related news, BBI is also investing in a new kiln for the Hastings site which is due to be installed before the end of the year and at the same time increasing the footprint of its Christchurch warehouse, which will have a more immediate effect on supply.
Something of a showcase for engineered timber, once the Hastings DC is finished and Brendan O’Sullivan says BBI is keen to build some smaller sized structures nearby, at around 24m and 30m internal clear span, to demonstrate a good range of sizes.
“With the increase in steel prices these are now cost comparable to similar steel buildings and given their carbon storage ability we feel the industry is at a tipping point for a lot more of these sorts of structures.
“There is a positive future for engineered wood products to add options for not
only the industrial but also the residential market,” he adds.
(See also page 7 for news of a BBI-led initiative to aid volcano- and tsunami- affected Tonga.)
www.bbi.net.nz
6 NZHJ | FEBRUARY 2022
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