Making a dollar these days in building just seems to be getting harder, and the pressures greater than ever. Apart from the core challenges for frame and truss fabricators of costs/margins, machinery/staffing needs, client demands, etc – there are also challenges related to the timber used, the building regulations imposed, and the vagaries of the actual market themselves.
Market demand can be directly impacted by factors outside of individual fabricators control – sometimes you possibly wonder why your market is all of a sudden shrinking, or on other occasions more positively – growing. Often these market variations are due to national, or state, technical, procurement or specification factors.
Increasingly today the building sector is also striving to innovate and find new more efficient ways for construction delivery. Additionally, new market opportunities are evolving for lightweight timber framing in addition to traditional detached residential construction, particularly low-midrise multi residential townhouses, apartments, or the hotel, aged care, and education sectors.
FTMA is interested in engaging more actively with its fabricator members and sponsors, to explore and discuss exactly what the future might hold and what products and system are wanted, or desired, in current and emerging markets; who might want to pursue these; and accordingly, what collective technical-market support might be needed to successfully pursue these opportunities or address any identified issues.
FTMA believes that there is a need to bring this important strategic technical activity together and in-house, to allow FTMA members to ‘create better businesses’, which of course then make them better customers and better suppliers. The FTMA Board strongly believes ‘that the frame and truss sector needs to promote its ‘full capabilities’.
Whilst it is clearly acknowledged that some FTMA fabricator members will be happy to remain focussed on traditional detached residential dwelling-type products and markets – and there are a range of generic-type technical-market activities that need to be addressed here that will benefit all FTMA members and supporters – it is also recognised that certain fabrication companies are interested in, and many already are, pursuing new non-traditional focussed product/system/market opportunities.
What is needed going forward is both active frame and truss focussed technical investigation, agreed strategies, and action on traditional market opportunities: and also, identification, and assistance, to the fabricator companies, and people, that want to pursue the new opportunities.
Are you a frame and truss fabricator interested in these current and new technical matters and opportunities and driving your own future success?
If so, please join us online at 2pm on Thursday 22nd of February to discuss this further with your like-mined colleagues, don’t get left behind – you can register via the button below.
Note: FTMA will be establishing a dedicated FTMA Strategic Technical Committee (STC) to take things forward, please consider participating.
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