STA planted in fertile soil

The rationale for the reinvention of the UK Timber Frame Association as the Structural Timber Association (STA) was crystal clear, according to speakers at the latter's launch last week.

The organisation needed to broaden its remit to the whole spectrum of UK timber-based construction to reflect the development and growing diversity of the sector and capitalise on its major and growing market opportunities.

STA chairman Lawrence Young described the creation of the new organisation as a "landmark moment" for the industry. Speaking to an audience from the timber building, supply and wider construction sectors at a dinner on the eve of the official launch at Timber Expo, he said it was a strategic response to increasing perceptions of timber building as a single market entity.

"Clients are asking for timber construction solutions, not specifically timber frame, or glulam or CLT or SIPs," he said. "So we need an organisation that embraces the whole industry and can help develop, market and deliver those timber solutions, which, after all, we all believe in."

Can do better

An added factor that spurred on the creation of the STA, he said, were comments last year from Peter Bonfield, then Sustainability and leader construction products at the Olympic Delivery Authority.

"In a very constructive way, he said that the timber sector didn't do well enough in its contribution to London 2012 Olympics [building] projects," said Mr Young. "Well, through working together as the STA, we will now be trying harder as an industry and believe we can do better."

Constructing Excellence chairman Ian Reeves welcomed the formation of the STA and said it tallied with recommendations in the Latham and Egan reports, which urged greater construction sector collaboration and supply chain efficiency.

"Together, with the client as your central focus, you will be better able to drive down cost, drive up value and pursue excellence," he said. "Working co-operatively, we are also better placed to secure that holy grail for construction - funding - by building bridges with the City and wider financial sector. In the past they haven't had enough respect for our industry, and vice versa."

Nick Whitehouse of the Off-site Housing Review also said the timing of the STA's formation was right, given the UK's huge pent-up need for affordable, sustainable housing, the first signs of construction recovery and the government's growing belief in ultra-efficient, relatively deskilled offsite building, to which timber-based systems were so well suited.

"UK housing starts have hovered around 100,000 a year but, given population growth and demand for properties for smaller households, we need 230,000 to stay static," he said. "At the same time, construction is short of skills and the big builders have become much leaner through the downturn and effectively capped industry capacity currently at around 170,000. This adds up to a valuable opportunity for your sector. If we are going to supply the number of houses we require, we need offsite and you are in a very good position to deliver it."

Nick Cunningham of the National House-Building Council confirmed that STA was launching into a market upturn, with NHBC now recruiting more inspectors.

He added that the timber construction sector was even better placed to capitalise, given ever-tighter constraints on housing energy performance, with the introduction of the tougher Building Regulations Part L next April and more advanced thermal imaging technology available to building inspectors.

Former UKTFA and now STA chief executive Andrew Carpenter told those from other parts of the building sector that the new body aimed to work ever more closely with the wider industry.

"We need to integrate, focus not on what we need as a sector, but on what you need and on delivering it on your behalf," he said. In return for this commitment, he urged his audience to give preference to working with STA member companies.

"We are going to raise the bar and be a trade association with teeth," he said. "And the only way we can guarantee you'll be working with a timber building company committed to fire and site safety, training, innovation, quality and compliance to latest standards, will be if you work with an STA member."

Speaking at the Timber Expo launch event, Sainsbury's architectural consultant James Cameron also highlighted the potential for timber-based building in the retail sector. He said the company had already used it extensively in various hybrid forms in its new generation low energy, low carbon stores and was keen to work with the industry to develop its use further. Although he stressed that it still needed to address cost competitiveness with rival build systems.

Major step

Timber Trade Federation chief executive John White also welcomed the STA's commitment to work in close collaboration with the whole timber supply chain.

"We are still way too fragmented as a sector and as a result our voice and influence is dissipated," he said. "The formation of the STA represents a major step on the journey we have to make to achieve real cross-industry engagement and that's the only way we can ensure we exploit every opportunity for timber, the greenest building material known to man."

Underlining that the STA is already broadening its constituency across the structural timber sector, the launch was also told that one of the latest members to join was engineered timber and steel construction specialist B&K Structures. In fact its managing director Nick Milestone has joined the board.

Darren Richards of UK SIPs confirmed that his 50-member organisation would come under the STA umbrella by March.