STA NEWS
A Year of Change - A Year of Opportunity With more than 450 members and an all-time high in market share for the structural timber sector, the STA’s AGM and Annual Conference held on the 16 17 May at the Celtic Manor, Newport – was a very upbeat affair. This event is the STA’s largest gathering, with nearly 300 delegates attending the conference dinner and the AGM & Annual Conference.
factory controlled conditions, increasing pre-manufacture to enhance the speed and quality of build process across all sectors but particularly relevant in meeting the shortfall in the housing stock.
With more than 450 members and an all-time high in market share for the structural timber sector, the STA’s AGM and Annual Conference held on the 16 - 17 May at the Celtic Manor, Newport – was a very upbeat affair. This event is the STA’s largest gathering, with nearly 300 delegates attending the conference dinner and the AGM & Annual Conference. The Annual Conference had two distinct elements – in the morning a host of high profile speakers shared their expertise and highlighted opportunities within the construction industry. In the afternoon, the STA looked at their member support services and committee activity, providing updates on the previous 12 months’ activity and the activity planned for the next 12 months. It was reported by the STA’s Chief Executive, Andrew Carpenter, that the time and effort spent in meeting with government representatives is clearly paying dividends and now, the STA is regarded as a sounding board and voice for the industry. Alex Goodfellow opened proceedings, welcoming
members to the morning session, sharing his industry insight and objectives for his year as Association Chair. The Keynote speaker, Mark Farmer of Cast Consultancy, author of the much-publicised Farmer Review entitled ‘Modernise or Die’pulled no punches. The Farmer Review is about current and future construction industry resiliency. Mark said that evidence suggests the prognosis for ‘business as usual’ has worsened since the report was published in October 2016. He highlighted the ‘10 systems of failure’ including low productivity, structural and leadership fragmentation, low margins and poor industry image. But stressed it is not all bad news - especially for the offsite timber sector. Cast Consultancy’s research finds the adoption of offsite-led pre-manufacturing is likely to drive more ‘stepped’ incremental improvement. As the offsite industry innovates, different solutions facilitate a greater combination of technologies – adding value by taking the build process offsite into
10 | www.structuraltimbermagazine.co.uk | STMAG
Next to take the stage, Mike Borkowski of the Southern Construction Framework offered an insight into the world of procurement frameworks. In this rapidly changing world, Mike explained how adapting sales strategies could help STA members penetrate these economically important procurement models. He stressed the need for frameworks and said they exist to offer economies of scale, efficient procurement processes as well as driving policy initiatives and ultimately, to provide added value. Allan Wilen, Economics Director for Glenigan – opened a window to the world of market trends construction activity and forecasts which certainly gave the audience a lot to think about. Glenigan provide expert analysis, detailed market interpretation, data-driven forecasts and bespoke analysis. In his presentation Allan Wilen reviewed the UK’s recent economic performance and assessed the emerging post-Brexit landscape for construction, including the challenges and pressure points, the growth drivers and opportunities. He summarised that prior to the vote, the private sector had lead UK growth and that rising employment has increased consumer expenditure and retail sales. This has been underpinned by the housing market upturn and by strong growth in business investment.