Business View Oceania | February 2021

21 22 BUSINESS VIEW OCEANIA FEBRUARY 2021 BUSINESS VIEW OCEANIA FEBRUARY 2021 already in place. The New Zealand government with the Building for Climate Change consultation is pushing the building and construction industry broadly to make buildings more energy efficient with better thermal performance and have a lower net environmental impact by using more sustainable materials to help meet the Climate Change Response (Zero Carbon) Amendment Act. As the construction sector is one of the largest generators of landfill waste, the initiative also aims to create less waste in the construction process while providing buildings that are safe, durable, comfortable and affordable for the users and owners. It is a tall order and the timber frame and truss industry can play an important part in delivering this vision, particularly as more medium density and high-rise residential development becomes prevalent in our larger cities. We are also keen to see greater use of timber-based building solutions for commercial and public developments. Looking to the future, we are optimistic and looking forward to exciting new developments in our sector. Residential building demand is expected to stay strong in New Zealand for a few years at least. Traditionally New Zealand has been a stronghold of stand-alone houses with one or two levels only. However as discussed above, trends such as more multi-unit and high- rise residential development will drive our fabricator and supplier members to innovate and come up with new wood-based building solutions that suit the new environment. Also as discussed above, we believe that there are drivers and scope for timber-based building to take a greater role in commercial and public building development. We believe that FTMA members and industry associates have the necessary skills and capacity to rise to these new challenges. We are also actively seeking to engage with other industry sectors and technology providers to improve mutual understanding and collaboration. It would be fair to say that FTMA in New Zealand has not expanded our communication horizons in the new world of social media and we have tended to be a relatively insular industry to industry facing organisation. A vital initiative that we will commence in 2021 is enhancing our communication and engagement platform with a more active contact plan with our members and a wider selection of their employees and wider reach into related trades and industry with relevant social media. For further information please contact: Daniel Howe – FTMA Chair - danielh@ akaranatimbers.co.nz +64 (0)21 798 811 Peter Carruthers – Member Services Manager – member.services@ftma.co.nz +64 (0)21 912 977 FRAME & TRUSS MANUFACTURERS ’ ASSOC I AT ION OF NEW ZEALAND