94 | T T Hugh de Lacy Bracket system sets Shed Boss apart The range of Shed Boss designs extends from lifestyle buildings, workshops and industrial buildings to residential sheds. Shed Boss BUILDING With the materials supply frustrations that followed the Covid pandemic behind him, the Auckland franchisee of the Australasian Shed Boss steel shed-building chain, Sam MacKenzie, is now hopeful of a pick-up in the battered building industry. Sam bought the Shed Boss franchise in 2020 after spending 16 years in the industry, 12 as a self-employed builder erecting all types of sheds, and four years as a project manager in the Waikato, before moving to the North Shore and taking over the franchise. It was the sheds aspect of his previous work that prompted him to take up the Shed Boss franchise with its steel shed building engineering designs. Apart from the design input, Shed Boss franchisors and franchisees are separate businesses, and it’s up to Sam to source the materials for each project. That was not an easy ask during the pandemic, and it led him to his present close association with metals supplier Metalcraft for his main steel components and cladding. There are several Shed Boss franchisees in New Zealand, and the range of designs they offer extends from lifestyle buildings, workshops and industrial buildings to residential sheds. Sam, a Licensed Building Practitioner (LBP), runs the business from his home in Northcote, and has plans to soon build a show shed/ office. Sam has a small crew building for him, and he finds himself still on the tools most days ensuring every building is produced to a high standard, something he sees as an important step as he tries to build the brand. He calls in sub-contractors as needed. Shed Boss designs feature a Super Bracket system which can replace structural members called apex and knee braces, something other shed companies can’t do. The components are non-welded and corrosion free, with the Super Brackets being fixed with galvanised nuts and bolts to ensure they last. Shed Boss has been in the Australasian market for nearly 15 years, offering designs for versatile and affordable sheds of superior design and exclusive componentry. Its design systems can be tailored to suit any building or steel-framed structure’s end-use, while meeting all the clients’ requirements as to colour, space and overall appearance. In New Zealand, all components are locally made and manufactured. Sam MacKenzie says Shed Boss has found a receptive market in New Zealand, though in his case the timing of the pandemic, with its chronic materials shortages, didn’t help, and the wider New Zealand building industry itself is not in the healthiest condition at the moment either. “But I’m confident it’ll pick up again soon,” Sam says, noting that the housing market seems to have bottomed out, and the shortages of labour are also easing. “I’ve spoken to people in similar businesses and they seem to think that the worst is past. “We’ve still got enough work to keep us going for the time being, and we’re ready to take advantage of any uptick in the market that occurs.” For a country that was built on timber-framed buildings, the uptake of steel-framing – for houses no less than for sheds – over the past couple of decades has been remarkable, Sam says. “Cost has been a significant factor, with timber no longer as cheap and available as it has been historically. “And the fact is that steel lasts better and is in many ways easier to erect.” “Cost has been a significant factor, with timber no longer as cheap and available as it has been historically.” AND MARINE LTD MANGAWHAI ENGINEERING AND TRUCKSLTD MIDWAY CRANES • Structural Steel Specialist • Architectural Steel Fabrication • General Engineering Repairs & Maintenance • Hi-Ab Truck Hire & Transport Service • Cabin & Container Relocations • Onsite LIfting & Shifting up to 7 ton • General Freight & Transport 09 - 4231100 027 - 1162737 09 - 4231100 7 Glenmore Drive, Warkworth | P: 09 425 7510 | E: sales@compositejoinery.co.nz Stylish and Modern Vantage Windows and Doors Proud to work with Shed Boss - Rodney www.compositejoinery.co.nz
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NDc2Mzg=