| 57 Marlborough Precut REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT T T Hugh de Lacy Big demand fromNelson and Marlborough Aaron is an unapologetic fan of timber. A decision by national building supplier PlaceMakers to stop producing precut trusses and frames at its Blenheim base saw two of its employees take up the challenge by setting up a new company, Marlborough Precut, to fill the gap. Aaron Blissett, a frame and truss detailer with a joinery background in 2015 teamed up with carpenter Gordon Harper, who was specialising in quantity surveying and quoting, to establish Marlborough Precut. “Frame and truss production no longer fitted in with PlaceMakers’ Blenheim business model, and it suited them better for us to take over that side of things,” Aaron says. “They’re still a highly valued client but in the meantime we’ve been able to expand into Nelson, providing pre-cut frames and trusses for Mitre 10 and Bunnings, as well as for private clients over there. “And today I’m working an 80-hour week to keep up with demand from both Nelson and Marlborough, and I’ve got staff doing regular 60-hour weeks too.” Aaron, who did a joinery apprenticeship with Joe O’Malley’s Joinery in Blenheim before working for PlaceMakers, bought Gordon out five years ago, and earlier this year he moved the operation into a new 1900m2 factory in Stuart Street, Blenheim, with a staff of ten. “We’ve now got a big chunk of the Marlborough market, and are getting increasing work from Nelson,” he says. Before the big move into new premises, Marlborough Precut outgrew its leased workshop space but the new factory gives it the capacity to handle a 50% increase in output as needed over the next few years. “We’re very busy at the moment but even so our workload is down about 40% from a year ago. “When we started up we had to battle through a timber shortage, followed by a labour shortage, but we’re back on an even keel now despite the long hours we’re working,” Aaron says. Marlborough Precut specialises in trusses and frames for architectural homes, of which there is a continuing strong demand in both the regions it services. The timber shortage is now a thing of the past, and the company has a stable workforce that prides itself on getting things done on time. Aaron is an unapologetic fan of timber for frames and trusses, despite the recent growth of steel and aluminium alternatives in residential and commercial construction. “There’s a reason that timber’s the number one building material in New Zealand and elsewhere, and that’s because it’s so versatile, easy to work with, and renewable,” he says. Most of Marlborough Precut’s work is in the residential sector, but it’s more than willing to take on commercial projects as well. The Blenheim workshop boasts up-to-date machinery, much of it of the respected Spida brand that Aaron says has been the mainstay of the operation. “A key part of our company’s success in a tough market has been our willingness to be innovative, and to introduce new products to a market that otherwise tends to rely on old methods and solutions,” Aaron says. Phone: 03 983 5500 waterfordpress.co.nz Your Business, Your Industry, Your News. DO OUR READERS KNOW YOU EXIST? MARLBOROUGH LTD. “We’re there when you need us” PO Box 3, Renwick Email: liftnshiftmarlborough@gmail.com Warren Oliver Mobile: 021 284 4891 Congratulations Aaron on your new premises. Eurocell is proud of our long standing relationship suppling your Douglas Fir and Radiata structural framing and glulam lintels. 50 Beatty Street, PO Box 9059, Nelson 7044 | 03 547 5621 | www.eurocell.co.nz
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