Offsite construction was top of the agenda when senior management from the British Board of Agrément (BBA) visited SO Modular, a UK timber frame and SIPs producer, who has invested significantly in its South Wales manufacturing base.
Curtis-Thomas, chief executive officer of BBA, together with Wendy Ajuwon, head of marketing, visited SO Modular’s plant in Neath, South Wales, to find out more about its timber frame products and BBA-certificated Triso-Warm structured insulated panel system. The BBA certificate allows the company to construct six-storey buildings using Triso-Warm. Previously it could only use it up to four storeys.
SO Modular is said to be the largest timber frame manufacturer in Wales, and recently announced plans to relocate its operations to the former 300,000 sq ft ‘Metal Box’ factory in Neath, reinvigorating the area with an investment of £6.5 million, and using the location as an indoor offsite construction hub.
The company anticipates doubling its workforce in the next year, allowing it to increase production from 1,000 to more than 3,000 homes per year, all thanks to growing demand for modular construction solutions. The new site will be re-named the JCG Buildings and bring JG Hale Group’s Hale Construction and Hale Homes together under one roof.
Jonathan Hale, chairman of JG Hale Group, and Charlotte Hale, director of SO Modular, accompanied Claire and Wendy on their visit to the company’s manufacturing plant and the new JCG Buildings.
The group also visited a Wales & West housing project in Llanishen, Cardiff, where the Triso-Warm system is being utilised in a £10 million development of 82 affordable housing units. All five blocks in the scheme include the Triso-Warm unique structurally insulated panels with factory fitted windows, doors, floor and roof cassettes and open panels, all manufactured offsite by SO Modular for delivery as complete units. The build technique allows homes to be built more quickly and cost-effectively.
SO Modular director, Charlotte Hale, said: “It was great to talk to Claire and the BBA team during their visit to our headquarters. We discussed the construction industry in its current state and modern methods of construction, as well as both businesses’ future plans and how we can work together more collaboratively in order to create far greater benefits from our working relationship and for the industry.”
Charlotte continued: “We were also excited to be able to give Claire and her team a tour of our new planned £6.5 million investment the JCG Building, which is where SO Modular, Hale Construction and Hale Homes will be based, as well as show the BBA team the extensive work we are doing on one of our social housing developments using the Triso-Warm system.”
Claire Curtis-Thomas also found the visit very positive, as she said: “It was fantastic to see how forward-thinking, creative and enthusiastic SO Modular is. It is great to see a UK manufacturer innovating product and supporting its locality – its investment and job creation at the Metal Box site is critical for the local economy.
“It pleases us to see how JG Hale has used its BBA Certified Triso-Warm product to provide a long-lasting and effective solution to the construction of offsite housing in Wales. The innovation and development displayed by JG Hale and SO Modular in the continual expansion of its business footprint can only bring about positive changes for the industry.”
