Prefabricated Wood Component Innovations

Susanna Franzen (Finland)Hektor Uustalo (Estonia)Antti Löfbacka (Finland)

Liviu Scutariu (Romania)Peter Straka (Slovakia)

Our aim

• compare innovation cases

• find differences or similarities

• find recommendations how innovation cases could be improved

Definition

• Prefabricated wood components = many products (glue laminated beams, premade panels and sections for farm buildings, etc.)

• The industry is fragmented and is represented by a wide range of companies all around Europe.

• Advantage: they save builders money. • Component = wide concept. • Complete product: prefabricated components usually

series producted.

Kaskipuu Oy, Finland

• Doors from pine or HDF-board • Stuff: 100 • Turnover: 9 mil. € • Innovation: energy saving entrance door• Advantages: new product is at the moment the best at the market;

common interest for saving energy• Problems: only few Thermo-doors have been manufactured • Recommandations: start the marketing for new customers

(especially architects) and to new market areas in north (Sweden, Norway, Canada…)

Keski-Suomen Puukympit Oy, Finland

• Roof trusses • Stuff: 40 – 80• Turnover: 6.7 mil. €• Innovation: increase production capacity• Advantages: good financial; variability of employees is low good

craftsmanship; production capacity will be high after the investments.

• Recommandations: the new production plant

S.C. DOXAR GRUP S.R.L., Romania

• Living and vacation houses, windows and doors made of stratified wood

• Stuff: 40• Turnover: 1,2 mil. €• Innovation: Have competitive products in the European Market;

Implement innovative technologies • Advantages:

– good quality and competitive products on EU market, – respect the Romanian and E.U. environment requirements; – fire-resistant and moisture-resistant houses;– performant equipments

• Problems: - too less publicity• Recommandations:

– marketing survey on the foreign markets in order to have a specific image of export demand

Palmoko AS, Estonia

• Garden and summer houses• Stuff: 120• Turnover:7.3 mil. € • Innovation: Expand selling log houses in domestic market; Increase

profit and production• Advantages: enterprise is the largest producer of garden houses in

Estonia; enterprise has financial means; long-standing cooperation with customers;

• Problems: too little selling on Estonian market; demand of garden houses is bigger than offering in external market

• Recommandations: start to use fully automatic production, buy some new machines to increase production; invest more money to marketing; make market strategy for Estonian market; hire employees, who have knowledge about Estonian market

• Carpentery and joinery products• Stuff: 30• Turnover: 1 mil. €• Innovation:

– Complex services from planning and designing of given idea to complete realization

– Production based on individual requirements of every customer

– Markets abroad-widening

Arborea eng.,Slovakia

• Advantages:– Growing demand for ecologically friendly housing– Firm tends to implement all practises and components

of production so that they respect environment protection

• Problems: too many small-sized similar companies and market starts to be „overeaten“ with the same products

• Recommendations: – product spreading– improve product quality– product differentiation– promotion / publicity for the products– more products to the market– find foreign customers

ConclusionsInnovation strategy

All companies have a sustaining innovation strategy. It is rather characteristic for prefabricated wood component production sector. Innovations of case studies make only small, incremental change for this sector.

Innovation categories

Our case studies presented all types of innovation.

Actors Source of capital• Managers - own capital• Engineers - EU fonds• (customer)

Fostering factors• good financial base• high quality of the products• high level of production capacity• interest for the external markets

Hindering factors• marketing• (financial situation)

Conclusions

Recommendations

• market studies - to have an image of a market potential

• publicity should be supported by the marketing advertisement and PR tools.

• new production plants or machines are required.

Thank you for your attention!