Warning a fat payday unlikely

Warning a fat payday unlikely Any local manufacturers or building supplies companies waiting for an inflated rebuild payday are wasting their time, those in the industry say. Insurance company buyers were "very savvy", he said. They know down to the cent what the price of inputs are, he said. NuLook had got itself in line with some of the bigger players involved in the rebuild, he said, and that would generate strong volumes of work, but it will not be high-margin jobs. The business' order book was looking healthy, but there was room for additional work. Many people in the building industry were waiting for the rebuild, Jones said. Owner-operator of the Christchurch Plumb'In franchise, James Stewart, said smaller independent building materials suppliers in his industry expected to capture about 30 per cent of the work available at best, while Fletchers' own suppliers would capture the rest. But there were good rebuild-related opportunities for local companies. "But it is certainly not a gravy train, it isn't about easy money, and it shouldn't be. The big contractors would simply source from the many "really hungry suppliers" just outside the region if local suppliers tried to inflate margins too far, Jones said. "But again it's one of those things that really relies on who the builders are getting supplies from, and a lot of the time it is the bigger crowds from up north . . The Bromley manufacturer was not yet seeing any boost from the rebuild and the market was quieter now than it had been in the last two years. "It's going to be a difficult one to tap into for a Christchurch business," Quane said. Blair Quane, of furniture manufacturer Southern Creations, said he was not banking on a big payday from the rebuild, but he thought Christchurch businesses should support other Christchurch businesses. Christchurch pipe and storage maker Frank PKS general manager Bryan Wilson said there would be opportunities for local businesses that would not have arisen were it not for the rebuild, but he did not think there would be room to inflate margins. With last month's sales 40 per cent lower than average, the manufacturer was also looking for the opportunity to do joinery work like hardwood kitchen benchtops. Insurers are not dumb. That's why they put big players like Hawkins, Arrow and Fletchers in charge of their rebuild programmes. "We are trying to make use of it [the rebuild] but it's type of limited. Warning a fat payday unlikely Trade News selected by Local Linkup on 05/06/2012