ASSOCIATIONS FRAME & TRUSS MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA
FTMA Australia is an independent, national organisation representing fabricators of and suppliers to the timber prefabricated truss and wall frame industry in all Australian states & territories providing a unified voice, to protect and advance our multi-billion dollar industry.
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For a full list of the conditions of membership and a downloadable application form visit: www.ftmanews.com.au 20
Ongoing struggle is taking it’s toll A
S I sit here and type this welcome in May, I have a dreaded fear of déjà vu as a new cluster begins to grow in Victoria along with fears of another lockdown. It may be that I’m just a jaded Victorian who still feels burnt from last year’s massive lockdown but it just shows we have a way to go with COVID-19. There is no doubt that the ongoing struggle to find timber and to keep your doors open is taking its toll on fabricators and timber suppliers alike. I’ve been receiving calls at all hours of the day and am always happy to talk to fabricators, even if it is to dump your frustrations before heading home at the end of the day. Some of the rumours and stories I have heard don’t help the situation, as too often the good old rumour mills starts unnecessary fires that take a while to put out and the last thing, we need is more fires! I know when things are tough, it’s hard to be positive, but given this time last year, suppliers were winding down their stock to avoid being caught out, fabricators were unfortunately dropping their pants to secure jobs in fear the industry was going to crash and many were wondering how they were going to keep their doors open. We have been extremely fortunate to be one of the few industries which has been able to keep going throughout all the lockdowns. I know you may not think this, however, if you can survive the next twelve months, our sector has a bright future a head with strong markets for the next 5-6 years. So how do you survive the next year? You plan, you adapt, you monitor and you change if necessary and then you plan again. It will be tougher for some than others, but we encourage you to use the extra resources the government announced in their budget including: • Temporary full expensing • Temporary loss carry-back provisions • Extension of loan scheme for small businesses AUSTRALASIAN TIMBER June 2021
KERSTEN GENTLE Executive Officer FTMA Australia
“We support you!”
• Tax cuts • Digital economy strategy There are many other benefits the Government is putting forward to help small businesses which you can read about at https:// business.nab.com.au/2021f e d e r a l - b u d g e t- w h a t- i tmeans-for-small-and-medium-business-45901/ Timber of course is being unfairly blamed for holding up the construction industry as I’ve had many reports of builders or homeowners waiting up to six months for kitchens, delays on waffle pods and there are delays on most building products. On top of that you have the issue surrounding trades where roofers, brickies and other tradies are hard to find, let alone new employees for your own business. Fabricators have been contacting FTMA seeking help to find employees and we will be sending further information to members shortly on our plans to tackle this issue. We will get through this by working together and by increasing communication throughout the supply chain and by showing patience and understanding. Remember, I am always here for members whether that’s an evening or weekend call as I understand the pressure you are all under. We care about your health as much as we care about the survival of your business, so please reach out if you need assistance. FTMA, helping you keep on top of builder’s debts. In these extremely busy times, it is important for fabricators to keep on top of their builders’ debts, especially when a builder moves from fabricator to fabricator leaving debt in their trail or when they have a bad habit
of charging excessive back charges. Over the years, we have sent emails to fabricators titled Do You Use This Builder, which has helped many a fabricator either avoid being left with a debt or has resulted in the fabricator being able to talk to the builder about their behaviour. It is more important than ever before for our sector to work together to keep on top of this issue and FTMA Australia has increased our ability to help in this area. We have teamed up with Creditor Watch to enable us to check the credit history of the builders sent to us from fabricators before sending out alerts to members. So how does this work? If you have a builder who owes money way past the trading terms or you know of a builder that is going under, please send as much of the following information to FTMA Australia: 1. Name of Builder – both personal name and trading name 2. ABN details 3. Registered address of builder 4. Further details on the situation, i.e., how overdue is the invoice etc. Once information is sent to FTMA, we will check the credit history of the builder on Creditor Watch, including a director due diligence check and file the information, before sending the email to fabricators simply asking Do You Use This Builder? If members do use that builder they will be encouraged to call me for further information. What this service does not provide is: • Checking details for fabricators before accounts are approved. • Taking phone calls to check on directors or builders credit history without having dealt with them and experienced your own bad debt. If you have any questions, please give me a call on 0418 226 242 or email me at kersten@ftma.com.au FTMA Australia is investing into this program to reduce the risk to fabricators during these unprecedented times. www.timberbiz.com.au
