Wyckham Blackwell has recently celebrated manufacturing 100 miles of Wolf Systems’ easi-joist; that is 18 times the height of Mount Everest! To coincide with this milestone, Wyckham Blackwell also recently doubled its production capacity on easi-joist.

easi-joist is a metal web floor system designed for engineered floor applications and boasts quality performance, ease of use and design versatility. The open web system ensures there is no need to notch or drill for services. easi-joist is the only metal web floor system to have gained Robust Detail Approval, Irish Agrément Board Certification and European Technical Approval.

David Leaney, managing director of Wolf Systems comments, “Wyckham Blackwell has been manufacturing our easi-joist metal web beams for the past four years and we are delighted that they have now manufactured over 100 miles of easi-joist.” David continues, “Builders are increasingly seeing the many benefits of the system and we anticipate it won’t be long before Wyckham Blackwell supply their next 100 miles.”

For the last five years, Wolf Systems has imported metal web products from Australia. During this time, this UK operation has developed engineering software and technical materials, trained customers’ staff, jointly developed a machine to produce the floor beams, and undertaken exhaustive testing procedures. As a result of these achievements, the easi-joist® product gained full European Technical Approval, Irish Agrement Board approval and Robust Detail E-FT-3 in 2007.

Today, demand has increased to the point where it is now economic for the easi-joist webs to be manufactured at the company’s premises in Coventry, West Midlands; increased shipping costs and currency fluctuations have made imports from Australia less attractive.

Wolf has invested over €1 million in new tooling and a new 200-tonne Rhodes press to produce these components alongside the established nailplates.

David Leaney Wolf UK’s Managing Director explains, “Buying components from Australia allowed us to develop the product, gain technical knowledge and write our own software to support the product. At the same time, we developed a new market which sits very well with our nailplate business and perfectly complements roof truss and timber frame manufacture. The Wolf team at Coventry has been active in selling the floor system mainly through our existing manufacturers; 30 are now producing easi-joist, with sales increasing continuously. This move offers better quality control and allows us to manage stocks more efficiently. We see this floor system as a very fast-growing market; both timber frame and masonry housebuilders are changing over to easi-joist in the UK and Ireland.”

What is easi-joist?

easi-joists are parallel chord trusses which use stress-graded timber chords on flat or on edge. These chords are plated together with a precision-engineered and precision-manufactured structural steel V-shaped component called the metal web. When pressed together, using a 35-tonne head joist or truss press, they form the easi-joist.

The combination of steel webs and timber chords provides a very strong, lightweight floor joist which has an excellent span-to-depth ratio. The system is popular in general housebuilding, timber frame construction; including apartments and industrial buildings where solid timber and concrete floors need to be replaced.

David adds “At the moment, the UK market is relatively small, yet the trend is for rapid growth as the easi-joist becomes more popular with housebuilders, contractors and specifiers. Whilst we are working with 30 manufacturers throughout the UK and Ireland, more interest is being shown in off-site production due to shortages of skilled craftsmen on site, and availability of timber supply in large sections.”

Wolf Systems has recently launched a new and unique software system, WMS, which represents a major step forward in how software can help manage a timber engineering business. The new system provides the essential tools required to run all aspects of a manufacturing business; from design through to CRM functions and production control.

WMS, Wolf Management Software, is a completely integrated system that brings together all the key functionality required in a modern timber engineering business. The system can be used for; the design of roofs, floors and walls, creating databases for quotations and orders, planning of production, deliveries and allocating resources, business reporting, analysis and cost monitoring. This is the first system where all of these functions can exist within one application.

A major advance is the separation of design and costing which is a real benefit for most manufacturers. For example, commercial decisions on a project can be made by a manager who doesn’t need to have access to the design software. All of the re-costing, together with projected margins, can be made instantly rather than re-running a complete design.

The structure of WMS allows databases from different sites and departments of the same company to be replicated and shared. The system also allows users full access to all functions both in the office and off-site. Remote access is a huge advantage as it allows all employees, from travelling sales people and managers to factory staff, to keep up-to-date with the business. Another advantage is that Wolf Systems has ensured open standards have been used throughout the software, meaning all of the critical management information is also available to easily transfer into other external software packages.

Alan Ritchie, sales and marketing director at Wolf Systems, comments. “Wolf Systems has been supplying management tools to our manufacturers for as long as we’ve been supplying design applications. Through listening to our customers and getting input through focus groups, we believe we have a unique understanding of how good management software can help a business run efficiently and successfully on a day-to-day basis. The development of WMS was also guided by customers to ensure that it deals with all of the day-to-day issues that a manufacturer encounters.