Mark Hull from Sydney timber fabricator MCM Frame & Truss says he has been a supporter of Australian-grown for years.
The people and faces supporting the Buy Aussie Timber First framing campaign come from across Australia and all along the supply chain from foresters to carpenters. Campaign spokesperson Gavin Matthew from the Australian Forest Products Association said that showing support for Aussie timber products and local manufacturing really mattered right now. Source: Timberbiz
“It makes a real difference and is such a positive for Aussie timber processing employees, the majority who live in regional Australia, to see the support of customers all along the supply chain, from fabrication plants, wholesalers, timber merchants to our newest supporters – apprentice carpenters,” he said.
The BATF campaign has now been running for three months and will run another three months. Both digital and print advertising have been very successful to date in building support and getting the message out there. To date, the campaign has achieved more than 500,000 online advertising impressions across a broad range of internet sites.
The campaign now enters its next phase of thanking supporters who have registered on the website www.buyaussietimberfirst.com.au and uploaded positive messages. These supporters, mainly builders and carpenters, are going in a draw to win BATF merchandise to wear on their worksites.
Supporting “Buy Local” is an increasingly strong Australian community sentiment and is viewed by the majority of everyday Aussies as a practical way to limit, and recover from, the negative impacts of COVID and bushfires on Australian businesses and livelihoods.
Pleasingly, the demand for timber products in Australia have held up to this point given the existing work in the pipeline, the positive impact of government residential building stimulus programs, and also the support for Aussie sourced and made timber products.
However, it’s not a time for complacency as we still confront major economic challenges in the coming year. The BATF campaign acknowledges the ongoing role of timber product imports but clearly asks that customers support Aussie timber during these unprecedented times.
“We are very respectful of customers’ timber framing buying decisions and want to encourage the use of Australian timber framing for Aussie homes now. Our message to ‘Buy Aussie Timber First’ reinforces the best outcome for Australia’s future given timber’s ultimate renewable and environmental credentials; including being a carbon store,” Mr Matthew said.
BATF clearly links back to the original ‘Timber Framing, The Ultimate Renewable’ messaging campaign.
Compared with other alternate building materials, renewable timber framing’s advantages are clearly recognised across the Australian supply chain, with its associated benefits of prefabrication and flexibility in building for renovations being widely understood by Australian builders.
The BATF partners (AKD, Boral, Hyne, OFO, Wespine and Timberlink) are very pleased to share some of the campaign’s messages of support.
