‘Waste not’. Nick coubray, CEO of Howick Ltd, outlines how Roll-forming innovation can help the construction and offsite sectors build better and be more efficient.
The construction industry has always accepted waste as a cost of doing business. Materials ordered ‘just in case’, offcuts filling skips, and site delays caused by late changes. It all quickly adds up. But with thorough planning, smarter digital design and precision roll-forming systems, this no longer needs to be the case.
At Howick, we see waste for what it is – lost time, lost profit, and lost opportunity. Waste is everywhere in construction, but most of it is preventable when precision and planning lead the process. For nearly 50 years, we have pioneered rollforming technology to help streamline construction. Steel components are formed from digital models, precut, punched, and labelled to exact specifications for faster assembly onsite or offsite.
Smarter systems reducing waste
For internal framing projects, the onsite flexibility provided by our telescopic panels markedly reduce time and waste. These telescopic panels, manufactured by our X-TENDA™ 3600 were used in the ￡130million refurbishment of One Queen Street in Auckland, New Zealand, which included a 5-Star hotel, 14,000m2 of prime office space, and a breathtaking rooftop bar. The telescopic panels contributed to a 50% reduction in the embodied carbon footprint compared with an equivalent newbuild. The installation of the framing was 60% quicker than planned for traditional stud and track.
Creating repeatable complexity
Roll-forming technology allows for the precision required to build expressive, complex forms with no re-work or waste, saving labour and time. For the Lucas Museum in Los Angeles, STUD-IO used Howick roll-forming machines to realise the mind-bending roof ribbon. Each of the 195 unique panels was pre-punched and shaped to follow the architect’s 3D model, then placed using a digitally fabricated rail and a robotic layout. The result was a repeatable approach to complex geometry, and a roof structure completed six months ahead of schedule.
Precision at every scale
From internal framing to large-span structures, the same roll-forming precision helps reduce waste at every scale. At British Offsite in Essex, Howick machines power their UNisystem – producing insulated wall panels that combine multiple trades into one ready-to-install product, cutting waste and rework. The same principle drives X-CALIBR™, a roll-formed structural system that makes light gauge steel structures possible where they once required heavy steel fabrication. Back in New Zealand, Howick’s sister company Central Steel Framing has used this system to erect a 650m2 honey storage shed in a single day without cutting or welding, or the associated waste.
Turn traditional waste into future opportunity
Whether simplifying modular production or enabling architectural freedom, roll-forming technology makes smarter construction possible. By moving more of the build into controlled factory environments, we reduce waste, risk, and carbon, while expanding what is achievable.
