Amid national shortages, Bunnings will double its processing plants that manufacture wooden frames and trusses used in home construction.
Over the next 18 months it will double the number of processing plants that manufacture frames and trusses, substantially growing its market share in a high-growth category that has struggled with shortages through the pandemic period.
A stronger and more national footprint of Bunnings manufacturing hubs will also bind it more closely to home builders who typically have a long shopping list of items they need to buy and could help lift sales across the group.
Currently hardware giant Bunnings operates three frame and truss sites in Australia – at Warnervale and Unanderra in NSW and Hallam in Victoria.
Building industry insiders say Bunnings is searching for a site for a new frame and truss facility in Melbourne, another in Brisbane and potentially more in NSW.
Frames and trusses have been in short supply as rocketing timber prices and supply chain disruptions strangled the pipeline of the core building materials that form the internal structure of new homes.
Bunnings aims to set itself up as a major, growing supplier of frames and trusses to home builders, binding more closely to home constructors.
