Monaghan-based IJM Timber Engineering has been awarded Enterprise Ireland funding for an ambitious productivity improvement programme under the Housing for All ‘Built to Innovate’ programme.
Built to Innovate is designed to achieve faster, higher-quality construction of housing by providing funding support for productivity training, innovation and the introduction of digital, paperless systems. The funding will enable IJM to further enhance its digital technologies and upskill its staff in the latest lean processes.
According to the Irish Timber Frame Manufacturers’ Association, timber frame accounted for just under 50% of all low-rise scheme housing delivered in 2021. Off-site construction, and more specifically timber frame construction, has been identified as being key to the construction sector being able to halve its carbon emissions by 2030.
Minister for Rural and Community Development Heather Humphreys TD has welcomed the announcement, saying: “I want to commend IJM, who have been awarded Enterprise Ireland funding under the ‘Built to Innovate’ initiative. The Government, through Enterprise Ireland, is working with industry to strengthen the residential construction supply chain. Schemes like this will help the construction sector prove new technologies that will ultimately help speed up the delivery of big infrastructure projects.”
Peter McCaughey, Managing Director, IJM Timber Engineering, said, “We were delighted to work with Enterprise Ireland under the Built to Innovate programme as part of the national Housing for All plan. We have taken huge strides in achieving greater productivity through the integration of digital technologies and lean processes into our operations over the past few years. With the support of Enterprise Ireland, we are now entering a new phase of development that will be of enormous benefit to our clients and help us increase our output to meet the needs of the Housing for All plan.”
IJM Timber Engineering is a family-owned business founded in Monaghan in 1965. The company employs 160 people directly at its manufacturing facilities and over 100 indirectly at sites across Ireland.