Roof truss and floor joist specialists, Engineered Timber Solutions (ETS), has enjoyed a long steady rise. Find out how a partnership with MiTek is helping their new Managing Director extend that story of growth.
As the UK construction sector keeps growing, a wider range of skillsets and backgrounds are needed to keep momentum. For Jill Sankey, the route into our industry took a 12-year detour through the world of management consultancy. Now MD of ETS, she still feels like she’s doing what comes naturally.
“My role has always been managing big teams of technical people. It was consultants, now it’s design and manufacturing experts. The skills are very transferrable. There’s still that focus on delivering a great service as cost-efficiently as possible. Same goes for being able to get ahead of changing regulations.
“You get to a point in your career where you think you’re no longer learning anything. Maybe two years ago that was the case for me personally. Now I’m back to a place where I’m learning every day. It’s refreshing.”
Jill is leading ETS’ plans to boost capacity and offer expanded services without losing what makes them unique. MiTek are with her every step of the way, but the full story began before either of us came aboard.
The rise (and rise) of ETS
The company was created in 2001 by Phil Sankey, Jill’s dad, descendant of a long line of farmers. Phil found himself looking for a new career move when the family farm diversified into a business park. At the same time, a nearby builders’ merchant by the name of Henry Carver was expanding his 125-year-old family business.
The pair teamed up and went into timber engineering together. With Henry’s established customer base and Phil’s sheer dogged determination to make it work, 10 years of steady growth followed. ETS found favour with small jobbing builders nearby; guys with specific, immediate needs that the team could meet.
But the ambition was never to stay small forever. They hit a turnover of £2 million around 2015, which grew to £6.2 million in 2021. Forecasts suggest £7 million for 2023, with a target of £10 million within three years.
What’s the secret to the growth?
How has this success been possible throughout financial crashes, pandemics, and whatever else is thrown at the business?
One major competitive advantage has always been a willingness to reinvest in the business. New technology, ample premises, the latest training; ETS give their teams the tools they need to stay ahead, and MiTek is right beside them.
That philosophy is still followed today. Jill is eagerly awaiting September, when she expects to open new facilities which will double ETS’ manufacturing capacity. But she’s well aware that equipment alone isn’t enough.
“The customer service side of things is one of the keys to our success. We do more site visits than the competition, we give better end-to-end support. We’ve got staff with the experience to give the best advice.
I want us to become synonymous with quick, top-quality service in the West Midlands region. That’s the branding milestone I want us to nail next, in a region of over five million people. We’ve got big competitors, but they can’t deliver as fast as us. They don’t have as strong a design team as us.
So yes, it’s a very achievable milestone. We’re about 45-strong at the minute, I can’t see the team expanding much beyond 50. I wouldn’t say bigger is better; our focus is on a premium service.”
To deliver that service, Jill relies on MiTek.
ETS and MiTek are doing more together
The relationship between ETS and MiTek started in 2017 when they began using Posi-Joist and our PAMIR design software. Turnover rose 50 per cent over the next six years, something Jill attests to our support. More recently, they’ve started working with our design team in Vietnam using our Dedicated Services.
At a time when talent is in short supply, other companies might not have access to designers within a reasonable timeframe. Training new colleagues to the right standard could potentially take years. With our help, ETS expands their own capacity whenever they need, protecting that all-important lead time.
According to Jill, “MiTek gives us an end-to-end solution. We can track quotes from the start of an enquiry, right through the pipeline to the factory, all in one system. We wouldn’t have been able to grow as quickly without it.
“We’re on the same page about the importance of customer service. Ian, MiTek’s technical advisor, makes regular updates that are bespoke to our needs. We work slightly differently within the industry; you can’t get what we need off the rack. So yes, Ian’s fantastic.”
ETS are seeing demand for Posi-Joist soar, and turnover double, from frontline builders who recognise the value it represents. Easily incorporating Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery (MVHR) units into new builds doesn’t only make for easy installation and the routing of a myriad of services, by 2025, compliance with the Future Homes Standard (FHS) will become mandatory. New homes built from 2025 will produce 75-80% less carbon emissions. MVHR will be key to realising these savings and Posi-Joist is an obvious solution. Jill predicts another, bigger boom in demand not only for the joists, but also for the skills to install them.
In the meantime, more evidence is on the way to support Posi’s commercial benefits. ETS are now undertaking time trials, alongside Cameron Homes, to document project data and compare it with traditional construction methods. Soon, we’ll know more about how much time and labour Posi saves, and how much space it opens up.
What’s next for ETS?
Where are tomorrow’s construction skills going to come from? An ageing workforce and a huge gender imbalance mean any perceived talent shortage today is only going to get worse. Unless, of course, we act now to fix things.
Jill wants to see more young people, particularly young women, finding their way into construction. Even if, like her, they do so by unconventional routes. She points to countries like Australia and New Zealand, where about 30% of their manufacturing workforce is female. We’re lagging behind at around 26%. Leading by example as head of the family business, she wants to fix that.
As well as putting her energy behind that much-needed demographic shift, she’s also guiding ETS as a whole. New facilities, driven by advanced technology and a talented team, set the scene for rapid growth. And we can’t wait to play our part – equipping ETS, its customers and supply chain partners with everything they need to design, make, and build better.
