Offsite firm forced to go continental

Construction client Travelodge has ordered its offsite manufacturer to move work to the Czech Republic to cut costs.
RB Farquhar has cut nearly 80 jobs over the past year from a workforce of approximately 140 after losing contracts and Travelodge ordering work to be moved from its site near Aberdeen to its factory in the Czech Republic.
The company has a £10m three-year contract to manufacture 3,000 bathroom pods for Travelodge.
UCATT regional organiser David Murray told CJ he expected a further 22 redundancies, with the biggest casualties among its electricians and joiners.
He said the company held a meeting with its workforce to assure them the factory would not close.
Travelodge commercial director Peter Halsey said the company stipulated Czech production earlier this year to cut labour costs. "We took the decision with the supplier that we could save 15% by supplying from the Czech Republic."
Halsey added transport costs are similar in moving units from Aberdeen or the Czech Republic.
He said: "I've not got one approved contractor that thinks it can do it cheaper. We're building 40 lodges this year. We've had no problems since we sent production east. We have got cost certainty, which is uncommon in the construction industry."
Construction Products Association industry affairs director John Tebbitt said UK construction jobs are at risk from manufacturing offsite products in lower-cost economies. "If you can move jobs into the factory, it doesn't mean that factory will be in the UK. As a single market, if it's cheaper for manufacturers to import from abroad, then they will do that," he said.
Building Research Establish-ment director Oliver Novakovic said UK offsite firms will need to become more innovative to keep work in this country.
However, Tebbitt said: "If you keep increasing the cost of doing business here, people will move that business somewhere else."
RB Farquhar managing director Michael Shand was unavailable for comment.