Spaciotempo plans to invest £2m in more stock to meet
growing demand for its temporary buildings. Although last
year some 75% of the company’s income came from the hire
side, the company expects a more even split in 2013
between those who buy and those who h

Spaciotempo UK had already
quadrupled its intended investment in
new hire stock last year – from
£500,000 to £2m – and plans to make the
same investment again in anticipation of
further demand, notably from the
automotive sector, as well as from the
manufacturing and retail industries.

The company enjoyed a record 2012,
thanks to the high number of enquiries from
firms who wanted to expand their premises
but did not want to take on the financial
burden of a new permanent building at a
time of continuing economic uncertainty.

The majority of its orders came from
existing customers. Scott Jameson,
Spaciotempo’s director of sales, said that 75%
of the income came from the hire side of the
business: “In other years, there has been a
50/50 split between companies who hire
from us and those who buy from us, but the
demand swung noticeably in favour of hiring
last year.

“It’s not hard to see why. Many companies
found themselves running out of room as
new orders came through the door, but
didn’t want the expense of going off-site or
weren’t quite ready or willing to invest in
building new facilities.

“By hiring a temporary building, they
gained enough breathing space to allow them
to expand their operations at a time when
business confidence was still brittle.”
Jameson added that the company also
owed its success to the quality of its products
– which conform to the relevant British
Standard for wind and snow-loading – its
product warranty and the fact that each
installation is carried out by its own trained
staff.

Although Spaciotempo’s order book for
2013 already features many more companies
looking to hire, Jameson believes this year
should see the return to the traditional 50/50
split, with purchasing temporary buildings
set to become a trend for 2013.

He said: “Businesses are catching onto the
fact that modern temporary buildings
perform just as well as permanent structures
but cost just a fraction of the price.

“I would expect this thinking will play
more of a part in 2013. We saw a lot of
companies extending their hire periods last
year, having initially taken them from us on
a short term basis, but more and more
companies will decide to buy, rather than
rent, because of the long term potential and
the cost-savings involved.

“Another advantage of temporary
buildings is that they are quick to erect.

Companies will want to be able to react
quickly in order to win work this year, so
temporary buildings, plus our ability to offer
fast turnaround times, means that we will be
in the ideal position to meet their needs.”
Spaciotempo, which is due to launch a
new product this year, also saw an increase
in demand for its loading canopies in 2012,
due to the bad weather.

And it saw a rise in orders for taller
loading canopies, measuring 6m rather than
the usual 4.8m, reflecting the increasingly
widespread use of double-deck trailers.

Built on-site using an anodised aluminium
frame with uPVC panel or steel cladding
walls, Spaciotempo’s buildings can be any
size from 5m by 5m and can take as little as
48 hours to erect. Although classed as
temporary, the buildings can be supplied as
turnkey facilities with heating, lighting and
flooring, and come with a 10 year warranty.

Spaciotempo is one of a small number of
UK temporary building suppliers to
manufacture products built to BS General
Snow Loading BS6399 part 3 1988 General
Wind loading BS6399 part 2 1997, meaning
that its buildings are sturdy enough to last
for many years.

It also manufactures and supplies
retractable tunnels and has installed them at
sporting venues, such as Manchester United’s
Old Trafford ground and Arsenal’s Emirates
Stadium, as well as other establishments,
including several hospitals.

Spaciotempo will be exhibiting at IMHX
2013 at the NEC in Birmingham (19th to
22nd March).