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This report is concerned with the development of the
market for prefabricated bathrooms and kitchens, fabricated off-site and
delivered to the site for installation. The report is specifically
concerned with volumetric pods whereby a 3-Dimensional unit is assembled
and fully fitted off-site and is then delivered to site where it is
(usually) craned into a pre-prepared position and all the connections
are made good.
Such pods offer a number of advantages
and disadvantages which include reduced on-site construction time,
reduced tradesmen coordination and supplier coordination, ventilation,
plumbing and electrics are connected and certified, clean installation
on site and the facilitation of just in time construction techniques.
Obviously, these advantages and
disadvantages are more relevant to some market segments and end users,
than others. In addition, the economic environment will have an impact
as to which factors weigh most heavily in the different market
segments. At the present time, pods offer most advantages to
institutional residential end users, where a high volume of
installations is matched by a low requirement for differentiation and
where the whole life cycle cost of a building is taken into account.
There has been a significant increase
in the use of pods since 2002, when a large number of public sector
projects came to fruition. This partly reflects government investment
policy over the past ten years and the drive to improve public sector
services and conditions.
In addition to government policies on
health, education, defence and housing, there have been a number of
other drivers affecting the market for pods.
Changing demographic and social
factors have also played a role in so far as they have created pressure
for an increase in the amount of housing and social infrastructure
required. Social and affordable housing are in particularly short
supply and pods are capable of making a significant contribution towards
improving that situation rapidly, especially in the south east of the
country.
The pods market is dominated by
bathroom/shower pods. It is estimated that, at the present time,
kitchen pods only account for approximately 10% of the market. Such
percentages are not surprising given the fact that even in traditional
homes there is only one kitchen whilst there will be a number of
bedrooms with en suite bath or shower rooms. The situation is even more
extreme when accommodation such as student residences, military barracks
and prisons are taken into account, where 1 kitchen will be equivalent
to 5 or more bedrooms with en suites.
Pods are manufactured from either
concrete, steel frame or GRP. Each material has its own advantages and
disadvantages. Thus concrete pods are heavy, weighing 2-3 tonnes, but
they offer the possibility of greater structural rigidity and high
quality finishes. Steel framed pods offer light weight solutions whilst
maintaining rigidity. GRP pods are very light weight and so have less
structural rigidity but can offer advantages in terms of hygiene and
leak resistance. Concrete and steel pods are more easily refurbished
than GRP, but they are also more expensive.
Low value orders will typically
involve production runs of 80 or more with no scope for individual
customisation. High value orders may involve smaller production runs
but will also offer the possibility of customising individual units or
sub-groups. In these instances the specification of fixtures, fittings
and finishes offers the possibility of adding considerable value to the
pod.
One key advantage of using pods lies
in the time gained on site during construction and the reduction in the
disruption caused. Other factors that are important relate to the
possibility of offering pods which fit flush to the existing floor, or
floorless pods. Currently floorless pods are available in all three
materials.
Whilst specification will normally
vary according to the end use market segment, in general specification
is driven by the client or the architect. The client that has
experience of pods, such as the major hotel chains, will drive the
specification with their own set standards. Otherwise the process is
more likely to be driven by the architect. In some instances, where the
contractor has already had experience of pods – e.g. PFI projects, the
contractor may drive the process with the architect and the client
deciding on the fixtures and fittings.
The actual design, specification and
manufacture of a pod can take as little as eight weeks. It is possible
to split the design and the manufacturing processes with DEBA of
Germany, for example, designing in Berlin and manufacturing in the Czech
Republic.
The UK market still in the early
stages of development. As a result, the placing of one or two large
orders for example by the MOD, will have a substantial effect upon the
market position of individual suppliers.
It is estimated that at the present
time the UK market leaders are EJ Badekabiner, Off Site Solutions, RB
Farquhar, Saniflex and Gateway Fabrications. These companies are
estimated to account for over 50% of the UK market.
It would appear that in the UK market
there are essentially four types of suppliers.
There are the major, established,
specialist pods manufacturers producing on a European scale, such as E J
Badekabiner and Bathsystem.
There are established pods
manufacturers which form part of larger groups and are often related to
companies with modular construction activities, such as Buchan and
Gateway Fabrications.
In addition there are what essentially
amount to distributors who may participate in the design and formulation
of the pods but rely on imports to fill orders. European Ensuites is an
example of this type of company.
Finally there are also smaller, niche,
companies that participate in the market. Inevitably some of these
companies have a short life, limited perhaps to a few contracts. The
others continue but their size precludes them from bidding for the very
large contracts.
In 2005, the student accommodation
sector was the largest non-domestic end use sector, ahead of the hotel
sector, with military applications close behind.
Health applications are rather limited
at the present time. However, residential care for the elderly may
offer a niche market for the healthcare sector in the future.
In the non-domestic sector, the
current shortage of prison places means that there will be additional
opportunities for pods as capacity is expanded over the next three to
five years.
The domestic residential sector is
also important and this is split between the public and housing
association sector, the affordable housing market, the private rented
and the up market flat and apartment sector.
The residential market offers
substantial potential as there is an acute shortage of housing,
particularly social housing, and affordable housing at the present
time. Substantial construction of new homes is required if the Barker
targets of 200,000 new homes per year are to be met. pods are well
suited to this market which will inevitably require greater use of flats
and apartments to meet density criteria. The emphasis here is likely to
be on the use of steel frame pods followed by concrete (due to cost
considerations) and then by GRP (due to rigidity considerations).
Demand from
these key market segments means that over the next five years or so the
market is likely to experience growth of the order of 10% per annum.
Existing demand for pods in the
traditional institutional end user markets will continue over the next
four to five years. Thereafter, it is anticipated that the major
potential for growth lies in the residential sector.
There are also other trends which are
supporting growth in the pod sector, in particular there are shifts in
the way construction and building is undertaken in the UK, with a move
towards greater levels of off-site construction. In part this
development has been driven by skills shortages, but it also reflects a
move towards design and build projects. Such projects often look to low
cost building programmes and therefore to off-site solutions, which may
in turn mean greater use of modular schemes and or the use of pods.
Part of this trend is the government’s
drive towards low-cost housing for the key worker sector. These
government initiatives have led to major housebuilders and construction
companies seeking to produce low cost houses, using alternative building
techniques, such as modular and off-site techniques, and this has
created opportunities for pods more recently.
The expectation therefore is that the
pod market in the UK will continue to be buoyant in the medium term,
with motivation from the public sector, but in the slightly longer term,
say 6-10 years hence, the market will come to rely to a greater extent
on all segments of the residential sector. | 
