{Previously posted in LinkedIn group I created: Pre-Engineered manufactured structural Building products, and have since shut down. It having a membership of 30 people. Most of these people also in my group Pre-Engineered Manufactured Building Systems Group which has over 2000 members.}
Similar issues to SIP's. Simply testing and proving that structurally adequate, won't generate usage. Need to get people away from bricks. Visually probably not a problem, just drive around suburbs, and show that most houses hidden behind landscaping. Really need to change peoples perceptions about the strength and durability of bricks, and how weather proof bricks are. I don't have anything against bricks, there is just a lack of diversity, in the house building industry. Also it is not as if bricks are an entirely local material, so the prime historical reason for using clay bricks is largely redundant. So if the planning and design effort is put in, then new materials can gain some share of the market.
The problem is that here in SA, lots of ideas but no real backing for any of them, and too small an over all to break into. However structural products do have export potential.
So structural products do need to be compliant with as many national codes as possible.
