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Trussed Rafter Association

Campaigns promoting design and estimating, manufacturing nd management careers in timber engineering, plus the TRA's Roofscape Design Awards

TRA campaign image 1

The Trussed Rafter Association (TRA) is the respected voice of the trussed rafter and metal web joist industry in the UK and Ireland.

Its members include the principal manufacturers of timber trussed rafters, spandrel and gable panels and metal web joists, along with suppliers and professionals involved in roof and floor design and construction. The TRA sets the professional standards for a vital part of the timber engineering industry.

Full-service comms support

LMC's work for the TRA includes:

  • Strategic PR and communications policy and advice to the Management Committee
  • Regular e-newsletter production and management of CRM
  • Website development and providing regular streams of new written and multi-media content
  • Press Office service, handling proactive and reactive media stories in the UK and Ireland
  • Publication management, including producing new technical guidance and buyers' guides
  • Social media management
  • Event support, including sourcing speakers for TRA conferences

We recently launched a Careers in Timber Engineering campaign, providing TRA members with a toolkit of marketing and communications resources to help them with their own recruitment activities, and supported via PR, video and social media promotion.

Timber engineering careers
The Careers in Timber Engineering campaign is helping TRA members to promote job opportunities in all part of this industry, including vital manufacturing, sales, management, estimating and design roles.

TRA Roofscape Design Awards

Our most recent initiative is the new TRA Roofscape Design Awards scheme, which had its first winners in 2023, celebrating the ingenuity and technical skills of designers in the roofing sector.

The awards recognise projects that showcase the highest standard in design, innovation, and sustainability in the use of timber trussed rafter roofs, for residential and commercial newbuild projects and conversions.

Running these awards is providing the TRA with a stream of excellent case studies, and helps us to promote the role of designers in the industry. It has also boosted our messaging around diversity and inclusion, not least because two of the three winners in the first year were female designers, both bringing their creativity and technical expertise to bear on complex projects for care home and residential housing developers.

Sues roofscape
The judges said of the winning commercial project of the year: "A most competent and innovative overall roof design, the most complex of the entries received in all categories. A winning combination of design expertise and creative thinking. This was a large and complex roof with many steps and staggers, also featuring a requirement for M & E plant to be hidden within the roof structure with the consequent installation and maintenance access challenges."

Results

  • 326 uses of the Careers Toolkit so far

    including downloads of recruitment videos, leaflets, PowerPoint presentations and social media assets tailored for the UK and Ireland. The careers videos have received more than 1,100 views to date.

    31 entries to the inaugural Roofscape Design Awards

    with a good spread across all three categories.

  • 30%+ year-on-year increase in social media engagement

    for TRA posts on LinkedIn as it continues to build its membership and followers.

    50%+ open rate for the TRA e-newsletter

    with equally high click rates on key articles of relevance to TRA members, housebuilders and other recipients.

Do you have a project you want to talk to us about?

LMC is a PR and communications consultancy on a mission to help our clients change the construction, property and built environment sectors for the better.

Using our specialist knowledge and skills, we help clients to achieve their change agenda, building their reputation and profile around the topics that matter most.

If you need help to meet your ambitions and make a difference, please get in touch for an informal discussion about how we can help.

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