Cullen Connector Challenge - Winner Announced

Cullen are delighted to announce that Mark Smith, Design Manager from Cygnum in Ireland has won the Connector Challenge with an exceptional concept.  It consists in a connector to fix hip members at a skew and slope, allowing the hip member to be angle cut only once.  In the entry Mark states, “This fixing when used with truss manufacturers supplying cut to length flying rafters, offers material and significant time savings and no longer needs a roofing carpenter to construct the hip roof.”

The competition, which generated a number of ideas to be considered as part of our New Product Development, proved that there is willingness for the supply chain to work in partnership for the good of the industry.  It was judged on the following criteria:

• Faster roof construction
• Reduced overall roof costs
• Reduced risk of accidents during construction
• Improved performance to meet ever-tightening building regulations

With the winning entry ticking all the right boxes. 

This has been an area that our Technical Department have been considering and Mark’s comments have assisted in bringing a new connector to the verge of being launched.  So watch this space for the Variable Ridge Connector!

We are hoping that Mark will soon be joining the Cullen Consultation Group, which is a team of experts from all areas of the construction industry that we consult on new products before bringing them to the market.  For the time being, we will let him relax and plan out his all-inclusive holiday to Canada for 2, a great prize for a great entry.