The Growth of Portable Buildings

The requirement for innovative portable structures came into demand in the last 15 years. Reported by the MPBA, The Modular and Portable Industry has since grown and prospered and in most cases, our products are always the first on sites and last to be removed. There is an old saying that says "From little acorns grow" and you can apply this saying to portable construction manufacturers as it shows that as economy grows and prospers that developments from its traditional timber structures in the olden days to modern methods of manufacture and construction have changed traditionally. Suppliers mainly dealt with the manufacture of buildings that had floors, roof sections and walls prefabricated from timber and were suitable for an easy erection on site.

We still have some of these companies in the market today, but they have changed and adopted to the new requirements and demands of customers. Over the years, we have seen buildings change from being constructed from pure timber, to a combination of both timber and steel and to totally steel sheets with steel interior frames or walls fully fitted with a wide variety of materials and finishes. The industry has moved from timber ship-lap buildings to complete portable buildings that have wall tiling.

These buildings are not only used for operational activities, they can also be erected as a sole development. Accommodation onsite has moved from the popular single modular, known as cabins used as individual offices, to buildings that replicate a fully functional complex. Portable buildings are still readily available and steel security containers are compulsory in today's environment. With modern technology and design, it can be a sometime difficult on first glance to identify a prefabricated building just from the exterior.

Many of them are made and roofed with conventional building slate and bricks. There has also been a growing trend by architects to give consideration to all prefabricated buildings. There are very many temporary and portable builds in use today and they continue to serve their purpose as a tribute to the largely unsung modular construction industry.

The availability of maintenance free finishes, longer life and the increasing emphasis on quality control management by manufacturers and suppliers has enhanced the preference to make use of prefabricated buildings.

Buildings with two, three or four storeys with external cavity wall constructions made of stone or bricks have been constantly supplied into the market over the years. It is well known that system buildings integrate all attributes of permanent structures but with an added advantage of faster speeds of construction and factory quality control.

It is fair to conclude that historically, prefabricated buildings have had a share of criticisms hurled at them. They were considered by many as poor substitutes of the real thing. A good example is classrooms that have proved themselves over the years. They are now in use by many local authorities.

With a market worth more than billions of pounds, companies like Cotaplan portable buildings and modular construction continue to fulfil the requirements of services to the industry. They are no longer strangers to the real estate market. Offsite construction is what we do and we will continue to come up with new technologies and ideas to cater to the rising requirements and demands.