10/06/2026
Homegrown soffit system shines - Case Study
Builders opt for local product during shipping delays
Unreliable shipping. Sound familiar? Right now the root cause is a diesel supply issue. In 2020 it was due to the Covid panic. Back then, the builder of a beautiful modern residence on Auckland’s Mahurangi East had been waiting and waiting for James Hardie to receive the fibre cement needed to install the house’s soffits and complete the build. As time ticked by and costs escalated, it became clear that they were not going to get enough product into New Zealand to meet demand.
Something had to give. The builder needed to keep the project on track so he asked Google to find an alternative product. Google found Ribon and the builder placed the order.
What had started as a desperate move turned out to be an incredible solution, sourced just down the road in Auckland. Not only were Ribon’s soffits local, but they were the perfect fit for the clean structural aesthetic of the ultra-modern build. Although Ribon was initially chosen for its immediate supply, the system itself delighted both the builder and the client.
The time to look for product solutions in our own backyard has well and truly come.
