Werner began his working career as a broadcast engineer at the SABC, and after a very successful career in the television industry, he changed direction after his personal holiday home fell into the hands of an unscrupulous timber frame builder. This prompted him to try his hand at timber construction and to do it correctly, igniting his passion for timber frame construction, and marking the start of his journey into the industry with his successful log home building business, Eco Log Homes. Werner joined the Institute of Timber Frame Builders (ITFB) in 2006 and served as the chairman of the Gauteng Regional Committee for a number of years. He serves as the Chairman of the SANS 10-082 advisory committee within the SABS technical committee, is a Director on the board of the Institute of Timber Construction (ITC-SA), and presents lectures to architectural students at Wits University, bank valuators and insurance assessors. Werner was elected President of the ITFB in 2012 and served in this capacity until 2014 when the Institute merged with the ITC-SA. Werner is a passionate proponent of using timber in construction - and doing it the right way.