Wood-plastic composites have conquered the decoration market with a growth rate of 25%, and have made huge progress in cladding, but it turns out that the development of fences and other product lines has been slow, according to Simon Hastellow

Wood Plastic Composites (WPC) has been around for 15 years in the UK (it will take a few years or it will take a few years, depending on which merchants you talk to), this is our third department focusing on WPC. At that time, although WPC had been widely accepted and overcome the initial silence in some aspects, it is fair to say that it was still a very developing field, and it was still a long way from it, unlike countries such as France, Germany, and Japan. go. It is regarded as a "mature market." Consumers should now be able to find some form of WPC in almost every timber merchant’s catalog. However, the definitions that WPC products may contain are flexible to say the least. The proportions of the various components and the exact ingredients themselves vary from manufacturer to manufacturer.

As far as our industry focus is concerned, we only focus on products that contain large amounts of wood in the form of wood pulp, wood fiber or wood flour. Some composite materials, such as Millboard, do not contain wood at all. There are also composite products using recycled paper and cardboard, and products with straw as the main ingredient are currently being studied and evaluated.

Some brands have wood content as low as 40%, but usually it should be around 50-60% or more. The German brand Megawood has the highest wood content at 75%, which is reflected in the high-quality nature of its products.

Then the "plasticity" part of the equation is also very different.

Some manufacturers make full use of the "recycled" label of the plastic in their products, such as quoting the same amount of plastic bottles from circulation, while the aforementioned Megawood uses virgin polymers in its products. As the market develops, the scope of defining WPC will only become broader.

Product changes may confuse consumers, but the same is true for merchants. Although there are obviously similar changes in wood products, we do have a broad understanding of what happens when choosing between hardwood or softwood of a specific type or country of origin. When faced with the choice between "wood plastic" and various "composite materials", anecdotal evidence shows that to a large extent this still comes down to the cost of most of the business.

"The risk in this category is that people only choose products based on price and assume that all composite materials are the same, just to understand potential pitfalls in the future," said Sarah Francis, product manager of distributor Arbor Forest Products, of the Trex brand made in the United States.

In fact, if you search the Internet locally, there may be countless products available, many of which are unbranded "composite materials" sold through smaller retailers and installers, with information about service life and guarantees. General statement. This is a priority that the industry, especially the Timber Decoration and Cladding Association (TDCA), is currently addressing. But until then, product quality and especially warranty will remain a controversial issue.

"TDCA is trying to introduce a quality assurance program to provide customers with a standard they can satisfy," said Michael Stubbs, director of NFP Europe, which provides technical and sales support to Novo-Tech GmbH, which produces Megawood and EasyDeck brands .

"Some companies will mix any ingredients they can buy cheaply to produce laminate flooring, and all of this will completely fail or go bankrupt within three to five years. This company no longer exists. We really need to develop a common set for our customers. Standards and guarantees. The company may provide a long-term warranty, but will not provide detailed information about how it works or what it covers."

This is an area that continues to grow and is now being expanded to other product lines. Every manufacturer, distributor, and retailer contacted by TTJ talked about healthy annual sales growth of between 15% and 40%. Decking continues to capture the largest share of the entire WPC market, and cladding and fences are now beginning to perform well.

“We believe the laminate flooring market has grown by approximately 25% in the past 12 months,” said Ms. Francis of Arbor Forest Products. "It will continue to achieve strong growth in 2020, which will come from various sectors."

UPM International Sales Manager Peter Stewart said: "The growth rate in the past five years is much faster than in the previous ten years."

"In terms of market share, we are still in the early curve, but this is a growing market," added Mr. Stubbs of NFP Europe.

"Until we achieve the 50/50 split between wood and WPC, we don't think it will slow down."

"The market has improved significantly and the inquiries for our products have increased," said Teckwood managing director Steve Barrow. "We have increased our turnover and revenue by more than 25% in 2019." Since most large distributors and retailers are engaged in the timber industry, WPC cladding, fences and railings can be used as alternatives to their standard timber catalogue series The product. But this may also prevent some brands from resuming moderate growth.

From the perspective of retailers and experts outside the timber trade, the market growth is even greater, because WPC is provided with other more expensive non-timber solutions, and customers will not see the same price difference between WPC and cork flooring products.

Envirobuild is not a traditional timber industry company, but an expert in landscaping, exterior wall and interior design, providing a range of solutions, including wood-plastic composite materials, paving, flooring, garden furniture and fire decks, and the situation is even better.

Co-founder James Bruton said: "In the past year, WPC has been growing at a rate of about 40%."

Envirobuild takes advantage of the promotion of non-combustible materials by providing aluminum floors and WPC for low-rise or private development to developers of high-rise residential units. They don't provide pure wood floors at all.

Mr. Brueton added: “Aluminum floors do not exist in buildings, but they have risen due to compliance with the new regulations.”

“As a result, we have found tremendous growth in the commercial markets where aluminum floors have thematic relevance that WPC lacks. However, composite materials are still relevant in small homes and properties, and in these new When fire protection laws are not applicable, composite materials provide versatility and aesthetics that aluminum materials do not yet have."

Obviously, WPC sales have grown substantially, even surpassing hardwoods. After talking with many industry contacts, the hardwood market share of the current market segment is close to 10%, and the market share of wood-plastic composite materials is close to 15%. But there is still a long way to go to catch up with cork, which still attracts 70% of the market share. To be fair, price is still the main factor. The construction of high-quality cork decks is very simple and cost-effective-despite increased maintenance costs-much less than WPC decks, even if timber is used as the substructure.

David Watts of Odds Timber, which supplies the Saige series, explained the growth of a growth area. "The consumer trend is to install products that require no maintenance," he said.

"For the younger generation, if they can decorate things and do nothing except regular cleaning, then they will do it.

"Initially we ordered inventory as needed because Saige's distribution is very good. But now we have a long-term order for container-loaded WPC decorative panels, which will be shipped directly from Saige. The goods will arrive around February, and all were sold in June last year. Out of stock, we have to reorder fresh stock."

Arbor Forest Products stated that in terms of pure value, its Trex sales are now higher than cork.

"But in terms of quantity, we still sell more than six times as much wood flooring," Ms. Francis said. "Competition will begin to level off this year, and some cheaper products will begin to lose popularity as the industry begins to understand the issues associated with choosing cheaper products.

Brands that provide high-quality, high-performance products will continue to grow and consolidate their position. "

Occupying trend-driven areas will obviously boost sales in the wood-plastic floor and fence market. Customers are attracted by the clean lines, low maintenance costs and fresh appearance provided by WPC. Almost every manufacturer now also produces wood-grain decorative panels and fences with textures printed on the surface.

Some, such as Megawood, initially only offered WPC paving similar to paving stones, but later added wood grain paving to their catalog. Double-sided products can be provided with wood grain on one side and smooth or contour cut patterns on the other side. The color change can be done during the molding stage to provide a natural finish that is more like wood. According to most retailers, gray still dominates the market. This is a very modern color and has been the most popular color for several years, making it easier for retailers and distributors to maintain adequate inventory. But this trend has begun to show signs of a shift to brown and more earthy tones. Merchants may need to increase their inventory to include a wider palette and ensure that they can continue to serve the market.

Mr. Watts of Odds Timber said: "Last year, everything was gray. We had enough." "But now it seems that the trend has turned to coffee. Fortunately, SEG is very good at predicting demand and is already adding different colors. Yield."

"Color is still one of the key determinants of the deck. Gray will continue to dominate this year, but we will see the continued use of contrasting colors, such as the use of gray on the main body of the deck, where brown edges, trims and borders define different parts," Ms. Francis said.

This presents an interesting problem for consumers in the next few years. Using cork wood can easily change the color of the deck or refresh it with different stains. But for WPC, the color will run through the entire circuit board, and it can be used for 25 years or more.

What happens when the trend is significantly away from gray? Homeowners will either have to accept the choice they made years ago or replace it completely.

There is no doubt that even if the floor is made of WPC, a large amount of wood may remain in the substructure. WPC floors usually require 300-400 mm center support beams instead of 500-600 mm for wood. Some early installation methods used cork wood and the WPC board was fixed in the same way as cork.

However, the installation company has realized that there are other important factors that need to be adapted. The service life of WPC floors can exceed 25 years, which may be longer than the service life of wooden structures. The nature of the fixings is different, and some brands need special clamps to adapt to the expansion and contraction of the board, instead of drilling fasteners.

Companies such as Megawood and Envirobuild provide WPC beams and columns that will match the life of the decorative panel, but will also increase the cost of the end user. These can use adjustable cushion feet in the vertical direction, which also eliminates the need for major excavation and concrete.

It is also common to see aluminum frames used for commercial decoration installations. Therefore, the skills of floor installers must be adapted to different materials and construction processes.

Trex provides training for installers through their TrexPro program, and other distributors are also following installer training days.

"Decoration is a handy fruit of WPC. But now, every competent manufacturer is looking for other places," said Mr. Stewart of UPM Profi.

WPC flooring and cladding together serve as the next smart product development, but since then, WPC railings and fences, including fence posts and caps, have also joined the lineup. As mentioned above, the company is providing columns and beams for substructures manufactured by WPC to match the longer life of the decorative panels.

Expanded decorative combinations have become very popular recently, and companies like Trex and Megawood provide professional lighting or edges of panels and built-in lighting. Plates and pillars with complementary colors and shades are also provided, allowing adventurous installers to create more beautiful patterns or German design Megawood offers a wide range of WPC products, including garden furniture, flower pots and benches. In the UK, the low usage rate of these additional items may be due to cost or customer awareness. These items can be ordered in the UK, but they are not regular stock items.

"Megawood does provide fences and cladding, but the vast majority of fences in the UK are still based on mass production, so more expensive products will remain niche products for some time," Mr. Stubbs said.

"As consumers make choices based on longevity and maintenance, this situation will change, and when they see the benefits of not having to continue to process or paint the product, it's already starting to happen."

Other companies have developed WPC cladding into outdoor rooms and offices, usually based on steel or aluminum frames.

There is no doubt that it is still a growing market, with some interesting possibilities untapped.

"By 2020, we will invest in more CustomCurve ovens to enable installers to bend Trex panels," added Ms. Francis of Arbor. "This is a unique advantage of Trex. We already have two CustomCurve ovens on the market. The demand for this capability will increase in 2020, so we have invested in more ovens to prepare for this."

Teckwood is investing heavily in fire-resistant construction products. Envirobuild has also seen a substantial increase in demand for its fire-retardant products after Grenfell. These products are not currently manufactured by WPC, but there are real development opportunities.

Envirobuild said: "We have also been working to update our Hyperion composite fence, and the new product series will be launched in the next few months."

"The improvements here are focused on improving the versatility of the fence system. The new product provides more choices about the direction and overall layout of the fence."

Although the domestic market for decorative panels, fences and cladding accounts for most of the domestic WPC market, the big development areas that are about to emerge are fire-resistant or flame-retardant products. This really helps to have a significant impact on the commercial market. 

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