Decking makers hopeful in '12 ORLANDO, FLA. (March 21, 1:20 p.m. ET) — Despite a sluggish end to 2011, decking manufacturers are optimistic that 2012 will bring their companies and the industry improved sales. 
“The market looks a little better, a little rosier,” said Bill Ross, senior vice president of sales for Fiberon LLC, in an interview at the International Builders Show, held Feb. 8-11 in Orlando. “I’m cautiously optimistic and we’re kind of bullish.”v “Thewood plastic composite decking market is going to be pretty flat, but we expect sales of our MoistureShield decking to grow 25-30 percent at a minimum in 2012,” said Brent Gwatney, vice president of sales and marketing for Advanced Environmental Recycling Technologies Inc.’s MoistureShield-brand decking.
That would make it four consecutive years that MoistureShield’s sales have grown by 20 percent or more, he said. “You have to grow by taking market share away from others,” said Gwatney. “And we have a price-point product in a price-point market and that makes our wood plastic product very attractive in the market.”
In addition, the company has expanded its distribution network, which he said will give another boost to sales. In late February, AERT added Denver-based ProBuild Holdings Inc. — which claims to be the nation’s largest supplier of building materials, with more than 450 locations — as a distributor for MoistureShield just two months after it inked a deal with Lumbermens Merchandising Corp., a distributor that operates in the Northeast. TimberTech Ltd. CEO Stu Kemper said he believes 2012 will be a good year for his Wilmington, Ohio, company. “In 2011, the alterative decking and railing market was flat or slightly below 2010 levels,” Kemper said. “But fortunately, our sales went up in 2011 and we expect to grow in the high single digits in 2012. The vibe is clearly up in the marketplace for the decking category.”
That’s good news for wood plastic floor after the slowdown in the second half of 2011 that was triggered when both dealers and distributors reduced their levels of inventory in May.
That led to a decline in overall decking sales. It also increased the quoted price of composite and PVC decks by as much as 30 percent whenever those dealers and distributors needed to make special orders for customers because their own inventory levels were low.
Possibly related to that second-half slowdown, or maybe because there were a number of strong product introductions at DeckExpo this past October, composite decking companies, for the most part, limited their product introductions to new colors for decking, the addition of deck lighting packages, or extensions to trim and railing lines.
“The market looks a little better, a little rosier,” said Bill Ross, senior vice president of sales for Fiberon LLC, in an interview at the International Builders Show, held Feb. 8-11 in Orlando. “I’m cautiously optimistic and we’re kind of bullish.”v “Thewood plastic composite decking market is going to be pretty flat, but we expect sales of our MoistureShield decking to grow 25-30 percent at a minimum in 2012,” said Brent Gwatney, vice president of sales and marketing for Advanced Environmental Recycling Technologies Inc.’s MoistureShield-brand decking.
That would make it four consecutive years that MoistureShield’s sales have grown by 20 percent or more, he said. “You have to grow by taking market share away from others,” said Gwatney. “And we have a price-point product in a price-point market and that makes our wood plastic product very attractive in the market.”
In addition, the company has expanded its distribution network, which he said will give another boost to sales. In late February, AERT added Denver-based ProBuild Holdings Inc. — which claims to be the nation’s largest supplier of building materials, with more than 450 locations — as a distributor for MoistureShield just two months after it inked a deal with Lumbermens Merchandising Corp., a distributor that operates in the Northeast. TimberTech Ltd. CEO Stu Kemper said he believes 2012 will be a good year for his Wilmington, Ohio, company. “In 2011, the alterative decking and railing market was flat or slightly below 2010 levels,” Kemper said. “But fortunately, our sales went up in 2011 and we expect to grow in the high single digits in 2012. The vibe is clearly up in the marketplace for the decking category.”
That’s good news for wood plastic floor after the slowdown in the second half of 2011 that was triggered when both dealers and distributors reduced their levels of inventory in May.
That led to a decline in overall decking sales. It also increased the quoted price of composite and PVC decks by as much as 30 percent whenever those dealers and distributors needed to make special orders for customers because their own inventory levels were low.
Possibly related to that second-half slowdown, or maybe because there were a number of strong product introductions at DeckExpo this past October, composite decking companies, for the most part, limited their product introductions to new colors for decking, the addition of deck lighting packages, or extensions to trim and railing lines.
没有评论:
发表评论