Trex Co. Inc.'s sales more than doubled from 1998-99, but the young plastic lumber company is far from content. When annual sales jumped 40 percent to $46.8 million in 1998, Trex built a second plant in Fernley, Nev., last fall to meet unexpected demand for its popular waste wood and post-consumer polyethylene film decking products, like Trex Easy Care Decking.
Now that the Winchester, Va.-based company has reported 1999 sales at $74.3 million, plans already are in the works to add new lines to the latest plant — and possibly build another facility, said Trex President Robert Matheny.
Three extrusion lines began operating in Nevada in December, and a fourth just started up last month. Lines five and six are being delivered and should be operational by the second half of 2000, Matheny said.
Matheny expects the expansion to raise sales to more than $100 million.
"Everything in the market has said we will continue to expand as fast as we can," Matheny said by telephone from Winchester. "We'll have the opportunity to grow at numbers that aren't as large as in the past years, but significant double-digit growth you'll see from us next year and the year after."
Trex decking products have been used in various national parks and tourist sites, including Mount Rushmore and Walt Disney World.
Matheny sees these events as further proof that his industry has survived the earlier doubts about plastic lumber's success.
"By building a brand in a market that doesn't have brands, and having a product that has features that offer benefits over wood, we felt we'd always be successful," he said. "When people are aware there's an alternative to wood in outdoor environment where wood is less than perfect, it doesn't take them long to come around."
Though Matheny would not disclose a potential location for a third plant, he did say the company hopes to have a site selected and bought by midyear.