Trex Co. Inc. of Winchester, Va., has added coextrusion to make its Artisan series of railing, a product showcased at the 2005 International Builders' Show in Orlando.
The white railing product is a first for Trex, known for its natural-color wood-composite decking and railing. Officials said they wanted to differentiate the new product from other vinyl products, giving it a matte finish with a slight texture.
``Trex will continue to offer our Traditional series and Designer series railing systems,'' said Duane Hart, senior product manager. ``Trex is introducing a coextruded composite railing with a PVC cap stock in response to market opportunity. Trex has completed performance testing on all of our railing systems and shown them to be in compliance with all major model building codes.''
The firm converted former warehouse space at its Winchester headquarters to accommodate ``numerous'' coextrusion lines, Hart said Jan. 14 at the Builders' Show.
``We were willing to make that investment,'' he said. ``White railing complements so many products that we have.''
Officials would not disclose the square footage on the converted space, or the number of employees or production lines.
The company also used the show to introduce its new vice president of sales and marketing, Philip Pifer. Pifer previously was chief operating officer with Goldman Sachs Asset Management of New York.
In addition to the Artisan series, Trex introduced its Brasilia line, which replicates the look of tropical hardwoods in colors called cayenne and burnished amber. Officials said the line was designed to achieve a wood-type look with a whole new type of technology that allows for the variegation of color.