Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Sustainable Plastics
  • Rubber News
Subscribe
  • Login
  • Register
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Processor News
    • Suppliers
    • More News
    • Digital Edition
    • End Markets
    • Special Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Resin pricing news
    • Videos
    • Injection Molding
    • Blow Molding
    • Film & Sheet
    • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
    • Rotomolding
    • Thermoforming
    • Recycling
    • Machinery
    • Materials
    • Molds/Tooling
    • Product news
    • Design
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Sustainability
    • Public Policy
    • Material Insights Videos
    • Numbers that Matter
    • Automotive
    • Packaging
    • Medical
    • Consumer Products
    • Construction
    • CEO Issue
    • Diversity
    • Best Places to Work
      • 2022 winners
    • Processor of the Year
    • Rising Stars
    • Women Breaking the Mold
      • 2022 class
  • Opinion
    • The Plastics Blog
    • Kickstart
    • One Good Resin
    • Pellets and Politics
    • All Things Data
    • Viewpoint
    • From Pillar to Post
    • Perspective
    • Mailbag
    • Fake Plastic Trees
  • Shop Floor
    • Blending
    • Compounding
    • Drying
    • Injection Molding
    • Purging
    • Robotics
    • Size Reduction
    • Structural Foam
    • Tooling
    • Training
  • Events
    • K Show Livestream
    • Plastics News Events
    • Industry Events
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Livestreams/Webinars
    • Editorial Livestreams
    • Ask the Expert
    • Plastics News Events Library
    • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Plastics News Executive Forum
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Plastics News Caps & Closures
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
    • Plastics in Automotive
    • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Polymer Points Live
    • Numbers that Matter Live
    • Plastics in Politics Live
    • Sustainable Plastics Live
    • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
    • Plastics in Healthcare Library
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
  • Resin Prices
    • All Resins
    • Commodity TPs
    • High Temp TPs
    • ETPs
    • Thermosets
    • Recycled Plastics
    • Historic Commodity Thermoplastics
    • Historic High Temp Thermoplastics
    • Historic Engineering Thermoplastics
    • Historic Thermosets
    • Historic Recycled Plastics
  • Rankings & Data
    • Injection Molders
    • Blow Molders
    • Film Sheet
    • Thermoformers
    • Pipe Profile Tubing
    • Rotomolders
    • Mold/Toolmakers
    • LSR Processors
    • Recyclers
    • Compounders - List
    • Association - List
    • Plastic Lumber - List
    • All
  • Directory
  • Custom
    • Sponsored Content
    • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
    • Conair Sponsored Content
    • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
    • ENGEL Sponsored Content
    • White Papers
    • Classifieds
    • Place an Ad
    • Sign up for Early Classified
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. News
March 01, 2010 01:00 AM

Expectations for remodeling stumble in Q4

  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print

    The U.S. economy has everyone talking about strategies for how to conduct business, and exhibitors at the 2010 Fencetech show in Orlando were no exception, especially as housing starts have been particularly disappointing.

    The questions then become focused on how the remodeling market will perform and will manufacturers be able to tap into the commercial construction sector.

    According to the Washington-based National Association of Home Builders, market conditions for residential remodeling took a dive in the fourth quarter of 2009. The NAHB's Remodeling Market Index showed a drop to 36.4 from 39.8 in 2009's third quarter.

    “Like new home construction, remodelers are feeling the effects of consumers' uncertain job future, their level of confidence and unwillingness to spend their equity or savings,” NAHB chief economist David Crowe said in a news release.

    Housing starts dropped from 1.8 million in 2006 to an estimated 647,000 in 2010, NAHB said.

    Still, some Fencetech exhibitors remain optimistic. Those particularly keen on the U.S. economy included Zhejiang Lilies Plastic Industry Co. Ltd., whose officials decided the lucrative construction market justified the journey from China.

    “[We] think that the U.S. economy is getting better and we're looking to get into it,” said Helen Liu, sales manager. The Taizhou-based company is looking at exporting window and door profiles to the United States. It currently sells those profiles into Europe but officials are awaiting certification from the American Architectural Manufacturers Association to tap into the U.S. market.

    Across the aisle, Chinese firm Zhejiang Huazhijie Fence Co. Ltd. of Huzhou saw U.S. sales growth of 20 percent in 2009, officials said. At the booth for Zhejiang Huangyan Dayu Building Plastic Profile Factory of Taizhou, officials said they are adding more profile extrusion lines in China to serve the U.S. market.

    Working to meet strict ASTM standards, sales manager Cookie Xiong said the firm also builds its own tools.

    Elsewhere, officials were concerned about competing materials including wood, especially as vinyl has been under attack for environmental issues.

    “There is so much misinformation in the industry about vinyl that is absolutely, blatantly false,” said John Purvis, national sales manager at Ply Gem Siding Group of Cary, N.C. “The Vinyl Fence Deck and Railing Manufacturers' Association has been working hard with the Vinyl Institute and the Vinyl Information Network, to help strengthen our industry's reputation in the world.”

    David Yu, president of Megamaple Trading Co. Ltd. of Shanghai, said that vinyl has gained structurally against wood.

    However, last year, things slowed down. “I know nobody likes to hear it, but it's a fact,” he said Feb. 18 at the show.

    PVC price increases also cannot be viewed as a long-term trend and the overall economic cycle will have its upside.

    “Some people get spoiled [when things are good],” Yu said. “When we're at the peak, don't get too excited. It's a cycle. The slowdown could drive people harder to innovate.”

    Steve Dillon, marketing director with vinyl extruder Veka Inc. in Fombell, Pa., said the remodel and replacement market is up for Veka. He's also relying on NAHB's numbers for housing starts in 2010, which, if predictions hold, could be 750 million to 800 million in the United States.

    “The growth in the West will be in the latter half of the year,” Dillon said. Growth in the East will be relatively scattered.

    “I am extremely optimistic,” he said of economic recovery. “I don't think it's going to be a huge climb, but it will be a climb.”

    Veka is heavy on planning at this stage, especially in the commercial window market.

    “Planning for Veka will set up big things over the next one to three years,” he said. “You have to deal with what you have today and look to the future.”

    Veka jumped into the commercial sector two years ago.

    “We worked really hard to get testing criteria met,” he said. “We're starting to get a name in those sectors and it's benefiting our fabricator base.”

    Patti Pellock, marketing manager for fence, railing and deck products with CertainTeed Corp. of Valley Forge, Pa., said the economy has affected demand. The firm has relied on cost reductions and redesigns in an effort to mitigate the impact.

    “Wood has stayed strong,” she said. “We still have the struggles of competing with wood.”

    In response, CertainTeed has used its proprietary extrusion process to give its privacy fence textures, including grain appearance marketed as CertaGrain.

    “We're making it look and feel like wood and giving it low maintenance,” she said.

    Richard Raymond, president of Innoplast Inc. in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, said, “There is always going to be a place for small to medium-sized manufacturers.”

    His firm's BollardGard product is blow molded and used over steel profiles to protect structures from vehicle damage. By far, he said, it's the biggest part of his company's sales. “Wherever they're trying to protect structures, they put bollards,” he said.

    Copyright 2010 Crain Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved.

    RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
    Poly-America neighbors sue for $7.8M after 2020 fire, allege respiratory damage
    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Do you have an opinion about this story? Do you have some thoughts you'd like to share with our readers? Plastics News would love to hear from you. Email your letter to Editor at [email protected]

    Most Popular
    1
    Private equity buyer HIG outbids rivals for Avient's distribution unit
    2
    More volatility for North American PS, ABS resin prices
    3
    APR: US recyclers have capacity to grow, but not enough feedstock
    4
    Industry asks court to quash Canada's single-use plastics ban
    5
    Industry's newest concern: Public opposition to plastics recycling
    SIGN UP FOR TO RECEIVE THESE EMAILS AND ENEWSLETTERS
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    Get our newsletters

    Staying current is easy with Plastics News delivered straight to your inbox, free of charge.

    Subscribe today

    Subscribe to Plastics News

    Subscribe now
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram

    Plastics News covers the business of the global plastics industry. We report news, gather data and deliver timely information that provides our readers with a competitive advantage.

    Contact Us

    1155 Gratiot Avenue
    Detroit MI 48207-2997

    Customer Service:
    877-320-1723

    Resources
    • About
    • Staff
    • Editorial Calendar
    • Media Kit
    • Data Store
    • Digital Edition
    • Custom Content
    • People
    • Contact
    • Careers
    • Sitemap
    Related Crain Publications
    • Sustainable Plastics
    • Rubber News
    • Urethanes Technology
    • European Rubber Journal
    • Tire Business
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Copyright © 1996-2022. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Processor News
        • Injection Molding
        • Blow Molding
        • Film & Sheet
        • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
        • Rotomolding
        • Thermoforming
        • Recycling
      • Suppliers
        • Machinery
        • Materials
        • Molds/Tooling
        • Product news
        • Design
      • More News
        • Mergers & Acquisitions
        • Sustainability
        • Public Policy
        • Material Insights Videos
        • Numbers that Matter
      • Digital Edition
      • End Markets
        • Automotive
        • Packaging
        • Medical
        • Consumer Products
        • Construction
      • Special Reports
        • CEO Issue
        • Diversity
        • Best Places to Work
          • 2022 winners
        • Processor of the Year
        • Rising Stars
        • Women Breaking the Mold
          • 2022 class
      • Newsletters
      • Resin pricing news
      • Videos
    • Opinion
      • The Plastics Blog
      • Kickstart
      • One Good Resin
      • Pellets and Politics
      • All Things Data
      • Viewpoint
      • From Pillar to Post
      • Perspective
      • Mailbag
      • Fake Plastic Trees
    • Shop Floor
      • Blending
      • Compounding
      • Drying
      • Injection Molding
      • Purging
      • Robotics
      • Size Reduction
      • Structural Foam
      • Tooling
      • Training
    • Events
      • K Show Livestream
      • Plastics News Events
        • Plastics News Executive Forum
        • Injection Molding & Design Expo
        • Plastics News Caps & Closures
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
        • Plastics in Automotive
      • Industry Events
      • Injection Molding & Design Expo
      • Livestreams/Webinars
        • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
      • Editorial Livestreams
        • Polymer Points Live
        • Numbers that Matter Live
        • Plastics in Politics Live
        • Sustainable Plastics Live
      • Ask the Expert
      • Plastics News Events Library
        • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
        • Plastics in Healthcare Library
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
      • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Resin Prices
      • All Resins
      • Commodity TPs
        • Historic Commodity Thermoplastics
      • High Temp TPs
        • Historic High Temp Thermoplastics
      • ETPs
        • Historic Engineering Thermoplastics
      • Thermosets
        • Historic Thermosets
      • Recycled Plastics
        • Historic Recycled Plastics
    • Rankings & Data
      • Injection Molders
      • Blow Molders
      • Film Sheet
      • Thermoformers
      • Pipe Profile Tubing
      • Rotomolders
      • Mold/Toolmakers
      • LSR Processors
      • Recyclers
      • Compounders - List
      • Association - List
      • Plastic Lumber - List
      • All
    • Directory
    • Custom
      • Sponsored Content
      • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
      • Conair Sponsored Content
      • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
      • ENGEL Sponsored Content
      • White Papers
      • Classifieds
        • Place an Ad
        • Sign up for Early Classified