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
News
February 14, 2011 01:00 AM

Economy prompts penny-pinching when possible

Mike Verespej
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print

    A sluggish economy has companies that make products for the building and construction market watching oil and resin prices, reducing manufacturing expenses, and paying close attention to costs for distribution and logistics.

    “One of our biggest challenges is raw material costs,” said Michael Gori, product management director for Azek Building Products Inc. in Scranton, Pa., which makes trim, decking, rail and fencing out of PVC. “The cost has gone way up, so you constantly have to keep a pulse on logistics and distribution. We think we do that well, but we are always looking at ways to refine it.”

    Roger Murphy, president of U S Block Windows Co., in Pensacola, Fla., agreed. The firm, which does business as Hy-Lite, a U.S. Block Windows Co., makes acrylic and glass block windows.

    “Our challenges on the cost side are to try to keep resin prices down and to find ways to reduce the amount of material [in our products] and still maintain structural strength,” Murphy said in an interview at the International Builders Show in Orlando, from Jan. 12-15. “To help lower costs, Hy-Lite has also standardized some window component parts, he said.

    Stu Kemper, president of composite and PVC decking company TimberTech of Wilmington, Ohio, also keeps a watchful eye on resin prices. “One of our biggest challenges right now is energy costs and the price of oil, which is a leading indicator of resin costs,” Kemper said. “We need to stay close to the market. We are looking to increase the use of lower-cost materials and looking to increase the amount of recycled polymers while maintaining quality and strength.”

    While fuel prices are a concern for Advanced Environmental Recycling Technologies Inc. in Springdale, Ark., resin prices are not. AERT opened a recycling plant in Watts, Okla., a year ago.

    “We are starting to see the value of Watts,” said Brent Gwatney, vice president of sales and marketing for AERT's MoistureShield-brand decking. “Watts gives us the ability to not have to buy raw material on the open market and can help us lower our cost structure.”

    Still, in today's market, “trying to keep prices down will be a challenge,” Gwatney said. “If fuel prices keep rising, we will have to look for the best opportunities to cut freight costs.”

    The other challenge for building material makers is trimming operating costs, which sometimes results in plant closings.

    “We are driving out costs without reducing quality or efficiency,” said Gary Pember, vice president of marketing for window maker Simonton Building Products Inc. in Parkersburg, W.Va. The firm does its own extrusion, which helps it control costs.

    “My first year, we closed or consolidated four plants,” added Mark Orcutt, who became executive vice president of building products at Royal Group Inc. in Woodbridge, Ontario, in 2008.

    “You have to take manufacturing costs out to offset inflation because it is tough to get pricing increases in a downturn. Utilities are our third-largest cost,” he said.

    “We have right-sized our manufacturing footprint and invested in technology to extrude PVC resin. Our goal is to have the right people and processes in place and be able to take advantages of our investments when the market picks up.”

    That approach is much like the one Dave Randich used when he became CEO of Therma-Tru Doors in Maumee, Ohio, three years ago. “We consolidated our manufacturing footprint in North America from five plants to two, and have focused on operational excellence,” he said.

    Among other things, Therma-Tru has invested in training for plant floor workers, put into place modern quality management processes and made its remaining plants more energy-efficient. “We have done a complete turnaround,” Randich said.

    RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
    Tuskegee professor training 'next generation' of Black scientists
    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
    Sign of the times: Excess recycled PET driving prices lower
    2
    PP, PET join PE, PVC in a resin pricing slide in July
    3
    Radoszewski pushes back in court over firing as plastics association CEO
    4
    McKinsey report: Plastics help reduce greenhouse gas emissions
    5
    Coca-Cola eliminating green PET in North America
    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