Construction boom
By Cindy Macdonald, associate editor
For those that remember recycled plastic lumber being hotly discussed (and then dismissed) in the early '90s, be aware that many of the current "plastic lumber" products bear little resemblance to the...
For those that remember recycled plastic lumber being hotly discussed (and then dismissed) in the early ’90s, be aware that many of the current “plastic lumber” products bear little resemblance to these predecessors.
Most current wood alternatives fall into one of these three categories, based on composition –recycled plastic lumber (RPL), made from recycled polyolefins; plastic lumber made of virgin resin, generally PVC, HDPE or PS; or plastic/wood composites (PWC) which generally contain more than 50 percent wood.
The newer products are aesthetically pleasing, of consistent quality and highly engineered to meet physical property criteria.
A major difference between the newer wood replacement products and the more established RPL products is volume of sales. Alan Robbins, president of the Plastic Lumber Trade Association (Akron, OH), told the group’s annual meeting last November that the 2000 sales volume for Trex (one of the most successful producers of plastic/wood decking products in the U.S.) was estimated to be almost US$100 million — higher than the annual sales of the entire RPL industry.
Canadians cashing in
There is ample evidence within Canada of the success of non-wood building products. CPI Plastics Group Ltd. (Mississauga, ON) has 30 extruders producing its eon polystyrene-based decking products. At least four companies in Ontario have entered the plastic/wood composites market in recent months. And at vinyl building products kingpin Royal Group Technologies Ltd. (Woodbridge, ON), the extensive product line can almost provide a maintenance-free backyard, except for the grass. Royal Group produces decking systems, railings, fencing, storage sheds, patio furniture and gazebos, all in weather-resistant, maintenance-free plastic.
According to several consulting firms, the potential for plastic/wood composites is especially strong in the decking and railing segment. Growth estimates for the period 2000 to 2005 range from 60 percent to over 100 percent.
To what do producers attribute the success of wood alternatives? In large part, it’s due to a strong market for decking products and the insistent “maintenance-free” marketing message. Some credit also goes to environmental consciousness on the part of the consumer, to the big-box stores for promoting wood alternatives, and to savvy packaging that emphasizes convenience (such as railing kits and pre-cut, packaged sections of fence).
“I’m amazed at the growth of railing systems,” says Ron Mitchell, president of CPI. “We’re actually gearing up for more production of railing components. Pre-packaging and ease of installation has a lot to do with the success.” CPI sells railing components cut and packaged as a complete kit for a six-foot section. It recently added a stair railing kit as well.
“Decking products are merely the first step in the plastic/wood composite product revolution,” says Paul M. Smith of Penn State University. Smith made a presentation on the U.S. decking market for plastic/wood composites at the 6th International Conference on Woodfibre-Plastics Composites held in May 2001 in Madison, WI.
The economics of building products
Smith noted in his presentation that plastic/wood composites are characterized by high raw material costs and low capital costs. “The strategy must be to remove materials, lower the plastics costs and improve the properties.”
Due to high materials cost, technologies that use less resin per linear foot are appealing. Frank Maine’s oriented polypropylene process, for example, claims a density of 0.54 compared with 0.99 for other plastic/wood composites. “As a result of our orientation process, less material is needed, therefore reducing costs,” he explains. Maine is a well-known researcher and industry consultant and chairman of Polymer Sheet Applications Inc. (Guelph, ON), which is marketing his oriented polypropylene process for producing synthetic lumber and hardwood.
Some external factors are also poised to act in favor of wood alternatives. “Wood prices are going up and environmental concerns about the chemicals used in pressure treating are getting more media coverage,” reports George McCart, U.S. sales manager with Brite Manufacturing Inc. (Bolton, ON). Brite Manufacturing produces decking and lattice products from plastic, wood and PWC.
Building credibility
The establishment and then the achievement of standards and certifications is currently being pursued by most players as a route to legitimacy for plastic lumber in decking and building products applications.
“I foresee us being in the thick of standards development,” says Brian Bacik, president of GSW Thermoplastics. “Government bodies seem to have a hard time wrapping their minds around an innovative product. For our vinyl railing product, we had to represent our interests very strongly.” GSW Thermoplastics recently added PWC decking to its existing building products line of gutters, fencing and railing systems.
According to Maine, the research support organization Materials and Manufacturing Ontario (Mississauga, ON) is trying to put together a consortium of companies to represent the industry on the issue of standards and building codes.
The RPL industry in the U.S. has participated in the development of ASTM standards for measuring certain characteristics of RPL for decks. The standards are worded such that they don’t apply to plastic/wood composites with more than 50 percent wood by weight, but their mere existence adds validity to the entire plastic decking industry.
There have been eight new ASTM test methods established for physical properties of plastic lumber. A key standard, the “Standard Specification for Polyolefin Plastic Lumber Decking Boards” was approved in April 2001. This should make these materials more acceptable to building code bodies and architects.
Competing among themselves
In addition to the competition with wood, there is competition among the various plastic products for market share as well. For marketing purposes, the RPL and 100 percent plastic lumber proponents try to paint wood content as a negative factor.
“Engineered profiles and wood composites — they take our thunder, but durability is our advantage,” says Andy Salmers, sales and marketing manager for Canadian Plastic Lumber (Lindsay, ON), which produces 100 percent recycled plastic products.
Jean-Guy de Charrette, plant manager for Cascades Re-Plast, is also not sold on the benefits of composites. “Our boards are 100 percent plastic. That means they don’t absorb water, they will not split, crack or rot. If you have wood fibre, you will have water absorption.
“We’ve been on the market for 10 years now. We have a strong history.”
Marketers of PWC, on the other hand, emphasize that their products are long-lasting and maintenance-free, and generally lighter than RPL.
Looking to the future
According to Smith, current applications for PWC are auto parts, door skins, deck boards and railings, and fenestration. Opportunities exist in exterior door components (frame, stiles, rails, threshold, brick mold), window frame lineals, siding and accessories, fencing, structural materials, laminate flooring, guard rails, residential garage doors, pallets, furniture and cabinet parts, railroad ties, utility poles, etc.
But with opportunities come challenges. The allure of a growing market brings more competitors into the game.
Alan Robbins of PTLA feels the plastic lumber industry is leaving the early business cycles of emerging technology and growth, and entering the more mature cycle of marketplace acceptance.
“A third activity in the business development cycle as new markets establish their legitimacy is the entry of new and larger market players. We are beginning to see the first waves of this activity and expect to see more in the years to come. This activity can signal many issues as companies move outside of their core technical competencies to explore new technology markets,” says Robbins.
The entry of large lumber companies into the plastic/wood composite market, which has been h
appening in the U.S. over the last six months, is an example of this phenomenon.
Wood alternatives: Who does what?
Product | Markets | Canadian producers* |
Recycled plastic lumber | Commercial and residential | Cascades Re-Plast Inc., |
decking, park and recreation | Plastival, Superwood Canada | |
products, industrial/agriculture, | Inc., Canadian Plastic Lumber | |
marine waterfront, railroad ties | ||
Plastic lumber (virgin resin | Residential decking, railing | CPI Plastics Group Ltd., |
including PVC) | systems, spa cladding, fencing | Royal Group Technologies Ltd. |
Plastic/wood composites | Residential decking | GSW Thermoplastics, Brite Manufacturing Inc., Nexwood Industries Ltd. (plastic/cellulose composite), Polymer Sheet Applications Inc. |
Fibre-reinforced plastic | Commercial and residential | Pultronex Corp. |
lumber | decking, industrial planks, | |
marine waterfront | ||
* This is a partial list compiled from industry directories and word-of-mouth. We would be happy to hear of any other producers — e-mail your suggestions to cmacdonald@corporate.southam.ca
Synthetic residential deck board and railings, projected market share (by value)*
2000 (estimate, | 2001 (projected, | 2005 (projected, | US$) | US$) | US$) |
All decking and railing | 3.2 billion (1) | 3.328 billion | 3.893 billion (2) | ||
Plastic/wood | 268 million | 330 million | 750 million composites | ||
HDPE & PVC | 65 million | 95 million | 80 million | ||
(1) Includes deck board and railing systems | |||||
(2) Estimated growth of ~4% per year | |||||
* Source: Paul M. Smith, Penn State University