It is often said that, rain or shine, the British love to complain about the weather. In this vein, outdoor trades were delighted by the prolonged warm spell this summer whereas some joiners have been lamenting the detrimental impact of these high temperatures on demand from the indoor DIY sector.
For this reason, or perhaps because of continuing concerns over economic prospects, the mass production joinery sector appears to have experienced a flat summer. Sales targets may have been achieved in many cases but margins were barely satisfactory. Also, several leading players are contending that the summer holiday lull extended further into September than normal, but that orders have now begun to gather pace.
Some major window manufacturers have announced catalogue price increases over recent months, although they say these are intended mainly to cover their own rising overheads and will add little to the bottom line. The talk this week was of rises ranging between 5-7.5%; in at least one case, however, the glass element of the window price has been pushed up 10% to take account of “hefty increases” in the cost of this raw material. Also on the raw material front, one contact suggested that oversupply is weakening the price of Russian timber but that timber from Scandinavia is still relatively steady.
Doing deals
To what extent these list price increases on windows will ultimately impact on the market place remains to be seen. One expert observed: “There is always someone out there ready to do a deal, so customers know they can shop around.”
All mass producers point to a continuation of the trend towards fully-glazed, factory-finished windows, with a number of prominent companies having made fresh investments in this area of business during the year. “Customers want a solution nowadays and, in any case, many don’t have the same skills on site as they used to,” TTJ was told. In this context, one manufacturer added: “We have been forced into fitting the windows because customers have either lost the ability to fit them or want someone to take responsibility for the whole product.”
Several producers also noted the continuing trend towards sash windows, with one remarking on an upturn in demand for flush sash windows “because people are looking to design in wider windows”.
The trend in the door sector is also towards factory finishing and doorsets due to a desire among buyers to obtain a complete solution and to minimise on-site skill needs. Added-value doors, such as those meeting Secured by Design requirements, have been offering the best scope for price increases, whereas the commodity interior door sector “is having to meet the price points to be competitive”.
Although many producers have limited price increases to a few per cent, one prominent manufacturer recently pushed up prices by 7.5%. “Demand is reasonable so we don’t think we are going to lose business by putting up prices, but there are some really remarkable deals to be had on standard and internal doors,” a spokesperson told TTJ.
Strong staircase demand led one contact to comment: “It’s as if a major producer has gone out of business.” Significant price increases and a lead time of seven weeks had failed to deter customers, he said, to the extent that “we have been turning business away”. Supply pressure had been most pronounced on ‘winders’ and non-standard stairs, he added.
The trend towards factory finishing is also impacting on the stairs sector, while one contact noted an increasing demand for staircase materials to match hardwood flooring.
Mixed messages are emerging from the architectural joinery sector. Several companies reported buoyant activity levels while others suggested that, while enquiry levels had been relatively good, the rate of conversion into firm orders had slowed recently. In general, joiners have enjoyed a reasonable year to date and appear relatively confident about order prospects heading into next year. Particularly strong areas of demand include higher-value residential housing and, in certain parts of the country, office interiors.
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“Some major window manufacturers have announced catalogue price increases although they say these are intended mainly to cover their own rising overheads” |
By contrast, the message from architectural joiners about margins was unequivocal: customers are looking to attract highly competitive quotes and expect more for their money, such as FSC accreditation. Joiners are also lamenting the constant increase in their administrative burden and the difficulty in securing skilled labour. Qualified bench joiners and foremen are said to be in particularly short supply. Also, the cost of agency labour has continued to increase at a time when “people on site seem to prefer to work for an agency rather than a company”.
On a brighter note, architectural joiners reported no major concerns over timber prices and, indeed, evidence of downward pressure on key panel products such as MDF. In terms of customer trends, lighter hardwoods such as hard maple have remained firmly in vogue alongside cherry and black walnut.
New initiatives
As ever, industry organisations have been looking to develop new initiatives that reflect industry needs and developments. For example, BM TRADA Certification has responded to an approach from a door manufacturer wanting to prove the quality of its products by creating “performance doorsets” and “high performance doorsets” Q-Mark certification schemes. “We devised a programme to work a door to its limits to set a benchmark,” explained a spokesperson. The fact that the initiative was sparked by a manufacturer underlines the “keenness” in producer circles to put proof of product quality in front of buyers, he added.
Also based on feedback – this time from architects – TRADA is to stage a one-day event in London next March entitled ‘In touch with timber’, the aim of which will be to overcome any designer, engineer
and architect reservations about using timber. According to TRADA, focus groups have indicated that architects appreciate the aesthetics of wood but are still putting “a few question marks” against its use. The event will promote the use of timber in construction by highlighting, for example, a range of innovative applications.
Next month, Chiltern Dynamics will be holding the first of a series of open days at High Wycombe which will serve as an introduction to product testing and its benefits. Market research has again been the spur for this initiative, on this occasion incorporating the views of about 1,500 door and window manufacturers.
November will also be the starting point for a timber training initiative from the British Woodworking Federation (BWF). The organisation has been working with its membership to devise training courses which will provide joiners with “a better practical understanding of their raw material”, according to a spokesperson. Three modules will cover: an introduction to understanding softwoods and hardwoods; how to get the best from wood; and innovations in timber. The emphasis will be on arming joiners – both new and experienced – with practical information that can be used on a daily basis.
Turning to the BWF’s recently-launched campaign to highlight the importance of using compatible components when installing fire doors, the same spokesperson said that tests had underlined the scale of the problem of fire door centres offering incomplete or inaccurate advice, adding that the best test results had been achieved by one of the federation’s own approved fire door centres.
Sea-change in attitude
Noting that the BWF was assessing means of strengthening the rules for its Timber Window Accreditation Scheme, the spokesperson pointed to opinion trend information which indicated a possible sea-change in public attitudes to timber windows. “We may be getting our first generation of home owners who haven’t lived in a house with timber windows and feel these are something to aspire to,” he explained.
