TTJ: HOW DID THE JOINERY MARKET DEVELOP THROUGH 2021 INTO 2022?

Andrew Madge: The market feels very buoyant and has done since June 2020, both in the commercial sector and sales direct to end users. Our turnover has doubled in the past 24 months and the main business constraint continues to be capacity.

We’re finding customers are increasingly well-informed as they look for the best value proposition. Businesses offering unique products or excellent value continue to see demand, while those supplying “me-too” products are seeing declining interest.

Jay Pengelly: Our spread of businesses gives us a good perspective across the various markets; the Timber Windows brand is in retail, with both Mumford & Wood and Dale Joinery primarily in the B2B fenestration sector. The retail side of the business recovered more rapidly from the initial 2020 pandemic lockdown. Within a couple of months enquiry volumes were in excess of what we expected and of a decent quality. Given the restrictions of face-to-face contact our challenge was how to deal with this effectively given the business model and tactile nature of our products. But we did manage to successfully navigate our way through this.

It was a different story across the new build and industry in general, with the recovery being much slower. A lot of sites shut during the crisis and it’s taken the industry time to come back – and I’m not sure it’s yet fully back up to speed.

TTJ: TO WHAT EXTENT DID YOU BENEFIT FROM THE HOME IMPROVEMENT (HI) BOOM THROUGH THE PANDEMIC, AND IS IT PERSISTING?

AM: Most of our domestic and residential work comes through our partnership network, which we’re currently expanding. Our partners have been very busy throughout the pandemic. They are able to offer our award-winning ranges of timber windows and doors, but with localised service – there will always be demand for that combination.

JP: Timber Windows, which now has 45 showrooms nationwide and is 99.9% refurbishment focused, benefited hugely, like many within the HI sector. We saw not just consumers spending money saved on holidays and leisure activities from 2020 into 2021 on home improvement, but also more moving from urban centres and upgrading their newly purchased properties. We’re also seeing continued momentum in this market. If you disregarded the exceptional circumstances of 2020-2021 and normalised the growth during the preceding years, the upward trend is pleasing.

TTJ: HOW IS YOUR BUSINESS IN THE NEW BUILD SECTOR DEVELOPING?

AM: We saw a reduction in new build work and enquiries during the pandemic, but this was counterbalanced by strong demand in domestic renovation and commercial redevelopment markets. However, we are now beginning to see a return of large flagship single dwelling projects and we have a couple of exciting ones in the pipeline.

JP: The industry is continuing to have to deal with building products and materials availability issues, price inflation and labour shortages, which, of course, are affecting a cross section of industries. But I think we’re seeing construction generally getting to grips with this more challenging landscape. The past two years have seen companies planning further ahead while, at the same time, becoming more agile and adept at adapting to changing circumstances.

We see environmental issues and standards being increasingly on the radar of construction and consumers, with timber products well placed to benefit. We also see our customer-base becoming more accepting of paying a premium for properties built with a tighter spec, or over achieving on specification. That’s also in our favour.

We continue to focus on environment and sustainability across our group businesses, with our goal of becoming carbon neutral by the end of the year. Mumford & Wood was the first of our companies to achieve this status early in 2022.

TTJ: HOW HAVE YOU MANAGED RECENT TIMBER PRICE RISES AND CONSTRAINED AVAILABILITY?

AM: Fortunately, we have very strong relationships with our supply chain, which we’ve actively cultivated over the years. So, when the pandemic began, we continued to receive goods with preferential deliveries and pricing.

Although we’ve passed on increases to customers, the situation has still impacted our business, as we typically have a six-month order book at fixed prices. We have worked hard with our suppliers to protect our margin and been successful in doing so.

Our positive relationships with our timber suppliers have meant that although we have been a little tight for stock on a few occasions, we have always had enough to keep our manufacturing unit going. It’s definitely been a collaborative approach and we’ve needed to think outside the box.

Every time we anticipate an easing of the situation, a new macro-economic event seems to arise to impact the market – it would take a brave person to predict an easing at this stage, particularly as the war in Ukraine could potentially turn into a long-drawn-out conflict.

JP: I don’t recall a year like the last one for price inflation – turn on your computer every morning and there’s a further increase. We’ve mitigated rises as far as possible to customers, conscious there’s a fulcrum over which orders stop. At the same time, we don’t feel it’s right to put the burden entirely at the doorstep of our supply chain either. Ultimately we take a collegiate approach. We see prices continuing to rise and are monitoring the supply situation closely. But we’re carrying plenty of stock – our core material is engineered softwood – our supply partners are supportive, and we’re confident of managing the situation.

TTJ: HAVE YOU INVESTED RECENTLY?

AM: We are currently part way through installation of an SCM Dogma integrated windows machining centre, an SCM M100 CNC, a new extraction system and also a new sash cramp.

We took on an additional 10,000ft2 of space in the middle of 2020, which we are currently configuring, and we are now installing barcoding machines across the shop floor to drive further volume through the business into 2023.

JP: Our latest purchase for Mumford & Wood, last year, was a Homag BMB 8-series CNC, having introduced a 9-series into the business back in 2014. Timber Windows’ and Dale’s European supply partners have also continued to invest and upgrade.

TTJ: HAVE YOU LAUNCHED NEW PRODUCTS OVER THE LAST YEAR?

AM: We recently launched our new Frontier Range of windows and doors, which has been designed for the future build market. These products offer exceptional energy performance, whilst maintaining the traditional aesthetic of British joinery design.

JP: We’re continually evolving products to meet – and anticipate – changing market needs and regulatory developments. We see Building Regs Document L and particularly Document F, with its implications for airflow and ventilation, increasingly informing the process. Overall we envisage our sector having to meet ever stricter technical criteria and the market supporting higher performance products.

TTJ: WHAT IS YOUR MARKET OUTLOOK?

AM: We see the future as being very positive and, so far, we haven’t experienced any slowdown in demand due to the effects of price inflation. As we manufacture premium products, much of our business is at the top of the market, where customers are better able to absorb rising living costs.

Also, with the significant increases in house prices, the installation of high-quality timber windows is becoming an increasingly smart investment proposition.

JP: We anticipate continuing challenges during 2022 and 2023 in terms of material supply and labour shortage and, given the wider economic picture and geopolitical situation, it would be naïve to think the market will remain as buoyant as it has been. But as a business we have to take control of our destiny and not rely on externals to maintain our momentum. Our order book levels certainly give us confidence running through 2022 and we have further development plans across the group companies.