While many joinery firms appear to have been reasonably active during the latter months of 2005, there is widespread concern about order files for 2006 in the wake of a general slowdown in the construction sector. A quieter housing market, the postponement of some key government projects and ever-rising costs – notably those relating to energy and fuel – have combined to create a general sense of unease as the UK joinery trade heads into the new year.

“I’m trying to be optimistic about 2006 but I’m finding it difficult,” TTJ was told. Another joinery source commented: “The nervousness on the high street is transmitting itself into the industry.”

According to the British Woodworking Federation (BWF), 2005 fulfilled the expectations of many joinery experts in providing a considerably tougher business climate than was experienced in 2004. The number of its members who went into liquidation or administration in 2005 was at its highest for several years – in many cases, as a result of cash flow issues.

At the same time, however, the BWF’s latest market trend surveys reveal wide scale confidence in the robustness of demand for timber windows: 36% of respondents expected to record an improvement in timber window sales in the period from September 2005 to February 2006 compared to the same six months in 2004-05, with 26% anticipating turnover growth of more than 10%.

Spectacular growth

Meanwhile, 2005 proved to be another year of “quite spectacular growth” of between 13-15% in the fire door market, according to trends survey feedback. The market for fire doors has expanded by more than 30% over the past three years but many manufacturers are expecting more difficult sales conditions to emerge in the early part of 2006, according to a federation spokesperson.

According to one of the UK’s largest mass production joinery firms, business conditions certainly became tougher during the second half of 2005 – to the extent that its own turnover was approaching 10% lower for the year as a whole. Meanwhile, rising costs of energy, fuel and freight are pushing producers in the direction of raising their prices. One leading manufacturer confirmed that it will be looking to introduce a price increase of around 5% on some of its key products – including doorsets and timber windows – with effect from February. Smaller increases were envisaged for the more “commodity” items, he added.

The trend in timber windows continues strongly to favour fully-finished and glazed products. Demand in the door and stair sectors also reflect a general desire among clients to reduce on-site work requirements: manufacturers report healthy orders for fully-finished and painted timber doors, as well as for part- and fully-finished stairs, including pre-assembled balustrades.

Last year JELD-WEN UK closed its stile and rail door factory at Lowestoft. Subsequently, the company has moved the production of certain doorsets to its factory in Sheffield. More recently, the company has confirmed that a new paint line – which it is claiming to be the fastest in Europe – will come on stream at its Sheffield factory during the first quarter of 2006.

And in a major international development, the company has confirmed the acquisition of Denmark’s Vest-Wood A/S – reportedly Europe’s largest door manufacturer – for an undisclosed sum. A spokesperson for JELD-WEN UK said the acquisition reflected the company’s strategy “to be the clear global leader in doors and windows”.

Location and specialisms always have a major impact on the activity levels enjoyed by individual firms within the UK’s architectural joinery sector. In general, recent weeks have brought a steady decline in shopfitting work as retailers focus on maximising sales during the pre-Christmas rush. Meanwhile, some joiners report more robust demand from the office fit-out sector – partly because many clients prefer to schedule their moves into new premises for the start of a year. Those joiners specialising in the larger and higher-quality residential market appear to have remained busier than most.

&#8220Clients and main contractors have been bullying us into keeping our prices low”

But even those companies with decent order files would not deny the ongoing tightness affecting margins. Timber prices have been relatively stable in recent months, although upward pressure has been applied to some specifications of redwood and whitewood out of Scandinavia and Russia following last summer’s strike in Finland; further increases were widely anticipated for the first quarter of 2006.

Other costs – including those of energy, fuel and steel – have been far less predictable. However, competition for business among UK joiners has been sufficiently fierce to restrict their scope for increasing prices. “Clients and main contractors have been bullying us into keeping our prices low,” one of them said. Many joiners are complaining that, rather than seeing price increases, they are being asked to do more work for no extra gain. “We are being asked to do some of what architects and designers would have done in the past,” it was explained. “There is a lot less detail on some of the drawings these days and we are expected to fill in the gaps. Generally, customers are looking to get more for their money.”

Although the UK trade continues to report a long-term shortage of bench joiners, some companies are struggling in the short term to keep their workforce fully employed. “We have had to peg our labour rates this year to maintain our competitiveness,” said one joinery manager. Having complained that the process of trying to win work had become increasingly engulfed in meetings, red tape and demands for detailed documentation, he added: “There is more and more admin but less and less work. It’s no fun at all working in the construction industry.”

Darker species

As noted in the previous joinery report, there has been something of a trend back to darker species of timber after a prolonged period in which the lighter woods – such as hard maple – held sway among customers. Black walnut appears to be the focus of particularly strong demand at present. There has been evidence of clients cutting back on some of the more expensive timbers in a bid to restrict the final bill.

Meanwhile, an increasing number of tenders are demanding compliance with specific sustainability criteria even though other accreditation schemes offer similar reassurances. According to several joiners, many clients have only a limited understanding of the issues involved.

On the news front, experts believe that product standard prEN 14351-1:2005, which covers windows and pedestrian doorsets without fire resistance, is unlikely to undergo any further changes in technical content before the final version emerges in the spring. The standard, which was spotlighted at two recent “European Openings” conferences organised by Chiltern Dynamics and BM TRADA Certification, will enable manufacturers to CE mark their products. Although CE marking is not mandatory in the UK, the mark “will give a very strong message to Building Control that your product confirms with the Construction Product Directive, as it must”, delegates were told.

According to a TRADA spokesperson, previous experience would indicate that compliance with the standard will be required by the autumn of 2007. However, he urged joinery firms to be proactive and to assess what thermal, acoustic or air permeability performance criteria they might have to meet.

The new year has ushered in a significant change at the BWF. From January 1, any member not already compliant with the organisation’s Code of Conduct must be actively working towards this goal since this has now become a condition of membership. In this context, the BWF has conducted more than 260 assessment visits to member companies over the last two years or so.

Also for the early part of the year, the federation is planning to launch a revised version of its health and safety guide as well as an updated technical standard for stairs.