Order levels in the UK’s mass production joinery sector have been maintained throughout most of the final quarter although the weeks leading up to Christmas have brought a widespread – if expected – downturn in activity. Overall, this year has provided companies with a reasonable, if not spectacular, return on their efforts, despite the lack of any great scope for price increases in what remains a highly competitive market place.
With the odd exception, architectural joinery firms have also witnessed a slight tail-off in enquiries during the fourth quarter. And while many companies have obtained some lucrative orders for the early part of 2003, there is widespread concern that economic uncertainty might adversely affect enquiry levels as the year progresses.
From the timber window sector, there were reports this week of some producers managing to secure a slight price increase over recent months in order to cover higher raw material costs. This market continues to be dominated by the long-standing trend towards fully-glazed, factory-finished products. A prominent producer said his company had secured sufficient business to see it through the next six months “irrespective of whether the housing market goes off the boil”. For the moment, the housing market appears relatively stable although many builders have been hit recently by wet weather delays, particularly in November.
Window styles
Other trends identified included good demand for casement windows and sliding sash “because that is the direction in which housing styles are moving”. One producer said: “Multi-bar windows are still very
popular compared to plain, and we are seeing quite a push in tender documents for ‘Secure by Design’ products.” Another contact ventured: “We are seeing more and more demand for supply and fit – particularly from the public sector.”
A salient trend in the door market has been the increase in demand for doorsets, although the fact that many leading companies are now operating in this market has served to keep prices keen. The interior door market remains highly competitive on price while demand for composite doors has slowed slightly in the run-up to Christmas following a reasonably strong second half of the year. “We expect demand to remain slow in the first quarter of next year but for the market to pick up in the spring as people change their entrances,” said one producer.
The stairs market has been performing well, with many producers reporting healthy if not full order books. According to several contacts, interest has been particularly marked for part- or fully-finished products because of a lack of on-site skills. “The ability to measure for stairs is often beyond some site workers,” said one.
In terms of raw materials, the rising cost of redwood has prompted some joinery product manufacturers to consider increasing their prices. One confirmed: “We will be looking to introduce higher published prices by the spring, although wanting higher prices and getting them are two different things.”
Responding to demand from the joinery sector, Chiltern Dynamics has put together a service life testing programme for doors so manufacturers can have official verification of lifespan claims for their products. “This is what some of their own customers are wanting, especially at the higher end of the market,” commented a scheme spokesperson.
New website
More news of relevance to the joinery sector is that the askTRADA website (www.asktrada.co.uk) is scheduled to go live in January. It is designed to cover all issues relating to timber – most particularly construction timber – in a bid to “take the mystique out of working with timber” for specifiers and end users, according to a TRADA spokesman. The website, which will have links to all TRADA members, will feature technical information aimed at helping prospective customers to specify timber.
Joinery firms will also have an interest in the full implementation of the British Woodworking Federation‘s Code of Conduct, which the organisation hopes to launch during the first quarter of next year. This will provide a standard of best practice but with a practical slant, including models that can be adapted to a company’s individual requirements. It is anticipated that Code of Conduct inspections for existing BWF members will take place every four years.
Meanwhile, BWF’s home buyer guide to timber windows is expected to be available by the end of the current year. Designed to be displayed in show homes, this will outline the reasons why housebuilders choose timber windows. Also likely to appear around the turn of the year is a BWF ‘Fact Card’ stressing the importance of correct installation of fire doors. Aimed at architects, building control and surveyors among others, this will emphasise that fire doors are “precisely engineered products” whose installation is “a specialised task”, according to the BWF.
Fire door scheme
In addition, the BWF’s approved fire door centre scheme is beginning to take shape. These centres are actually builders merchant branches where BWF has provided fire door training to at least two members of staff so they can better communicate the benefits of BWF Certifire approved products to their customers. BWF has already received a number of applications from builders merchants and aims to build membership to around 100 during 2003.
In the architectural joinery market, firms have noticed a tail-off in retail activity over the last month or so as shop owners concentrate on Christmas sales. Some retailers also prefer to hold off investment decisions until the financial rewards from the festive season have been calculated. Commercial fit-outs have been relatively good but the busiest area of activity appears to have been the high-quality residential sector. Indeed, one contact described apartment business as “hectic”.
Colour preferences
In terms of timber, the lighter-coloured, temperate hardwoods – such as hard maple – are continuing to hold sway, although steamed black walnut has remained popular, often as a contrast to the paler woods. One joiner described walnut as a “trump timber” in hotel sector work.
Two major issues identified this week included increasing demand within tender documents for FSC accreditation, as well as a certain reluctance to specify “exotic timbers with a non-renewable tag”. This is prompting concern about supply of accredited timber and also about the possibility of premiums which cannot be passed on to customers. Meanwhile, there are indications that Construction Skills Certification Scheme cards will become more of a requirement for all on-site labour during 2003. A number of major contractors are demanding that workers have this card “because they want to show that they are using professional labour on their sites”. This can mean reassessment procedures even for some highly-experienced employees to obtain cards.
The pre-Christmas downturn in architectural joinery activity has alleviated some of the immediate labour difficulties, although several contacts were still expressing concern this week about the lack of quality tradespeople being attracted into the industry despite what one calculated as a 50% increase in wages since the mid-1990s.
Reasonable year
For the UK joinery sector as a whole, 2002 has proved to be a reasonable year. However, there is concern about the wider economic picture and the possible impact of negative sentiment on the industry’s prospects for 2003. Most companies appear to be comfortable with order levels for the start of the year, but somewhat fearful of what ensuing months may hold. Typical of a number of responses this week, one leading mass production joiner said his com-pany had achieved a significant turnover increase in 2002 but was predicting little, if any, growth for 2003.
Another mass production joiner observed: “We should have a certain amount of confidence in the first quarter of 2003 because a lot of councils will be getting rid of their spend, but we are not getting a lot of forward commitment from our customers.”
Even one of the busier architectural joinery firms contacted this week was forced to acknowledge: “We are getting some pretty horrible vibes about the latter part of 2003 and into 2004.”
