When the owner of German-based WPC decking manufacturer Novo Tech visited TTJ offices recently he was optimistic of increased UK business.
Holger Sasse, managing director of the company that makes the Megawood and EasyDeck brands, was fresh from meeting UK companies with sales director Jochen Lohse and accompanied by its UK sales and technical office representatives Michael Stubbs and Roger Summer.
As the dominant player in the German WPC decking market, Megawood is looking increasingly to develop its export markets and has seen the market interest in the UK. Mr Sasse said Novo-Tech was the oldest operational European producer of WPC, having started production in 2003, first with small volumes of about 1,000 tonnes per year. Now it produces over 30,000 tonnes annually (25,000m3) and is billed as Europe’s largest WPC producer, taking an estimated 22% of Germany’s WPC market alone.
Based in a 32,000m2 factory in Aschersleben with about 140 employees, the company has manufactured over 8 million m2 of decking boards since 2005.
Megawood’s 75% wood content, the company says, represents the highest wood content WPC on the market. Virgin polymer and additives form the other ingredients.
The home German market is its largest market, while the export quota is 25%. “German customers and dealers are very demanding, wanting quality decking performance,” said Mr Lohse.
This, he added, has meant that the Megawood brand has learned all the lessons with WPC, answering installer/distributor questions over many years, working through detailing and is ready for other markets.
Mr Lohse said part of its success in Germany was getting the quality and pricing model right and sufficient stocks on the ground to cope with seasonal demand.
“As the season starts in spring we will have 8,000m3 on the ground,” he added.
The first Megawood product was hollow core, but it stopped production of this in 2009 to concentrate on a solid board.
Agent NFP Europe’s Michael Stubbs said a combination of some WPC industry hollow core products being poor quality and also deck builders not installing the product right had led to its concentration on more readily understood solid profiles.
“With hollow core products you have to install 100% according to the installation guide otherwise you can get a lot of comebacks,” said Mr Stubbs. “A 2% incline is needed to be built into the deck in the UK as it rains a lot.”
Mr Stubbs said continuing WPC industry development meant a third wave of products was coming onto the market with better qualities and features. And customers have a better understanding of WPC.
“We believe we are talking to customers who understand it now. Megawood has a good reputation in project work but we now want to bring that to the mass market.”
He estimated the UK WPC market was worth around £20-25m.
A carefully controlled production process sees wood chips reduced to the same size and kiln-dried to ensure a consistent moisture content through the production process.
Novo Tech has many patents on its production machines and puts a high emphasis on being able to produce “unique” surfaces with its patented planing process.
Based on an uncapped matt brushed surface, the Megawood range has a number of “barefootboard” products designed to look and feel like a natural surface.
The Signum, Premium, Premium Plus and Dynum ranges feature a textured surface layer and Signum has a varying signature grain in each board to copy natural wood.
Some of these ranges have super-sized board widths of 242mm and even 293mm, while the EasyDeck brand has a product (Dolomit deckboard) made of a WPC variant material called Powolit, which also incorporates stone waste. A new Classic Varia range incorporates profiled and non-profiled surfaces and also flame retardancy.
Beyond decking, Novo Tech also has a ‘Limes’ WPC fencing system and Construction Plank in standard 40x145mm timber size for building planters, benches, sandpits, fences, footbridges and steps.
Mr Stubbs said Novo Tech saw great potential in the UK but as the industry grows he also believes some kind of independent industry quality policing is required to ensure the market is not held back by poor product performance or empty guarantees from an increasing raft of new market entrants.
