Business has remained generally steady for the mass production joinery sector during the second quarter, but several architectural joinery firms have reported that the perhaps surprisingly bright start to the year has given way to a slight tail-off in orders.
Market conditions for the mass production sector appear to have been in line with expectations over recent weeks, but there is concern that sales activity may be disrupted as the industry heads into the summer.
This month, for example, normal patterns are expected to be affected by the start of the summer holiday season, the Queen’s Jubilee celebrations and Interbuild at Birmingham’s NEC. Even the football World Cup is likely to have an effect.
As ever, the mass production joinery trade is characterised by aggressive competition, most notably in the commodity door sector where, on recent evidence, there appears to be little or no scope for increasing prices. The external door market has remained stable.
According to one contact, there has been a slight increase in patio door specifications and the amount of money consumers are spending.
Adding value
To an increasing extent, the mass production sector views the development of value-added products as the best means of improving returns from a market driven largely by aggressive pricing. Innovations such as ‘Secured by Design’ are proving popular not only in the public and housing association sectors, but increasingly also in the private market. ‘Secured by Design’ has impacted on both the timber door and window markets. Other customer-led trends in doors include demand for an extended offer on moulded doors, to include innovative features and/or different glazing options. In timber windows, the trend remains steadfastly in the direction of full finishing and factory glazing.
Demand for staircases has remained fairly healthy, with some contacts reporting ‘even’ business from housebuilders and slightly improved uptake from the public sector and notably housing associations.
The introduction of Building Regulations Part L is expected to have major ramifications for timber window and door companies.
BM TRADA Q-Mark
Meanwhile, two other companies – Fairoak Timber Products (TTJ May 11) and Swift Joinery – have become the first provisional members of BM TRADA‘s Q-Mark certification scheme for high-performance timber and timber composite windows. Officially launched in Leeds on May 14, the scheme is based around high standards for all the main performance criteria analysed by BM TRADA.
Despite these initiatives to boost the performance of timber windows, there is still misinformation about timber windows. That was the comment from British Woodworking Federation (BWF) director Kevin Cubbage after the Evening Standard ran a feature claiming that it was difficult to make a replacement wood sash window that complied with the new Part L requirements because the gap between the panes of double glazed units was too large for a timber sash window to bear.
The BWF duly supplied the newspaper with details of the availability of double-glazed sliding sash windows that met these new requirements.
Mr Cubbage remains bullish about the growth prospects for timber windows sales. UK sales of all timber windows increased from £180m in 1997 to £255m last year and were expected to reach £290m in the current year. Increases to £350m and £400m were anticipated in 2003 and 2004 respectively.
Timber windows
Mr Cubbage suggested there were clear indications that the tide was turning in favour of timber windows, most notably in the local authority and housing association sectors.
Turning to doors, Mr Cubbage reported that the first builders merchant has begun the process designed to lead to BWF approved fire door centre status.
Branches wishing to achieve approved centre status must send all staff involved with fire doors on a training course organised by the BWF.
The past few weeks have brought differing fortunes in the architectural joinery sector. One leading player lamented that, having created a backlog of work in the early part of the year when talk of recession was still to be heard, there had since been a tail-off in orders and the prospects for June and July were ‘not that brilliant’.
Not all architectural joiners are seeing this downturn in orders, with several still describing themselves as ‘very busy’. In general, reasonable demand appears to be coming from the commercial and housing sectors, although hotel work continues to be affected by the aftermath of September 11.
