DIY in the driving seat

Summary
• Product availability, depth of range, quality and branch staff knowledge are key.
• Plainer profiles are more popular than highly decorative styles.
• Oak remains the most popular choice for solid mouldings.
• Primed MDF continues to take market share for skirtings and architraves.

Getting a clear picture of the state of the mouldings market is not easy when words used to describe the current situation in different parts of the business range from “buoyant” to “anaemic”.

But, one thing most suppliers agree on is that, in a hangover from the worst of the recession, it’s still the DIY and RMI markets that are generating the strongest demand.

“The driving force behind moulding sales is definitely DIY-based,” said Jacquie Capper, at Cheshire Mouldings. Tony Miles, managing director of International Timber, agrees. “It’s the RMI business which is driving the market and we expect this trend to continue in line with the push to upgrade existing properties,” he said.

That said, some players are starting to see the first flickers of optimism feeding through from the new build sector.

Housing trends

Rob Wilbore, managing director of Parker Kislingbury (PKL), went as far as saying there had been a “mini boom” in certain parts of the housing market. Although he cautioned that this was largely driving demand for “a primed MDF moulding rather than high-end solid hardwood such as oak”.

Gerard Wilson of SAM Mouldings said his company had also seen the signs. “Some housebuilders are reporting slightly more interest through their showhouses, and planned unit builds for 2011 are up on 2010,” he said.

While there is a wide range of opinion in the market at present, however, when asked to plump for a definitive view on the state of business, mouldings manufacturers did arrive at a consensus of sorts – that the depths of the downturn are behind us and the outlook is one of cautious optimism. No predictions of sales surges, but stability and gradual improvement did come up in conversation.

Perhaps at the most bullish end of the market spectrum was David McDonnell, commercial director at Primer Mould manufacturer W Howard, and he too tempered optimism with restraint. “Volumes have been surprisingly buoyant for 2011, more so than our expectations,” he told TTJ. “We do feel that the market is showing signs of recovery. The negative is the volatility of the supply chain. Increasing costs and availability of the raw material could yet dampen recovery.”

Biomass impact

Mr McDonnell said the development of the UK’s biomass industry also had the potential to be a spanner in the mouldings works by increasing raw material competition and prices. “It continues to consume ever increasing amounts of timber-based materials,” he said.

At Parker Kislingbury, Mr Wilbore was also in hedge-betting mood. “It’s hardly a massive improvement and still fairly anaemic as far as solid hardwood mouldings are concerned, but the market is up on the last few years,” he said.

Whatever their view on the overall state of business, however, manufacturers maintain that mouldings still present merchants and retailers with one of the best tools to capture any demand that exists – provided they have the right products.

According to Finnforest, research proves the key criteria driving a trade professional to purchase derives from product availability, depth of range, quality and branch staff knowledge.

“Merchants considering and responding to these expectation levels alongside effective merchandising and communication are likely to take advantage of demand,” said Darren Pack, Finnforest’s head of merchant sales.

But what about design? What styles are currently in biggest demand?

While Richard Burbidge has noticed a trend for more decorative mouldings (p31), others say clean lines are still in vogue.

“On the whole, plainer profiles are a more popular choice over highly decorative styles, reflecting contemporary trends for minimalist finishes and offering a cost-effective solution,” said International Timber’s Tony Miles.

At the bespoke end of the market, said Mr Wilbore, the profile range customers are going for remains “varied and wide”. But on the whole, he agreed that the fashion is for “a clean simple look with straight lines”.

That’s not to say that more ornate designs are being totally squeezed from the market. At International, Mr Miles said there was still demand, particularly in the architectural sector for more complex, higher value bespoke products. So to some extent it is still “important to cater for both ends of the spectrum”.

When it comes to grain and finish, as opposed to profile, consumers and specifiers across the market do seem to be continuing to look for variety, alternatives and choice.

“Currently we’re seeing a lift again towards American black walnut, but oak by far remains the most popular choice,” said Mr Wilbore.

International Timber, meanwhile, is seeing a sustained demand for stained, Sikkens-treated or flame retardant finishes, particularly in the architectural and joinery sectors, where customers want products that will both stand out from the pack and perform well.

Fully finished and coated

According to Finnforest’s Mr Pack, for the DIY sector there has been an increasing demand for foil and real wood veneers on skirting, mouldings and cladding. “The popularity of fully finished and coated products is reasonably strong, with satin finishes replacing gloss,” he said, adding that he expected these trends to filter down to the merchant offering.

“The market is maturing and fully finished products are on the increase,” he said. “This is because they can save time and provide easy installation for the trade professional. And light oaks tend to be the most popular because they can be used to complement other timber elements throughout an interior – for example, doors and fitted furniture in RMI projects.”

Meanwhile, in raw material choice, competition continues to hot up, with manufacturers reporting that MDF is still taking market share away from softwood, while hardwood seems to be losing ground to real-wood veneers.

“Primed MDF continues to take a slice of the softwood skirtings and architraves market,” said Mr McDonnell. “This is due to price and the fact that MDF is more user-friendly, and low maintenance. Real wood veneers are also moving into the hardwood market because of price, but also because

they are defect free and [have a strong environmental story] as they use a fraction of the hardwood compared to solid mouldings.”

He added that W Howard’s Polyco wrapped MDF products are also penetrating new markets.

Softwood dominant

Darren Pack agrees that MDF has become increasingly popular with contractors working on new build projects but says softwood is still dominant in the overall market.

“MDF was popular within new build projects, but with this market struggling to deliver volumes there is an oversupply of MDF in the general market at the moment,” he told TTJ. “As a result, prices have been forced to unsustainable levels. This has increased the popularity of MDF mouldings but at some point a correction in the price differential should return the market to a balance of softwood.”

Looking at the overall demand picture, several manufacturers said they were continuing to see region-specific trends across the UK, with, for example, Scottish customers demanding a different variety of product from those in the south-east.

“As a result,” said Mr Miles, “there will always be a place for home-grown producers who can meet specific market demands. In terms of volume mouldings, there is a market for imports, but many of these rely on their UK distributors and are less flexible in terms of their ability to respond to demand trends and variation. That offers domestic businesses an opportunity to expand their offer.”