PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT

MODERN LOOKS for western red cedar include 1”x6” tongue-and-groove siding fi nished with a bleaching stain.

Substrate matters

The versatility of western red cedar

From a consumer’s perspective, choosing finishing materials and appearance products like siding has always been about weighing the pros and cons of one material over another. The question of cost, of course, is a major factor, as are considerations like long-term value, return on investment, and appearance and versatility. To complicate matters, trying to navigate a market and media landscape overrun with non-wood products and confl icting information only exacerbates the diffi culty in making a fi nal decision.

Providing consumers and industry professionals with relevant and persuasive information on western red cedar (WRC) has been at the core of the Western Red Cedar Lumber Association’s mandate for over 65 years. While many retailers are selling out as soon as they have supply, the time to promote the importance of softwoods like cedar has never been more important, said Brad Kirkbride, managing director of the WRCLA. “We have an amazing story to tell about why choosing a natural product like cedar matters. And there are a host of reasons why consumers and professionals need to know that story now. Given the growing number of competitive products in the market, demonstrating to consumers the benefi ts they get with a product like WRC siding now will mitigate a situation like what happened to the decking market when composites gained traction.”

The WRCLA’s strategy of emphasizing siding is timely given James Hardie Industries’ recent expansion plans and their “It’s possible” campaign, which focuses on exterior solutions that include siding.

“We’re going to see more non-wood entrants in siding,” noted Kirkbride. “This is why we research what our audience needs to know to choose WRC over these products. One of the biggest competitive advantages cedar siding has over non-wood is the incredible versatility you get in terms of textures, profi les, fi nishing options, grades, or even if you want a horizontal or vertical design. But we also have a younger audience that’s coming of age soon that will change the game. It’s a generation of consumers who have a very diff erent relationship with brands than we did, and who interact with content in a whole new way.”

This new generation of consumers is the group referred