Dealers' Favorites in ComPosites

(Continued from Page I 5) ing with the market leader. Four other options are offered only by special order. "I think we will see several brands go away as time goes on," warns Paul Forslund.

Southland Lumber & Supply, Inglewood, Ca., also stocks two brands. "We brought Trex in when composites first hit the market," John Harmer shares. "It's always been well advertised and had very good brand awareness' We liked the Fiberon program when it was introduced to us, and we're happy with the product. It has a good texture, color selection, and is priced slightly more competitively."

Maine's Lovell Hardware offers a range of products, with Correct Deck, Trex and Fiberon its top sellers in 2006. This year, it will also begin stocking Universal Forest Products' Latitudes Decking. "We decided to expand into Latitudes based on the superior look -per my employee poll-and the quality of the product," Tom Cooke reveals. "We also put great faith in their new distributor, Boston Cedar, who focuses on quality products that are market leaders. The cost is also a factor and the stocking dealer program we signed on with makes the product profitable and competitive. Lastly, the marketing support in the region with Bobby Orr of Boston Bruin fame as the spokesman should prove very effective."

Cooke is also "keeping a keen eye on the 'all PVC' products that offer a lighter and more mold-resistant alternative to composites."

Downeast Building Supply, Brunswick, Me., promotes three brands, two of which it stocks. The company is not afraid to switch brands if something better comes along.

CONSTANT new developments, such as the recent introduction ol Procell solid cellular PVC products, has many dealers continually reevaluating their decking mix.

"With all the possibilities, we are trying to find one product," Peter Bernier said. "However, with new innovations coming on a regular basis, we are trying to find our way.

ONLY Ivlil]. DIREC'I & l.A.

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fontana, CA Office and Mill 13041 Union Ar,enue, Fontana, CA 92337

(hrolO'Coturcr I George Badertoclt I Johtt Holstein Steue ktwrence I Etlward t"". I'towdershelt lll

Ray Mac Dona kl, Opera tkn s Manager

Darin Curran, Outsirle Sales (949) 4 I 2' 1 894

(S51) 68l-4707. (800) 660-8680. Fax (951) ti8l-3566

E- m:ril: sales@anfi nsor.cel]l

Itedlands, LA 0flice

Nelsotr Sernbach (909) Bl5-7789

We will probably change again this yeaf ."

Coventry Lumber, Coventry, R.I., stocks three brands, each with different strengths. "We chose Trex," says Buz Gileau, "because everyone has it. It's recognized and at one time had l00%o of the market. Trex has finally made some changes to the curb appeal by adding a raised grain. But it's losing market share. [There's] good service from the supply base. They offer a lot of pull-through with promotional materials. Why not, [we figured,] everybody has it."

Evergrain, he continues, "is our 'horse.' We carry it because not everyone has it. We are confident in the product. Get excellent service and delivery. Quality problems are solved expeditiously, and the marketing support has improved dramatically. The raised grain was what sold us originally. The product line has expanded and colors and styles have been added."

As a third brand, Gileau notes, "Fiberon is new, innovative and offers a hidden fastener system-something we didn't have in the others, [although] we feel that all composites will offer this feature moving forward. It looks more like wood than any other composite we have reviewed. The supplier is close, and availability is not an issue. We carry only one color, but can have others in one day or pick it up if needed. We expect the marketing effort to be in full force by April/May."

The promotional support should only help Coventry's composite sales, which in three years have skyrocketed from marginal to now outselling wood60Vo to 407o by dollar volume.

Domestic sales of plastic lumber and wood-plastics used in construction are expected to top $3.1 billion by 2008.

Composite decking alone is estimated to have sales of $2.4 billion bv the same vear.

New Mill Transforms Waste

International Veneers & Hardwoods Inc., Weed, Ca., has made a name for itself by transforming stumps, tree burls, and root balls into beautiful wood.

The company opened last summer on the former site of Mt. Shasta Veneer, on property owned by

Roseburg Forest Products. Formerly, similar mills were only located on the East Coast or overseas.

The centerpiece of the plant is a new bright green and yellow lathe. "This thing has one million settings," said Albert DeSilva, who owns the plant with his wife, Mary. With the right calibrations and the right burl, he said, the lathe can produce "one or two miles of veneer."

For now, the veneer is shipped to a plant in Idaho for drying. When it returns, it is graded, measured, cut into uniform lengths, and bundled for shipping. The couple hopes to buy their own dryer soon, to cut down processing time and costs. They also want to buy another lathe, possibly this summer.

Raw material comes mostly from local farms and orchards. In the past, old, dead or dying trees were removed and bumed. Now, they are delivered to the mill and both sides make money. Even 2O0-year-old burls can be worked, said DeSilva, and made into hardwoods used for wall paneling, fine furniture, and luxury dashboards.

"I used to hate burls when I was just trying to clear land," he said. "They always twisted the chainsaw in directions I didn't want it to so."