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wood composites for decking, and vinyl for windows. “We believe there will always be demand for products in softwood, treated timbers, temperate hardwoods and sustainably sourced tropical timber,” said Mr Neel. “What we do is present our performance and sustainability credentials as clearly as we can – the fact our products are durable and very cost competitive when you take into account life expectancy and low maintenance. Plus they’re based on a renewable resource; fast-growing trees that are harvested after just 25 years to produce a timber warrantied for 50 years, but which can last 60 to 100 years-plus in multiple applications. Using this information, people can then benchmark our credentials against other materials’ and make informed purchasing decisions.”
The London Google HQ has undoubtedly
been the headline-grabbing Accoya cladding application recently. The 300m-wide building is a clear expression of the search engine giant’s environmental commitment – it also includes a roof garden and special bird and bat habitats – and its 23,000m2
façade
features glass and Accoya, specified by designers Heatherwick Studios, in the form of cladding and louvres. “We’re getting more and more specifications for Accoya based on its sustainability credentials, rather than just its performance, particularly for commercial buildings,” said Mr Neel. “The Google building, which is described as a ‘landscraper’, as long as the Shard is high, is a case in point, and its use of Accoya, in what is the world’s biggest timber and glass façade, really demonstrates its qualities and potential.” The recently built US$32m Merisol residence in Malibu is another impressive Accoya showcase, featuring cladding inside and out, including in charred, shou sugi ban- style around a hearth. It’s billed as California’s first zero carbon home.
But it’s not just in such spectacular projects
that Accoya cladding is making headway. It continues to grow its following across private housing and commercial building sectors, maintaining a pretty even divide in sales across the two markets. “We got a boost in the private housing sector from the home improvement boom that started in the pandemic. There’s been some course correction here, but it still represents a buoyant market for Accoya. Householders are also increasingly sustainability focused and drawn to biophilic house design, while our distributors and manufacturers are doing a great job explaining the products’ technical and environmental credentials to them and developing Accoya cladding systems,” said Mr Neel. “We also supply product for use in commercial buildings across the board, with Accoya cladding growing a particularly
strong following in retail; from B&M, to Starbucks and Waitrose stores.” And into the future, Accsys sees demand for wood cladding generally and Accoya cladding in particular continuing to climb, increasingly driven, not just by a growing popular affinity for more environmentally sound, natural building products, but also regulation to decarbonise construction. “We’ve seen it in France with its RE2020 regulation, which stipulates that 50% of products used in public buildings must comprise timber or other bio-based material,” said Mr Neel. “And we expect similar rules to be introduced elsewhere, including the UK.” Accsys is also now launching a new consumer promotional push in the UK to drive brand awareness. “Development of Accoya Color and introduction of our own profiled material for decking, have brought Accsys closer to the consumer,” said Mr Neel. “But research shows that still only 2% of our 10-15 million-strong target market in the UK know the brand. We want to change that.” The focus of the company’s debut TV campaign is very much on durability and sustainability.
“The story follows the experience of a young girl becoming a young woman as seen through an Accoya window,” said Mr Neel. “The message is that, while we’re in an increasingly fast-changing world, there are some things that are consistent, that you can trust and rely on.”
While the commercial features a joinery product, he added, the goal is to raise Accoya’s profile generally and impact use across multiple applications. It is set to air late February. ■
Top: George Neel is Accsys Technologies’ marketing, communications and ESG/sustainability director
Above: Accoya Color is manufactured at Accsys’ plant in Barry
www.ttjonline.com | January/February 2023 | TTJ
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