Sector Focus: Wood Plastic Composites | 43
SUMMARY
■ Composite Prime is in its sixth year of operation
■ When the first Covid-19 lockdown was announced, sample requested increased 600%
■ HD Deck Pro is a 200mm wide WPC board with a woodgrain effect
■ HD Dual has an extra colour combination in the range – Natural Oak/Slate
■ A protective tape to cover the top of softwood deck joists – HD Protect – is being launched
PRIME MARKET
Composite Prime is one of the wood-plastic composite (WPC) decking brands registering strong growth. Stephen Powney talks to the company’s sales director Charles Taylor about the market, products and trends
UK WPC decking brand Composite Prime is now in its sixth year and according to sales director Charles Taylor the pace of growth continues unabated.
Strong sales through the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as new products and colour options and an expected greater push into the fencing and cladding sectors ensure business will continue to be busy for the company, started by Mr Taylor and co-founder Dom Harrison.
The combination of Mr Taylor’s timber industry background (Taylor’s Timber Centre) and Mr Harrison’s plastics industry experience (his father founded and floated the plastics giant Polypipe plc) has created a strong combination, which has seen Composite Prime become a leading player in the WPC market, with more than 450 stocking depots across the UK, including at Travis Perkins, Arnold Laver, Taylor Maxwell, Buildbase and many independent merchants. Mr Taylor said a further major stockist would be announced shortly. “We are experiencing growth of around
100% every year and from the data we can also see that our stockists are growing their composites business significantly every year,” said Mr Taylor.
Composite Prime has a distribution structure whereby all products are sold through its distributors and stockists – it doesn’t sell direct to the market itself but keeps to its manufacturing role while giving stockists support through its stockist locator web portal and provision of
point-of-sale materials, samples and marketing and training support.
WPC SALES BOOSTED DURING PANDEMIC
While the Covid-19 pandemic may have hit demand severely in different industries, the stay at home orders and mass furloughing of workers led to a huge consumer investment trend in gardens.
“When the first Covid-19 lockdown started we had plenty of stock on the ground,” recalls Mr Taylor.
“The biggest challenge for us was our sample request going up 600% almost overnight as soon as lockdown happened. And we had fantastic summer weather as well, so demand was huge, although there were not enough landscapers to go around. “There was confusion at the beginning when the stockists were shut and we were trying to connect consumers, landscapers and contractors with stockists. We had to ring our stockists to make sure they were open. That was a challenge. “We thought the season would die off in September but it continued right through to December and then as soon as we got back in January it has gone crazy.
“Our January samples requests were up 300% on last year, and 400% in February, and of course that compares to pre-Covid levels last year.”
The demand, he says, stems from people wanting lower maintenance outdoor areas that they can enjoy rather than
spend time working on them.
“Gone are the days when people would spend hours and hours tinkering with the garden, I think they just want to enjoy a gin and tonic in it and a barbecue with friends. “We’ve seen massive interest from consumers investing in outdoor areas such as outdoor kitchens and covered up areas. It’s become more of a trend to make an extra room. And people are spending a bit more money as well – including people that have previously had a softwood deck they had to maintain every year.”
Composite Prime reports strong business in the caravans and lodges sectors, the former switching out of uPVC products due to WPC’s superior aesthetics, with the latter needing a product more in keeping with their eco surroundings.
Meanwhile, housebuilders are increasingly offering WPC as an option in the same way as they do with granite worktops.
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
Composite Prime’s products are manufactured in China and feature 60% FSC-certified hardwood wood flour, 35% recycled HDPE (basically recycled milk bottle tops) and 5% UV prohibitor and binding agents. “We’ve used the equivalent of 160 million plastic milk bottles so far – that’s one of the big drivers of composites, not just because of the low maintenance and aesthetics but also due to the eco-credentials,” said Mr Taylor. All its products feature a hollow profile, with some featuring a capped surface for ►
www.ttjonline.com | March/April 2021 | TTJ
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