Charles Taylor, Director at Composite Prime, explores the growing market for composite products and outlines the advantages they can offer merchants in terms of both stockholding and sales.
Composite decking is the fastest-growing timber decking alternative currently available on the landscaping market. Although traditional timber decking has been the preferred choice of many for years, it’s a high maintenance product which requires annual painting and staining. On the other hand, composite decking is a simple, no fuss alternative due to its unique formula, which makes it low maintenance and more durable than traditional products.
There is now growing importance and interest in homeowners making more eco-friendly choices when it comes to developing and updating their homes — and there are an abundance of environmental benefits to composite decking. For example, each square metre of Composite Prime decking contains the equivalent of more than 3,000 plastic bottle caps or 280 plastic bottles. Moreover, in the last seven years of operation the brand has saved the equivalent of 176 million plastic milk bottles from landfill and over 1.8 billion bottle tops.
Composite benefits
The wooden fibres and plastic shavings are combined with colour pigments before being heated and extruded. The plastic content gives the boards a long lifespan without the need to treat or seal the decking, whilst the wood content enables the product to retain its natural look and feel.
The finished product is extruded and engineered to ensure that it meets the requirements of landscapers and garden designers across the board.
Most homeowners seek to create a garden that is practical and utilises a range of solutions to add value to a home. And when it comes to choosing the right materials to source for a residential project, composite decking is an ideal option due to its low maintenance and durable properties.
In addition, it has the ability to stay free from cracks and splinters, increasing its lifespan and making it bare-foot safe. It is suitable for all family gardens as it doesn’t warp, crack or splinter, therefore making it safe and slip-free whilst composite products can also be fire resistant so you don’t need to worry about any barbeque or fire-pit mishaps.
With this increased interest from consumers for more durable, sustainable and cost-effective products, stocking and working with composite products will enable merchants to meet consumers’ needs as the demand for composite products grows.
Natural aesthetics
Homeowners are also looking for products with natural aesthetics; composite is manufactured using the latest technology to provide the look and feel of traditional timber without the hassle of high maintenance, or health and safety concerns. They are created using a combination of recycled plastics and 100% FSC Certified wood flour, which is a waste product of hardwood production.
When selecting materials for a decking project, many homeowners underestimate the maintenance a timber deck needs, or have not considered replacing an old timber substructure frame with composite deck boards — which require far less upkeep for the same natural look.
Sustainable alternative
Making sustainable choices when it comes to developing and designing gardens is crucial to ensure we begin to combat the growing crisis around waste. As outlined above, composite decking has a number of environmental benefits and as a result, consumers are choosing to switch to composite materials instead of using plastic, as they provide a much more sustainable and genuine alternative to timber. As the demand for sustainable alternatives grows it is the ideal product for merchants to invest in.
Durability
There is also an increased interest from consumers for more durable and cost-effective products. Furthermore, since the cost of living crisis began, homeowners across the UK are looking for ways to invest in long term solutions and how to add value to their home through garden updates.
For those wanting to invest in their space ready to make the most of a move down the line, composite decking is a durable and strong investment for your outdoor space to ensure a good return with a product with a life span of approximately 25 years.
As the market and demand for composite products grows, it brings great advantage for stakeholders and merchants as consumers become increasingly interested and aware of the durability, sustainability and natural aesthetic this timber alternative offers.
Click here for more information on Composite Prime’s range of products and comprehensive support package for merchants.
A version of this article first appeared in the December edition of PBM. Click here to read the full digital version of the issue, via the PBM website.
