Recycled Decking Manufacturers Launch Virgin PVC Options

In a series of developments that may signal trouble for the composite decking industry, two industry leaders, TimberTech and Trex Company, appear to be hedging their bets by introducing new product lines made of virgin PVC. Popular in the residential market, PVC decking is considered more resistant to scratching, staining, and fading than composite decking, which is made from wood or other plant fibers and plastics, and often includes recycled content.

TimberTech’s new product, XLM (for “extreme low maintenance”), is made of a foamed PVC core surrounded by a solid PVC exterior. According to Tom Day, senior product manager, TimberTech is aiming for ”the certain portion of the deck-buying public that’s looking for the characteristics [stain and scratch resistance] that this product provides.”

Trex Escapes, the new foamed PVC decking from Trex, should start shipping in January 2008; the product is being made by Veka, Inc. Like Timber-Tech’s XLM, Trex Escapes will offer better stain, mold, and scratch resistance than the company’s composite decking products, according to CEO Andrew Ferrari. Like Day, Ferrari sees his company’s expansion into the PVC market as responding to a customer demand: “We want to offer people products, whatever their needs are,” he said.