There is no doubt that the state of PVCu fabrication is in a bit of a pinch. Rising production costs, rising popularity in residential aluminium and timber and a general move away from the material by the general public. All are combining to give the PVCu part of our market a bit of a problem. So this Google Trends graphic that I’ve pulled up may not come across as happy reading.
PVCu in our industry may have some profound questions to ask of itself very soon.
Continually downards
Here is a search comparison I did on Google Trends between PVCu windows, aluminium windows and timber windows:
KEY: Blue – PVCu windows | Red – aluminium windows | Yellow – timber windows
That blue line only goes south. This is a 12 year trends charts that shows the popularity of aluminium windows, shown in red, rising from a point where both red and blue lines touch, to now where aluminium windows are the most searched materials of all three categories. Timber windows, represented in yellow, maintains a fairly steady level of popularity, and sits just below aluminium.
“But not everyone searched for plastic windows with the “u” at the end of PVC” I hear some of you call. And I agree. There are a number of ways PVCu, or PVC, or uPVC windows are searched for. So here are those comparisons too:
PVC Windows:
KEY: Blue – PVC windows | Red – aluminium windows | Yellow – timber windows
UPVC Windows:
KEY: Blue – UPVC windows | Red – aluminium windows | Yellow – timber windows
To be clear, I don’t personally hold the results of the last chart with confidence. UPVC is an older expression of the product name. I don’t get many people in our showroom asking for UPVC, more PVC or PVCu.
Still, the results for PVC Windows against it’s peers still show a reduction versus aluminium and timber, with aluminium clearly on top over all others.
Can the tide be reversed?
I think, rather than PVCu facing a crisis, it is the whole industry that is moving into a new age. A time where the general public demand more choice for their money. So it’s not that PVCu is going to face a critical tipping point where it faces falling off a cliff. Rather, it is going to have to face up to a new reality where for perhaps the next ten to fifteen years, aluminium and timber windows and doors are going to be a much more visible and influential part of the UK fenestration landscape.
What this does mean though is that all businesses are going to have to adapt. PVCu systems companies, the businesses at the very top of the supply chain are going to have to start changing their business models to ones that anticipate slower growth, or even reducing sales.
Fabricators who have previously stuck only to PVCu systems will need to re-think their models too. Do they risk sticking with PVCu, and attempt to mop up the remaining market share by those who leave the sector altogether? Or do they expand their offering to installers by adding aluminium, and perhaps timber too, to their production portfolios?
Installers are going to have to get with the times too. Although I think a lot already are. Installers are more adaptable to change and can do it a lot quicker than those further up the supply chain. Still, many are going to have to move with the trend that has already started or else being left to pick from the scraps.
What this should be seen as is an opportunity, rather than the potential end of something. There is plenty of money to be made for all businesses in our sector is they look at where the market is going to adapt to make the most of the changing demands from the general public.
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