Look to cedar for value added products

opportunities need to take a sec- ond look at cedar, as manufacturers take the wood a step further to create value added products.

ETAILERS searching for niche fasteners and finishing materialsas well as pre-milled and assembled railings, balusters, posts and decorative ball tops and caps can make it possible for a doit-yourselfer to build a deck with minimum effort.

Long used for speciatty products such as rough-sawn, channel rustic siding, fencing, paneling, shingles and shakes, cedar is now becoming increasingly available in more finished forms ideal for niche marketing.

"Niche marketing products, " says Laddie F. Hutar, Hutar Growth Management, "have to be identified with a noncommodity area, in other words, high quality items meeting specific consumer needs."

Value added ("quality with a maximum value to a consumer") products, especially when crafted from a high quality material such as cedar, match this definition to a "c." Because special cedar products make projects convenient for customers or meet special needs, dealers can use them to develop a niche market. Many customers will pay more for the value added and work saving features with the retailer benefiting from the higher margins.

Prefinished siding is an excellent example of a value added cedar product. Factory primed and finished with an Olympic Machine-coat IAO% Latex solid color finish, the product carries a l0 year limited warranty that the finish will not crack, peel or flake. In addition, factory finished cedar usually has less cupping, splitting and chipping because it is kiln dried to a 19% moisture content before finishing.

Nearly half of all siding customers are pre-sold on wood. Western Wood Products Association figures show that 43% of homeowners prefer wood siding over other siding products. The value added factory finish on cedar assures them a better product with the dealer getting as much as 3O% margin, a win/win situation for both, Joe Kastelic, Olympic/PPG, points out.

Decking and deck accessories are other outstanding examples of cedar products manufactured with added value. Precut decking packaged with

Because he can avoid paying a contractor or having materials custom milled, the customer is usually happy to pay more for the package that makes it easy for him to do the job. Organizing the components into a system or project adds value to the original materials as does an attractive package with good instructions.

Garden cedar products also can have value added benefits. Lattice pre-assembled into panels, picket edging fastened together and packaged as instant flowerbed edging, trellises ready to drive into the ground: these products all command higher prices (and higher margins) than the cedar lath and stakes from which they come. Cedar garden furniture is another item with a higher price tag and margin than its basic components because of added style and convenience. Pre-assembled cedar sections that quickly combine into a compostbin are probably the latest example ofadding value to an ordinary product.

When made of cedar, moulding is enhanced by added durability, dimensional stability, workability and acceptance of stains and paints to command a higher margin. Fingerjointed mouldings, such as those from incense cedar, turn a basic material into an affordable, good selling product.

Innovative thinking by wood product manufacturers has created cedar products perfect for niche marketing.

Story at a Glance

Ways retailers can niche market value added cedar products.. margans as high as 3Oo/o products tailored to consumer needs and wants aftract customers.