Looking back at 2008, Kate Baumann, Marketing Director for
Mule-Hide Products Co. Inc., said her company had “a very good year.” While
Baumann said experts predict that, when the final numbers are in for 2008, new
non-residential construction starts will be up just 5 percent in dollars - and
down 10 percent in square footage - she believes commercial new construction
and retrofit combined should be up.
Looking back at 2008, Kate Baumann, Marketing Director for
Mule-Hide Products Co. Inc., said her company had “a very good year.” While
Baumann said experts predict that, when the final numbers are in for 2008, new
non-residential construction starts will be up just 5 percent in dollars - and
down 10 percent in square footage - she believes commercial new construction
and retrofit combined should be up. “We expect spending to be up 12 percent,”
she said. “While residential is down, non-residential roofing has remained
fairly strong, especially in the reroofing
segment.”
Mule-Hide saw solid performance across the range
of its product offerings. “Growth of TPO continues to be strong in reroofing
and new construction,” Baumann said. “TPO is where the growth is. PVC held its
own this year; it’s still a strong product. EPDM has been nice and steady; it’s
a very mature market and continues to hold its share. Self-adhesive products
continue to grow, including self-adhered mod bit and highly reflective cap
sheets that are self-adhered; those products have shown some nice
growth.”
Baumann expects the green movement to continue to
build. “Flame-free and fume-free applications continue to gain in popularity,”
she said. “Sustainable roofing is going to grow.” She credits the U.S. Green
Building Council (USGBC) and its LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental
Design) program for helping to educate building owners, but noted that
sometimes the payback can take a long time. That’s where tax credits and other
programs can help. “Tax incentives continue to be drivers. In 2008 they came
out with a tax credit for vegetative roofs.” She also cited the extension of
the commercial solar tax credit, a residential solar tax credit, and a
five-year extension for the deduction for energy-efficient changes to buildings
as factors giving the green movement momentum.
“These
drivers have a lot to do, even in a down economy, with the growth there,” she
said. “Folks have been sitting and waiting to see about these tax incentives,
and they did get extended - for at least a year, and eight years for solar.
It’s important, and the government wants to support
it.”
Vegetative roofs have also shown strong growth,
according to Baumann, who pointed to Mule-Hide Living Roofs featuring
GreenGrid, noting that 1.4 million square feet of GreenGrid have been installed
since 2001.
“Vegetative roofs have been growing at a 30
percent annual growth rate,” she said. “We’ve seen some projects being delayed,
and growth might slow below 30 percent, but the market is still growing - and
growing strong.”
There Are Strong Niches Out There for Commercial Contractors