Freefoam Building Products: Cladding is where it’s at

Colin St John, Commercial Director of Freefoam Building Products Ltd, looks at the cladding market phenomenon; the designs and colour ranges, and European market trends affecting the UK…

In 2023, cladding topped the Rated People’s Home Improvements Trends – with demand increased by an amazing 743%. The market has shown little sign of slowing since, with our top cladding stockists (and their installer customers) seeing sales soar. New cellular foam cladding in particular is not only challenging timber cladding, but being used to replace existing old-fashioned cladding colours, to renew tired white PVC-UE cladding, and to transform unsightly render or replace outdated tiles. Low maintenance, long-lasting, easy to handle and install (and stunning), it’s the choice of design, colour, and long-lasting guarantees that is really driving this makeover market forward. 

It’s an exciting prospect for installers and stockists – if they work with the right partner. A supplier that’s come late to the market with only one or two me-too products won’t allow you to compete effectively. It’s vital to choose an established cladding manufacturer that offers a broad array of tried and tested products in thought-out finishes and colours that work with other elements, supported with print and online marketing. 

Since the late 1990s and early 2000s Freefoam has grown with and invested in the cladding market, developing and creating a significant range of options in the UK – and for leading players in Europe too. 

We now offer four ranges in the UK:

1. Fortex® Double Shiplap, traditional Weatherboard (or ‘featheredge’) and Shadow Gap, all available with an embossed finish in a wide range of attractive and on-trend colours including Sage Green and Misty Grey – and now the digitally printed Fortex® Natura  
2. X-Wood premium-grade 16mm boards, finished in stunning woodgrain.
3. Single Shiplap, available in white and smooth woodgrain, ideal for smaller areas such as dormer windows 
4. Slimline Open V cladding

Some of our ranges now feature up to 11 different shades – and Anthracite Grey is offered on almost all our cladding products. This popular shade is often specified for high-end bi-folds, doors and windows, as is Agate, or Misty Grey, an up and coming on-trend colour. The availability of these shades in cladding means installers can easily upsell a full suite of products – and often higher value ones too. We offer RAL numbers (exact shade or nearest equivalent) so installers can enable homeowners to match cladding to other building elements for total house transformations that can often lead to more sales in the neighbourhood.

Colour-matched fitting accessories offer further options for add-on sales. 

Our experience in European markets benefits the UK

The UK cladding market often follows in the footsteps of continental trends. The more mature European market was an early adopter of external PVC-UE cladding, especially in areas in Western Europe with temperate maritime climates. Here there is a greater need for robust building products that stand up to the ravages of moisture, which is unsuitable for timber cladding.

Aidan Harte, CEO of Freefoam, comments: “Freefoam has been at the forefront of cladding products in Western Europe for the past 20 years, expanding from the West coast of France (traditionally a strong market for PVC building products because of its maritime climate) to Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and Scandanavia. We work with a broad range of customers including specialist stockists, and large/national builders’ merchants across Europe, including Saint-Gobain, the biggest building products distributor in France. 

“The challenge on the continent has been to meet the demand for versatility in terms of ease of use and looks. The French and Benelux markets for example, are quite adventurous with colour so this has driven us to extend the options, while embracing new materials and designs to improve weathering performance in hotter and wetter climates (e.g. Spain) even for darker colours like Anthracite Grey.”

This research and development has allowed us to offer tried and tested market-leading guarantees on white and coloured products. Fortex® cladding, for example, is a long-term decorative cladding solution, designed to withstand many different weather conditions, with a 10-year guarantee in the UK on a variety of shades. 

Products

Some of the products we’ve recently added to the UK we’ve sold on the continent for a number of years. Shadow Gap was added to our high-end Fortex® range last year, having previously sold well in Europe. Co-extruded with a rigid foam core, Shadow Gap features an embossed finish like painted pine, with a deep groove between boards, and can be fitted horizontally or vertically.

Meanwhile, market research led us to introduce a digitally printed wood-effect cladding in Fortex® Natura. This premium V-groove cladding was launched earlier this year. Like Shadow Gap, it can be fitted in various ways (even diagonally!) and is guaranteed to look as good in a decade as it does the day its installed. It’s a market disrupting product and virtually indistinguishable from quality planed timber – but unlike natural wood, it doesn’t fade. 

Our continuous focus on new product development shows we take cladding – and the opportunities it presents – seriously. It’s this experience and expertise that means we can help UK stockists and installers grow and take advantage of the expanding cladding market with the widest range of design and colour options. 

See Freefoam’s full cladding range at www.freefoam.com – or call 0800 002 9903 to boost your business and add cladding to your portfolio. 

Contact:

Freefoam Building Products,
77-83 St James Mill Road,
Northampton,
NN5 5JP
United Kingdom

Tel: 01604 591110

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