No one knows better than us that the cladding market is complex, competitive and ever changing. Cladding is defined a covering or coating for a building or structure but it is much more than that. Claddings should be attractive and reasonable in cost but it is paramount that any cladding protect the structure and its inhabitants. Market share growth for a cladding can spike, remain steady or fall. Spikes occur when marketing campaigns work. Drops occur when the promises made turn to failure. Vinyl siding gained market share with clever ads to homeowners; today, they appear to be losing those gains. Most attribute this to the failure to live up to some promised expectations. We all have lessons to learn.
In 2007, the actor Brad Pitt’s Make It Right charity made the noble effort to provide homes to those who lost them in Hurricane Katrina. These homes were touted to be cutting edge, LEED certified, environmentally friendly, sustainable and solar powered. The promise was good, maybe too good to even be true. These promised expectations have failed.