FINDING NEW MARKETS

New for June, I was a guest writer for Surface & Panel magazine, page 54~56 and also launched L-MA "Laminate Material Adhesion Testing" Organzation. Be sure to visit this at www.l-ma.org.

This month I’d like to talk about targeting new markets as a 3D Component producer. Most companies are very experienced with producing thermofoil doors, however there are other markets that can be quite lucrative. The markets I’d like to talk about for the purpose of this article are Store Fixtures, Offices and Hotels.

Producing thermofoil components for Store Fixtures can be very challenging. Typically, most retail stores utilize an Architect to choose designs, and then a General Contractor to oversee the purchasing of all the fixtures. The biggest difficulty in our industry is that the decision makers, normally the Architects, are unaware that 3D Laminates exist. Once they become exposed to 3D Laminates, the next obstacle is usually in finding the right color that they need, and many times the requested design is a non-stock foil. Adding to this difficult task is when they ask for a prototype store to be completed, a typical request; this is easy to do for a stock design, but no so much if it’s custom or not in stock. Doing prototype stores require that you have a great relationship with your 3D Laminate suppliers, so that they will produce pressable samples or help come up with colors to be proposed. The final difficulty with a store fixture project is that there is typically a “we need it yesterday" situation, because often you will be contacted six weeks before the project is due. Again, its important to have an excellent relationship with your suppliers to assure you’ll be able to deliver in time.

The next market of interest is the Office Industry. 3D Laminates can be used for desk tops, drawer fronts, wall systems, and moldings. Most 3D Laminate manufacturers have a horizontal grade film, so the most important aspect will be getting the color that your customer is looking for. In addition to the large national Office manufacturers, you may also wish to contact small regional manufacturers and distributors of office furniture. 3D Laminates can work very well in this application because it gives the desktop a modern and seamless look. One term I have used in the past is “A Seamless Monolithic Work Surface”. Yes, that’s a mouthful – but it’s sure to get a smile and a second look at your components. You might also want to router out some shapes in the desktop such as a round area to harness the monitory, a square indentation for cell phones, paper clips or a long one for pencils and pens. For the drawer fronts, you can router in a drawer handle, and for wiring it is possible to router out a channel to which a plastic cover can be snapped over. Another benefit of targeting the Office Industry is that the market is more open to modern design and euro style cabinets in the office industry than in the kitchen.

The final market I’d like to talk about in this article is the Hotel and Restaurant Industry. 3D Laminates can make extremely interesting nightstands, headboards, and dressers. Either you or your client can build the casework with melamine and press unique glosses, exotic woodgrains or interesting designer foils on the fronts. One new design that will be available from DACKOR is Brown Leather. This surface will be great for all three industries. The leather design is extremely scratch resistant and is a clever way to introduce a texture onto the surface. Also leather is a versatile color that appeals to a broader market than a single wood grain color. Leather can also be used in combination with wood designs and can be used for desktops, store shelves, moldings, bar areas, headboards and a wide variety of other applications.

In conclusion, going after new markets can be very challenging and require new sales and marketing skills. Each market segment requires a unique approach that may differ than what your company is used to. From my experience all three of the above markets are extremely under-represented by 3D component producers. Also, while the single family building market was hot, there were probably unlimited growth opportunities. Now that the single family home market has declined, you may just find that these new commercial markets may be worth your efforts.