Midwest knows decking
While the past several years have brought dramatic growth in the family-owned business, it’s also brought a significant push to the DIY deck builder.
That’s the analysis from Midwest Fastener, the Kalamazoo, Mich.-based company that has been helping customers build since 1967.
“We’re hearing from retailers that, of course, they’ve been selling to the pros, but the horizons are broadening,” said Glen Gevaart, vice president of hardware sales. “Do-it-yourselfers and homeowners who maybe didn’t have the confidence that they could build on their own, are now finding that they at least want to give it a try.”
Decks and outdoor living have rising in prominence across the home improvement industry, and Midwest Fastener has embraced the trends. “Over the course of the last decade, decks and deck building has become a bigger and bigger part of the segment that we serve,” Gevaart added.
The company’s coast-to-coast operating footprint has also grown in recent years to include off-shore customers, and more “boots on the ground” in existing territories, Gevaart said. That attention to customers has paid off in growth.
“We’ve more than doubled in size in the last seven years, he said. “The next generation of ownership and of the family have become our senior leaders now. And there’s an awful lot of investment right back into the organization to continue that growth.”
The voice of the category manager
HBSDealer spoke with Nicholas Thies, Midwest Fastener category manager for construction fasteners. He shared an update on the evolving deck-product market and the latest sales-boosting products.
On the Midwest Fastener merchandise mix:
“We’re at the point where we have a staggering range of deck screw options, It starts out at Phillips Drive with an exterior coating on it and not a lot of features —but it'll work just fine on many projects. We go from there all the way up to our SaberDrive Platinum Deck Screws, which have that 2,500-hour exterior coating. We describe that as a four-layer painted-and-baked-on epoxy coating that lasts an extremely long time outside. Only stainless steel is better.
On the ideal fastener for a deck project:
“The ideal fastener package all depends on what you're looking for as a consumer. Are you looking to patch just a few boards and save some money because, like you said, we're going into a very uncertain year this year, or are you looking to rebuild a deck that's going to last forever and is never going to fall down and your screws are never going to corrode? No matter where you fall on that spectrum, we've got the fastener for you.
On wood decks vs. wood alternatives:
“Midwest typically rolls out products with a focus on wooden decks. But there’s also the opportunity for us to fill the gaps for trim, railings and the wood-based support systems of composite decks. Wood decks are quite a bit cheaper to build. In the past year, as lumber prices climbed, the ratio of treaded lumber too composite decks probably decreased to 60-40. But I think we’re going to see a shift back to about 70/30.”
On new products:
“We rolled out a new deck screw within the last two months here. We call it our contractor pack. It's a contractor screw that it comes with a Star Drive and a self-drilling tip. The way we like to talk about is: ‘It has everything a deck builder needs, and nothing the builder doesn't need.’ It's a very good screw, just not the best screw we have. The idea was We wanted to be able to fill that segment at that opening price point.”
