The facade cladding market for Rainscreen Cladding Facades in Europe + USA (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Poland, Russia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Netherlands, United Kingdom, United States) increased its sales by 4.0% in 2018, with some significant differences between the different countries. Overall, Interconnection Consulting expects average annual growth of about 4-5% (4.1% in volume, 5.6% in value) in a new study by 2021.

Development Consistently Positive

A closer look at the markets examined, shows that overall sales figures have risen steadily in recent years. While Austria only grew by 2.1% in 2018, the Czech Republic achieved growth of a respectable 7.4%. Germany achieved growth of 5.0% in volume in 2018, outperforming Italy (+ 4.5%) and the United Kingdom (+ 1.6%), shaken by the Brexit uncertainties. Despite the growth and the advantages over the whole lifecycle of the facade (energy-saving measures, reduced maintenance work, uncomplicated dismantling, etc.), the necessary higher initial investment in the acquisition of Rainscreen Cladding (compared to conventional facades) slows down growth even more. Thus, depending on the type of building, there is also substitution with industrial facades, ETICS, sandwich panels and curtain wall facades. The trend towards more daylight, which favors curtain walls, remains another obstacle. In addition, non-residential construction was not able to grow as strongly in most countries as residential construction, where Rainscreen cladding facades still tend to be under-represented, as compared to non-residential construction (office buildings, government institutions, commerce, others).

Wide Range of Cladding Materials

A Rainscreen Cladding façade can be defined as a multi-layered exterior wall construction. Here is the outermost layer that serves to protect against driving rain. The construction consists of the facade cladding, the ventilation zone, the insulation and the substructure. The cladding may consist of various shapes and types of panels /bricks / sidings, made out of: aluminum, steel / metal, wood, natural stone, fiber cement, HPL, ceramics, concrete / stone, vinyl, plaster base plates, etc; Aluminum (composite) is one of the most popular cladding materials, accounting for 27.3%, with fiber cement (17.4%), metal, ceramics and “other materials” being among the most important groups of materials.

New Construction Stronger Than Renovation

In the residential segment, the rate of Rainscreen Cladding Facades, is usually lower than in the non-residential sector in most of the countries surveyed. Italy accounts for only 9.6% of the lowest share, probably due to the high costs, while countries such as Denmark and Finland account for an above-average proportion of the residential segment, while most other European countries having a share of the residential sector of ¼ to a ⅓ of the total Rainscreen cladding market.
A very dominant position occupies “new construction” compared to the “renovation” area. In the Czech Republic, for example, 81.5% of newly installed Rainscreen cladding facades are installed on the new building, with Austria not far behind with just under 80%. The end of the spectrum is formed by Switzerland and Spain, with a significantly lower share, where the renovation sector is much more pronounced.

Leading manufacturers of cladding materials / panels that are installed as a Rainscreen cladding façade, include companie like Etex, Cembrit, Swiss Pearl, Trespa, 3A Composites, Fundermax, Rockpanel, Sto, Resopal, Agrob Buchtal, Prefa, or Eternit, to name a few. Closely related to the industry are also manufacturers of facade fastening systems (anchors, substructures, facade dowels, adhesives and the like) such as Hilti, Fischer, Schock, Sika, Ejot, Sto, BWM, Systea, Allface, Nauth, etc. and insulation manufacturers such as e.g. Rockwool, or Saint-Gobain, etc.

04/03/2019

Copyright: Interconnection, Publication free of charge for coverage regarding the study and InterConnection Consulting.