PEX

Mechanical Hub continues its series of exclusive Q & A sessions with industry leaders and players to get their views on the future, and living in a COVID world, and an insight into the market in 2021.

The American Supply Association released its annual sales report for 2020 and the ASA Pulse sales report shows member distributor respondents enjoyed an average sales growth of 4.4% and a median growth of 6% during the fourth quarter of 2020; however, distributor respondents doing business primarily in the industrial pipe, valves and fittings channel continued to report declines.

Total ASA distributor respondents reported a median 1.4% sales growth for the full year 2020 vs. 2019, and inventory levels rose 4.9% in the fourth quarter of 2020 compared to the fourth quarter of 2019.

This week, Mechanical Hub features Bill Gray, president, Uponor North America to get his company’s pulse for 2021. You get the sense that it’s time to move forward and the time is now to take full advantages of the opportunities that lie ahead.

MH: While putting together the Mechanical Hub annual forecast last year, you were one of the only ones to go on record who took COVID into account in the short-term up until that point in mid-January 2020. What were you hearing?

GRAY: We were starting to hear “noise” in the supply chains. You have to understand, I have a mother in the background who was reading all the articles, warning me about traveling to Europe and Hawaii. What sounds like wisdom from me is actually deriving from my mother yelling in the background to stay home.

MH: Most of the residential guys are doing fine, but there are hiccups with commercial and industrial sectors. What does the short-term economy look like for Uponor? What are the economic indicators telling you?

GRAY: This is a question we try to answer on a weekly or bi-weekly basis with our European parent company. We are currently enjoying a very healthy level of business. In 2020, we hit the brakes in April after a great first quarter. By the end of May, it was all back in a big way. All that demand that fell off, people decided to get that work done. Through Q3, it was good volume.

We knew there was more volume going into residential. For commercial, no one was stopping projects already coming out of the ground. I don’t know when we will see commercial projects begin to tail off. As you know, 12, 18, or 24 months is nothing to get a commercial project rolling. What I am told is that there are fewer projects to quote in commercial order books. Certain segments are more adversely impacted than others. For example, it is hard to imagine you are going to build a new hotel if you haven’t already broken ground.

I am one of those guys who normally spends 75 to 100 nights a year in a hotel. In 2020, I spent maybe 20, and all of those were at the beginning of the year. So that challenge to commercial will keep getting pushed forward. They will still need to perform retrofits, and that might open up some opportunities.

Residential is on fire, supported by demographic demand that has been held back. We often speak of “natural” household formations coming in at 1.5 million annually. We never achieved that level coming out of the past recession, so the demand gets pushed forward. Meanwhile, existing homes valued between $250,000 and $500,000 are going for the asking price or higher and don’t last very long at all on the market. Builders of new homes are building into their 2022 and 2023 land plans currently.

One of the factors that may bring down that activity is that builders cannot get land fast enough, as they burn up all of their lots now. So, we are in a window now, and everyone is building homes as fast as they can, and prices are slowly climbing. Input prices are crazy. Truss packages—nobody builds trusses on the job site anymore—are going for 3X or 4X vs. 2020 levels. Insulation deliveries are crazy; all the HVAC and mechanical stuff—crazy. Our friends over at Bradford White are at six to eight weeks currently.

There is demand out there. RWC just released their numbers, but had great sales growth last year with more exposure to DIY through Home Depot and Lowe’s. We know the latter pair are doing very well. We are seeing a lot of switch-in-spend right now. “I cannot go on vacation, so I am going to work on my house and yard.” Many cannot get a contractor to do the work, and if they do, the pricing can be very high. “I’m willing to take the work, but it will cost you.”

MH: As far as inventories and supply, how is Uponor faring?

GRAY: We shut down the plant for eight days in April and laid off some staff in distribution and manufacturing. We have them back, plus. We are up to a month behind right now against a strong order volume. We were famous for delivering our product on time and in full. The problem definitely relates more to residential—smaller-diameter pipe.

It is what it is right now, but I question how long this activity can be sustained. Most companies, from what I have read, are saying like the first half, maybe through Q3 2021. But there is no election this year. We will see what happens with the stimulus packages. Do they finally do something on infrastructure? We need infrastructure work—now is the time to do those projects. Money will never be cheaper, nor labor more plentiful. But if you wait until a full economy, the challenges will be much greater.

I think if the federal government plays this right, understanding the dynamics of the market today—like in 2008-09, shovel-ready projects that will keep the economy going—I think construction could be really good—or really challenging. A lot of variables have not played out yet.

MH: How are you steering the ship to deal with COVID? You have gotten through 2020, is it all systems go? Anything different?

GRAY: What we did as well as or better than anyone else—not just in our industry, but in other industries too—is that we got on top of the problem early with our COVID Task Force. Originally, we were focused on problems in the supply chain, but that transitioned very quickly to our employees’ health and safety, as COVID hit the United States. We started looking at where our employees were traveling for work, creating an awareness, telling them if you are going to an area that may be compromised, be sure you are taking the proper precautions for yourself and your colleagues.

We were able to keep the plants open, because we were designated—along with most of new-construction markets and building products—as essential services. We have been promoting health and safety first, then the continuity and integrity of our factories, making sure we are able to ship products to customers. That is how we cascaded these priorities.

At Uponor, we went virtual on Friday, March 13, 2020, with the idea that we should test our systems in case we must work from home at some point, and everything worked out well from an IT perspective. As it turned out, ironically, the mandate to work from home came down over that weekend.

Next, we did a live migration to Microsoft Teams, which was a huge improvement over our previous platform.

As the situation has “stabilized” now—as much as it can be stabilized—we are continuing monthly calls with all employees. The leadership team and I continually explore what’s new, what’s different? When can we expect to come back to the office? What’s coming back going to look like? We try to manage all that.

From my perspective, we won’t be coming back to anything normal probably until 2022. My boss from Finland visited the United States the week before the AHR Expo in 2020. I don’t expect to see him in the United States at all in 2021. It’s been spotty in that part of the world, although with their stronger central governments, they seem to have managed COVID more effectively. Their countries haven’t had the same levels of infection. My next trip to Europe may be Q1 of 2022. By then, I should have the vaccine, I am confident.

The big unknowns on the horizon are the variants of COVID and whether the vaccines will help prevent their spread. Or is our future more pandemics? I don’t know right now.

MH: Last month, Uponor launched its new Complete Polymer Solution for commercial-piping applications in the U.S. How do you manage a launch like this in the midst of a pandemic and the cancellation of a major trade show?

GRAY: We did a soft launch around the announcement of the relationship with Pestan at the AHR Expo in 2020. We understood the amount of work that lay in front of us. For a company like Uponor to launch a product line of this magnitude, it is a major endeavor.

Which is why I have such an appreciation for our team and their ability to pivot at every opportunity, figuring out just how we would get all the work done. We knew the objective; we knew the amount of work we had to do. But there was a tremendous amount of creativity to making it all happen. Working with our health and safety people, our team developed a protocol for how we would do all this work internally while maintaining proper social distancing.

Then, with the launch itself, there is a lot to going virtual. It may look like it’s going rather smoothly. But when you see the machine behind the people, and how it makes this all work, you can’t help but be impressed. I did my on-camera interview a couple of weeks ago, and at the time it feels like a disparate collection of takes and cuts. But they brought it all together through an editing process that makes even me look good. That’s a pretty tall order!

MH: The market for this PP-RCT launch right now: Is it targeted for domestic water as well?

GRAY: We believe the best opportunity is mechanical. Pursuing domestic water would fragment our efforts. If we focus on mechanical and get really good at that, we can start taking on plumbing. Plumbing is more complex than mechanical; there are different dynamics at play. We think this is the best strategy for us right now. If you are a small company without much of a brand, you can do a lot more across more markets without much risk. If Uponor puts its name on something, we want to make sure we have it right, so our customers are confident it will work.

That is part of the leverage we are providing. If Uponor is offering these products with the full bundle of support—the national rep network, our knowledgeable sales force, on-site training and technical support—the customer can feel better about getting involved. We just felt plumbing would fragment our efforts too much.

Bill Gray is president, Uponor North America.

 

 

Led by Vice President Doug Fulton, this new function will seek growth opportunities through corporate acquisitions and joint ventures, as well as internal product development.

To further enhance Uponor North America’s ability to deliver innovative plumbing and heating solutions to its customers, the company has announced the creation of a new business function. This new business function will be led by Vice President Doug Fulton and called New Venture Development.

Reporting directly to President Bill Gray, Fulton will lead the exploration, incubation and integration of new products into Uponor’s existing business offerings, while also forging external partnerships. The overarching goal is to expand the company’s growth opportunities in ways that align with Uponor’s business strategy and customer insights.

Fulton’s responsibilities will encompass numerous areas related to corporate growth and expansion: Business Development (M&A/Partnerships), Business Incubation, Construction Services (including Building Information Management), Codes & Standards, Government & Industry Affairs, Project/Stage-Gate Management, and Uponor Innovation LLC.

As part of his business-incubation work, Fulton will oversee the company’s recently announced partnership with Reno, Nevada-based Pestan North America (PNA) to market and sell PNA’s proprietary PP-RCT pipe and fittings. (Note: PP-RCT stands for polypropylene, random copolymer, with modified crystallinity and temperature resistance.) Currently preparing for a formal launch of the product offering, Uponor will serve as PNA’s exclusive distributor throughout the United States and Canada.

“With the creation of our New Venture Development function, Uponor is doubling down on innovation,” says Gray. “We are emphasizing more than ever our commitment to providing innovative plumbing, heating and fire safety solutions to our customers.”

“The name New Venture Development reflects the way we see the business world evolving in the month and years ahead,” Gray continues. “While Uponor will continue to aggressively pursue direct product innovation internally, we envision an equal, if not greater, role for acquisitions, strategic partnerships and joint ventures, as we broaden our scope and capabilities.”

Most recently serving as Vice President of Product Marketing at Uponor, Fulton joined the company in 2017 as senior director of Corporate Strategy and Segment Marketing. He holds an M.B.A. from Indiana University and a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Toledo.

Before joining Uponor, Fulton worked as Director of Marketing at Andersen Corporation, a national manufacturer of windows and patio doors. Prior to that, he was Vice President, Business Development – Midwest, for the Walt Disney Company. Fulton spent the first part of his career in various marketing leadership roles in the consumer products industry.

Professionals in the commercial trades who have made the switch from copper or CPVC to PEX for plumbing or mechanical piping will tell you there are four main reasons why: speed, cost, reliability and safety. Because in today’s fast paced commercial building environment, change is rapid and inevitable, budgets and schedules are tight, competition is fierce, and skilled labor is shrinking, so keeping valuable employees safe is paramount.

The commercial industry needs a piping solution that can meet all those very important needs, and PEX delivers on every front.

Speed

Because PEX pipe is flexible to bend with each change in direction and the connections are quick to learn and even faster and easier to make, it’s a great solution to meet the skilled-labor shortage challenge and also rapidly accommodate necessary changes in the field.

For example, a PEX piping system in an in-suite multifamily or hospitality project can reduce the number of required fittings by more than half compared to rigid copper or CPVC that require a connection with each change in direction. That can shave days or even weeks off the production schedule, depending on the project size.

Additionally, with today’s aging buildings, PEX is even more beneficial in re pipe applications where existing structures need minimal invasion for renovation (think: historical buildings).

Cost

When it comes to cost, every professional in the commercial world agrees — if the cost is attractive, but the product fails, it’s not worth it. PEX has proven to be both cost-effective and durable, a combination that makes it a win-win for engineers, building owners and installers alike.

Contractors are also finding it’s not just the material costs that are reasonable, it’s also the labor costs that PEX helps manage. Because the flexible pipe requires fewer connections (and those connections are faster and easier to make), it cuts down on labor costs in addition to the bill of material cost for the product.

With materials costing on average up to 30 percent lower than copper, and installs taking up to half the time compared to rigid systems like copper and CPVC, PEX is proving itself to be a smart solution that installers can rely on for consistent pricing, bidding and installations.

Reliability

Every contractor has experienced a leak at one time or another, so a piping material that can help minimize leaks is a huge bonus. Take a look at all the ways PEX helps minimize potential leaks:

• Because the flexible pipe can bend with each change in direction, it reduces the number of fittings and connections and, in turn, the potential for leaks.
• With the PEX cold-expansion fitting system, it is impossible dry fit a connection. The expansion method requires the pipe to first be expanded before inserting a fitting. Then, as the pipe shrinks back down, it creates a strong connection onto the fitting. Eliminating the potential for dry fits means there’s never a concern if the connection is made.
• Flexible PEX is highly resistant to freeze damage because it can expand to accommodate frozen water in the system and then contract back down after the water thaws.
• PEX resists corrosion, pitting and scaling, so there is zero chance of leaks or performance issues due to any of these factors that can plague metallic piping systems.

Safety

With worker safety becoming a bigger issue — especially with the skilled-labor shortage — PEX offers benefits due to its lighter weight. For example, a 300-foot coil of ½-inch PEX weighs about 18 pounds, whereas the same amount of copper pipe weighs around 85 pounds.

Lighter weight means easier maneuvering around the jobsite, less strain on the body and a reduced need for cranes and heavy-lifting equipment.

Also, because all the PEX connection methods (cold expansion, crimp, clamp, compression or push-to-connect) do not need chemicals or open flame, it greatly reduces risk on the job site and also eliminates the need and cost for fire watch requirements.

One last word of advice

Stick with one PEX system brand. Mixing brands for the pipe, fittings, sleeves or rings can greatly reduce (or even void) the warranty. You’ll have more confidence knowing you have the backing of one company if you ever have a service or warranty issue.

If you’re interested in learning more about PEX pipe and fitting systems, visit the Plastics Pipe Institute website at plasticpipe.org or the Plastic Pipe and Fittings Association website at ppfahome.org.

Kim Bliss is the content development manager at Uponor. She can be reached at kim.bliss@uponor.com.

Residential plumbing and HVAC installers take note: you can pipe an entire home with the durability, flexibility and cost-effectiveness of PEX — for plumbing, fire sprinkler systems and radiant floor heating.

Here’s how…

PEX plumbing

With more new homes plumbed with PEX than copper and CPVC combined, you’re probably already aware of the benefits of plumbing with PEX. However, you may not know about a newer, smarter way to install a PEX plumbing system that goes in faster, uses less materials, requires fewer connections and minimizes your liability.

This innovative design is called Logic plumbing.

The Logic approach uses the flexibility of PEX pipe to minimize connections and reduce potential leak points while also incorporating multiport tees located near fixture groupings to limit the amount of pipe and connections needed.

What’s a multiport tee, you ask? It’s essentially a bunch of tees all molded together to create one long tee with multiple outlets. This design greatly reduces the number of fittings and connections needed to plumb a home (think: reduced materials cost and labor time).

Here’s an example of how a multiport tee saves installation time and materials: a flow-through multiport tee with six outlets has eight connections (six connections for the ports, a main flow-through inlet and a main flow-through outlet). Six regular tees, on the other hand, have a whopping 18 connections. That’s an increase of more than double the connections — and double the installation time.

Best of all, multiport tees are not considered manifolds, so they can be installed behind walls without the need for an access panel. Double win, there!

For a Logic layout, a main line connects to a multiport tee with distribution lines going out from the multiport to provide water to all fixtures in a single or adjacent grouping. This design uses significantly less pipe than a home-run layout, with just a few more connections. Plus, it requires considerably fewer connections compared to a trunk-and-branch installation.

For example, a 2,300-square-foot, two-story home using a Logic design requires only 637 feet of pipe while a home-run system uses 1,515 feet of pipe. And, while it’s true a Logic installation uses slightly more connections than a home-run layout (59 vs. 48 in the 2,300-square-foot, two-story home example), the amount of pipe savings is significantly more beneficial with the labor and material savings you get with less pipe to install.

A Logic layout also installs much faster compared to a trunk-and-branch system due to the vast reduction in connections. With the two-story home example, a Logic layout uses a mere 16 fittings and 59 connections compared to a whopping 96 fittings and 165 connections for trunk and branch.

PEX multipurpose fire sprinkler systems

If you’re a licensed plumber who wants to add an additional service to your offering, check out PEX multipurpose fire sprinkler systems. These systems combine the fire sprinklers with a home’s cold-water plumbing. It’s genius!

Installation is remarkably easy — the sprinkler is essentially just another fixture to tie into the plumbing line. For most contractors who already install PEX plumbing systems and have the tools, knowledge and, most importantly, the relationships with the home builders, this is a slam dunk.

Depending on the jurisdiction, multipurpose systems typically don’t need check valves or backflow preventers, and because they combine with the potable plumbing, they don’t use antifreeze, so all those added costs are eliminated.

To get started in most jurisdictions, licensed plumbers just need the appropriate training and a quality design that meets the NFPA 13D standard requirements for home fire sprinkler systems.

If you’re interested in learning more, email me at kim.bliss@uponor.com, and I can get you all the information you need to add this profitable new service to your business.

PEX hydronic radiant floor heating

There’s nothing like the comfort of radiant floor heating — ask anyone who has experienced it. And, homeowners will pay nicely for a quality radiant floor heating system, so there is definitely income potential if you can learn to do it right.

That said, with radiant floor heating, there’s a little more to learn. But, like fire sprinkler systems, starting with a proper design is key. If your design is wrong in the beginning, there’s not much you can do to fix the system once it’s installed.

Take advantage of the radiant design services many PEX manufacturers offer to guide you through the process. There are several design factors to know, including floor R-values, heat-loss calculations, pipe sizing, loop lengths, pump sizing, manifold types and more.

Once you learn the basics of radiant design and get a few small jobs under your belt, you have the potential to take your expertise to the next level with bigger, more profitable projects. But again, be sure to get the proper design and training before you tackle a radiant project. It will be well worth it in the long run.

To get a jumpstart on all things radiant, visit the following industry websites at radiantprofessionalsalliance.org, healthyheating.com or heatinghelp.com.

Kim Bliss is the content development manager at Uponor. She can be reached at kim.bliss@uponor.com.