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This report covers: ceiling materials,partitions,ceiling tiles,operable wall patitions, folding partitions, monobloc partitions,demountable partitions,relocatable partitions,suspended ceiling grids,exposed grids, concealed grids, special grids, ceiling tiles, wet felt tiles,mineral fibre tiles,soft fibre tiles, metal tiles, open-cell tiles, plaster tiles,bi-bloc partitioning,glass partitioning,frameless partitioning, open-plan offices

Companies covered include: Armstrong World Industries, USG (UK), SAS, Saint-Gobain Ecophon, CEP Ceilings, Burgess Architectural Products, Rockfon, Hunter Douglas,Komfort Office Environments, Thrislington Engineering, Clestra Hauserman, C P Supplies, Unilock, Montage Partitions 2000, Neslo Partitioning and Interiors, Optima, Alco-Beldan,Commercial Ceiling Factors, C P Supplies, Komfort Office Environment, Ceilings Distribution, Nevill Long,Capco Interior Supplies,

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Key Areas

Executive Summary

Table of Contents

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KEY AREAS

• Changing mix of Suspended Ceiling tiles by material.
• Review of key products within Partitioning Systems market.
• Comprehensive review of supply and distribution structure for both product sectors.
• Changing working practices and their potential long term threat to demand levels for Suspended Ceilings and Partitioning Systems.

THE MARKET

• Total suspended ceilings and partitioning market - analysis of size by value.
• Current situation, historical trends since 1990 and forecasts to 2005, reasons for change and key factors influencing the market trends.
• The commercial construction and RMI non-housing markets, size by value, historical trends and current situation, and other influencing factors such as business confidence and company relocation.
• Longer-term prospects for these and other office based products in the light of changing working practices.
• Mix of the overall market between suspended ceilings and partitioning systems and any recent changes.

SUSPENDED CEILINGS

• Market size by value, historical trends since 1990, forecasts to 2005.
• Factors affecting the market historically and current influencing factors.
• Analysis of air-conditioning market and impact on market.
• Mix of sales by end-use sectors, reasons for use, areas and reasons for growth.
• Mix of sales of suspended ceiling tiles by type, properties of types, major end use areas, areas of change in recent years and reasons for these changes.
• Short/medium and long term future prospects.

PARTITIONING

• Market size by value, historical trends since 1990, forecasts to 2005 - factors affecting the market historically and those influencing the market's current performance.
• Mix by type of partitioning systems (operable wall/folding partitions, monobloc and 'other' demountable/relocatable) trends in designs and materials, advantages and disadvantages of monobloc.
• Operable Walls/Folding Partitions - mix of types by value and recent changes. Properties of each product type
• Future prospects for partitioning systems.

SUPPLIERS AND DISTRIBUTION

• Review of distribution structure for partitioning systems and suspended ceilings.
• Major manufacturers/suppliers of suspended ceilings, product and market positioning.
• Major manufacturers/suppliers of partitioning systems, product and market positioning.
• Major distributors, market shares, product and market positioning.
• Contractors and their buying process.
• Major end-use sectors, trends, areas of growth and decline, types of products required.

FUTURE PROSPECTS

• Prospects for the suspended ceilings and partitioning systems markets - major factors influencing short and longer term prospects.
• Key influences on these markets - commercial/industrial/public contractors output and new orders, unemployment etc.

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

In 2000, the market for suspended ceilings and partitioning systems was worth an estimated £288m at manufacturers selling prices. These markets have been very volatile, reflecting strong cyclical changes in the commercial construction market, as illustrated in the chart below:-

Source: AMA Research/Trade Estimates
Demand for ceilings and partitioning systems declined substantially in the difficult recession period of the early - 1990s. Office construction fell by over 50 percent during this period, with refurbishment activity also badly affected. Recovery was relatively low, reflecting a stagnant office construction sector, but has finally experienced some improvement in the mid-late 1990s.

Since 1997, the market has grown more consistently at around 4-5 percent per annum, due to a more buoyant construction sector. Offices, retail and leisure have all seen positive growth in investment, though the public sector has remained flat. However, with the re-election of a Labour Government in June 2001, this is set to change with substantial increases in investment in health and education over the next 5 years, which should contribute to further growth in the market, estimated at around 4 percent per annum.

Suspended ceilings are valued at approximately £140m in 2000, having experienced growth of around 7-8 percent in the last 2 years. It has performed better than the relocatable partitioning market in recent years due to their use in a wider range of end-use sectors, which makes the market less susceptible to difficult economic conditions.

Suspended ceilings offer many benefits. A key motivating factor for their use is aesthetics to conceal equipment such as air conditioning equipment and lighting wiring, with both of these introduced extensively into a wide variety of applications. They are also installed for sound attenuation and to benefit acoustic levels, particularly in offices.

Offices are the major end-use sector, accounting for an estimated 45 percent share of the market, followed by the retail, entertainment, health, education, industrial and other sectors. The office construction sector has now recovered from its decline in the early 1990's and has seen growth of 10 percent in the last 2 years. The entertainment and retail sectors have also achieved favourable growth and, together with airport construction, have further benefited this market.

There are three main types of grids - exposed, concealed and special grids. With growth in the number of bespoke and special ceilings now being specified, special grids have increased their share of the suspended ceiling grid market.

In terms of key product sectors, there are five main types of ceiling tiles - wet felt/mineral fibre and soft fibre (which together are estimated to account for around half of the market), metal, open-cell and plaster.

There has been some trading up in the suspended ceilings market, especially in the growth of soft fibre and metal ceilings at the expense of traditional wet-felt mineral fibre. Gypsum-based ceiling tiles and plasterboard have also seen growth at the expense of mineral fibre. Open-cell ceilings systems have seen a decline in share mainly due to a continued trend towards smoother ceiling surfaces.

The market for partitioning systems is valued at £148m in 2000 and is heavily reliant on the office sector, thus making them more vulnerable to poor performance in this market. With a buoyant office construction sector this market performed well in the last 2 years and grew by around 8 percent.

The market is comprised of three major sectors - Monobloc, operable walls/folding partitions and 'other' demountable/relocatable partitions. Relocatable partitioning continues to gain share from fixed partitioning as flexibility to reorganise becomes increasingly important.

Monobloc partitioning has seen growth, particularly in prestigious offices, due mainly to its ease of relocation and due to being fully relocatable. Within the 'other' demountable/relocatable sector, there has been growth in demand for bi-bloc partitioning which is flexible and allows each side of the partition to be decorated differently. Glass 'frameless' partitioning has also been a growth area as the trend towards open-plan offices with flexible partitioning continues. Operable walls have also been a relatively buoyant sector, with some growth in acoustic products.

The short-term future for partitioning systems is relatively optimistic, though longer term prospects are more pessimistic, due to the threat of having a negative impact on office demand.

The supply and distribution structure for these industries is complex due to the wide range of materials involved, the large number of companies and the wide variety of end use sectors, particularly for suspended ceilings.

There are a wide range of companies involved in this market, including raw material suppliers through to manufacturers and distributors, with a substantial element of vertical integration. The major distributors sell a range of products including those they manufacture themselves and sell under their own brand name, products manufactured by other companies and sold under the distributors own name, and branded ranges from other manufacturers.

In terms of suspended ceilings, major companies are Armstrong World Industries, USG (UK), SAS, Saint-Gobain Ecophon, CEP Ceilings, Burgess Architectural Products, Rockfon and Hunter Douglas.

In terms of partitioning systems, major suppliers are Komfort Office Environments, Thrislington Engineering, Clestra Hauserman, C P Supplies, Unilock, Montage Partitions 2000, Neslo Partitioning and Interiors, Optima and Alco-Beldan.

Major distributors are Commercial Ceiling Factors who lead the market with an estimated 28 percent, C P Supplies, Komfort Office Environment, Ceilings Distribution, Nevill Long and Capco Interior Supplies.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Text © 2001 AMA Research

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Last updated by Duncan Nottage 12th july 2001