US company Trex (Winchester, Virginia; www.trex.com), which manufactures decking, fences and wall panels made of wood-plastic composites (WPC), plans to invest around USD 400m (approx. EUR 350m) over the next five years to build a third plant in the US. Part of the additional output volume is expected to go into the expansion of its international business – above all on the European market. That is at least what can be inferred from the latest financial presentation by the company, which claims to be world’s largest WPC producer. It also confirms a similar statement recently made by CEO Bryan Fairbanks.

Construction of the new facility at the strategically favourable Mississippi port of Little Rock, Arkansas – around 500 km to the north of New Orleans – is planned to begin next year. The first products are scheduled to be extruded from polyethylene recyclate and wood chips in 2024. When the expansion project is completed, Trex expects to have a workforce of around 500 at the site. At present, the company employs 1,700 people worldwide. Only last year, it increased the capacity at its main facility in Winchester, Virginia, by 70%.

Since it was founded in the mid-1990s, Trex has been growing rapidly. Last year alone, turnover rose by 18% to USD 881m, and for 2021, growth is again predicted to be in the higher double-digit percent range. The company puts its EBITDA margin at nearly 30%. Plasteurope.com was unable to establish what percentage of sales is accounted for by Europe.

It is also interesting to note that Trex, with its two present plants in Virginia and Nevada, is among the largest recyclers of PE film in the US. According to Fairbanks, nearly 1.15m t of PE film (post-consumer and post-industrial) has been processed in the past 10 years. The WPC products consist, on average, of 50-60% PE; the rest is wood.