Kennesaw Home Depot Fiber Cement Siding Contractors

Siding Products Backerboard Pipe Career Opportunities      James Hardie: World leader in fiber cement siding, backerboard and pipe James Hardie is a leader in the manufacturing and development of technologies, materials and manufacturing processes of durable building materials. For over 20 years, we have operated one of the largest research and development facilities devoted solely to fiber-cement technology. Our ability to introduce new products and streamline manufacturing has fueled our growth as the fastest-growing siding manufacturer in the US. Call Us Today For Your Free Estimate   (678) 714-2170 Or CLICK HERE to visit our HardiePlank Website!

His first month competing against himself was such a success, Mr. Palmer trotted out a new line of pre-finished fiber-cement exterior siding late last year.

The new siding, made by HardiPlank, competes with the vinyl siding that has been the centerpiece of the company's business for more than two decades.

"All this, at a time when business was already growing," he said, tripling in recent years.

"I don't think you're going to find a lot of vinyl siding distributors trying something like this," he said.

The fiber-cement siding is an alternative for builders, particularly in upscale residential subdivisions with protective covenants against vinyl.

"It's a relatively new building product, about six years old," Mr. Palmer said, "and largely confined to the coasts -- until now."

The fiber-cement product is more durable and more energy-efficient than vinyl siding, it brings a 50-year guarantee to the market.

So far, so good. The product's rollout in November was "almost break-even," and Mr. Palmer believes he'll gross more than $2 million annually selling the siding within the next four years.

Mr. Palmer spent a quarter of a million dollars on equipment and two new staffers, leased a new 5,000-square-foot warehouse in south Wichita and is making plans to build a new facility to handle the siding. 

"We think the siding has a great market locally," he said. "Wherever wood-frame construction and remodeling is being done, this product has an application."

"But with the Kansas winds and hail, you can't destroy the stuff," he said.

Palmer Wholesale also carries primed fiber-cement board for customers who want to do their own painting.

Primed fiber-cement board costs between $1.50 and $1.75 a square foot, with pre-finished about 30 percent higher.

The company spent $150,000 on a new Peterbilt tandem axle and lift truck to haul the product, with average loads weighing more than two tons.