Maine Company Branches Out To Make Wood Industry Hi-Tech

When Martin Grohman decided he wanted to move back to his home state of Maine, he saw two options — get a job pumping gas, or start his own company. It's been seven years since he made the decision, and here's a hint about his choice: he won't be checking your oil any time soon.

Grohman had been working for an extruder company in Cincinnati selling and servicing the machines. Extruders are large machines that basically take a material, typically plastic or some composite, apply pressure and pass it through a heated barrel, then out through a mold that gives the material its shape. “It's kind of like a big industrial sausage press,” says Grohman. If you have ever used those toys where you stick in a hunk of Play-Doh, turn the crank and it comes out shaped like a star, you get the picture. Grohman saw that extruder sales were going in a new direction, and he followed that path. “My first year there in 1994 we sold one extruder into the wood composite decking market, and by the time I left in 1998, we sold 35. So you could really see the market was up and coming.”

Grohman and Mike Hurkes, a coworker from Cincinnati, decided the demand for a quality composite decking material was growing. The extrusion market in Maine was virtually nonexistent, so in 1999 Grohman and Hurkes took their knowledge of extruders and moved to Maine to start their own company, Correct Building Products, LLC. “If I didn't want to just try and start over, I felt like my best option was to start a company,” says Grohman.

Correct Building Products makes its signature composite decking, CorrectDeck, from a mixture of hardwood sawdust and polypropylene. The sawdust they use is a waste product from mills and manufacturing plants around the Northeast. For their efforts, Correct Building Products has won the Governor's Waste Reduction Award twice.

The plastic and wood mixture makes for a stronger material that doesn't splinter and requires much less maintenance than standard wood boards. Wood will eventually soak up moisture and rot, so it has to be regularly sanded and sealed, or replaced. "If you think about a wood cell...it provides structure but it actually moves moisture from the root to the leaves, which is desirable if you're a tree, but if you're a deck, not so much," explains Grohman.

The extrusion process forces plastic into any space that moisture would normally flow. The right mixture gives you the best of both worlds — stiffness and aesthetics from the wood, moisture and UV resistance and longevity from the plastic. CorrectDeck uses polypropylene, which is stronger than the plastic used in other composite decking materials, so they have a leg up on other composite producers as well as plain wood.

Critics of composite decking say it still fades, stains easily, and is affected by mold and mildew. The company's new product, CorrectDeck CX, has an extra co-extruded layer that fully encapsulates any exposed wood fiber, which reduces fading and eliminates staining. An antimicrobial called Microban also runs throughout CorrectDeck CX to combat the mold and mildew problem. Composite materials are more expensive than most woods, but over time lower maintenance costs more than make up for the initial expense.

Besides wanting to move back to his home state, Grohman saw other reasons that made Maine an attractive choice to start a business. The readily available supply of sawdust is a big plus. The company also took advantage of state support for new businesses from places like the Maine Technology Institute, the Maine Patent Program, and small business development centers. “I always try to emphasize the state support. We've had excellent support from the state,” says Grohman. He also points out the quality labor forces available in Maine. The company runs 24/7, and the employees are a large part of its success. “The work force is second to none,” says Grohman.

While it wasn't exactly part of any master plan, Maine's location has helped nonetheless. “Maine is a good location for competing internationally,” says Grohman. “Guys coming from Kansas, it's hard for them to get to Germany. For us, with the port of Portland and the port of Boston, we have very competitive rates to go to the U.K. and Germany.” Correct Building Products started out focusing on business in New England, but began selling internationally as customers came to them. “We're actually the top composite brand in the U.K. It's a smaller market to be sure, but it's still a good market for us.”

Despite the considerable expansion from essentially a two-man company in 1999 to its current 57 employees, there is still plenty of room for growth. Composites only make up about 15-20% of the decking market, so right now Grohman's biggest competition is natural wood products. As consumer trends continue towards composite materials and old wooden decks get ‘reskinned' with composite surfaces, Correct Building Products will be there to snag some of the market share. They already compete effectively with companies over 100 times their size. “We give them a run for their money for sure,” says Grohman. “It's kind of fun to think that a little Maine company competes with Louisiana Pacific (5,600 employees) and CertainTeed (7,000 employees) and some real big guys. Competing with them hasn't limited our growth.”

Continued growth in the composite decking market should be good for Correct Building Products, and the company's success can only help Maine's image as a viable location for new businesses. It looks like Grohman's choice to start a business has paid off for himself and for Maine — and I'm sure the gas stations are making due without him.