Polygal Inc. crIer - Polygal North America

Rep Corner: Polygal Inc Greenhouse Market
Jim Larkin—MJK, LLC
5036 Fairway Rd.
Drexel Hill, PA 19026
In 30 AD, the Roman Emperor Tiberius
built his “specularium” from small sheets of
mica to grow cucumbers out of season. In
1599, Jules Charles, a French Botanist, built
a glass greenhouse to grow the Tamarind
(an Indian date) – the fruit was consumed
as a medicinal drink. The French built large
orangeries around 1619 (one had 340
trees in it). The palace of Versailles had an
orangerie 500 ft long, 42 ft wide and 45 ft
high.
By the mid 19th century, Conservatories
and other glass structures were the status
symbols of the European Wealthy. In
America, George Washington had a pinery
(to Grow Pineapples) built at Mt Vernon.
The modern day “greenhouse” is used
for and by: growers & nursery; retail &
garden centers; research & education
facilities; conservatory & botanical; estate
gardens; architectural & engineering; and
homeowners.
The greenhouse market has seen some
difficult challenges over the last 10 years.
Growers, as in other industries, have been
affected by increasing energy costs, offshore
competition, environmental regulation, labor
availability, and much more. Production
area by type of cover (PC& Fiberglass in
this writing) has declined from 1995 to
2006 by: 34% in the Northeast; 28% in the
Midwest; 41.5% in the South; and 36% in
the West. Market segments like the Retail &
Garden Center arenas have helped the OEM
greenhouse manufacturers to maintain sales
but barely.
The Distributor segment for Greenhouse
materials is seeing increasing consolidation
as larger distributors purchase smaller
privately owned operations – much
like the Plastics Distribution market.
Greenhouse manufacturers (OEM’s), with
their considerable engineering & design
capabilities, are extending their expertise to
other applications, and markets.
Polygal’s response to the market is realistic
and forward looking. At 1st quarter’s
end 2008, Polygal will has expanded their
greenhouse segment customer base
significantly since the early part of 2006.
The greenhouse segment is a significant
jumping off point for environmentally
aware expansion for Greenhouse OEMs in
particular. We are actively working at the
specification and market development end of
the business and with engineering and design
departments.
We are bringing projects to our customer’s
door (after careful review of customer
capabilities), with inquires generated from
web sites and active marketing, Referrals to
our customers specify project, manufacturing
and Polygal products. We have also been
identifying installers and have added them
as new turn-key channels to market to the
growers.
We are directing significant customer
contact with the field sales force
. Trade show touring, in particular, affords
the chance to speak with these folks in a
continental size territory.
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Upcoming Events
New England Grows
Boston, MA – greenhouse trade show Feb 6-8, 2008
booth 2166
Western Pool & Spa
Long Beach, CA Mar 13-15, 2008 booth 339
NGMA Spring Meeting
San Diego, CA Mar 30-Apr 2, 2008
IAPD Spring Meeting
Tucson, AZ Apr 9-12
National AIA Convention
Boston, MA - architectural May15-17, 2008 booth
14061
Hurricane Protection Show
Orlando, FL Apr 25-26 booth 528
NAHSA annual meeting
Scottsdale, AZ Jun 8-11, 2008
Polygal National Distributor Meeting
Charlotte, NC Jun 2008 (firm dates TBD)
OFA Short Course
Columbus, OH Jul 13-15, 2008 booth 1156
Farwest Show
Portland, OR Aug 21-23, 2008 booth 0331
IAPD 52nd Conference
Philadelphia, PA Sep 18-21, 2008
Canadian Greenhouse Conference
Toronto, ON Oct 8-9, 2008 booth 453
DBIA Design Build Show
Las Vegas, NV Oct 13-15, 2008 booth 506
NGMA Fall Meeting
Oct 28-30, 2008 – Tampa, FL
Polygal National Sales Seminar
San Juan, Puerto Rico Nov 4-7, 2008
Polygal Inc. Crier
April 2008
Polygal Inc.
PO Box 410592
Charlotte, NC 28241
Ph: 704-588-3800
FAX: 704-588-7400
1-800-537-0095
www.polygal.com

Polygal Inc.
Crier
April 2008
Thought for the day:
Obstacles are those
fearful things we see
when we take our eyes
off the goal.
Application Showcase
The year has started off pretty much as
expected with a down turn in the economy.
In addition the weather has not helped much
for construction. The North West, Mid West,
and North East have all been pounded with
heavy winter weather which has delayed
projects and project start ups. Competition
remains stiff with continued downward
pressure on pricing for commodities. I
do not see the competition letting up on
price pressure for the near future. We all
must be alert to any and all opportunities
and support our distributors everywhere
possible. Good old bare knuckle selling is
going to be the norm, at least in the short
term.
I am sorry to report that Jack Collins, our
longest tenured manufacturer representative
of fifteen years, decided to hang up the
Polygal hat in February. We will miss Jack
and his services in our territory 06 which
includes Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Iowa
and Illinois. However, as luck would have it,
Nik Taritas of our Plastic Solutions group
was servicing this same territory for other
lines. Nik will take over territory 06 for Jack
Sales & Marketing Corner: 1st Quarter 2008
Collins, he knows the Polygal product line
and has been promoting the Polygal line in
two of our northern territories for over four
years. Service and technical support will not
be interrupted.
As you all may or may not know, 2008 is the
25th anniversary for Polygal doing business
in the United States. In conjunction with
our 25th anniversary, Polygal will begin an
annual tradition by holding our first annual
Polygal Inc. “Board of Advisors” Distributor
Seminar June 23rd to 25th in Charlotte,
NC. This promises to be an exciting and
informative seminar for both Polygal and
our invited distributors. Representative
distributors from both the sheet/rod/tube
side and greenhouse side will meet for round
table discussions and brain storming. More
to come on this in our next news letter.USA
is decreasing. Polygal has the stamina and
ability to withstand this. Polygal’s service level
and support from Global Polygal along with
its product innovations excellently position
Ward Ogle
the company to face the current trends and
competition in America.
I am convinced that the ever-increasing
strength of Global Polygal will provide the
necessary backbone to uphold Polygal in the
future as the leading PCSS in the US market.
In conclusion, I hope that all of us in
Polygal, including our partners on this
amazing journey, experience the refreshing,
challenging vitality that the process of
regeneration, growth, expansion, rooting
and coping brings. All this can be enjoyed
when applying the coping principles inherent
in Nature. This is the Nature that Polygal
thrives on.
West Des Moines, Iowa
Paragon Prairie Tower
Largest Italian glass mosaic tile mural in the USA topped
with back lit Polygal 16mm RFX blue. The top of the tower
was constructed by our customer, Sunglow Skylights (ACI
Plastics) of Des Moines, Iowa. The Polygal RFX 16mm blue
is two sheets back to back for color effect, and sits on top
of the tower which is 120 feet high and 16 feet in diameter.
The tower was donated by R&R Realty and the Rupprecht
family of Des Moines as a gift to the community, the state,
and the Midwest and its people.
Polygal Stormguard Hurricane Panels Are
Florida Building Code HVHZ Approved
Ward Ogle
On the 19th of July 2007 all three of our
Stormguard Hurricane Panels tested under
Test Standards FBC-2004 – TAS 201, 202,
203, 2003 ICC, IRC, IBC, ASTM E 1886-02, E
1996-02 and ASTM E 330-02 were approved
for use in HVHZ (high velocity hurricane
zone) by the state of Florida. They are
also approved by TDI (Texas Department
of Insurance). These approvals cover our
16mmSG with aluminum frame 72” x 96”
system – “Stormguard System”, 16mmSG
48” x 96” – “Stormguard 3”, and 16mm Titan
Sky 48” x 96” – “Stormguard 3D”. All three
Polygal panels are now approved for use in
Dade and Broward counties, which are the
current Florida high velocity hurricane zones,
when installed in accordance with Polygal’s
installation instructions.
All Polygal hurricane products are light
weight, very strong, and easy to install. The
pricing for all three products will remain at
our individual strategic distributors’ standard
pricing. Since there is no additional cost
to our strategic distributors, the consumer
2 3
ESPN
Radio Show Announcer Desk (Mike & Mike Show)
This announcer desk was created by Classic Exhibits of Portland, Oregon
using Polygal 8mm Polycoolite. Polycoolite sheet is normally used in
greenhouse and garden center applications. However, Eddy Freauff, project
manager for Classic Exhibits, chose the material for back lit panels due to the
100% light diffusion and the light effect given. This is a great application and
example of thinking out of the box.
will benefit as well. Florida approval
numbers are FL5755R-1, FL7973, and
FL797. Texas approval numbers are SHU
142, SHU 155, and SHU 156. The individual
consumer or distributor is able to view
the Florida approved applications by going
to www.floridabuilding.org and type in the
approval number under “find a product or
application”. To view Texas approval go to
www.tdi.state.tx.us/wind/prod/indexshu.html
or contact sales@polygal.co Products and
installation instructions can be viewed on
our web site www.polygal.com as well.