2024 – A Year of Major Transformation

by Don Browne

President & CEO Kate Offringa Reflects on What’s Been More than a Landmark Year for the Vinyl Siding and Polymeric Exteriors Industry

 

They started the year as the Vinyl Siding Institute (VSI).

By the end of the Annual Meeting in April, they were officially re-branded as the Polymeric Exterior Products Association (PEPA), opening the door to new categories of membership who could benefit from the innovative and valuable programs and services provided by the association’s team which, according to President & CEO Kate Offringa, continues to punch above its weight.

 

“We made so many great strides in each of our pillars,” Kate said. “And in the middle of this tremendous progress, we successfully launched an expanded, re-branded trade association to benefit the entire polymeric exteriors sector, and a new recycling collaborative. I am so grateful for our team and membership, whose advocacy and support made this milestone year possible.”

PEPA Arrives!

After 45 successful years as the Vinyl Siding Institute, the board and leadership decided to broaden the trade association’s mission and membership to include all polymeric exterior building products.

“By uniting members across our category, we can help promote the benefits of polymeric products and drive a greater impact than ever before,” Kate said.

This major decision also prompted another major determination – a re-brand – which gave birth to the Polymeric Exterior Products Association (PEPA).

Thanks to months of hard work in 2023, the PEPA rebrand was in full creative swing in Q1 2024.“ [Senior Director of Communications] Lisa [Dunn] and the Marketing Committee worked super hard and got fantastic results on the PEPA rebrand,” Kate beamed with pride.

The new PEPA brand and mission were introduced at The NAHB International Builders' Show® (IBS) and The International Roofing Expo (IRE) as a sort of soft opening before its official launch at what would be the last VSI Annual Meeting in April. What started as a smooth expansion to PEPA turned into what Kate calls “the busiest year ever for the Board of Directors.”

“Becoming PEPA would not have been possible without our board’s hard work and support. There were months of meetings, discussions, drafting, editing, individual calls with board members, and so much to restructure the new organization to match its mission and goals,” Kate said. “We had to overhaul the bylaws and dues structure to allow new categories of manufacturers to join and develop a plan to recruit new members.”

The new member categories officially open for registration in January 2025, and manufacturers of polymeric roofing and vinyl fencing have already expressed interest.

“Companies from these two categories have been communicating with us since the April launch, so we’re excited to welcome these early adopters officially in the new year,” Kate said.

Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch…

As Kate and the board worked through the finer details of building a more expanded, industry-inclusive trade association, the business of the association was, well, business as usual: more growth and more expansion in all areas. Here are some key highlights:

PEPA Advocacy Achieves More Legislative Reforms at the State Level

“Show me another trade association that gets a bill passed in one state every year,” Kate said.

In 2024, Iowa became the next state to pass legislation eliminating local government bans against modern materials like vinyl siding, joining North Carolina, Tennessee, Indiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas in opening local markets for vinyl siding and polymeric exteriors.

“And thanks to [Senior Director, Advocacy – Government Affairs] Alex Fernandez’s efforts in 2024, South Carolina, Washington, and Minnesota are ‘teed up’ for success in passing legislation in 2025,” Kate noted.

Sustainability: Longtime Vision for Vinyl Siding Recycling Model Becomes a Reality with Revinylize Launch

After years of research and thoughtful work through PEPA’s Sustainability Committee, including a successful pilot program in Northeast Ohio from 2021-2023, the association, its members and other partners launched the Revinylize Recycling Collaborative in December 2023. The reaction to this first-of-its-kind post-consumer rigid vinyl recycling program in 2024 exceeded expectations, with local collaboratives being established beyond the pilot in Northeast Ohio to include Toronto, Philadelphia and Eastern Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh and Louisville. And a Q4 commitment from Nashville means that Revinylize will start the New Year with more southern expansion.

The Louisville launch was even more special thanks to an innovative project benefiting a local mission that provides transitional housing to adults in addiction recovery.. The project was supported by a promotional video and case study intended to raise more local and national awareness about Revinylize’s enormous potential to lower our carbon footprint by manifesting more circular economies and sustainable communities.

“It’s like we started a second trade association but with local chapters,” Kate said. “We were able to leverage strong relationships with industry partners like the Vinyl Institute and our members to make this recycling model a reality. Everything PEPA does – product certification, installer education and workforce development, and our advocacy – makes such a local impact on homes and neighborhoods. For this reason, I truly believe that Revinylize will make an even greater impact on the local communities we serve with PEPA and all our partners as a driving force.”

Final numbers for 2024 will be available in January, but mid-year metrics suggest that Revinylize is pacing well to meet its goal of recycling 5 million pounds of post-consumer rigid vinyl.

Certified Installer Program Approaches 12,000+ Participation Mark

After a milestone year in 2023 that included reaching the 10,000 mark in participants, the PEPA Certified Installer Program has experienced 18% growth after adding 1,796+ new participants and making meaningful strides in other areas including the addition of nearly 20 new Certified Installer trainers.

“[Workforce Development Operations Manager] Alex Brand keeps moving the program forward thanks to strong industry support,” Kate said. “We have forged partnerships with the National Association of the Remodeling Industry and the Building Talent Foundation, and we formed an Installation Central Work Group charged with prioritizing and organizing all available installation resources. We also organized two ‘Train the Trainer’ events this past Fall that provided future trainers with classroom experience that included mock-up wall installations. Those who completed the class received a 5-year Certified Trainer certification as we grow our network of trainers.”

Product Certification Program Adds New Product Type and Sets the Table for Compliance with the Canadian Building Code

In July, we were proud to add backed vinyl siding to our association’s Product Certification Program. While it’s the first product added under the PEPA brand, backed vinyl siding products have been developed by our members for more than 10 years to meet the growing demand for a boarded siding akin to insulated vinyl siding.

“This development is another great example of the proactive member engagement we receive on key initiatives,” Kate said. “And we are so grateful to have [Senior Director of Technical and Certification] Sara Krompholz’s technical expertise in working with the Code Development Work Group and the Product Certification Program team to certify backed vinyl siding as well as move more products into the certification pipeline this year.”

Kate also applauded the Product Certification Program’s efforts in adding compliance to the National Building Code of Canada (NBC). “Achieving this added component to the Product Certification Program with a first quarter 2025 start date is a really nice way for PEPA to kick off the new year.”

Code Development Work Group (CDWG) Does Important Legwork for 2025

“The definition of legwork is ‘work that involves much traveling to collect information, especially when such work is difficult and tedious,’” Kate noted. “The amount of legwork that [Vice President] Matt Dobson and the Code Development Work Group perform is astounding, and 2024 is no exception. And yes, they do a lot of traveling to advocate for our industry and set the example for ICC Codes Development.”

This year, the CDWG has been working tirelessly on fire safety, including a new proposal to amend the International Fire Code to minimize fire risk to home exteriors. IFC 304.1.3.1 Combustible Mulch is intended to prevent mulch installation within five feet or less of home buildings. During this cycle, the backed siding category (and ASTM standard) were also introduced into the International Building Code, providing more options for manufacturers for standardized products.

“These efforts not only demonstrate PEPA’s ‘evergreen commitment’ to fire safety and ensuring our products’ success but also to improving both the home building industry and home dwellers’ quality of life,” Kate said. “This code work has been another terrific cross-collaboration with the Technical Committee.”

Technical Committee Supports Product Certification and Code Development

The Technical Committee has been lending its support to the code efforts this year by conducting wind load testing to support the prescriptive code changes related to fasteners and the use of furring strips. This test data will add to the committee’s wind load compilation of various installation scenarios to support the industry.

Additionally, the committee has continued to be active in different sectors of ASTM, both by having successfully completed ballot items and engaging in external activities that could affect our members and their respective products.

A Total Team Effort in A Year to Remember

“While all this was going on – an association rebrand and expansion along with the launch of a national rigid vinyl recycling collaborative – this incredible team was keeping the trains running on time and exceeding expectations in all areas,” Kate boasted.

“Brookklin Brown transitioned from Education Programs Manager to Program Manager, Membership, to prepare for our membership expansion in 2025, and she hasn’t missed a beat,” Kate noted. “And [Senior Director of Finance and Administration] Curtis Norman continues to raise the bar on customer service and operational efficiency.”

2023 was a year of landmark celebrations, including the 45th anniversary of the Vinyl Siding Institute and the 25th anniversary of the Product Certification Program. Building on this long history of success, 2024 became the year of significant expansion with the PEPA and Revinylize launches, and the traction gained on both has already planted seeds in the 2025 scorecard.

“I’m already looking forward to next year’s review,” Kate said. “We’ll have so much to talk about, especially since we’ll have a more united polymeric industry that’s stronger together!”

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Don Browne is a writer, entrepreneur and local legislator who believes that the power of words can change the world. He provides unique writing services for clients in the construction, health care, IT and hospitality sectors. He has a passion for small business and start-ups, as well as writing about Irish history, family and corporate biographies. As a homeowner and father of four who is passionate about community development, Don looks forward to writing more about the exciting possibilities of creating traditional neighborhoods and more sustainable communities using modern materials.