Come stop by STF’s booth at this year’s Woodworking Machinery & Supply Conference and Expo!
We will be there on November 2-4 at the International Centre in Toronto, Canada.
STF will be displaying our latest solids additions as well as the new ULTRALAM 1D laminate series.
The U.S. economy shows no signs of slowing down, despite the impact of two major hurricanes that hit U.S. mainland within two weeks of each other. Damage done by high winds and rampant flooding in Texas and Florida (the 2nd and 4th largest economies in the U.S.) was forecasted to negatively impact third-quarter economic activity but as of yet the U.S. economy appears to be more resilient than in the past.
According to the World Economic Forum, the U.S. gained in global competitiveness for the 2017-2018 Global Competitiveness Index. The U.S. is now ranking number 2 out of 137 countries, the highest it has been since the beginning of the 2008 recession. This report assesses the competitiveness landscape based on 12 pillars (1), which provides insight into the drivers of their productivity and prosperity. Another positive outlook for the U.S. economy has been the reduction in the trade deficit for August, decreasing the deficit by 2.7% from July 2017. The August trade deficit came in at $42.4 billion, which is the lowest it has been in 11 months.
Even with a loss of 33,000 jobs, mostly in the service and hospitality industry due to hurricane impacts, unemployment decreased yet again. At its lowest, since February 2001, the unemployment rate is now at 4.2%. Economists predict that the loss of the total number of jobs will quickly be rebound as the areas impacted by hurricanes get back to normal.
With manufacturing driving the U.S. economy, 17 of 18 manufacturing sectors have reported growth according to the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) Report on Business (2). Manufacturing expanded in September as the PMI (Purchasing Managers Index) registered at 60.8%, an increase of 2% from the August reading of 58.8% and the highest since May 2004 at 61.4%. The September PMI indicates growth for the 100th consecutive month in the overall economy and the 13th straight month of growth in the manufacturing sector. The largest growth can be seen in new orders, up 4.3% and production rose 1.2%.
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(1) The 12 pillars used to measure global competitiveness include institutions, infrastructure, macroeconomic environment, health and primary education, higher education and training, goods market efficiency, labor market efficiency, financial market development, technological readiness, market size, business sophistication, and innovation.
(2) The 18 manufacturing industries include: Textile Mills; Machinery; Nonmetallic Mineral Products; Transportation Equipment; Plastics; Rubber Products; Paper Products; Wood Products; Computer; Electronic Products; Food, Beverage; Tobacco Products; Chemical Products; Fabricated Metal Products; Miscellaneous Manufacturing; Petroleum; Coal Products; Apparel, Leather; Allied Products; Printing; Related Support Activities; Electrical Equipment, Appliances; Components; Primary Metals; and Furniture; Related Products.
When it comes to kitchen style, contemporary design has become the most popular style across all age groups (Houzz Kitchen Trends Study 2017). The contemporary kitchen with its clean lines and high functionality utilizes whites and neutrals with a pop of color to create a pallet that’s exciting, yet refined. To obtain the sleek and livable feel that many homeowners are opting for, solid colors have been a driving force, leading STF to introduce a range of solid colors that look and feel just like painted doors.
Our solid paint collection currently offers four colors that all have a corresponding Sherwin Williams (SW) paint match: Battleship Grey (SW Peppercorn 7674), Gun Metal Grey (SW Gauntlet 7019), Deep Blue Sea (SW Gail Force 7605) and Folkstone Grey (SW Knitting Needles 7672). You can also find TFL matches from Arauco, Panolam, Tafisa or Uniboard. HPL matches can be found from Arborite, Formica, Nevamar or Wilsonart.
Go ahead and leave the mess and headache of painting doors behind you and opt for a more durable and economical solution for today’s kitchen trends. The three shades of grey and a dark blue can be paired in various combinations along with white cabinets which will add a simple and clean elegance to any contemporary design.
Featured image: Deep Blue Sea – Nevamar Deep Blue S302, Panolam Deep Blue 3022, Sherwin Williams Gale Force 7605
Battleship Gray – Tafisa Sundown L768 Arborite T768 Sundown Sherwin Williams Peppercorn 7674
Gun Metal Gray – Arauco Fossil SF233 Panolam Fossil FB2330 Formica Citadel 1097 Sherwin Williams Gauntlet Grey 7019
Folkstone Gray – Wilsonart Fashion Grey D381 Tafisa Summer Drops L202 Uniboard Sunset Grey 805 Sherwin Williams Knitting Needles 7672
According to the Kitchen Cabinet Manufacturers Association (KCMA), cabinet sales in July rose 1.8% compared to the same month in 2016. Stock cabinets grew 4.5% and semi-custom levels increased 0.6%.
Year-to-date sales were up 3.7% from 2016, with stock levels up 4.2%, semi-custom numbers rising 3.9% and custom totals increasing 0.7%.
Survey participants include companies whose combined sales represent approximately 70% of the U.S. kitchen cabinet and bath vanity market. KCMA is the trade association for manufacturers of kitchen cabinets, bath vanities, and key suppliers of goods and services to the industry. See KCMA for more details.
For the first time in recorded history, the U.S. was slammed by two Category 4 hurricanes from the Atlantic within the same year, devastating parts of Texas and Florida.
Hurricane Harvey made landfall on August 25, 2017, near the Texas Gulf Coast and stalling after landfall dumped a record 27 trillion gallons of rain on Texas and Louisiana in 6 days causing mass evacuations and catastrophic flooding along the gulf coast.
Only a mere 16 days later, on September 10, 2017, Florida was hit by Hurricane Irma. Yet another record-breaking storm that measured nearly 400 miles across made landfall in the Florida Keys before traveling up the spine of Florida.
Both of these storms have had disastrous impacts on affected areas causing extensive property damage and high loss output on economic activity for the two regions. According to a preliminary estimate from Moody’s Analytics, the two hurricanes have caused between $150 billion and $200 billion in damage to homes and furnishings, vehicles, commercial real estate, and public infrastructure.
Extensive flooding caused by Hurricane Irma
With Texas and Florida being the 2nd and 4th largest economies in the U.S., respectively, economist are slashing their estimates for third-quarter GDP growth. Goldman Sachs estimates GDP will increase by just 2% this quarter after cutting its estimates by 0.8%. The economic costs include disruptions to businesses, increased rates of unemployment, damage to infrastructure, crop losses, property damage and higher fuel prices.
However, many economists are predicting a robust fourth-quarter GDP due to rebuilding the affected areas; although estimates on the impact have not been released. “Any lost output and employment are likely to be made up in subsequent quarters,” said Gus Faucher, a senior vice president and chief economist at The PNC Financial Services Group.
“Reconstruction in the wake of Irma, funded by insurance payouts and federal aid, will boost the state’s economy and hiring in late 2017 and early 2018. Similar patterns have been seen with other natural disasters, such as Superstorm Sandy, Hurricane Andrew, and the Northridge earthquake,” said Faucher.
As Texas and Florida get back to work and start rebuilding following the devastation of Category 4 hurricanes, long-term outlooks are very optimistic and the current U.S. economic expansion, now in its ninth year, will continue.
Lastly, all of us here at Synergy Thermal Foils weathered the storm very well. We lost a few large trees and a couple days without power, our damage was very minor. We are back to operating under normal business conditions.
STF is known for our wide range of 3D laminates and the extensive matching program with over 100 designs. However, as our customers’ needs change we like to rise to the challenge to bring forth new and innovative products to complement our current product offerings. This is why we are proud to present our latest product line addition: The Ultralam Collection.
The Ultralam collection features flat laminates in a range of colors that come in three finishes: ultra-gloss, ultra-matte, and ultra-emboss. Ultralam is highly scratch resistant, resistant to UV rays and discoloration and extremely easy to clean.
Recent design trends have seen a shift away from traditional style to a more modern and contemporary design. (Houzz 2017 Kitchen Study) The Ultralam collection offers you a sleek and contemporary design that everyone is searching for. These high-end laminates will take your finish product from beautiful to breathtaking.
This Month’s Feature: Pearl Series
White, black and grey are the hottest colors trending from kitchens to store fixtures, however, too much of one color can overshadow your final design. The new pearl series in the Ultralam collection adds a dash of shine within your solid color, giving your finished project the optical illusion of a pearl finish.
Daybreak Pearl Ultra-Gloss 1D
Twilight Pearl Ultra-Gloss 1D
We wanted to start by highlighting two items in a metallic gloss finish; Daybreak Pearl and Twilight Pearl Ultra-Gloss. These two would look great together because they share an ultra-smooth, super high gloss finish that is highly scratch and stain resistant. Testing shows these luxury polymer laminates are more impact and scuff resistant than standard acrylic ABS.
The U.S. economy shows no signs of slowing down.
A big recovery of GDP growth during the second quarter that was in large part fueled by consumer spending has brought back optimism. GDP growth was recorded at 2.6% in the 2nd quarter, a much better outlook than the revised 1.2% during the 1st quarter.
The Dow also reached a milestone after closing over 22,000 for the first time ever sustained by higher corporate profits and consumer spending.
“Earnings are growing and are growing faster than anybody thought. That alone will drive stock prices up,” says Brad McMillan, chief financial officer at Commonwealth Financial Network.
“We [also] see improving consumer confidence and business confidence. When investors are more confident when consumers are more confident when businesses are more confident, then typically you see stock prices rise,” McMillan adds.
Consumer confidence is up 3.8 points in July to June, reaching 121.1 (1985=100). At a 16 year high for consumer confidence! Overall consumers foresee the current economic expansion as continuing well into the second half of the year.
The increase in consumer confidence can be attributed to the strong job market. July saw the addition of 209,000 jobs, most notably jobs were added in the leisure and hospitality, education and health service, professional and business service and in manufacturing. Unemployment has also fallen to a 16 year low, a mere 4.3%. The tightening labor market has pushed wages up 2.5%; wages will continue to increase as the labor pool gets smaller and businesses will start competing for workers.
Added jobs and consumer confidence has also pushed the housing market forward. The sale of new, single-family homes rose 9.1% in June 2017 over June 2016. While existing home sales only increased 0.7% in June over the same month in 2016, this can be attributed to a low supply and price growth that is restraining budgets. The housing market will continue to grow despite facing constraints such as low inventory supply, fast pace price growth and the lack of land and labor.
Folkstone Grey (matte) is such a high demand color, we are now offering it in a second finish: gloss.
With hundreds of shades of gray, the new Folkstone Grey Gloss is on the opposite tone spectrum of our successful Shark Grey Gloss. Pairing with a wood grain or even other solids will give your finished product just the right touch.
Corresponding TFL matches can be found with Tafisa, Roseburg, Dixie Funder, Arauco and KML to name a few. Matching HPL can be found with Formica or Wilsonart.
Folkstone Gloss (Left) paired with a Smokewood island
This year’s AWFS Fair was a whirlwind experience like no other. Hosted in Las Vegas, Nevada on July 19-22, 2017, the biennial event boasted a 17% attendance increase over 2015. With over 18,000 participants, there was a flurry of excitement in the packed halls with everyone eager to see the latest technology and design trends.
Synergy’s unique showcase of decorative wall panels attracted attention from everyone who walked by. Many people stopped simply to touch the panels; surprised that the visual design also felt like real wood. Attendees were amazed by the range of finished products that can utilize thermofoil such as healthcare tables, decorative wall systems, intricate cabinet door styles, molding and so much more.
However, the biggest attraction was the new line of solid colors that have the look and feel of painted doors. With a rise in contemporary designs that feature solid color doors; Synergy sought after an RTF solution. The introduction of STF Deep Blue Sea and Gun Metal Grey is the beginning of our Solid Paint collection, with corresponding Sherwin Williams colors: Gale Force (SW 7605) and Gauntlet Grey (SW 7019), respectively. These two colors generated plenty of buzz and were featured in some of the hottest design trends seen at some of the world’s largest furniture and interior design shows such as NeoCon and Interzum.
Also featured was our in-depth matching program that featured some of the corresponding products utilized in completing flawless and cohesive designs. On this feature wall, we had our Barnwood, Smokewood and Silverwood displayed with the matching edbanding and 2D film stocked by STF along with the corresponding TFL and HPL matches as well.
Exceeding expectations, the U.S. labor market has continued the trend of adding U.S. jobs to the market. The labor department released its June statistics and the numbers have surprised many. Total non-farm payroll employment has increased by 222,000 in June, 47,000 more jobs than expected by economists. “The payroll number is well above expectations,” said Jim O’Sullivan, chief United States economist at High-Frequency Economics.
The unemployment rate was little changed at 4.4%, this steadying of the unemployment rate can be attributed to an increase of individuals entering the U.S. workforce. However, with a shrinking available labor pool, companies are trying to ramp up their hiring for skilled workers. According to Career Builders 2017 Midyear Job Forecast, approximately 60% of employers are looking to bring in more workers, a 20% rise from a year ago.
The economic expansion is now entering its ninth year with the lowest unemployment rate in 16 years. Some feel it has reached full capacity. With a level that’s this low, unemployment has more room to go up than down. The U.S. has added jobs every month since October 2010, a record 81-month stretch that added 16 million workers and slowly repaired much of the damage from the 2007-09 recession. The unemployment rate touched a 16-year low and the number of job openings hit a record earlier this year.
White and black have always had a prominent place in cabinet designs, however, there has been a surge of gray tones. The popularity of sleek, sophisticated gray color schemes have soared in the last few years and has no outlook to stop. Staying on top of today’s trends STF has released Battleship Grey, a new solid matte gray. With matching TFL from Tafisa (Sundown L768), this color is bound to have a timeless look for any completed project.
As the premier commercial design and furniture trade show in North America, NeoCon 2017 introduced the up-and-coming design trends we are likely to see in the next year. Hosted in downtown Chicago at the Merchandise Mart, this year’s NeoCon attendance increased 7% over 2016.
2017 
’s design trends focused on neutral tones and wood grains, segmented with pops of color. Sit/stand products, privacy pods, ergonomic seating, integrated technologies and high-performance textiles were also among top trends seen throughout the show.
STF had a product showcase in the Material Intelligence booth, showcasing our comprehensive matching program. This allowed us to highlight the multitude of uses for RTF and cultivate interest for thermofoils as a solution in the commercial design industry.