Cedar Siding Inc.: Celebrating 25 Years of Leading Factory Finishing

Monte and Gerald “Bud” Enoch founded Cedar Siding Inc. (CSI) in 1987 with the straightforward philosophy of treating others precisely the way they would like to be treated themselves. This philosophy continues to guide the company’s growth over 25 years later, ensuring quality, consistency and customer service are always at the forefront. Above all, CSI commits to only working with nationally recognized manufacturers and investing in innovative technologies that deliver durable, desirable siding and decking products at an affordable cost. This philosophy has established the company as an industry leader in its specialized niche of factory-finished building products.

CSI operates as a wholesale distributor and factory finisher from its headquarters and finishing facilities, which are located on seven acres in Rochelle, Ill. Inside CSI’s 200,000-square foot finishing facility, CSI’s team applies coatings to and distributes millions of board-feet of products every year. CSI supplies both residential and commercial customers through its dealer network in the six states surrounding its headquarters with the help of distribution centers near Minneapolis, Minn., and South Bend, Ind.

The company represents a variety of manufacturers that specialize in siding and decking products made from real cedar, fiber cement, composite wood and PVC. CSI supplies products such as Shakertown western red cedar shingles, as well as cedar beveled siding, trim, timbers and decking products.

Quality Control

Other manufacturers CSI represents include Verastex, maker of cellular PVC trim products; MaxiTile & James Hardie fiber cement siding and trim; and LP SmartSide, whose products blend the durability of engineered wood from sustainably harvested forests with the durability of fiber cement products. LP SmartSide produces all of its products using the patented SmartGuard process, which begins with an application of zinc borate to either wood strand or wood fiber material. The zinc borate application penetrates every layer of the products, protecting it throughout from fungal decay and termites. An application of exterior-grade resins follows to produce a strong bond that LP SmartSide stands firmly behind with a 50-year transferable warranty.

And CSI takes pride in not just supplying products as a distributor, but also in refining its own finishing processes to remain in line with the manufacturer’s performance promises. The prefinishing process provides greater quality control and uniformity, enabling CSI to support its manufacturers’ warranties with additional weatherproof coatings in either a one-coat, 15-year warranty or a two-coat, 25-year warranty.
To boot, factory finishing costs less than field-applied coatings and crews don’t have to wait for fair weather to apply coatings. CSI can custom-tint coatings to ensure total uniformity across siding, trims, soffit and fascia, using state-of-the-art coating equipment to apply an even, thorough coating to its products. CSI employees inspect the boards to verify optimal moisture content before feeding the boards into the coating application machines.

CSI uses specialized machines designed specifically for each different substrate they finish. For example, they use traditional flow coat technology to coat real cedar because rollers and brushes are needed to work the coating into the surface of the board. However, fiber cement and composite wood are finished using brand new state-of-the-art spray technology. CSI has also engineered a coating machine specifically for shake panel products, as well as a fourth technology made specifically to do panel products like four-by-eight sheet goods. CSI employees check the boards for proper coating thickness and the boards are dried using convection ovens, ensuring the best coating adhesion.

Always Evolving

The CSI team prides itself on maintaining a competitive advantage by continually investing in technologies and techniques that keep its products at the forefront of the industry. Most recently, CSI took the opportunity to invest in an additional coatings application line designed specifically for composite products, as well as upgrading to a state-of-the-art industrial paint mixer.

“This technology is really a game changer in the prefinished siding and trim industry,” explains Shawn Enoch, director of sales and marketing at CSI. According to Enoch, the system is more commonly found amongst large paint manufacturing plants, but CSI made the move to incorporate the technology to ensure the formulation of its paints remains at the highest level possible.

Typically, paint mixers add pigment to coatings in four base colors to achieve the desired result. The problem is that the additional pigments dilute the potency of the coating’s formulation that can lead the coating to become more susceptible to scratches, marring, scuffing and fading. In contrast, CSI’s new equipment adjusts the formulation so that coatings perform beyond expectations in almost any color imaginable. “Our paint supplier, PPG, has been with us for over 25 years and really helped us bring this new technology to life,” admits Enoch.

CSI celebrates its 25-year anniversary in 2012, and it’s fitting that the CSI team would mark the occasion by renewing its commitment to the customer with the addition of new technologies. As it continues to progress, the family-owned and -operated company will work to ensure technological superiority with excellent customer service, cementing Cedar Siding Inc.’s place as a leader in factory finishing.