UFP Industries Tackles Construction’s Toughest Challenges with New Innovations

ORLANDO, FL – February 16, 2026 – As the construction industry grapples with persistent labor shortages, rising material costs, and increasing demand for durable, safer homes, UFP Industries (NASDAQ: UFPI) arrived at the 2026 NAHB International Builders Show with a suite of solutions. The 70-year-old company unveiled a portfolio of new products across its family of brands, all engineered to address these critical pain points through advanced material science and streamlined building processes.

From fire-resistant decking and revolutionary composite trim to time-saving framing components and integrated offsite systems, the launches signal a strategic push to move the industry forward. The common thread is a focus on providing tangible value to builders and, ultimately, homeowners, by making construction smarter, faster, and more resilient.

The Core Innovation: Surestone® Technology

At the heart of several of UFP Industries' most significant reveals is its proprietary Surestone® technology. This patented, mineral-based composite material represents a leap forward from traditional wood-plastic composites. By blending advanced plastic polymers with crushed limestone and other minerals, the company has created a material that is approximately 35% lighter than competing composites without sacrificing strength. In fact, it boasts an industry-leading strength-to-weight ratio.

The manufacturing process, which involves stretching the combined materials, creates a unique internal structure that yields significant performance benefits. Products made with Surestone® exhibit virtually no thermal expansion or contraction, a common weakness in other decking and trim materials that leads to warping, sagging, and unsightly gaps over time. This stability makes it an ideal solution for diverse climates.

Furthermore, the material is engineered for extreme durability. It contains no organic material, making it highly resistant to moisture, microbes, and rot. It is warranted for installation directly on the ground or even in water. The dense, non-porous surface also resists scratches, stains, and fading, promising a low-maintenance solution for homeowners who want lasting beauty without the need for sanding, staining, or sealing.

Addressing Safety and Style in Outdoor Living

Leveraging the power of Surestone®, the company's premier retail brand, Deckorators®, is redefining standards for outdoor living spaces. At the Builders Show, Deckorators showcased its new Altitude decking line, which is built with a fire-resistant core and carries a Class B flame-spread rating. This development is a direct response to growing demand and tightening building codes in Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) zones and other fire-prone regions. For builders and homeowners in these areas, where ember attacks and direct flame contact are serious threats, Altitude provides a crucial layer of protection that goes beyond aesthetics. It offers a compliant and safer alternative to traditional wood or standard composite decks, which can act as a pathway for fire to spread to a home.

The innovation extends below the deck's surface as well. UFP's ProWood brand introduced the TrueFrame™ Joist, a kiln-dried after treatment (KDAT) framing solution designed to create a more stable and reliable deck substructure. By drying the lumber after the pressure treatment process, TrueFrame™ joists are lighter, straighter, and far less prone to the cupping, twisting, and warping that plague conventional treated lumber.

Builders who have worked with the product report significant time savings on the job site. They note that the consistency and flatness of the joists eliminate the need for laborious planing to create a level surface, a process that can take hours or even days on a typical project. This makes it a cost-effective upgrade from standard lumber and a more practical, easier-to-handle alternative to heavy LVL or steel framing systems, delivering a high-quality, flat finish for the final decking surface.

Rethinking the Building Envelope with Advanced Composites

The application of Surestone® technology extends beyond the deck to the rest of the home's exterior. Edge, a UFP brand specializing in exterior trim and siding, debuted Arris™ mineral-based composite trim, the first product of its kind in the category. Traditional trim materials, whether wood or PVC-based composites, are often susceptible to cracking, separation, and deterioration from moisture and UV exposure over time.

Arris™ trim leverages the inherent stability and durability of Surestone® to combat these issues. Its low thermal movement prevents it from expanding and contracting with temperature swings, which helps maintain tight seams and prevents paint from cracking at the joints. Its resistance to moisture absorption eliminates worries about rot and decay, providing a long-lasting, low-maintenance finish for windows, doors, and corners. This introduction provides builders with a high-performance option that promises to reduce callbacks and increase the longevity of a home's exterior.

From Panels to Projects: The Rise of Integrated Systems

Beyond innovating with individual materials, UFP Industries is also tackling systemic inefficiencies in the construction process itself. Through its UFP Site Built division, the company launched Frame Forward Systems, an integrated approach that combines the precision of offsite manufacturing with the flexibility of onsite execution. This system provides builders with a complete package of components—including wall panels, floor cassettes, roof trusses, and stairs—all built to exact specifications in a controlled factory environment and delivered to the job site ready for assembly.

This launch positions UFP directly within the rapidly growing offsite construction movement, which is seen as a critical solution to the industry's labor shortages and productivity challenges. By shifting a significant portion of the framing process from the muddy job site to a clean factory floor, Frame Forward Systems can dramatically accelerate project timelines. Site preparation and component manufacturing can occur simultaneously, minimizing weather-related delays.

The benefits extend to quality and cost as well. Factory-based production allows for higher quality control, resulting in tighter, more energy-efficient structures with fewer errors and callbacks. It also optimizes material usage, reducing waste by up to 20% and leading to more predictable project costs. For builders, this means faster project completion, reduced labor requirements, and a safer, more organized work environment.

A Strategy of Sustained Innovation

These product launches are not isolated events but rather the latest manifestations of UFP Industries' long-term corporate strategy. The company has publicly committed to aggressive investment in technology and automation, with plans to invest up to $1 billion through 2028 to enhance efficiency and drive growth. A key corporate goal is for new products to account for at least 10% of total annual sales, a target that fuels a culture of continuous research and development.

"Our company has been a trusted industry leader for over 70 years," said CEO Will Schwartz in a statement. "Today, we're driving our business forward by bringing value-added, solutions-focused products to market that anticipate our customers' needs and fuel innovation in our core markets."

This approach—combining a deep understanding of builder challenges with a robust R&D pipeline and strategic investments—is how a legacy company continues to shape the future of construction. By developing materials that are safer and more durable, and systems that are faster and more efficient, UFP Industries is not just selling products; it is providing a comprehensive set of answers to the industry's most pressing questions.