Wood repair questionnaire - Repair Care

[Repair Care]

Dear Festool Owners Group members,

We are gathering insights from industry professionals like yourself to better understand the wood repair market, particularly in the area of exterior woodwork, wooden windows and doors.  Your responses will help us identify trends, preferences, and areas for improvement in products and services. The survey should take approximately 5-10 minutes to complete and can be found here. We appreciate your time greatly.

Repair Care is a company that specializes in high-quality, long-lasting wood repair solutions. Originating in the Netherlands, Repair Care has over 35 years of experience in developing products that help professionals restore and maintain exterior wooden parts of buildings. We are a market leader across Europe, particularly known in the Netherlands, UK, and Germany.

The company’s product range includes innovative epoxy resins, wood stabilizers, and repair tools that provide permanent repairs rather than temporary fixes. Repair Care emphasizes sustainability, offering solutions that extend the life of wooden components, thus reducing waste and the need for replacements.

We would like to learn more about the exterior wood repair market in the US and would love to get your insights.

Thank You
Your Repair-Care Team

 

[peter halle]

To the members here, this is not a spam post.  This company reached out to me in advance and asked about posting here in accordance with the forum guidelines.

Peter Halle - Moderator

 

[Christian93117]

Dear FOG Members,

Some of you may still remember me from my time with Festool USA (2001 to 2013). A big hello to all who do! Back then, I had the honor of being Festool employee no. 1 in the U.S., although I wasn’t the very first to bring the brand over.

In 2013, I returned to Germany and joined the Festool board, continuing an incredible 33-year journey with the company. At the end of January 2024, I decided it was time for a new chapter, so I moved on to explore new opportunities.

Now, I’m excited to be working with Repair Care, a company filled with great people and excellent products that truly make a difference for users. We’re looking to introduce these products to the U.S. market, and I’m here to help make that happen.

As part of our efforts, we’re conducting market research, and I immediately thought of tapping into the vast knowledge and experience of the FOG community. If you have any insights on the American wood repair market (especially exterior woodwork, windows, and doors), your input would be incredibly valuable.

Thank you so much for your help—I really appreciate it!

Best,
Christian Oltzscher

FOG member since 2007, avid lurker since 2013

 

[Packard]

It is good that they have someone fluent with English.

Years ago, I was at a trade show and the booth next to ours was displaying a new printing process for printing on plastic. It was faster and allowed more intricate designs than the silk screen printing it hoped to replace.

The process used a half round pad made of silicone to transfer the image.  It lightly “tamped” the ink onto the plastic. 

The company was German.  The logic was correct.  The name of the company was “Tampon”.

I relayed the alternate meaning of “tampon”.  They were hugely embarrassed.  The following year they returned with a new company name.

Hopefully, your fluency in English will help you avoid such a mishap. 

Good Luck,

Packard

 

[jimbo51]

Once upon a time, I was on a team  naming a heart drug. One idea was to combine the  concepts of titration and regulation. I had to point out that Titreg was not a good idea.

 

[Cheese]

It is good that they have someone fluent with English.

Years ago, I was at a trade show and the booth next to ours was displaying a new printing process for printing on plastic. It was faster and allowed more intricate designs than the silk screen printing it hoped to replace.

The process used a half round pad made of silicone to transfer the image.  It lightly “tamped” the ink onto the plastic. 

The company was German.  The logic was correct.  The name of the company was “Tampon”.

I relayed the alternate meaning of “tampon”.  They were hugely embarrassed.  The following year they returned with a new company name.

Hopefully, your fluency in English will help you avoid such a mishap. 

Good Luck,

Packard

The silicone pad transfer printing process you mention is still referred to as tampography or sometimes décalque. It's used to print the very fine details on watch faces.

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[Holzhacker]

2 thoughts on this.
First off, not sure how much of a viable market there is for repair products. I realize this may be a localized perspective. The need is there for sure but finding contractors to actually do repairs is extremely difficult. If you can't find guys to do the repair, selling the product might be tough. I end up doing some repairs because clients just can't find anyone to do them. Everybody wants the big corporate profit margin. Everybody seems to want to just bid replacement. I get it but its still terrible.
The products the big box stores sell are pretty basic. JC Licht is one of the big paint store chains around here. They have better more Pro oriented products. Might be an outlet for you. Some of their stores, depending on location, sell Festool.

On a more helpful note, I suggest you look at abatron.com. They make some really good repair products. I've been recommending them for years. Might give you an idea about what else is out there.
I think they got bought out by someone. Their website used to have lots of great tutorials on it for wood and concrete repair. It was really awesome for homeowners who didn't know anything. I had quite a few clients do their own repairs after going thru the tutorials and buying the products. The website is different now, just looked and all the tutorials seem to be gone. What a shame. Their old website had lots of great info.

Viel Gluck mit der neuen Gesellschaft.

 

[woodferret]

We would like to learn more about the exterior wood repair market in the US and would love to get your insights.

Not in the US here, but if you meant NA, I'd give a shout to places like NSCC (Nova Scotia Community College) 's Heritage Carpentry course program to add to your survey places.  Older places like here, and up/down the east coast like Boston have lots of heritage restoration programs and companies.  At the very least, they'll redirect you to the local guild memberships.

 

[Cheese]

On a more helpful note, I suggest you look at abatron.com. They make some really good repair products. I've been recommending them for years. Might give you an idea about what else is out there.
I think they got bought out by someone. Their website used to have lots of great tutorials on it for wood and concrete repair. It was really awesome for homeowners who didn't know anything. I had quite a few clients do their own repairs after going thru the tutorials and buying the products. The website is different now, just looked and all the tutorials seem to be gone. What a shame. Their old website had lots of great info.

Viel Gluck mit der neuen Gesellschaft.

I've also been very happy in the past with using Abatron LiquidWood for repairing outdoor trim. However, I've now switched to Smith's CPES for teak furniture & outdoor trim. It seems to wick into the wood better and the resin continues to build after repeated applications.

Here's a teak chair that I repaired using Smith's CPES resin.

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[Holzhacker]

Thanks Cheese, I will have to check out the Smith products

 

[Duckler]

I will also look at this Smith’s CPES.
I have had very good results with:
System 3 products
West Systems
Abatron
The world of wooden boats is the natural place to look for those who need and use these solutions.
Jamestown Distributors and West Marine are a couple of reputable suppliers.
Frankly, unless there are import restrictions into the EU and UK, not sure why someone would want to start into this as a new business.

 

[Christian93117]

Bump