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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 


 

Form 10-K

 


 

(Mark One)

 

x ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

 

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2004

 

¨ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

 

For the transition period from             to             

 

Commission file number: 001-14649

 


 

Trex Company, Inc.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)


 

 

Delaware   54-1910453

(State or other jurisdiction of

incorporation or organization)

 

(I.R.S. Employer

Identification No.)

160 Exeter Drive, Winchester, Virginia   22603-8605
(Address of principal executive offices)   (Zip Code)

 

(540) 542-6300

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code:

 

Not Applicable

(Former name, former address and former fiscal year, if changed since last report)

 


 

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

 

Title of each class:


 

Name of each exchange on which registered:


Common Stock   New York Stock Exchange

 

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:

None

 


 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.    Yes  x    No  ¨

 

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of the Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K.  ¨

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an accelerated filer (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act).    Yes  x    No  ¨

 

The aggregate market value of the registrant’s voting stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant at June 30, 2004, based on the closing price of such stock on the New York Stock Exchange on such date, was approximately $403 million.

 

The number of shares of the registrant’s Common Stock, $.01 par value, outstanding on February 28, 2005 was 14,847,044.

 

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

 

Certain information in the proxy statement for the 2005 annual meeting of stockholders of the registrant is incorporated by reference into Part III hereof.

 



Table of Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

          Page

PART I     

Item 1.

   Business    1

Item 2.

   Properties    13

Item 3.

   Legal Proceedings    14

Item 4.

   Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders    15
PART II     

Item 5.

  

Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

   16

Item 6.

   Selected Financial Data    16

Item 7.

   Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations    19

Item 7A.

   Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk    27

Item 8.

   Financial Statements and Supplementary Data    28

Item 9.

   Changes in and Disagreements With Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure    28

Item 9A.

   Controls and Procedures    28

Item 9B.

   Other Information    30
PART III     

Item 10.

   Directors and Executive Officers of the Registrant    31

Item 11.

   Executive Compensation    33

Item 12.

  

Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters

   33

Item 13.

   Certain Relationships and Related Transactions    33

Item 14.

   Principal Accountant Fees and Services    33
PART IV     

Item 15.

   Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules    34

Index to Consolidated Financial Statements

   F-1

Signatures

    

 

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SPECIAL NOTE ON FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

 

This report, including the information it incorporates by reference, contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. We intend our forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements in these sections. All statements regarding our expected financial position and operating results, our business strategy, our financing plans, forecasted demographic and economic trends relating to our industry and similar matters are forward-looking statements. These statements can sometimes be identified by our use of forward-looking words such as “may,” “will,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “expect” or “intend.” We cannot promise you that our expectations in such forward-looking statements will turn out to be correct. Our actual results could be materially different from our expectations because of various factors, including the factors discussed under “Business–Risk Factors” in this report.

 

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PART I

 

Some of the information contained in this report concerning the markets and industry in which we operate is derived from publicly available information and from industry sources. Although we believe that this publicly available information and the information provided by these industry sources are reliable, we have not independently verified the accuracy of any of this information.

 

Item 1.    Business

 

General

 

Trex Company, Inc., which we sometimes refer to as the “company” in this report, is North America’s largest manufacturer of non-wood alternative decking and railing products based on net sales. We market our products under the brand name Trex®. Trex is a wood/plastic composite that offers an attractive appearance and the workability of wood without wood’s on-going maintenance requirements and functional disadvantages. Trex is manufactured using a proprietary process supported by patented technology that combines waste wood fibers and reclaimed polyethylene. Our products are used primarily for residential and commercial decking and railing. We promote Trex among consumers, home builders and contractors as a premium decking product to replace wood.

 

We seek to achieve sales growth in the decking and railing market by converting demand for wood decking and railing products into demand for Trex. Industry studies estimate that the wood segment of the decking and railing market represented approximately 88% of the market, as measured by board feet of lumber, and 77% of the market, as measured by wholesale market value, at December 31, 2004. We intend to continue to develop and promote the Trex brand name as a premium decking product and to focus on the professionally-installed and “do-it-yourself” market segments.

 

At December 31, 2004, we sold our products through approximately 90 wholesale distribution locations, which in turn sold Trex to approximately 3,000 retail outlets across the United States and Canada and approximately 120 Home Depot locations. In June 2004, we began selling our products through Home Depot stores.

 

Decking and Railing Market Overview

 

The decking and railing market is part of the substantial home improvement and repair market. Expenditures for residential improvements and repairs totaled approximately $233 billion in 2003, according to Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies, and grew at a compound annual growth rate of 5% for the eight-year period ended December 31, 2003.

 

The primary market for Trex is residential decking and railing and, to a lesser extent, commercial decking and railing. An industry study estimates that annual factory sales in 2004 of residential decking and railing totaled approximately $4.3 billion, or approximately 3.8 billion board feet of lumber. The estimate includes sales of deck surface and railing products and excludes sales of products used for a deck’s substructure, such as joists, stringers, beams and columns. For the four-year period ended December 31, 2004, an industry study estimates that factory sales of residential decking and railing, as measured by board feet of lumber, increased at a compound annual growth rate of approximately 5%. For the same period, this study estimates that factory sales of non-wood alternative decking and railing products to the residential market increased at an annual rate of over of 30%.

 

The growth in demand for residential decking reflects the increasing popularity of decks as a means of extending living areas and providing outdoor recreation and entertainment spaces. Residential decking purchases include the installation of new and replacement decks for existing homes, construction of decks for new homes and repair of existing decks. An industry study estimates that more than 4.2 million decks were built in 2004 and forecasts that deck construction will grow at an annual rate of approximately 3% through 2009. We expect that deck repair, modernization and replacement will increase as existing decks age.

 

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An industry study indicates that approximately 87% of decks are built for existing homes as new additions or to replace older decks, while the remaining decks are installed on new homes. During periods of economic uncertainty, when spending on discretionary items is reduced, many homeowners forego the purchase of new homes and choose to improve their existing residences. Adding a deck has become one of the most popular home improvement projects. Construction of a deck is a relatively low-cost means of adding living space, and industry studies indicate that decking improvements generally return a significant percentage of their cost at the time of resale. Based on industry studies, the average cost of building a deck is $6,800, or approximately $20 per square foot, which generally represents 30% to 60% less than the average cost of major interior and exterior remodeling projects. We believe that, because residential deck construction is not primarily tied to new home activity, the residential decking and railing market historically has not experienced the high level of cyclicality common to businesses in the new home construction and building materials industries.

 

Approximately 80% of the lumber used in wooden decks and railing is pressure-treated lumber, generally pine and fir, which is treated with chemicals to create resistance to insect infestation and decay. The balance of the wood-decking segment is primarily divided between redwood and cedar products. The 100% plastic decking and railing products segment utilizes polyethylene, fiberglass and polyvinyl chloride, or PVC, as raw materials. Wood/plastic composites are produced from a combination of waste wood fiber and polyethylene, polypropylene or PVC. Growing consumer awareness of the product attributes of non-wood decking alternatives and the decline in lumber quality and quantity have contributed to increased sales of wood/plastic composites and 100% plastic lumber for decking. The primary chemical compound used to treat wood historically has been Chromated Copper Arsenate, or CCA, which is a pesticide registered with the Environmental Protection Agency. Manufacturers agreed to eliminate the use of CCA in residential treated lumber by December 2003. Since that time, manufacturers have begun to use primarily Alkaline Copper Quaternary and Copper Boron Azole chemical compounds as a treatment for wood. We believe that the continued publicity relating to CCA and the limited history upon which manufacturers can base claims for the efficacy and safety of the new compounds will contribute to increases in sales of wood/plastic composites and 100% plastic lumber for decking by raising consumer awareness of the use of active chemicals in pressure-treated lumber.

 

Distributors of wood decking and railing materials typically sell to lumber yards and home centers, which in turn supply the materials to homebuilders, contractors and homeowners. Manufacturers of non-wood decking alternatives also generally use these distribution channels because many of these alternative products can be stacked, stored and installed like wood products.

 

Wood decking and railing products generally do not have consumer brands. The primary softwoods used for decking, which consist of treated southern yellow pine, treated fir, redwood and cedar, are sold as commodities graded according to classifications established by the U.S. Department of Commerce. Pricing is based on species, grade, size and level of chemical treatment, if any. There generally is no pricing differentiation based on brand, although some wood preservers have attempted to brand their treated wood products.

 

Growth Strategies

 

Our long-term goals are to continue to be the leading producer of superior non-wood decking and railing products, to increase our market share of any market we serve, and to expand into new product categories and geographic markets. To attain these goals, we intend to employ the following long-term strategies:

 

    Continue investment in the development of the Trex brand and maintain our brand leadership and market recognition in terms of quality, functionality and visual appeal.

 

    Promote comprehensive geographic coverage for Trex by increasing the number of our dealers and making Trex available for our customers wherever they choose to buy their decking products.

 

    Continue investment in process and product developments to innovate with new products, improve product quality, reduce manufacturing costs, and increase operating efficiencies.

 

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    Increase our production capacity by enhancing the productivity of our existing production lines, adding additional capacity in our existing facilities in Winchester, Virginia and Fernley, Nevada, and establishing capacity at our new manufacturing facility in Olive Branch, Mississippi, and at additional locations as needed.

 

    Continue to obtain adequate supplies of low-cost raw materials by developing new sources, entering into long-term arrangements with suppliers, and managing the collections of these materials from geographically dispersed locations.

 

Products

 

We manufacture Trex Wood-Polymer lumber in a proprietary process that combines waste wood fibers and reclaimed polyethylene. Trex is produced in a wide selection of popular lumber sizes and lengths. Our decking and railing products are available with several finishes and numerous colors.

 

In 2004, we expanded and significantly improved our decking offering. We now have three decking lines: (1) Trex Origins, which features a smooth surface; (2) Trex Accents, which features a smooth surface on one side and an embossed wood grain on the other; and (3) Trex Brasilia, which replicates the look of tropical hardwoods with subtle color variations. For each of these decking lines, we have made improvements to our manufacturing process to improve board quality and enhance the visual appeal of these products.

 

In 2004, we expanded our railing lines with the full commercialization of our Trex Designer Series Railing. This railing system consists of a decorative top and bottom rail, refined balusters, our Trex RailPost, and post caps and skirts. In addition to its styling benefits for consumers, this railing is fast and easy to construct for contractors that use our TrexExpress assembly tool and system. The Designer railing is available in our smooth Trex Origins finish and color palette, as well as in the new Trex Brasilia finish and colors. In 2004, we also completed development of our newest railing line, the Trex Artisan Series Railing. The styling and warm, white finish of this railing line makes it appropriate for use on a Trex or non-Trex deck, which we believe will expand the sales prospects of our railing business. This railing line is manufactured with Fibrex® material, which is a patented technology. We believe that this technology may enable us to develop other new product lines. These new products, which permit us to provide comprehensive product offerings in both the decking and railing categories, afford expanded options to our consumers, who can now cover all exposed surfaces of their deck with Trex products.

 

Trex offers a number of significant advantages over wood decking and railing products. Trex eliminates many of wood’s major functional disadvantages, which include warping, splitting and other damage from moisture. Trex requires no staining, is resistant to moisture damage, provides a splinter-free surface and needs no chemical treatment against rot or insect infestation. These features of Trex eliminate most of the on-going maintenance requirements for a wood deck and make Trex less costly than wood over the life of the deck. Like wood, Trex is slip-resistant, even when wet, can be painted or stained and is less vulnerable to damage from ultraviolet rays. The special characteristics of Trex, including resistance to splitting, the ability to bend, and ease and consistency of machining and finishing, facilitate deck installation, reduce contractor call-backs and afford customers a wide range of design options. Trex does not have the tensile strength of wood and, as a result, is not used as a primary structural member in posts, beams or columns used in a deck’s substructure.

 

Trex has received product building code listings from the major U.S. and Canadian building code listing agencies for both our decking and railing systems. Our listings facilitate the acquisition of building permits by deck builders and promote consumer and industry acceptance of Trex as an alternative to wood in decking.

 

Sales and Marketing

 

We have a dedicated sales force that works with all levels of our distribution system. During 2004, we increased our sales force from 46 to 55 employees to assist in the “pull through” sales of our products. We expect to continue to expand our sales force as needed to further these efforts.

 

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We have invested approximately $43 million during the last three years to develop Trex as a recognized brand name in the residential and commercial decking and railing market. Our sales growth in the decking and railing market will largely depend on our success in converting demand for wood products into demand for Trex and on our long-term success in preserving our market share advantage over our many alternative decking and railing product competitors.

 

We have implemented a two-pronged marketing program directed at consumers and trade professionals. We seek to develop brand awareness and preference among consumers, contractors and project designers to generate demand for Trex among dealers and distributors. Our branding strategy promotes product differentiation of Trex in a market, which is not generally characterized by brand identification. This strategy enables us to command premium prices compared to wood, gain market share from wood and alternative decking producers, and maintain more price stability for Trex.

 

Our marketing program includes consumer and trade advertising, public relations, trade promotion, association with highly publicized showcase projects, and sales to influential home design groups. We actively invest in market research to monitor consumer brand awareness, preference and usage in the decking and railing market.

 

Distribution

 

In 2004, we generated substantially all of our net sales through our wholesale distribution network by selling Trex products to approximately 25 wholesale companies operating from approximately 90 distribution locations. Our distributors in turn marketed Trex to approximately 3,000 retail outlets across the United States and Canada and approximately 120 Home Depot locations. Although our dealers sell to both homeowners and contractors, they primarily direct their sales at professional contractors, remodelers and homebuilders.

 

Wholesale Distributors. We believe that attracting wholesale distributors that are committed to Trex and the Trex marketing approach and that can effectively sell Trex to contractor-oriented lumber yards and other retail outlets is important to our future growth. Our distributors are able to provide value-added service in marketing Trex because they sell premium wood decking products and other building supplies, which typically require product training and personal selling efforts.

 

Under our agreement with each wholesale distributor, we appoint the distributor on a non-exclusive basis to distribute Trex within a specified area. The distributor generally purchases Trex at our prices in effect at the time we ship the product to the distributor. The distributor is required to maintain specified minimum inventories of Trex. Upon the expiration of the initial one-year term, the agreement is automatically renewed for additional one-year terms unless either party provides notice of termination at least 30 days before the expiration of any renewal term. Either party may terminate the agreement at any time upon 30 days’ notice, while we may also terminate the agreement immediately upon the occurrence of specified events.

 

We require our wholesale distributors to devote significant resources to support Trex, and to demonstrate their ability to promote growth in the market share of Trex products. All wholesale distributors are required to appoint a Trex specialist, regularly conduct dealer-training sessions, fund demonstration projects and participate in local advertising campaigns and home shows.

 

Of our gross sales, approximately 77% in 2002, 77% in 2003 and 75% in 2004 were made to the following five wholesale distributors: Boise Cascade Corporation, Capital Lumber Company, Oregon Pacific Corporation, Parksite Plunkett-Webster and Snavely Forest Products. In 2002, our gross sales to each of the five foregoing distributors exceeded 10% of our gross sales. In 2003, our gross sales to four of the five foregoing distributors exceeded 10% of our gross sales, while in 2004, our gross sales to three of the five foregoing distributors exceeded 10% of our gross sales. Each of the foregoing distributors has multiple locations for the sale of Trex. Each distributor agreement permits the parties either to add additional locations or remove certain locations without terminating the agreement.

 

We will add new distributors and increase the number of distributor locations as needed to support our growth in sales and retail dealers.

 

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Retail Lumber Dealers. Of the approximately 25,000 retail outlets in the United States that sell lumber, approximately 5,000 are independent lumber yards that emphasize sales to contractors. Although there is demand for Trex from both the “do-it-yourself” homeowner and contractor, our sales efforts historically have emphasized the contractor-installed market. Contractor-installed decks generally are larger installations with professional craftsmanship. Our retail dealers generally provide sales personnel trained in Trex, contractor training, inventory commitment and point-of-sale display support.

 

Retail Building Material Specialty Dealers. Composite decking is increasingly being sold through dealers that specialize in specific product lines instead of general lumber sales. These dealers include roofing and siding supply companies. We are focusing more attention on these distribution channels as we seek to make Trex available at any retail location where contractor, builder or homeowner customers choose to buy their decking.

 

Home Depot. In April 2004, we entered into an agreement with Home Depot to sell our decking products through certain Home Depot stores. By the end of 2004, Trex was stocked in approximately 120 Home Depot locations. Home Depot currently stocks a limited number of Trex products. Although Home Depot serves the contractor market, the largest part of its sales are to “do-it-yourself” homeowner customers that shop for their materials at Home Depot locations rather than at retail lumber dealers. We believe that brand exposure through Home Depot distribution promotes consumer acceptance and generates sales to contractors that purchase from independent dealers.

 

National Accounts. In late 2004, we implemented a national account strategy to focus on corporate-level selling to retail chains, builders, trade associations and large municipalities. We believe that a focus on corporate-level selling to large organizations can effectively augment our field selling effort and generate additional sales for our existing distributor and dealer networks.

 

Contractor/Dealer Locator Service and Web Site. We maintain a toll-free telephone service (1-800-BUY-TREX) for use by consumers and building professionals to locate the closest contractors and dealers offering Trex and to obtain product information. We use these calls to generate sales leads for contractors, dealers, distributors and Trex sales representatives. We also analyze caller information to assess the effectiveness of our promotional and advertising activities. Our web site (www.trex.com) provides an additional source of information to consumers, dealers and distributors.

 

Contractor Training. We have provided training about Trex to more than 40,000 contractors since 1995. These contractors, who are referred to as TrexPros®, receive consumer lead referrals directly from our toll-free telephone service and are listed on our web site.

 

Shipment. We ship Trex to distributors by truck and rail. Distributors typically pay shipping and delivery charges.

 

Manufacturing Process

 

Trex is manufactured at two sites. Our Winchester, Virginia site has floor space of approximately 265,000 square feet and had approximately $180 million of installed revenue-generating capacity at December 31, 2004. Our Fernley, Nevada site has floor space of approximately 250,000 square feet and had approximately $100 million of installed revenue-generating capacity at the same date.

 

In 2004, based on 2004 average net sales per pound, our Winchester site produced approximately $157.0 million sales value of finished product and our Fernley site produced approximately $88.2 million sales value of finished product. Our total annual production capacity at December 31, 2004 was approximately $285.0 million sales value of finished product. At December 31, 2004, our construction in process totaled approximately $36.9 million. The construction in process consisted primarily of funds expended to construct a facility and install production lines at our new manufacturing plant in Olive Branch, Mississippi, to complete production lines in

 

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various stages of construction at our Winchester and Fernley sites, and to construct plastic reprocessing equipment. We currently expect that the Olive Branch facility and the production lines in process will be completed and put into service by mid-2005. When the current construction in process is completed, we estimate that our Winchester, Fernley and Olive Branch sites will be capable of producing a total of approximately $390.0 million sales value of finished product annually.

 

In 2005, we expect to spend approximately $15 to $25 million to complete construction of a facility and purchase equipment for the Olive Branch site. Completion of this site will require substantial capital expenditures in 2005 and subsequent years.

 

Trex products are primarily manufactured from waste wood fiber and reclaimed polyethylene, which we sometimes refer to as “PE material” in this report. The composition of Trex Wood-Polymer lumber is approximately 50% waste wood fiber and 50% PE material. We use waste wood fiber purchased from woodworking factories, mills, pallet and flooring recyclers. We recover PE material from a variety of sources, including distribution and shopping centers and retail chains.

 

The Trex manufacturing process involves mixing wood particles with plastic, heating and finally extruding, or forcing, the highly viscous and abrasive material through a profile die. Trex has many proprietary and skill-based advantages in this process.

 

Production of a non-wood decking alternative like Trex requires significant capital investment, special process know-how and time to develop. We and our predecessor operations have invested approximately $212 million and 13 years in expansion of our manufacturing capacity, manufacturing process improvements, new product development and product enhancements. As a result of these investments, production line rates have increased more than 400% since 1992. We also have broadened the range of raw materials that we can use to produce a consistent and high-quality finished product. We have obtained and continue to seek patents with respect to our manufacturing process. We have centralized our research and development operations in the Trex Technical Center, a 30,000-square foot building adjacent to our Winchester, Virginia manufacturing facilities. In connection with our building code listings, we maintain a quality control testing program that is monitored by an independent inspection agency.

 

Suppliers

 

The production of Trex requires the supply of waste wood fiber and PE material. We purchased $8.7 million of waste wood fiber and $44.3 million of PE material in 2004 and $10.7 million of waste wood fiber and $46.7 million of PE material in 2003.

 

We fulfill our requirements for raw materials under both purchase orders and supply contracts. In 2004, we purchased approximately 72% of our PE material requirements and approximately 52% of our waste wood fiber requirements under purchase orders. Purchase orders specify the prices we pay based on then-current market prices and do not involve long-term supply commitments. We are also party to supply contracts that obligate us to purchase waste wood fiber and PE material for terms that range from one to eight years. The prices under these contracts are generally reset annually.

 

Our supply contracts have not had any material adverse effect on our business. In our past three years, the amounts we have been obligated to purchase under our PE material supply contracts and the minimum amounts we have been required to purchase under our wood supply contracts have been less than the amounts of these materials we have needed for production. To meet all of our production requirements, we have obtained additional PE material and waste wood fiber materials by using purchase orders and by purchasing waste wood fiber in excess of the minimum commitments under our supply contracts.

 

Waste Wood Fiber. Woodworking plants or mills are our preferred suppliers of waste wood fiber, because the waste wood fiber produced by these operations contains little contamination and is low in moisture. These facilities generate waste wood fiber as a byproduct of their manufacturing operations.

 

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If the waste wood fiber meets our specifications, our waste wood fiber supply contracts generally require us to purchase at least a specified minimum and at most a specified maximum amount of waste wood fiber each year. Depending on our needs, the amount of waste wood fiber that we actually purchase within the specified range under any supply contract may vary significantly from year to year.

 

Three suppliers accounted individually for more than 10% and collectively for approximately 35% of our 2004 waste wood fiber purchases. Based on our discussions with waste wood fiber suppliers and our analysis of industry data, we believe that, if our contracts with one or more of our current suppliers were terminated, we would be able to obtain adequate supplies of waste wood fiber at an acceptable cost from our other current suppliers or from new suppliers.

 

PE Material. The PE material we consumed in 2004 was primarily composed of recovered plastic bags and plastic film. Approximately two billion pounds of polyethylene resin are used in the manufacture of plastic bags and stretch film in the United States each year. We will continue to seek to meet our future needs for plastic from expansion of our existing supply sources and the development of new sources, including post-industrial waste and plastic coatings. We believe our use of multiple sources provides us with a cost advantage and facilitates an environmentally responsible approach to our procurement of PE material.

 

We own 35% of a joint venture, called Denplax S.A., that operates a plant in El Ejido, Spain. Our joint venture partners are a local Spanish company responsible for public environmental programs in southern Spain and an Italian equipment manufacturer. The plant is designed to recycle waste polyethylene generated primarily from agricultural and post-consumer sources. The plant delivered approximately $5.0 million, including freight costs, of plastic raw material to us during 2004. Under a separate supply agreement, we have agreed to purchase up to 27,200 tons of the plant’s production per year if the production meets material specifications.

 

To facilitate our PE material processing operations, we have constructed our own plastic reprocessing plant on our manufacturing site in Winchester, Virginia. In 2003, this plant was completed and put into service.

 

Our PE material supply contracts generally provide that we are obligated to purchase all of the PE material a supplier provides if the PE material meets our specifications. Our PE material supply contracts have not required us, and we do not believe that they will require us, to purchase any amount of PE material in excess of our total estimated need.

 

Including Denplax S.A., no supplier provided 10% or more of the PE material material we purchased in 2004.

 

Competition

 

In decking, Trex competes with wood and other manufacturers of composite, non-wood and plastic decking products. Many of the conventional lumber suppliers with which we compete have established ties to the building and construction industry and have well-accepted products. In railing, Trex competes with wood and other manufacturers of composite, non-wood and plastic products, as well as with railings using metal, glass, vinyl and other materials.

 

The primary competition for Trex consists of wood products, which industry sources estimate accounted for approximately 88% of 2004 decking and railing sales, as measured by board feet of lumber. These sources estimate that approximately 80% of the lumber used in wooden decks is pressure-treated lumber. Southern yellow pine and fir have a porosity that readily allows the chemicals used in the pressure treating process to be absorbed. The same porosity makes southern yellow pine susceptible to taking on moisture, which causes the lumber to warp, crack, splinter and expel fasteners. The primary chemical compound used to treat wood against moisture and insect resistance historically has been Chromated Copper Arsenate, or CCA. Since CCA contains arsenic, a carcinogen, lumber manufacturers agreed to eliminate the use of CCA in residential treated lumber by December 2003. Since that time, manufacturers have begun to use primarily Alkaline Copper Quaternary, or

 

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ACQ, and Copper Boron Azole, or CBA. Producing pressure-treated wood with these new classes of chemicals generally increases the cost of manufacturing by 15% to 20%, and these products have a limited history upon which manufacturers can base claims of efficacy and safety. In addition, industry studies indicate that ACQ, which contains three times the quantity of copper in CCA, is more corrosive than CCA to screws and other fasteners typically used in building decks and similar projects. Therefore, the use of ACQ requires special components, which increases the cost of installation.

 

In addition to pine and fir, other segments of wood material for decking include redwood, cedar and tropical hardwoods, such as ipe, teak and mahogany. These products are often significantly more expensive than pressure-treated lumber, but do not eliminate many of the disadvantages of other wood products.

 

Industry studies indicate that Trex has a leading market share of the wood/plastic composite segment of the decking and railing market. We estimate that wood/plastic composites and plastic accounted for approximately 16% of 2004 decking and railing sales, as measured by wholesale market value. The principal Trex competitors in the wood/plastic composite decking and railing market include Advanced Environmental Recycling Technologies, Inc., Epoch Composite Products, Fiber Composites, LLC, Louisiana Pacific, Inc., and Timbertech Limited.

 

Trex also competes with decks made from 100% plastic lumber that utilizes polyethylene, fiberglass and PVC as raw materials. Although there are several companies in the United States that manufacture 100% plastic lumber, industry studies estimate that this segment accounted for approximately 1% of 2004 decking sales, as measured by wholesale market value. We believe a number of factors have limited the success of 100% plastic lumber manufacturers, including poor product aesthetics and physical properties not considered suitable for decking, such as higher thermal expansion and contraction and poor slip resistance.

 

Our ability to compete depends, in part, on a number of factors outside our control, including the ability of our competitors to develop new non-wood decking and railing alternatives that are competitive with Trex.

 

We believe that the principal competitive factors in the decking and railing market include product quality, price, maintenance cost, and consumer awareness and distribution. We believe we compete favorably with respect to these factors. We believe that Trex offers cost advantages over the life of a deck when compared to other types of decking materials. Although a contractor-installed Trex deck built in 2004 using a pressure-treated wood substructure generally costs 20% to 30% more than a deck made entirely from pressure-treated wood, Trex eliminates most of the on-going maintenance required for a pressure-treated deck and is, therefore, less costly over the life of the deck. We believe that our manufacturing process and utilization of relatively low-cost raw material sources provide Trex with a competitive cost advantage relative to other wood/plastic composite and 100% plastic decking products. The scale of our operations also confers cost efficiencies in manufacturing, sales and marketing.

 

Government Regulation

 

We are subject to federal, state and local environmental regulations. The emissions of particulates and other substances from our manufacturing facilities must meet federal and state air quality standards implemented through air permits issued to us by the Department of Environmental Quality of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the Division of Environmental Protection of Nevada’s Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality. Our facilities are regulated by federal and state laws governing the disposal of solid waste and by state and local permits and requirements with respect to wastewater and storm water discharge. Compliance with environmental laws and regulations has not had a material adverse effect on our business, operating results or financial condition.

 

Our operations also are subject to work place safety regulation by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the Commonwealth of Virginia, the State of Nevada and the State of Mississippi. Our compliance efforts include safety awareness and training programs for our production and maintenance employees.

 

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Intellectual Property

 

Our success depends, in part, upon our intellectual property rights relating to our products, production processes and other operations. We rely upon a combination of trade secret, nondisclosure and other contractual arrangements, and patent, copyright and trademark laws, to protect our proprietary rights. We have made substantial investments in manufacturing process improvements which have enabled us to increase manufacturing line production rates, facilitated our development of new products, and produced improvements in the dimensional consistency, surface texture and color uniformity of Trex.

 

Intellectual property rights may be challenged by third parties and may not exclude competitors from using the same or similar technologies, brands or works. We seek to secure effective rights for our intellectual property, but cannot guarantee that third parties will not successfully challenge, or avoid infringing, our intellectual property rights.

 

We have obtained two patents for complementary methods of preparing the raw materials for the manufacturing phase of production, one patent on an apparatus for implementing one of the methods, and one patent on a tool for use with the decking board. We are in the process of obtaining one patent that covers our principal product, one patent directed to methods of producing an improved product with an additional feature, one patent directed to methods and apparatuses for producing an improved product with a further additional feature, and one patent for a method of installing decking boards and a tool that may be used in that method. We intend to maintain our patents in effect until they expire, beginning in 2015, as well as to obtain additional intellectual property rights as we consider appropriate.

 

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has granted us federal registrations for our trademarks for Trex, Trex (stylized logo), Trex Wood-Polymer, The Deck of a Lifetime, Easy Care Decking, and TrexPro. Federal registration of trademarks is effective for as long as we continue to use the trademarks and renew their registrations. We consider our trademarks to be of material importance to our business plans. We do not generally register any of our copyrights with the U.S. Copyright Office, but rely on the protection afforded to such copyrights by the U.S. Copyright Act. That law provides protection to authors of original works, whether published or unpublished, and whether registered or unregistered. We enter into confidentiality agreements with our employees and limit access to and distribution of our proprietary information.

 

See “Legal Proceedings” for information about a pending lawsuit involving intellectual property to which we are a party.

 

Employees

 

At December 31, 2004, we had 615 full-time employees, of whom 468 were employed in our manufacturing operations. Our employees are not covered by collective bargaining agreements. We believe that our relationships with our employees are good.

 

Web Sites and Additional Information

 

The SEC maintains a web site at www.sec.gov that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding our company. In addition, we maintain a corporate web site at www.trex.com. We make available free of charge through our web site our annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, and all amendments to those reports, as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file or furnish such material with or to the SEC. The contents of our web site are not a part of this report.

 

We have adopted a code of conduct and ethics, which is applicable to all of our directors, officers and employees, including our chief executive officer and chief financial officer. The code is available on our web site and in print to any stockholder who requests a copy. We also make available on our web site, and in print to any

 

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stockholder who requests them, copies of our corporate governance principles and the charters of each standing committee of our board of directors. Requests for copies of these documents should be directed to Corporate Secretary, Trex Company, Inc., 160 Exeter Drive, Winchester, Virginia 22603-8605. To the extent required by SEC rules, we intend to disclose any amendments to our code of conduct and ethics, and any waiver of a provision of the code with respect to our directors, principal executive officer, principal financial officer, principal accounting officer or controller, or persons performing similar functions, on our web site referred to above within five business days following any such amendment or waiver, or within any other period that may be required under SEC rules from time to time.

 

Risk Factors

 

Our business is subject to a number of risks, including the following:

 

To grow, we will have to develop or increase market acceptance of Trex, including new products and applications.

 

Our ability to grow will depend largely on our success in converting the current demand for wood decking products into a demand for Trex. Industry studies estimate that wood decking products accounted for approximately 88% of the 2004 decking and railing market, as measured by board feet of lumber. To increase our market share, we must overcome:

 

    the low consumer awareness of non-wood decking and railing alternatives in general and Trex brand products in particular;

 

    the resistance of many consumers and contractors to change from well-established wood products;

 

    the greater initial expense of installing a Trex deck; and

 

    the established relationships existing between suppliers of wood decking products and contractors and homebuilders.

 

Substantially all of our sales result from one material.

 

In 2005, we will derive substantially all of our revenues from sales of Trex Wood-Polymer lumber. Although we have developed new Trex products and new applications for Trex since 1996, and we intend to continue this development, our product line is currently based almost exclusively on the composite formula and manufacturing process for Trex Wood-Polymer lumber. If we should experience any problems, real or perceived, with product quality or acceptance of Trex Wood-Polymer lumber, our lack of product diversification could have a significant adverse impact on our net sales levels.

 

We currently depend on two manufacturing sites to meet the demand for Trex.

 

We currently produce Trex at two manufacturing sites, which are located in Winchester, Virginia and Fernley, Nevada, and expect to begin production at our third manufacturing site in mid-2005. Any interruption in the operations or decrease in the production capacity at any of these sites, whether because of equipment failure, fire, natural disaster or otherwise, would limit our ability to meet existing and future customer demand for Trex.

 

Our business is subject to risks in obtaining the raw materials we use to produce Trex.

 

The production of Trex requires substantial amounts of waste wood fiber and PE material. Our business could suffer from the termination of significant sources of raw materials, the payment of higher prices for raw materials or the failure to obtain sufficient additional raw materials to meet planned increases in production capacity. In 2004, three suppliers accounted individually for more than 10% and collectively for approximately 35% of our waste wood fiber purchases. Our ability to obtain adequate supplies of PE material depends on our

 

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success in developing new sources, entering into long-term arrangements with suppliers and managing the collection of supplies from geographically dispersed distribution centers. We obtain our raw materials under supply contracts at prices established annually based on then-current market prices or under purchase orders based on market rates in effect when the orders become effective. These supply arrangements subject us to risks associated with fluctuations in raw materials prices.

 

The demand for decking products is influenced by general economic conditions and could be adversely affected by economic downturns.

 

The demand for decking products is correlated to changes in the level of activity in home improvements and, to a lesser extent, new home construction. These activity levels, in turn, are affected by such factors as consumer spending habits, employment, interest rates and inflation. An economic downturn could reduce consumer income available for spending on discretionary items such as decking, which could adversely affect the demand for our products.

 

We face risks in increasing our production levels to meet customer demand for Trex.

 

To support sales growth and improve customer service, we have purchased land, commenced construction of a facility and purchased equipment for a third manufacturing site in Olive Branch, Mississippi. In increasing production capacity in our existing sites and completing construction and beginning production at the new site, we will face risks:

 

    recruiting and training additions to our workforce;

 

    installing and operating new production equipment;

 

    purchasing raw materials for increased production requirements; and

 

    maintaining product quality.

 

These risks could result in substantial unanticipated delays or expense, which could adversely affect our operating performance.

 

The expansion and future profitability of our business could be adversely affected if we do not manage our growth effectively.

 

Our recent growth has placed significant demands on our management, systems and other resources. Our net sales increased to $253.6 million in 2004 from $23.8 million in 1996. The number of dealer outlets selling Trex has increased to approximately 3,000 at December 31, 2004 from approximately 1,200 at December 31, 1996, and we expect further increases in the future. To support our geographic expansion, we have purchased land and commenced construction of a facility at a third manufacturing site. As part of our growth, we will have to attract, train, incentivize and retain skilled employees. If we fail to do so, or otherwise are unable to manage our growth effectively, our inability to do so could have a material adverse effect on the quality of our products and on our ability to expand our net sales.

 

Past seasonal fluctuations in our net sales and quarterly operating results may not be a reliable indicator of future seasonal fluctuations.

 

Our historical seasonality may not be a reliable indicator of our future seasonality. Quarterly variations in our net sales and income from operations are principally attributable to seasonal trends in the demand for Trex. We generally experience lower net sales levels during the fourth quarter, in which holidays and adverse weather conditions in some regions usually reduce the level of home improvement and new construction activity. Income from operations and net income tend to be lower in quarters with lower net sales, which are not fully offset by a corresponding reduction in expenses.

 

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We have significant capital invested in construction in process, some of which we may not be able to deploy productively.

 

At December 31, 2004, our construction in process totaled approximately $36.9 million, with an estimated cost to complete of approximately $40 million. The construction in process consisted primarily of funds expended to construct a facility at the manufacturing site in Olive Branch, Mississippi, to complete production lines in various stages of construction at our Winchester and Fernley sites, and to construct plastic reprocessing equipment. The estimate to complete construction of our facility at the Olive Branch site is $15 to $25 million. The estimated cost to complete the production lines is $10 to $15 million. Some of these assets may become impaired due to obsolescence or other factors before we can put them into service. Our operating results would be adversely affected if we fail to deploy productively our construction in process, and our net income would be reduced if our assets become impaired and we are required to write down the value of those assets in our financial statements.

 

We are not sure of the terms on which we will be able to obtain financing for the significant capital expenditures we plan after 2005 to increase our manufacturing capacity.

 

We estimate that our capital requirements in 2005 will total approximately $40 to $45 million. We expect to use our capital expenditures in 2005 principally to make process and productivity improvements, add manufacturing capacity at our existing sites, and complete construction of a facility and purchase equipment for our third manufacturing site. Our failure to generate or obtain sufficient funds to meet our capital requirements could have a material adverse effect on our ability to match the production of Trex with demand for our products. It may be necessary to obtain financing for our capital requirements through bank borrowings or the issuance of debt or equity securities. We may not be able to obtain all of the required financing on terms we will find acceptable.

 

We will have to generate substantial operating cash flow to meet our obligations and maintain compliance under our revolving credit facility, real estate loans, senior notes and bond loan documents.

 

At December 31, 2004, our total indebtedness was $80.2 million and included our real estate loans, senior notes, variable rate promissory note and interest rate swap liability. Our ability to make scheduled principal and interest payments on our real estate loans, senior notes and bond loan agreement, borrow under our $20 million revolving credit facility and continue to comply with our loan covenants will depend primarily on our ability to generate substantial cash flow from operations. Our failure to comply with our loan covenants might cause our lenders to accelerate our repayment obligations under our credit facility, senior notes or bond reimbursement agreement, which may be declared payable immediately based on a default. Our ability to borrow under our revolving credit facility is tied to a borrowing base that consists of specified receivables and inventory. To remain in compliance with our credit facility, senior notes and bond reimbursement agreement, we must maintain specified financial ratios based on our levels of debt, capital, net worth, fixed charges, and earnings (excluding extraordinary gains and extraordinary non-cash losses) before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, all of which are subject to the risks of our business.

 

Our dependence on a small number of significant distributors makes us vulnerable to business interruptions involving these distributors.

 

Our total gross sales to our three largest wholesale distributors accounted for approximately 56% of our gross sales in 2004. Our contracts with these distributors are terminable by the distributors upon 30 days notice at any time during the contract term. A contract termination or significant decrease or interruption in business from any of our five largest distributors or any other significant distributor could cause a short-term disruption of our operations and adversely affect our operating results.

 

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Our performance will suffer if we do not compete effectively in the highly competitive decking and railing market.

 

We must compete with an increasing number of companies in the wood/plastic composites segment of the decking and railing market and with wood producers that currently have more production capacity than is required to meet the demand for decking products. Our failure to compete successfully in the decking and railing market could have a material adverse effect on our ability to replace wood or increase the market share of wood/plastic composites compared to wood. Many of the conventional lumber suppliers with which we compete have established ties to the building and construction industry and have well-accepted products. Many of our competitors in the decking and railing market that sell wood products have significantly greater financial, technical and marketing resources than we do. Our ability to compete depends, in part, upon a number of factors outside our control, including the ability of our competitors to develop new non-wood decking alternatives that are competitive with Trex.

 

Environmental regulation exposes us to potential liability for response costs and damages to natural resources.

 

We are subject to federal, state and local environmental laws and regulations. The environmental laws and regulations applicable to our operations establish air quality standards for emissions from our manufacturing operations, govern the disposal of solid waste, and regulate wastewater and storm water discharge. As is the case with manufacturers in general, we may be held liable for response costs and damages to natural resources if a release or threat of release of hazardous materials occurs on or from our properties or any associated offsite disposal location, or if contamination from prior activities is discovered at any properties we own or operate.

 

We may not have adequate protection for the intellectual property rights on which our business depends.

 

Our success depends, in part, on our ability to protect our important intellectual property rights. The steps we have taken may not be adequate to deter misappropriation or unauthorized use of our proprietary information or to enable us to detect unauthorized use and take appropriate steps to enforce our intellectual property rights. We rely on a combination of trade secret, nondisclosure and other contractual arrangements, and copyright and trademark laws to protect our proprietary rights. We enter into confidentiality agreements with our employees and limit access to and distribution of our proprietary information. We also have obtained and continue to seek patents with respect to our manufacturing process. We or our predecessor company have been required in lawsuits to establish that our production processes and products do not infringe the patents of others.

 

Item 2.    Properties

 

We lease our corporate headquarters in Winchester, Virginia, which consists of approximately 36,000 square feet of office space, under a lease which expires in July 2011.

 

We own approximately 74 contiguous acres of land in Winchester, Virginia and the buildings on this land. The site includes our original manufacturing facility, which contains approximately 115,000 square feet of space, our research and development technical facility, which contains approximately 30,000 square feet of space, a mixed-use building, which contains approximately 173,000 square feet of space, and an additional manufacturing facility, which contains approximately 150,000 square feet of space. We own the land and the manufacturing facility on the Fernley, Nevada site, which contains approximately 250,000 square feet of manufacturing space. Our Fernley site is located on approximately 37 acres, which includes outside open storage. In May 2004, we purchased approximately 102 acres of land in Olive Branch, Mississippi. Construction of a manufacturing facility at the Olive Branch site began in late 2004.

 

We lease a total of approximately 345,000 square feet of storage warehouse space under leases with expiration dates ranging from 2005 to 2015.

 

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The equipment and machinery we use in our operations consist principally of plastic and wood conveying and processing equipment. We own all of our manufacturing equipment. At December 31, 2004, we operated approximately 40 wood trailers and approximately 55 forklift trucks under operating leases.

 

We regularly evaluate the capacity of our various facilities and equipment and make capital investments to expand capacity where necessary. In 2004, we spent a total of $34.1 million on capital expenditures, primarily for process improvements and capacity expansion at our two existing manufacturing locations, and purchased land, equipment and machinery for our new facility in Olive Branch, Mississippi. We estimate that our capital expenditures in 2005 will total approximately $40 to $45 million. We expect to use these expenditures principally to make process and productivity improvements, add manufacturing capacity at our existing sites, and complete construction of the facility and purchase equipment for the Olive Branch site.

 

Item 3.    Legal Proceedings

 

On December 5, 2001, Ron Nystrom commenced an action against the company in the United States District Court, Eastern District of Virginia, Norfolk Division, alleging that the company’s decking products infringed his patent. The company believes that this claim is without merit. The company denied any liability and filed a counterclaim against the plaintiff for declaratory judgment and antitrust violations based upon patent misuse. The company sought a ruling that the plaintiff’s patent is invalid, that the company does not infringe the patent, and that the company is entitled to monetary damages against the plaintiff. On October 17, 2002, the district court issued a final judgment finding that the company does not infringe any of the plaintiff’s patent claims and holding that some of the plaintiff’s patent claims are invalid. The plaintiff appealed this decision to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. On June 28, 2004, in a 2-1 decision, the court of appeals reversed the district court’s grant of summary judgment to the company, and remanded the case to the district court for further proceedings. The company is seeking a rehearing of the decision by the court of appeals.

 

In connection with the foregoing patent litigation, on April 12, 2002, the company filed suit in the United States District Court, Eastern District of Virginia, Alexandria Division, against ExxonMobil Corporation. The suit seeks to enforce a provision in the company’s 1996 purchase agreement with Mobil Oil Corporation, the predecessor of ExxonMobil Corporation, pursuant to which the company acquired substantially all of the assets and assumed some of the liabilities of the Composite Products Division of Mobil Oil Corporation. In that agreement, Mobil agreed to indemnify the company for any losses, including reasonable legal fees, incurred by the company as a result of a patent infringement claim by Mr. Nystrom. ExxonMobil has denied liability to indemnify the company for such losses. On December 10, 2002, the district court entered summary judgment in favor of the company and ordered ExxonMobil to indemnify the company for all losses, including reasonable legal fees, arising out of the patent infringement claim by Mr. Nystrom. A final judgment and determination of the total amount of damages due to the company to date has not yet been entered by the district court. Accordingly, ExxonMobil’s time to appeal has not yet begun. On May 21, 2003, the district court entered an order staying final determination of total damages due to the company pending resolution of the Nystrom appeal. On February 2, 2004, the district court issued another order continuing the stay pending the resolution of the Nystrom appeal.

 

On July 28, 2000, a purported class action case was commenced against the company in the Superior Court of New Jersey–Essex County, by Michael Kanefsky generally alleging that the company has violated state and common law by negligently misrepresenting the characteristics of its products, by breaching contracts, by breaching implied or express warranties and/or by defrauding consumers in the sale and promotion of these products. The plaintiffs sought reformation of the company’s warranty, as well as compensatory damages in an unspecified amount. On May 28, 2004, the superior court certified the following three class action cases again the company: (1) a nationwide class for reformation of warranty; (2) a New Jersey class for alleged violation of the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act; and (3) a New Jersey class for alleged breach of express and implied warranties. On August 24, 2004, the court preliminarily approved a proposed settlement of the action. Notice of the proposed settlement was given by the company to the class members. On December 17, 2004, the court granted final approval of the settlement. Although the company denies the allegations in the complaint, and

 

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believes that the court erred in certifying the classes, pursuant to the terms of the settlement, the company has agreed that upon proper proof of claim, it will replace, at the company’s sole expense (including labor), any class member’s product that exhibits certain specified characteristics. The company has also agreed to modify its warranty in certain respects, and to discontinue certain advertising claims. The settlement does not include the payment of any monetary damages by the company (other than $10,000 to each of the four named plaintiffs), although the company agreed to pay $1,750,000 in legal fees to plaintiffs’ counsel.

 

From time to time, we are involved in litigation and proceedings arising out of the ordinary course of our business. As of the date of this report, there are no other pending material legal proceedings to which we are a party or to which our property is subject.

 

Item 4.    Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders

 

There were no matters submitted to our security holders in the fourth quarter of 2004.

 

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PART II

 

Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

 

Our common stock has been listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “TWP” since April 8, 1999. The table below shows the reported high and low sale prices of our common stock for each quarter during 2003 and 2004 as reported by the New York Stock Exchange:

 

2004


   High

   Low

First Quarter

   $ 40.50    $ 31.75

Second Quarter

     41.01      32.84

Third Quarter

     48.80      36.22

Fourth Quarter

     54.25      38.35

2003


   High

   Low

First Quarter

   $ 38.35    $ 28.20

Second Quarter