GROUP PUBLISHER, VP SALES | Martin MCANULTY mmcanulty@annexbusinessmedia.com
COO | Scott JAMIESON sjamieson@annexbusinessmedia.com
Publication Mail Agreement #40065710. RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESS TO CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT, P.O. 111 Gordon Baker Rd., Suite 400, Toronto, ON M2H 3R1
Printed in Canada, All rights reserved.
Editorial material is copyrighted. Permission to reprint may be granted on request. ISSN 0843-7041
SUBSCRIPTION RATES
Canada - 1 Year $22.00 (plus applicable taxes)
U.S.A. - 1 Year $50.50 (in CDN dollars) Foreign – 1 Year $58.00 (in CDN dollars)
ANNEX PRIVACY OFFICER
Privacy@annexbusinessmedia.com Tel: 800.668.2374
Occasionally, Fenestration Review will mail information on behalf of industry-related groups whose products and services we believe may be of interest to you. If you prefer not to receive this information, please contact our circulation department in any of the four ways listed above.
www.fenestrationreview.com
CANADA’S WINDOW AND DOOR MAGAZINE
The best thing governments can do for us now is reducing chaos and uncertainty.
VACCINE ADVICE
Lawyers from the Winnipeg Construction Association weigh in on employers’ rights and responsibilities.
Novatech buys Sunview... Sherwin Williams buys AquaSurTech...FenCan Hall of Famers inducted...
2022 Fenestration Canada Members Directory
SILVER LININGS
Experience and savvy have allowed Wilton Panorama to flourish during the pandemic.
There’s a better way to think about after-sales service.
The price of uncertainty
by Patrick Flannery
In business, no news is worse than bad news.
It was probably inevitable that this pandemic was eventually going to lead to some kind of social unrest. You just can’t interfere with the lives and habits of people forever without encountering pushback, no matter how justified your cause. And when you add the fear and suspicion that comes with disease, a volatile cocktail of emotion is created that constantly threatens to boil over. I remember visiting some medieval graveyards on a trip to Europe and seeing the dark images of the Grim Reaper surrounded by the dead and dying victims of the Black Plague... and that was in a churchyard. I’m guessing the mental health of the artist may not have been all it could be. We know that (much worse) pandemic gave rise to all manner of social upheaval including wars; reordering of cities; mass population movements; bizarre cults and rituals; economic collapse; and scientific, cultural and technological stagnation. Perhaps we should be grateful if the worst we have to deal with is a bunch of truckers clogging up the streets.
By the time you read this, the convoy protests will probably be over. It’s hard to agree or disagree with the cause, since the cause itself seemed to evolve as the protest took shape. It started out as resistance to Ottawa’s rule that unvaccinated truckers returning to Canada had to isolate. I heard from quite a few of you that you didn’t like that rule, given it was already hard enough to get supplies. But then the protest seemed to widen out into a general demand to end COVID measures, then, as of this writing, has gotten to where some organizers appear to be calling for the overthrow of the federal government. The Middle Ages had the Grim Reaper – we’ve got swastika flags and people peeing on the National War Memorial.
I’ll leave it to you to judge the righteousness or lack thereof of the convoy for yourself. But what is undeniable is that it has caused quite a bit of business disruption and expense for every nearby company. And also some not so nearby,
as the blockading of the border in Windsor caused massive backups and delays that would affect anyone in Ontario travelling or sending or receiving shipments to the U.S.
As a guy who edits a business magazine, that’s what I’m not a fan of. Disorder and chaos is the biggest enemy we have. Business owners can adapt to almost anything and solve just about any problem, given time. What we cannot deal with effectively are problems that change rapidly from day to day, causing solutions developed the day before to become useless or even counterproductive. That said, even rapidly changing conditions can be dealt with if we know they are coming. Uncertainty is the ultimate threat. That principle, like so many others, has been starkly illustrated during the pandemic. It was amazing to me to to watch the readers of this magazine, after a short pause to evaluate the new circumstances, burst into action in early 2020 to reorganize everything you did in order to be able to carry on under the new restrictions. It wasn’t long before business was humming along again and something like a feeling of uncomfortable normality settled in around the masks and distancing and inability to go into a client’s home. Ironically, I feel like it’s worse now as vaccination makes people wonder how many of the restrictions we need to retain, which makes governments constantly adjust rules according to the shifting pressures of medical science and public opinion. The convoy itself was sparked by a sudden change to the rules. As I try to plan events and travel through the rest of the year, it’s certainly been worse to not know if I’ll be able to do these things than to have a certain answer one way or the other. Certainty is going to be hard to come by. But if governments and public health authorities are looking for ways to help, they can start by doing what they can to lay out as clear a road map as possible for when and how we will exit this thing.
BUILD YOUR BRAND WITH QUALITY AND CONFIDENCE.
With the combined expert resources of AAMA and IGMA, the Fenestration and Glazing Industry Alliance (FGIA) sets the standard for excellence in the glass and fenestration industries.
Our product certification programs provide a unified measurement of success, giving you the means to independently demonstrate to customers that your products meet the highest performance metrics across the board—from certified profiles and verified components to insulating glass certification and gold label certification.
Give your customers the confidence of FGIA. Learn more about Product Certification at FGIAonline.org/certification
INDUSTRY NEWS
Novatech buys Sunview
Novatech has announced the acquisition of Sunview Patio Doors located in Woodbridge, Ont., a major manufacturer of vinyl and aluminum patio doors. This is the fifth major acquisition made by the group since 2015. With this transaction, the Ontario plant, which will now operate under the name Novatech, becomes the seventh production site for this product line, consolidating its position as an industry leader in patio door manufacturing. Novatech already operates plants in Quebec, Calgary, France and the United States and manufactures residential steel door panels, door glass, patio doors and glass products for residential, commercial and institutional construction.
“In recent years, Novatech Group has experienced significant growth, fueled by a series of strategic acquisitions that have made it a key player in the window and door industry throughout North America,” said Harold Savard, president and CEO of Novatech Group. “The acquisition of Sunview Patio Doors and the addition of more than 200 new colleagues to the Novatech family has enabled us to accelerate our development ambitions in the Canadian and American markets. We look forward to working with the existing team to share best practices, broaden the scope of our product line, and realize synergies for the primary benefit of our customers and all of our partners.”
Founded in 1978 and integrated into the Vision Group since 2008, Novatech says Sunview Patio Doors stands out for the quality of its products, its market leadership and the depth of its talented team. With Sunview, Novatech hopes to be in an even better position to meet the growing demand of the Canadian and American markets. The
Zana Gordon retires
Zana Gordon, Fenestration Association of BC executive director, has retired. Gordon began her career in association management over 25 years ago. She first joined the industry in 2008 as the executive director for the Glazing Contractors Association of BC and in the following year with the Window and Doors Manufacturing Association of BC. In 2012, both groups merged together to form the current association. Gordon stepped down at the end of February. The FenBC board of directors reports it is looking at a few options for succession. It is anticipated that the board will be able to provide a recommendation to the membership in the near future. The FenBC board wishes Gordon the best in her retirement.
Gordon has worked in the not-for-profit association industry for over 30 years. She managed all facets of association management including membership, marketing, publications and events. Gordon is
quality and high level of automation of Woodbridge’s facilities and its strategic location in the greater Toronto area are also critical to the company, with nearly 80 million consumers living within 400 kilometers of the plant. The Sunview management team will remain in place, while several of its members will become shareholders of the newly formed Patio Doors Ontario division. Operations in Woodbridge will continue to be overseen by Tony Margiotta, who becomes president of Novatech Patio Doors Ontario. The expanded product line, common distribution channels and depth of technical knowledge is intended to give clients access to an unmatched portfolio of patio door products and enhanced services.
“We are very pleased to join forces with Novatech Group, a company with an outstanding reputation for innovative products that continually push the boundaries of the industry,” Margiotta said. “The expanded product line, common distribution channels and depth of technical knowledge will provide our customers with an unmatched portfolio of patio door products. The corporate values are totally aligned, making this a natural and seamless combination.”
Here’s Gordon, plus one of the reasons she’s retiring...her granddaughter, Adelyn.
a certified association executive and has a degree in history and sociology. Over the years, her career touched ocean science and technology; finance; corporate growth; large and small animal rescue and shelter; the construction trades; and education and training.
“I’m a hippie in time and in my heart,” Gordon commented. “I am looking forward to time spent with family and friends, more leisure reading, painting and clay work. I am excited about having the ‘time of day’ to listen.”
SAWDAC Newsletter
GREENER HOMES FOR THE FUTURE?
The federal government’s Greener Homes retrofit program is struggling to keep up with the demand created by consumers that are doing COVID renovations. Consumers are looking for rebates for their projects, but what’s really holding this program back is the lack of energy auditors. As I write this, there are less than 1,300 EAs across Canada and the initial goal was to have 2,000. We have been on many calls with Natural Resources Canada and they are trying to bring that number up as fast as possible. We get calls at the office asking if we know any EAs that can come out to perform an audit. As we talk to these consumers, they are telling us the wait times are really long and extremely long in remote areas – a nineto 12-month wait! So what is happening is people are just pushing through with their renovation and skipping the Greener Homes program. By doing that, they might not be installing the most efficient products to help reduce greenhouse gasses.
SAWDAC surveyed our membership about this program and one of the key numbers that came out was in response to the question, “Are you selling or promoting the program?” Thirty-eight percent said, “No.” Why is
GREENER HOMES SURVEY RESULTS
1. Have you heard of the Greener Homes rebate program?
Yes – 86%
No – 14%
2. If yes, are you selling or promoting it?
Yes – 63%
No – 37%
3. If you are promoting it, what percentage of sales is it accounting for?
Average – 25%
4. What is holding this program back from increased sales?
Not enough energy advisors – 6%
Not enough general information – 10%
Pricing of Greener Homes-eligible windows – 15%
All of the above – 53%
Other – 16%
Responses from 57 SAWDAC members, November, 2021
that? The main reason given was the lack of EAs to perform the audit to be approved for the rebate.
In a Jan. 23 article in The Globe and Mail, Kathryn Blaze Baum wrote, “Expected to cost $2.6 billion over seven years, the program is intended to provide as many as 700,000 Canadians with up to $5,000 each for retrofits and up to $600 each for the costs of the energy evaluations, which must be conducted by federally registered advisers before and after the renovations.”
That’s a big number, right?
Nope. The Ontario GreenON program in 2018 that ran for five months spent $2.5 billion with $5,000 per home for the same upgrades that are being
offered in this program. The main difference between then and now is an EA is needed to qualify and the government is covering that EA cost, so the payout could be a maximum of $5,600 per home. So, (stay with me on these numbers) with what is budgeted that works out to 189 completed jobs a day over seven years across Canada. There are more than 189 jobs completed in the Vancouver area in a day. So where is the money going to come from, as there is no way the budgeted number of $2.7 billion is going to last seven years?
When we get down to it, the renovation industry doesn’t need rebates right now to the homeowner because consumers are say-
ing, “Just take my money and get it done as soon as possible.” What SAWDAC has suggested is giving incentives or rebates to dealers to sell these products, since they drive the bus on recommendations.
SPEAKING OF CONSUMERS TAKING MONEY...
Our RenoPlan financing program was up 39 percent in 2021 compared to 2020. If you are not using RenoPlan, please have a look at it or reach out to us to discuss financing and the other options we have for you and your customers. Remember, when your customers use RenoPlan to finance their project with you, you get your money – all your money –immediately. You don’t have to play the role of a bank, carrying the costs of the project while the customer decides if you’ve hit the milestones to their satisfaction. FinanceIT and Simply Financial have been fantastic partners to work with and your membership allows you access to their programs. If you are not on RenoPlan, you are falling behind as you can see more consumers want to finance –39 percent more. If you have any questions on how to sell RenoPlan or how to increase your limit, please drop us a line and we would be happy to help.
2022 PRESIDENT Jennifer Beingessner EXECUTIVE-DIRECTOR Jason Neal TRAINING David Mitten
Ronda Ford WINDOW WISE Ronda Ford
INDUSTRY NEWS
INDUSTRY GIANTS INDUCTED INTO FENESTRATION CANADA HALL OF FAME
Fenestration Canada honoured seven prominent leaders in the Canadian window and door industry at its Hall of Fame dinner during this year’s WinDoor Main Event last November.
Dan Darcy
The CP Loewen award was presented to Dan Darcy. Darcy started in the industry with Dor-Seal in 1984 and then worked with Evergreen Door and Baylite Industries before starting Darcy and Associates in 1995. He was a member of the Fenestration Canada board for eight years and continues to be active in the association and serving on committees.
Lena Chernyak
The award for Industry Pioneer went to to Lena Chernyak, a Canadian technical service manager for H.B. Fuller. Chernyak moved to Canada from Russia and joined H.B. Fuller in 1979. She has served in a technical capacity supporting the window industry for four decades.
Greg Hildebrand (posthumous)
Greg Hildebrand began his career at ORTECH (formerly the Ontario Research Foundation) in 1980. In 1991, Hildebrand joined Exp Services (formerly Trow Associates) and remained with the company for the rest of his career. Hildebrand co-chaired the CSA A440 Series Technical Committee, served as the Canadian chair of NAFS (North American Fenestration Standard) and worked on many committees and task groups within the ASTM (American Society for Testing Materials).
Jay Madha
Jay Madha is originally from London England, but moved part of the manufacturing business to Uxbridge Ont., in 1988. The company outgrew the location and in 2006 built a larger manufacturing plant and head office in
Newmarket, Ont. In 2015 the company expanded into light commercial with a second plant in Newmarket, and opened a third plant in Hamilton in 2018 dedicated to serving the Canadian commercial markets.
Casey Kerkoff
Casey Kerkhoff started as a salesperson for National Windows in Burnaby, B.C., in 1972. In 1980, Kerkhoff started a new company with five other partners manufacturing aluminum windows and insulated units. In 1991, Kerkhoff started his own company: Cascade Windows Manufacturing. Cascade Windows was sold to a national company in 1997, where Kerkhoff served in a sales management position. In 2000, Kerkhoff repurchased all assets and inventory and started Westeck Windows And Doors.
Jean-Francois Derosiers
Jean-Francois is the owner of Protomach, a machinery manufacturer located in Saint-Louis-de-Blandford, Que. In his 27 years in the industry, Derosiers has contributed significantly to innovation and the introduction of modern automating technology to window and door manufacturing across Canada.
Frank Greco
Frank Greco is the founder and owner of Frank by Ostaco in Concorde, Ont. He started his career in 1976 at Newmar Windows as a production coordinator, rising to plant manager by 1978. In 1992, he joined United Windows as plant manager, then on to Brown Windows in 1997. He moved to Ostaco in 2005.
Sherwin-Williams buys AquaSurTech
Sherwin-Williams completed an acquisition of AquaSurTech on Feb. 9. For over 25 years, AquaSurTech has focused on durable coatings for the vinyl/PVC building products market, which is one of the fastest growing substrates in the industry. Founded in 1866, Sherwin-Williams is a global leader in the coatings industry, offering a wide range of paints and coatings – including an extensive portfolio for the building products industry – and finishes to customers in more than 120 countries. A widely respected brand, SherwinWilliams comes with an unparalleled distribution
network, manufacturing presence, world-class R&D and broad access to diverse markets and customers. Sherwin-Williams and AquaSurTech have highly complementary product offerings. The company hopes their combination will deliver the colour options and performance needed in a coating system to distinguish product lines in the marketplace. Sherwin Williams is assuring customers of business as usual, providing the same products and service received from AquaSurTech. The stated goal is to work through the integration with no disruption.
Happy New Year! FENESTRATION CANADA
Is it too late to still be saying that?
by Mike Bruno, president of Fenestration Canada
Ialways struggle with when you stop saying Happy New Year, but since this is the first time addressing our members, I want to wish you all a Happy New Year. We were all hoping that everything would stabilize in 2021 and 2022, but it looks like we are going to be living with our new normal for the remainder of this year.
Fenestration Canada has been very active in the last 12 months with our online presence. Our in-person WinDoor was a great success, maybe not in numbers but definitely in being able to see our members and partners for the first time in almost two years. It felt like a big win. If you missed it, you missed a lot! Our Hall of Fame dinner was fantastic and commemorated some of the most outstanding people this industry has ever seen. It’s always personally rewarding to me to see how much induction into the Hall means to our great leaders. There were also some big announcements at WinDoor. Our technical director, Al Jaugelis, is working on a document called Code Compliance Advisory for Imported Windows that is going to be available to building inspectors so they understand how foreign windows may not meet Canadian codes. Any of us selling against unlabelled imported windows off the backs of trucks will appreciate the help. Also, Ron Edger of Centennial and Adrian Edge of Innotech introduced our new ISO-compliant installer certification program. We’re hoping it will grow to fill the gaps we all see in our supply of skilled installers.
We now have established regional chapters to replace our regional committees. These chapters are going to play a big role for the evolution of our industry. Each chapter has a chair, a co-chair and a board representative so that the board has a direct and clear picture of what our members want across the country. Our executive director, Stephane, and his team continue to transform our association to ensure that it remains relevant.
As I write this letter we look forward to our in-person Spring Conference in P.E.I. and WinDoor in Montreal in 2022. We will have a hybrid version of both these events as well. The Spring Conference is June 8 and everyone is really looking forward to finally going to P.E.I. after the disappointment of cancelling our planned conference there in 2020.
Our membership last year grew over 20 percent from the previous year, which shows the value that each member is receiving is relevant to today’s needs. To our volunteers and our team, thank you for the great work.
Many of our members are experiencing the same issues across the country: supply shortages, transportation and labour, to name a few. The association is a great tool to use for our members to reach out to each other and assist in some best practices or solutions, instead of racking our brains on how the problem can be solved on your own.
When it comes to getting advice on general small business problems and lobbying government, our partnership with the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses is a huge resource. Did you know that your membership in Fenestration Canada automatically gives you membership in the CFIB? There’s no stronger or better-connected advocate for small business in Canada today.
I look forward to working with the board and our members during these difficult times. Our board is composed of quality people with a great range of industry knowledge and is always ensuring that we are making decisions that take into account all members, big or small. I have had the privilege to work with this board for several years and the commitment and timely response to strategy and issues is quick and thoughtful. I thank them for the support that they have shown me.
Mike Bruno is president of Everlast Group of Companies.
Paving the road to net-zero
by Amy Roberts FGIA director of Canadian and technical glass operations
Most efforts to address climate change have much in common with traditional initiatives for natural resource conservation and environmental cleanliness. Governmental entities around the world have signed on to objectives such as the International Energy Agency’s global goal of net zero emissions by 2050. In B.C., a large part of the effort is the CleanBC Roadmap to 2030 program, launched in 2018. CleanBC commits the province to ambitious greenhouse gas reduction goals, including the commitment to reduce emissions by 40 per cent by 2030 and reach “net-zero” emissions by 2050. The province’s abundant supply of clean, affordable hydroelectricity helps enable specific goals, such as phasing out gas furnaces in favour of heat pumps as part of these 2030 strategies. Improving the performance of buildings has been identified as an important pathway to this goal.
As a subset of the program within the buildings pathway, the CleanBC Building Innovation Fund provides development incentives to B.C. manufacturers and technology developers to commercialize and demonstrate new energyefficient and low-carbon building technologies, designs, construction practices, systems, materials and products. The five streams of funding available are material, component and system manufacturing; digital technology solutions; demonstration projects that involve the construction or renovation of a discrete building and the demonstration of innovative technologies or materials within that building; an open call for innovations; and information sharing and market transformation.
intake of applications to allocate $5 million for project funding for fiscal year 2021/22 opened Nov.17 and closed on Jan. 10. Eligible applicants include builders, developers and manufacturers registered in B.C. and not-for-profit organizations that have offices and/or are active within the province, such as industry associations, universities and technical societies.
Fenestration-related projects eligible for CBBIF funding can include investments in manufacturing facilities to expand or retool product lines, which can involve investments in affiliated software, such as smart glass controls. Such projects would go through the material, component and system manufacturing funding stream of the CBBIF program. Example individual projects could include development of fenestration products with highly insulated commercial framing; thin-triples insulating glass units; low-embodied carbon window frames; vacuum insulated glass; or electrochromic smart glass.
Eligible manufacturers and organizations might consider planning now to participate in the 2022/23 fiscal year installment of the CBBIF grants program. Applicants must complete and submit a completed CBBIF application form,
Consider
planning now to participate in the 2022/23 CBBIF grants program.
Each of these sectors offers funding grants of $500,000 to $1 million per project (except for the last one, which offers up to $500,000 per project). To be eligible for funding, a project must be located in B.C. and should be energyefficient; reduce carbon emissions from building operations; and/or have low embodied carbon. Since its initiation, there have been three rounds of CBBIF funding. The third annual
along with a budget template and supporting documentation before the next identified deadline, likely to be announced next fall. The application should emphasize the market transformation aspects of the proposal. Indicating how a proposed project would support multiple manufacturers and a significant portion of B.C.’s market would also be a strong point. To learn more about the eligibility requirements, and other program details, visit CleanBC Building Innovation Fund at gov.bc.ca.
COVER STORY
SILVER LININGS
The pandemic has been a time of opportunity and challenge for Wilton Panorama
As a snowstorm rages outside his office, softening the prosaic lines of a Saint-Léonard industrial park on the Island of Montreal, Nick Hladky ponders how the COVID-19 pandemic has stood his supply chain on its head, challenged his ability to attract new employees, and brought a flood of business to his company, Wilton Panorama, which specializes in residential and low-rise condo projects.
by CARROLL McCORMICK
“After the shutdown early in 2020, the market took off and hasn’t stopped. I’ve been doing this long enough to have seen lean years, so it’s a blessing to have demand in our industry this high,” Hladky muses.
He is also fortunate to have surplus warehouse capacity, as short turnarounds for supplies have gone out the window.
“We are buying more in advance. I had placed an order in April of last year for an essential part, and it is only ready for pickup just now. Something that would normally take a month to get can now take several months or even over a year. The warehouse is full of raw materials. PVC, aluminum...you name it. We need cushions. Our PVC supplier is a great example. Usually, it would take three days to get an order. Now it can sometimes take a month,” Hladky explains.
When materials are not available, Hladky must get creative. “For one component,” he recalls, “I got the material from a furniture maker. I had to think outside the box to cope.”
Hladky’s father, William, founded the company, then called Wilton Aluminum Products, in 1969 in a 2,000 square foot building in Montreal North. The company purchased Panorama Windows in 1995.
“Panorama was a pioneer in the manufacturing of PVC windows in the Montreal area,” Hladky says. “Although Wilton and Panorama are still two distinct companies, we have been going through a re-branding process, which included a revamped website and a new Wilton Panorama logo which launched a few months ago.”
A FAMILY BUSINESS
By 1989, Wilton Panorama employed 15 people, including Hladky’s wife, Luba, his brother, John, and their father.
“He approached me to see if I was interested in coming on board. The company had recently moved into a new 20,000-square-foot facility. As a student, I had worked summers with my dad, the first couple of years in the plant and later in the office. I had an idea of what the window business was like. I picked up my initial experience from my father and asked a lot of questions.”
Before joining the company in a full-time role in 1989 and slipping straight into the president and CEO’s chair, Hladky relates, “I studied accounting at Concordia and became a chartered accountant (now chartered professional accountant). I worked with Coopers and Lybrand, now PricewaterhouseCoopers, for six years, then left to become vice-president of finance with one of my clients: an advertising agency and art studio downtown.”
Wilton Panorama continued to grow, adding a retail store and showroom in Quebec City in 2006 and another in Salaberry-Valleyfield (roughly south of Montreal) in 2015. The company now has 50 employees and 50,000 square feet of production space in two facilities — one for PVC windows and the other for aluminum. The showrooms have been hopping since the pandemic began.
“Our showroom traffic been crazy. Our traffic is also multiplied by our dealers. The volume of sales is up,” Hladky says. However, he emphasizes, “The main strength of our company is that we sell our products through numerous
distributors that cover many Quebec regions. Our main source of sales is through our dealer network. We rely on [the dealer network] to develop contracts. They are our team.”
Hladky adds independent dealers are becoming harder to find. Window and door manufacturers buy them, they close, or they are taken over by the next generation of family owners, sometimes breaking the chain of goodwill with manufacturers.
“You are fighting for a bigger piece of a smaller pie. We had a couple of new dealers come on board last year. They quickly became quite a big dealer of ours,” Hladky says.
Wilton Panorama happily relies on its dealers to do installations.
“We have no intention right now
of expanding the installation side. Developing the installation side is complicated and it is expensive to maintain.
I’ve lived through that,” Hladky says. “We are there to help and train our dealers as much as we can and to provide them with the tools that they need to sell and install our products.”
A ONE STOP SHOP
Wilton Panorama offers quite an extensive variety of window and patio door products in PVC, hybrid (aluminum and PVC) and all-aluminum, in hung, sliding, casement and, most recently, tilt and turn configurations.
“We strive to be as much of a onestop-shop as possible for our dealers,” Hladky says. “Most of our products are targeted towards dealers, contractors and
consumers that are looking for higherend products than would be found in a hardware store or sold to contractors that are simply looking for the lowest price point.”
Key suppliers, such as Novatech, PH Tech and Alumican, provide Wilton Panorama complimentary products that it does not manufacture, such as steel doors and certain models of PVC, hybrid and aluminum patio doors.
“Door manufacturing is simple on a small scale, but to do it efficiently you need to be doing at least 10,000 doors a year. It has become a lot more complicated than it was before,” Hladky says. “There are a lot of designs and Energy Star requirements.”
Running a busy company during the biggest pandemic the world has suffered
Wilton Panorama has seen a lot of growth in the upper end single family home market.
COVER STORY
in more than a century also causes complications. Supply chains are a mess, material prices have skyrocketed and suitable new employees, despite thousands of businesses having lost the battle for survival, are hard to find.
“My sealed unit supplier is constantly telling me that he was, last year, often borderline not getting glass on time. There are no glass manufacturers in Canada. It all comes from the U.S. There used to be glass plants in Ontario and Quebec City, but they have all closed. Now, post-COVID plants are having trouble meeting demand. The cost of the wood has doubled from a year ago. We’ve had four price increases in the past year. We are constantly trying to protect our margins,” Hladky says.
Recruiting new employees is also difficult, Hladky adds. “The week that the federal government reduced COVID benefits we had a surge of walk-ins looking for jobs. Unfortunately, most didn’t fit the mould of what we are looking for. There is a lot of competition and increas-
es in the minimum wage results in older workers asking, ‘Why am I not making more?’ There is pressure to increase their salary, to make the gap larger.”
A few years ago, the company implemented a program where every year it
hires student interns from backgrounds such as engineering, computer science or marketing.
“The students are generally very enthusiastic and have helped us to advance many projects. Some have even
Sponsor
Sponsor
Sponsors
Nick Hladky, left, with employees Stepan Vinitski, middle and Maria Guz.
While Hladky juggles these issues and others, such as the “lightning speed” increase in technology and his goal to continuously evolve toward a digital work environment, his company is reaping the rewards of the fit between their quality products and what he says is a growing demand for bigger windows.
“Everyone is pushing the envelope, but if a proper product that can handle the structural requirements isn’t used, a window may sag, and seals can open over time. I saw this in a condo project: windows that were banana-ing, resulting in the outside seals opening and creating water infiltration issues,” Hladky says. “As soon as you have to send a guy on site to correct something, your profit is gone.”
Perhaps their recently introduced Montana series best exemplifies the ben-
based on European technology. Our target market is the high-end residential sector seeking contemporary styled windows with minimal framing, and able to support large double and triple glazed sealed units,” Hladky says.
“These contemporary houses are building their windows as big as possible,” he adds. “The Montana series reduces the mullion widths by almost half. That adds up to a lot more glass. Since our products can handle larger and heavier sealed units, we are seeing a lot of growth in the upper end single family homes new construction market.”
been hired on a full-time basis once their internships have ended,” Hladky says.
REAPING REWARDS
CEO Nick Hladky in his office. On the wall behind him is a portrait of his father and company founder, William.
FEATURE
VACCINES AND THE LAW
Some advice on your status as an employer.
Encouraging or requiring employees to get vaccinated – or refraining from doing so - remains a fraught issue across the country.
by PATRICK FLANNERY
Last fall, lawyers Lisa Stiver and Kristin Kersey presented a webinar on behalf of the Winnipeg Construction Association offering valuable advice on how employers in the construction industry should approach the issue of COVID vaccination in their workplace and on jobsites. Here are some highlight points.
ARE EMPLOYERS ALLOWED TO REQUIRE EMPLOYEES TO BE VACCINATED?
The short answer to this is, “yes.” Nothing prevents a private company from making vaccination status a condition of employment and disciplining or even terminating employees who fail to comply. The pitfalls are all in the crafting of the policy and its implementation, but they are not insurmountable. The key concern is to avoid infringing employee rights protected under provincial human rights codes.
The relevant protected areas here are disability and religion. An employer has to make sure their vaccine policy does not prevent someone from working because of a medical condition that prevents them from being vaccinated, or a real religious commitment that forbids them from taking vaccines.
Privacy is another concern. Employers can ask for employees to provide proof of their vaccination status without violating any principles of non-consensual sharing of medical information. But the lawyers recommend the minimum amount of information be collected - essentially, the question is, “Are you fully vaccinated according to the public health authorities? Yes, no?” The information should be shared with as few people in the organiza-
There are as many approaches to workplace vaccination as there are workplaces in our industry. As an employer, you actually have a lot of flexibility and authority.
tion as possible, and the policy should clearly lay out what constitutes proof, who needs to provide it, who will have access to it and when it will be discarded. The same goes for test results.
An employee that is fired for failing to comply with a vaccination policy that was brought in after they were hired could potentially have a constructive dismissal case, but it’s still unclear how the courts would view this. To protect themselves, employers should be sure to explore all other options before dismissal, including working from home, modified hours or a different position altogether. Courts will look at whether there were options other than dismissal when deciding these cases.
The presenters made an important point about hiring once a vaccine mandate is in place
at a company. If a company includes in its job posting that only vaccinated people may apply, this could be construed as discrimination against people unable to receive a vaccine. The same could apply if questions about vaccination status are brought up in a job interview. Instead, the requirement to be vaccinated should appear as a condition of employment at the offer stage and not be mentioned before that unless the candidate asks.
ARE EMPLOYEES ALLOWED TO REFUSE TO WORK IN WORKPLACES WITHOUT A VACCINE MANDATE?
The short answer to this one is, “no.” Employers do have a duty to take reasonable measures to provide a safe workplace for employees. Failure to follow government guidelines for masking and social distancing has been considered a dereliction of that duty. But, so far, this duty has not been considered to go so far as to require a fully vaccinated workplace. That means employers can require employees who have been working from home during the pandemic to come back into offices, go to meetings, attend events and work on jobsites even if they will encounter unvaccinated people there.
An exception here is people with pre-existing conditions that make them especially vulnerable to viral infection or more likely to become dangerously ill if they do get COVID. The employer will have a duty to accommodate their condition under most provincial laws protecting the disabled. Employers will have to work out a way for the employee to work without being more exposed to COVID than they would be in their home life.
WHAT CONSTITUTES A VALID EXEMPTION?
In their company policy, companies can exempt or require employees to have vaccines as they see fit. But the policy must provide for exemptions for medical or religious reasons, or risk falling afoul of human rights legislation.
Very few people are medically unable to take the vaccines. The company is well within its rights to insist on documentation from a health professional before allowing an exemption. In the event one is granted, there’s still a decision to be made about how, where and with whom the employee will work. At this point, however, the employee will have a case that they have a medical condition that needs to be accommodated.
Even fewer people are members of a religion that prohibits taking vaccines. All the major organized religions have stated their members are permitted, if not encouraged, to get vaccinated. Courts have rejected claims of “singular beliefs” as grounds for gaining a workplace religious exemption from vaccines, and human rights tribunals have clarified the beliefs must be part of an established religious practice. Beliefs suddenly adopted six months ago are unlikely to qualify. Again, if an exemption is granted, the question remains of how to integrate the unvaccinated employee into the workforce.
VAX OR TEST?
While a simple vaccine mandate may seem the simplest, the presenters pointed out several practical drawbacks. Terminating employees for violating the policy may attract
legal challenges, no matter how justified the employer is. And these days no one can afford to lose good employees. Even if employees comply, their morale could be impacted.
A more common approach has been to allow employees to not vaccinate but to require testing of those who do not. The lawyers clarified that no special medical setup needs to be in place to administer rapid tests - no clean room or extra PPE required. Often companies have employees administer the test themselves under the supervision of another person. The test results need to be treated with the same confidentiality as vaccine proofs. Some companies only require weekly testing but more common is every three days. One drawback to a testing regime is that it is not as reliable at preventing COVID from getting into the workplace as vaccination. Rapid tests are not perfect at catching the disease, and a person who gets infected shortly after taking a test may become infectious before having the next one. Then there’s the cost, estimated at $10 to $15 per test. Whether to pay that or attempt to recoup it from the employee is a problem with no good answer.
PROCEDURES, POLICIES AND MEETINGS, OH MY
One point the presenters returned to frequently was the need for a clear written policy laying out expectations, procedures and penalties, if any. If an employee seeks an exemption from a requirement to get vaccinated on medical or religious grounds, the company should follow a procedure to hear the employee’s case and discuss options even if management feels strongly the exemption will not be allowed. This will be helpful in protecting against any potential human rights complaints. A company seeking to terminate an employee for violating a vaccination requirement should follow all the same steps as in any termination for cause: first and second written warnings with specific instructions and deadlines to comply. These should not start until after the deadline to be vaccinated has passed. The vaccination deadline itself needs to be imposed far enough in the future for employees to comply – the presenters recommended six weeks. The same goes for accommodation of employees who refuse to get vaccinated but are not going to be terminated. The employer has no duty to accommodate in these cases, but procedures to consider accommodation should still be followed.
A+W SOFTWARE NORTH AMERICA
One Parkway N., Suite S-400 Deerfield, IL, 60015
Tel: (847) 220-5237
Contact: Chris Kammer
Email: chris.kammer@a-w.com a-w.com
AABEN WINDOWS AND DOORS LTD
700 Progress Ave. Kingston, ON, K7M 4W9
Tel: (613) 384-3163
Contact: Michael Braby
Email: michael.braby@aaben.com aaben.com
ABU GHANNAM FOR CONSTRAUCTION NY, newyourk, 11118
Contact: NAJEE ABU JAZER
Email: abuhanak95@yahoo.com
ADFAST CANADA INC.
2685, Diab St. St-Laurent, QC, H4S 1E7
Tel: (514) 617-1579 OR (514) 616-7536
Contact: Christian Guerard
Email: cguerard@adfastcorp.com adfastcorp.com
AERLOC INDUSTRIES LTD.
64 Head St. Dundas, ON, L9H 3H7
Tel: (905) 628-6061
Contact: Edward Laman
Email: edwardlaman@aerloc.com aerloc.com/
AGC GLASS NORTH AMERICA
11175 Cicero Dr., Suite 400 Alpharetta, GA, 30022
Tel: (647) 216-9743
Contact: Marilyn Moore
Email: marilyn.moore@agc.com us.agc.com
ALBERTA VINYL WINDOWS AND DOORS LTD A.K.A. (AVWD LTD) 5920 - 30th St. S.E. Unit 6 Calgary, AB, T2C 1X8
400 Applewood Crescent, Suite 100 Vaughan, ON, L4K 0C3
Tel: (647) 694-1903
Contact: Bhairavi Chokshi
Email: bhairavi@windowmaker.com windowmaker.com/
WSP CANADA
582 Lancaster St W Kitchener, ON, N2K 1M3
Tel: (519) 743-8777
Contact: Zeljka Lazarevic
Email: zeljka.lazarevic@wsp.com wsp.com/en-CA
YORK ALUMINUM
111 Westmore Dr. Etobicoke, ON, M9V 3Y6
Tel: (416) 741-2470
Contact: Ed Weidner
Email: ed@yorkaluminum.com yorkaluminum.com
Service sells PHILIBUSTER
by Phil Lewin
Good service isn’t a cost, it’s an opportunity.
To me, to service to one’s customer is perhaps the most critical area of the complete package required for success. First, what do I mean by service? In fact, virtually everything done for your customer can be defined as service, but for the moment I want to focus on those services that relate to product.
Let me start with a true story. I was training a neophyte sales rep who had gone out on his first solo cold call trip and was debriefing him on his return. He was somewhat puzzled at one interaction he had in the field. A dealer sat down to talk with him and asked him the question, “Who is your sales manager?” The young rep had replied with my name. The dealer responded, “Well, that’s a good start.” The sales rep wondered what had just occurred.
Years before, when I was working at a different company, I received a panicky call from a customer who had just unpacked a large combination window, only to find a crack in the frame. Unfortunately, the old window had already been removed from the opening and destroyed. If the damage had been to an internal part of the window, he could have installed it and come back later to replace a part but with the frame damage, this would have been monumental. I went into the factory with some paperwork and had a new frame made. I jumped into a pickup with the frame and drove over an hour away to the site. The grateful dealer had no issue with reusing internal parts from the original window and with minimal disruption, the problem was solved.
I had long forgotten the incident, but, as I realized from the salesperson’s report, the dealer had not. In this regard, your customer, whether dealer or homeowner, has a long memory. Create bad memories at your peril! I learned to drive around as both a salesperson and executive to carry a full complement of tools and spare parts in my car. I’ve lost count of the times I walked into a situation where a frustrated dealer only wanted to talk about a small outstanding service for which they were
owed a large sum of money because the customer was not paying for the whole project until the repair was complete. Before even trying to talk about new products, my solution was to go with the dealer to the customer’s home and fix the problem. Then the relieved dealer would be happy to sit down and discuss my agenda. A joke between the actual service person and me was that I might have had a better parts inventory in my trunk than was in the service department. (Actually I still have the odd spare part kicking around my house, so if you need one of those universal replacement tilt bars, let me know!)
Carrying tools and parts had another significant benefit in another part of my professional life when one of my primary functions was to bid on and sell projects. How many times was I on a condo site with the property manager when a homeowner would notice we were looking at windows and doors? The homeowner would approach us and ask the manager if I was there to fix something with one of his windows and the manager would start to explain that I was from a different company. (It would be obvious to me that the previous supplier was not providing good service and that was why I was there in the first place.) I would offer my services on the spot to at least look at the problem and, if it could be done with my tools and parts, offer to fix it on the spot. Now, a question for you: do you think I ever lost a project after fixing another company’s window? It would be pretty clear to the manager that if I was even willing to fix another company’s window, the manager would not have to worry about me coming back if there was something required on mine later.
There can be a tendency to see after-sales service as an unfortunate reality. I always have seen it as an opportunity to show exactly why a customer made the right decision to deal with me and the company I represented. You never know when down the road someone is going to tell your salesperson, “That’s a good start.”
Phil Lewin is technical director of SAWDAC.
KEEP OUTSIDE OUT.
With the Northern Tri-Pane Collection™
featuring True Tri-Pane Technology™
Only JELD-WEN® True Tri-Pane Technology™ can offer:
1 Superior 2 Enhanced Home Comfort 3 Exterior Noise Reduction
Every Northern Tri-Pane Collection™ window is made
Canadian climate. These windows also meet the highest ENERGY STAR® your windows conserve energy and reduce seasonal heating and cooling costs.
of colours from our premium paint options or with FiniShield™ , our latest colour technology for windows with black exteriors and/or interiors. Our FiniShield technology protects against scratches and extreme heat which keeps windows looking and performing just as good as the day they were installed.
JELD-WEN windows are available everywhere quality windows and doors are sold.
