Issuu

Labor-Saving

Grove Shims has the perfect shim for every job every time. Our 3”x 4” Horseshoe Shims are available in 9

Looking for the right shim?

Grove Shims has the perfect shim for all your shimming needs. With color-coded shims and solid thicknesses, the right shim can be easily applied for perfect allignment. No guesswork or realigning. Our shims save you time and money. Need help? Just ask! We’re here to help. 978-534-5188

Visit us online to see all of our available solid 3x4 Shims. www.groveshims.com Free Samples are Available Upon Request.

Grove Shims is the leading producer of plastic structural shims. We have been in business since 1962, making shims since 1975, our family-owned business provides prompt, personalized attention to each order. In addition to our large line of in-stock shims, we will custom fabricate parts to meet your unique requirements. Unlike many competitors, our shims are solid and do not have hollow voids, so you can depend on them in crucial, load-bearing conditions.

Fenestration Review 2019 Vol. 8 • Issue 2

Annex Business Media

P.O. Box 530, Simcoe, Ontario N3Y 4N5

EDITOR | Patrick FLANNERY pflannery@annexbusinessmedia.com 226.931.0545

ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER | Danielle LABRIE dlabrie@annexbusinessmedia.com 519.429.5187

ACCOUNT

COORDINATOR | Stephanie DEFIELDS sdefields@annexbusinessmedia.com 519.429.5196 | 888.599.2228 ext. 257

CIRCULATION MANAGER | Urszula GRZYB ugrzyb@annexbusinessmeda.com 416.442.5600 ext. 3537

MEDIA DESIGNER | Brooke SHAW

GROUP PUBLISHER, VP SALES | Martin MCANULTY mmcanulty@annexbusinessmedia.com

COO | Scott JAMIESON

Publication Mail Agreement #40065710. RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESS TO CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT, P.O. 111 Gordon Baker Rd., Suite 400, Toronto, ON M2H 3R1

email: subscribe@glasscanadamag.com

CIRCULATION

email: asingh@annexbusinessmedia.com Tel: 416.510.5189

Fax: 416.510.6875 or 416.442.2191

Mail: 111 Gordon Baker Rd., Suite 400, Toronto, ON M2H 3R1

SUBSCRIPTION RATES

Canada - 1 Year $22.00 (plus applicable taxes)

U.S.A. - 1 Year $39.00

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.

CANADA’S WINDOW AND DOOR MAGAZINE

EDITORIAL

Show us the money.

INDUSTRY NEWS

FROZEN SMOKE

A look at the remarkable properties of aerogel and how it might be used to make super high-performing windows.

22 FIT & FINISH

Don’t be afraid to take your lumps in pursuit of quality. by Chris Meiorin

24 2019 BUYER’S GUIDE

Market transformation takes shape...Report from FenCan Spring Conference...Alain appointed at ATIS... 10

Accomplishments are mounting as the association gains momentum. by Jennifer Small

SUNNY DAYS

Sunview Patio Doors is getting ahead of the future with a commitment to automation.

Your showroom is a reflection of your care for your customers. by Phil Lewin 23

PHILIBUSTER

38 THAT’S RICH Violence has its uses. by Rich Porayko

PONY UP

by Patrick Flannery

It’s time for money to flow to implement the Roadmap.

Just got off a stakeholder conference call with Natural Resources Canada’s Jamie Hulan, a director in the Equipment Division that is overseeing the Pan-Canadian Framework Roadmap thing. One of his co-chairs, Martin Luymes of the Heating Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Institute, called for everyone to hold off talking about funding for now. To Hell with that. It’s time for the federal government to move beyond vague hints (I won’t even call them promises) that there might be some assistance available to Canadian window and door fabricators to meet the aggressive targets for energy performance set out in NRCan’s Market Transformation Roadmap. At the very first meeting I attended about this at the Fenestration Canada Annual General Meeting in Halifax in 2017, my first question to NRCan’s representative was to ask what assistance governments would be offering to help with the significant R&D and marketing challenges needed to move the industry to minimum 0.8 centre-of-glass U-factors in all products by 2030. The response from then-program-director Debbie Scharf was an acknowledgement that help would be needed but that it would depend on “lobbying” on her part. This is unsurprising - obtaining a slice of the overall budget for any government program is a political process of selling your department’s priorities. Unfortunately for NRCan’s lobbying efforts, assisting fenestration companies attracts a lot fewer votes than the regulations themselves presumably do. That makes landing federal assistance for developing and selling higherperforming products a long shot at best. In the conference call, Hulan pointed to a measly $1 million the program has that has already been

earmarked for demonstrating high-efficiency HVAC. No help for window-makers there. Aside from that, there is no established funding for Roadmap implementation at all. To be fair, much of the effort this summer and fall is going to be aimed at setting priorities and figuring out what the initatives might cost, with a view to making concrete budget proposals. But part of the stated effort is canvassing the federal government for programs that have money that might be able to contribute to the cause. Not exactly confidence-inspiring. At present, we’re looking at a situation where the government is going to mandate tighter energy standards and make industry pick up the tab.

Whatever you think about governments giving tax dollars to private companies, it is undeniable that little happens on a big scale in this country without it. Canada would have been far behind the rest of the world in such areas as electrification, air travel and adoption of the telephone without the Crown corporations that were set up to develop and distribute those technologies. Why? Because our markets couldn’t justify the capital cost for entrepreneurs to get into these industries and take the technology across our vast land, especially to rural areas. We are in a similar situation today. Markets are obviously not generating sufficient demand for highperforming windows and doors, yet officials can see a long-term benefit from getting them installed across the country (saving the planet from climate change). There’s a public interest, and last I checked that’s what public dollars are there for. More Crown corporations (yech) probably aren’t the right answer, but some kind of public investment should be worked out.

INDUSTRY NEWS

New governing body to implement Roadmap

In a webinar to update stakeholders, Jaime Hulan, a director with Natural Resources Canada, introduced a new governance structure to guide implementation of its plan to improve the energy efficiency of Canadian buildings. Over the last two years, NRCan has developed the so-called Market Transformation Roadmap as part of the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change, and this as-yet unnamed new entity will guide the process.

There will be a steering committee chaired by Hulan and Nat Gossman, B.C.’s executive director of Built Environment at its Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum. Below it is the Implementation Council chaired by Hulan and Martin Luymes of the Heating Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Institute. That group will be tasked mainly with harmonizing the recommendations of the sector groups so they don’t conflict with rules in the various jurisdictions. Fenestration Canada executive director, Stephane Labelle, will have a seat on that committee. The third level will be a group of implementation teams, one for each building sector involved in the market transformation initiative. Fenestration Canada technical director, Jeff Baker, will co-chair the window sector team.

In the webinar, Hulan signaled that NRCan has heard

Alain appointed CEO of ATIS

Gerard Geoffrion, chairman of the ATIS Group board of directors, has announced the appointment of Benoit Alain as president and CEO of ATIS Group.

Alain is an accomplished executive with a wealth of experience in commercial, operational, and financial management in the manufacturing sector. He served as the executive vice-president of Cascades where, until recently, he led the Cascades PRO division, which specializes in manufacture and distribution for the away-from-home North American market. Prior to that, he was the vice-president of finance and administration at Cascades Tissue Group, following his roles as vice-president and CFO of ArcelorMittal. Alain holds an impressive track record in business development and in the strategic leadership of sales and marketing,

and is responding to the protests from the industry regarding some of the aggressive performance targets. He clarified that transformation targets would apply to new products for sale and that retrofits of existing products would not be mandated. He said targets would not be mandated if the technology to meet them is not available, and that NRCan’s priority was to remove barriers to development and acceptance of technology rather than to force new R&D. He described their strategy as funding, educating and collaborating rather than regulating through building codes. Regulation, Hulan said, is going to be aimed more at raising the floor to eliminate the lowest-performing products where higher-performing products are a viable option.

The above was probably a good approach since the discussion of funding the transformation priorities was pretty vague. According to Hulan, NRCan has almost no money presently available to promote the Roadmap or to assist window manufacturers with any aspect of it. The organization is searching around in other government programs to see if any of them can help. And there was the inevitable reference to “partnerships” with industry companies. The implementation teams will spend the summer and fall prioritizing intitatives for their sectors and estimating costs so that NRCan can make budget proposals.

operations and finance teams, including supply chain management. He is a certified public accountant in Quebec. In the role, Alain will be directing all ATIS Group functions to achieve and surpass its business objectives and redefine its growth strategy. Alain succeeds Robert Doyon, who announced his retirement as an investor and president of ATIS Group in June 2018 at the end of a 15-year mandate, during which ATIS Group distinguished itself by becoming the Canadian leader in the window and door industry through strategic acquisitions within the Group.

“We would like to extend our sincere thanks to Robert Doyon for his major contributions to ATIS Group as president and CEO since 2004. His leadership has allowed the creation of a unique Canadian company growing in the window and door industry – a company that is now present in all residential and commercial market segments. Benoit Alain’s expertise in business development and strategic organizational transformation will allow ATIS Group and its team to move to the next level,” stated Geoffrion.

SAWDAC Newsletter

GREENON AFTERMATH

GreenON is over but not the mess it left behind. About 90 per cent of SAWDAC members install windows, so it’s no surprise that window installation issues represent three quarters of all the consumer complaints we get at the office. The majority of these consumer calls have come from complaints around installations during the GreeON program, which ran for seven months. These installation issues we’re seeing are coming from dealers that only ran with the Window Wise banner over that time and have since dropped off or didn’t adhere to the proper installation techniques taught in our Window Wise training seminars. Nonetheless, we treat all complaints the same. Dealing with a true Window Wise member means that the customer’s chance of having a problem is less and the response time to fixing any issue is shorter. That’s because all legacy Window Wise members are committed to a minimum five-year guarantee on their workmanship.

We have heard from many homeowners that have installation issues that their window dealer told them they are a Window Wise-certified dealer but came to realize that they weren’t. The dealer sold them

on being in the Window Wise program and how they would receive a certificate for a full five-year transferable warranty. Now that there have been installation problems, we have been fielding these calls and trying to help the customer as best we can to make sure our industry’s integrity stays intact. What usually happens in these cases is that there is no record in our system that the dealer installed these windows because they didn’t register the job and the homeowner is left out in the cold holding the bag.

Window Wise comes to the rescue anyway. How?

First, we listen to the home -

owner and offer simple advice. We ask the homeowner to send an email that lists the deficiencies with their installation and their expected remedy. We provide the contractor with the complaint and ask for their response. We assist the two parties to arrive at an agreed course of action. We can have an inspector do a site visit and prepare a written report. If no resolution is achieved, we withdraw and the parties are free to seek a court ruling

NOT SO WINDOW WISE

We have been getting some

amusing calls where windows were installed upside down or inside out, but here’s one of the top examples of poor installation.

A consumer called our office and said, “I woke up a few minutes ago to find my bedroom window gone!”

We asked, “Where did it go?”

“Well, I looked out my bedroom window to see the window lying on the ground below. There’s no insulation, no nails, no nothing.”

“How did you get our number?”, we asked.

“I Googled ‘missing window’ and your name popped up.”

This bedroom window fell out because positive and negative wind loads over a period of time (a short time) loosened it because it was only fastened by its jam extensions. Typically, jamb extensions are held on with friction or stapled to the window. The scary part is that a lot of windows are installed this way. In many cases, it’s only caulking or foam that is holding them in place.

The bottom line is Window Wise is the industry standard for proper installation that mitigates problems for the manufacturer, dealer, installer and homeowner. Stand out from your peers and join Window Wise today.

SAWDAC executive director, Jason Neal (left), continuously tramps across the country to keep up relationships with the industry and other associations. Here he is with Wade Currie of Tremco at the June Fenestration Canada Spring Conference in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont.

INDUSTRY NEWS

Dashwood relocating, expanding

Dashwood Industries has announced the relocation of its operations to accommodate its continued growth and future expansion plans for its window and door business. Dashwood is pleased to announce the forthcoming relocation of its head office and business operations to Strathroy Ont. Located on Centre Road on the perimeter of Strathroy, the new location will provide ample space for manufacturing, engineering, sales and services as well as customer support for the business. The addition of a product showroom will allow Dashwood to showcase its energy efficient solutions to its current and potential clients as well as assist in promoting the added value Dashwood provides its customer during the home building or renovation experience. As Dashwood will renovate the building in order to prepare for the business relocation, it will continue to operate from the current location in Centralia, Ont., throughout the remainder of 2019. Dashwood does not expect any additional downtime in the operations than normally experienced with a Christmas holiday shutdown as new production equipment has been procured and will be delivered directly to the Strathroy location in 2019. The Strathroy facility in 2019 will focus on renovations, equipment set-up, validation and preparation for the January 2020

Richelieu buys three distributors

start-up.

“We were fortunate to find such a fitting and wellserved space. We really wanted to limit the impact that relocation could have on our customers and our employees. I don’t think we could have found a better location for our team. Our new location and enhanced operational efficiencies will help us continue to grow and develop to keep pace with our customer’s needs, allowing us to provide exceptional value and superior service along the way,” said Dennis Foran, president.

Dashwood is a Canadian-owned and -operated manufacturer of made-to-order custom window and door systems. Originally founded as Dashwood Planing Mill in Dashwood, Ont., in 1928, Dashwood introduced its first pre-fit and pre-assembled windows in the 1940s. Due to an increasing demand for its product, Dashwood expanded and moved to the location outside of Centralia in 1964. The Dashwood product offering includes a full range of windows and premium entry, terrace and patio doors for new construction, renovation and replacement applications distributed throughout Ontario and into select regions of the United States. As Dashwood ownership considered that the current location restricted opportunities for growth, they decided to purchase the Strathroy location.

In it’s first-quarter report to shareholders, Montreal-based Richelieu Hardware announced it purchased three window hardware distributors in Canada with a view to increasing its presence in the fenestration market. From the report: “Richelieu began fiscal year 2019 with the acquisition of Lion Industries, Blackstone Building Products and Truform Building Products, three specialty hardware distributors serving window and door manufacturers in western Canada and Ontario. These acquisitions will reinforce our presence in these markets, increase our business in the window and door manufacturers segment, and add some $12 million in annual sales,” commented Richelieu president and CEO, Richard Lord. Truform and Blackstone are headquartered in Concord, Ont. Lion is based in Calgary.

Friends reconnect at FenCan Spring Conference

The 2019 Fenestration Canada Spring Conference in Niagara-onthe-Lake, Ont., welcomed a healthy crowd of around 140 window and door business leaders for two days of education sessions, committee meetings and – most crucially – informal networking giving everyone a chance to reconnect and update relationships. Considering the quality of the conversations and the opportunity to meet new people at these events, one wonders how the people who don’t come out stay competitive. Granted, your customers aren’t there, but there’s just so much to be learned and discussed and thought about in one condensed and intense period of time. After the Falls, wine is probably the first thing people think about when visiting the Niagara region, so the event started out appropriately enough with a tour to Ravine Vineyard Estate Winery where attendees got to tromp through rows and past the chickens while hearing everything you ever wanted to know about grapes and wine growing, and maybe even a little more. Their patience paid off with some tasty samplings back at the main building followed by a reception out back where you could get more of your favourites. The Falls were not forgotten as a companions tour took the spouses on a bus tour on day two. At the President’s Dinner, Jennifer Small of Screenco performed her final duties as outgoing Fenestration Canada president by passing the pepper mill to Terry Adamson of Westeck Windows and Doors. Adamson noted that no one would be surprised to hear he has strong views on what should be happening with codes and standards, and that he plans to make Fenestration Canada an influential voice with codes writers in Ottawa and the provinces. Adamson announced his goal to reach out to more small and medium-sized fenestration companies to increase their representation and participation in the association. As a fabricator from Chilliwack, B.C., Adamson said his election following terms by presidents from Ontario, Nova Scotia and Quebec solidifies the identity of Fenestration Canada as a truly national organization with coast-to-coast reach. Small also had the pleasure of surprising Maria Jasminez of AquaSurTech with the President’s Award for outstanding contribution to the association. Everyone was happy to see Jasminez recognized as she always has her hand up to help with whatever

the association needs and has made many valuable contributions both of time and expertise. Jasminez was visibly moved by the award, and it’s probably a good thing her comment to Small when getting to stage was not clearly picked up by Small’s microphone. The Annual General Meeting heard from Small about a long list of accomplishments over the past year, including developing an app, hiring a new executive director (Stephane Labelle), improving governance, lobbying government on tariffs and codes, re-branding Fenestration Canada, re-launching the Fenestration Installation Technician program, launching a successful regional event in Edmonton and planning for a successful WinDoor back in Mississauga, Ont., Nov. 20 and 21. The 2019/2020 board was introduced:

• Terry Adamson, Westeck Windows and Doors

• Steve Alward, Atlantic Windows (new)

• Mike Bruno, Everlast Group

• Ron Cauchi, North Star Windows & Doors

• Caroline Dallaire, P.H. Tech

• Allan Doyle, Global Windows

• Cam Drew, Thermoproof (new)

• Ron Edger, Centennial Windows and Doors

• Brad Fevold, Marvin Windows and Doors

• Robert Jutras, CLEB

• Jennifer Small, Screenco

• Laura Weil, Euro Vinyl Windows and Doors

The next Spring Conference will take place in Charlottetown, P.E.I. The group was already buzzing with plans for lobster boils and beach bonfires. Should be a fun one.

“The meetings and seminars were extremely well attended and some new volunteers joined committees,” executive director, Stephane Labelle, noted. “We had tremendous participation at the suppliers showcase. We are really proud of this event and plan to do even better in P.E.I.”

“The Spring Conference really brings together the decision makers,” Small said. “We have a great education program but in addition to that we have a great opportunity for people to share challenges, to network, to learn from each other, to talk about best practices and what works for them. We are supporting each other as an industry.”

“I’m quite pleased with the attendance,” Adamson said. “Great cross-section, good representation from people right across the country, west and east. So I’m really happy with that. Great participation in the education sessions. Lots of great questions, engaged people, so that’s fantastic. The venue is outstanding, the food is outstanding. All I’m doing is eating, it seems. I think it’s very good, it’s a success.”

FENESTRATION CANADA

A year of accomplishments

The association is building momentum as successes pile up.

by Jennifer Small

Iam honoured to have served as president of Fenestration Canada for the past year.

In some ways the year passed quickly and in others it seemed it would never end! But overall, we accomplished many initiatives, set new paths and strategic direction and evolved into a stronger, united, organized, efficient and influential Canadian industry association.

FenCan is maturing and gaining great momentum thanks to the contributions of our volunteer board, committees and task groups. In the past year we have transitioned to a new operations team under the leadership of our very own full-time executive director, Stephane Labelle. We have rebranded our logo using a Canadian government-approved 11-point maple leaf to symbolize our span across the country and our message of a truly Canadian fenestration industry. We are continuously engaging our members through social media in an effort to improve our communication within our industry and related sectors. Our revamped website also allows for better access to resources and provides better organization and communication of information.

As an association, we will be expanding our offerings to members, including regional education events with local stakeholders and building officials. Our April 2019 event in Edmonton was a great success allowing for networking amongst peers and valuable open forum discussion with regulators on challenges that window and door manufacturers can face in the permit approval process and in the field.

In January 2018 Ontario’s short-lived GreenON window rebate program catapulted FenCan’s Installation Certification discussions at the board level. The GreenON program led the board to approve the reinstatement of the Fenestration Installation Technician (FIT) certification exam. We partnered with Building Professionals to provide ISOaccredited certification that is relevant across Canada. Since the expiry of GreenON, the

Installation Task Group is working with the executive director and the board to create new partnerships with stakeholders to create more pull and need for FIT certification.

In 2017, the government of Canada undertook its Market Transformation Initiative to meet the Pan Canadian Framework for Clean Growth and Climate Change. Fenestration Canada is leading the charge to ensure that the interests of manufacturers across the country are well represented. Our main message to the government is “too much, too fast.” We are voicing our concerns to the key stakeholders such as Natural Resources Canada and making sure our message is clear. We are also discussing education and enforcement of current standards, which we know to be a challenge on the local level.

My year as president culminated with our Spring Conference and AGM in the Niagara Region, where I shared all these accomplishments with our members. Always a special event for Fenestration Canada, the conference brings together the who’s who of our industry to learn, network and share stories about challenges and successes in these interesting times of trade disputes and resulting economic uncertainty in Canada’s window and door industry.

As I pass the torch to our vice-president, Terry Adamson, I am confident he will carry on the structure and direction we have set together as a board to move forward. I look forward to this year as past president and will continue to serve and guide our board and association in the best interests of our membership. Ultimately, we want to provide the best services and support to the window and door fabricators in Canada and ensure that their voices are heard in this complex landscape of codes, regulations and standards.

Jennifer Small is the president of Fenestration Canada and of Screenco, a North American manufacturer of window and patio screen products headquartered in Concord, Ont.

SUNNY DAYS AHEAD

Sunview Patio Doors has equipped itself for the future.

Sunview Patio Doors has come a long way since it first opened up shop in 1978. This is most apparent, when you step onto the company’s manufacturing floor at 500 Zenway Boulevard in Woodbridge, Ont.

by ANDREW SNOOK

As you walk around the extremely clean and well-organized plant floor, you are greeted by several pieces of technology not typically found in the manufacturing of patio doors.

As I walked up to the end of an assembly line I was greeted by a state-of-the-art Clearpath AGV (automated guided vehicle) that picked up an order of patio doors at the end of the assembly line, then made its way to the recently built automated storage retrieval system (ASRS) at the other end of the plant.

I followed the AGV, watching as it used laser radar (LiDAR, the same technology used in self-driving cars) to scan for any potential obstacles in its path. Whenever an obstacle was detected – an employee, a forklift, or a skid of product, for example – the AGV would stop for a few seconds, re-program its

path and continue on its way until it reached its destination. As someone who spent a significant portion of his youth in warehouses and factories working as a shipper, receiver and order picker, I found this fascinating to watch.

“We don’t want to have anyone in the operation move more than one metre [away from their work area],” explains Tony Margiotta, president of Sunview Patio Doors, as he walked me through a tour of the facility, explaining that the AGV has significantly improved efficiencies and safety at the plant.

This particular AGV was selected due to its ability to adapt to its surroundings without needing to be re-programmed, and because it did not require any fixed infrastructure be set in place, such as having magnetic strips laid

RIGHT: Pictured on the cover: Tony Margiotta, chairman Vic De Zen and vice-president of operations Kurt Oberparleiter. De Zen is a pioneer of window production technology in Canada, having launched Royal Group in the 1970s and popularizing vinyl as a framing material across the country.

out on the floor throughout the warehouse to guide the machine.

“We didn’t want to pigeonhole ourselves if something changes,” Margiotta explains.

And things these days certainly change at a feverish pace, particularly when it comes to the latest available technologies. Being a leader in the use of the latest technologies is something Vic De Zen, chairman and founder of the Vision Group of Companies, Sunview Patio Doors’ parent company, is extremely passionate about.

“You need to invest money and resources to keep a business going,” De Zen says. “This year we look to invest $40 million.”

A STACKED SYSTEM

The AGV isn’t the only area where De Zen has invested significantly in Sunview. With the company’s new automated storage retrieval system up and running (full commissioning will take

place in July), the combination of the two technologies will create huge logistics efficiencies for the company. The ASRS allows for the automated loading of finished products into a three-level racking system, which can store products based on their expected shipping dates and then move them directly in front of the appropriate loading docks for quick and easy transport into trailers. For quick identification purposes, all products entering the ASRS are barcoded and RFID tagged (radio frequency identification).

“Vic always pushes us to be at the forefront,” says Kurt Oberparleiter, vicepresident of operations, who adds that the ASRS system is a dramatic change from how things were stored even a few years ago. “Three years ago, all this product was on the floor. The busier we got, the more disorganized we got.”

During busy times, products often had to be “dug out” of areas via forklifts, wasting time and manpower, during the

shipping process. The ASRS has made this issue a thing of the past.

“Whatever is shipping tomorrow is set up in our system and ready to go in order,” Oberparleiter explains.

Nowadays, if a product doesn’t move exactly as scheduled – which can be the case when dealing with larger construction projects where delays are common for a variety of reasons – it can sit well out of the way of the production and shipping areas for transport at a later date.

The majority of ASRS systems are designed using standard-sized storage slots, but since patio doors aren’t built to fit in a standard palletized racking system, a custom-built system was necessary for Sunview. To ensure the investment pays off for years to come, a lot of long-term planning was done when creating the system.

“We can keep expanding the system,” Oberparleiter says, adding that his company made sure there would be addition-

Sunview uses robots to lift and place frame components into adjustable fixtures where they are automatically screwed together. The process allows for different frames to be assembled with the same equipment, and spares workers from potentially injuring themselves with repetitive lifting.

Sunview’s state-of-the-art Clearpath automated guided vehicle detects obstacles through the use of LiDAR technology and is able to re-program its path to its pre-programmed destination, if necessary.

al space to grow the system in the future. “We don’t want to become inflexible with our automation.”

And based on the way sales have been going, growth should probably be expected. The company has more than tripled its sales since De Zen acquired it in 2008. In that same time production and warehousing space has expanded from 120,000 to 210,000 square feet. The company currently employs approximately 205 people with 150 of the employees working on the plant floor.

Sunview has also invested in Yaskawa robots that are specified and programmed to perform repetitive and/ or heavy tasks previously performed by humans.

“The current robot is used to lift mechanical frame components from a work-in-progress cart into an adjustable fixture,” Oberparleiter says. “Automatic screw machines then drive the framing fasteners into position to complete the frame. The Yaskawa saves a worker from

lifting the frame parts, thereby reducing effort and improving production flow.”

LIGHTING THE WAY

De Zen doesn’t just try and keep at the forefront of the latest technologies for improving efficiencies within his operations, he also invests in research and development to ensure he can offer his customers the most state-of-the-art products. One example is Sunview’s new award-winning Leggera Glass Wall System.

The company’s latest creation has done away with rollers and track systems through the use of a patented magnetic levitation technology, which allows for frictionless movement of panels weighing more than 1,000 pounds, which means the size and thickness of available patio doors has changed dramatically. The permanent magnets used to move the doors come with a 400-year lifespan.

“A lot of what people are looking for kind of whittles down to the same thing:

you want to be able to see something, you want to be able to look outside… they want the light,” Oberparleiter says. “A lot of what we do is about light, bringing the light into the home.”

The Leggera (the Italian word for light) features an R-factor insulation rating of R15, no matter the outside climate (Sunview is currently looking at reaching an R18 rating). It can be configured for ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act)compliant applications; offers minimal sightlines for more glass and less frame; and won U.S. awards for innovation in 2018. Sunview installed the first Leggera this past winter in King City, Ont.

Offering the latest and greatest innovations is a huge part of doing battle in the extremely competitive U.S. marketplace.

“We’re competing with the U.S. and China,” De Zen says. “You have to deal with the Americans.”

“With ‘Buy American,’ you have to offer great products. You need a strong value proposition. You have to be bet-

FEATURE

FROZEN SMOKE

Some window manufacturers are capitalizing on the remarkable properties of aerogel.

If you ever find yourself in the Yale Sculpture Building in New Haven, Conn., look closely at the translucent wall panels. They contain an almost weightless, yet super-insulating material with a U-factor of just 0.05. It is called aerogel.

by CARROLL MCCORMICK

LEFT: Aerogel is light, weighing just 160 grams per cubic meter. Possibly just the thing for insulating today’s huge window frames.

RIGHT: Aerogel is strong - here is a two-gram piece holding up a 2.5-kilogram brick. Not bad for a material that is almost entirely air.

Had the panels been fabricated with a simple air gap alone, the U-factor would have been 0.50, and ones filled with proprietary glass fiber insulation 0.23 to 0.10, according to Sam Keller, the creative director for Manchester, N.H.-based Kalwall, which built the panels.

Aerogel – made from gel but not itself a gel - was invented by the American scientist and chemical engineer Samuel Stephens Kistler, which he announced in a 1931 paper published in Nature called “Coherent Expanded Aerogels and Jellies.”

Sometimes referred to as frozen smoke, because that is what a block of it looks like, it is said to be the lightest solid ever made. While its weight varies according to the manufacturing process and the material used (most typically silica), Guinness World Records lists a graphene aerogel as the world’s least dense solid, at 0.16

milligrams per cubic centimeter, or 160 grams per cubic meter.

Aerogel is 99.8 per cent air, yet it is structurally pretty strong. NASA has a photo of a 2.5-kilogram brick sitting on a two-gram piece of aerogel. Press on it a bit, and nothing happens. Press very firmly and it will shatter like glass.

It has been used in various ways: thickening agents in cosmetics and in spacecraft to trap space dust. But its real claim to fame is its excellent insulating properties. NASA has used it to insulate space suits and the Mars Rover. More pedestrian products include cycling gloves and thermal sports bottles.

But for its high cost and opacity (researchers are working to solve this problem) perhaps it would be the insulating material of choice in windows. But at least two window manufacturers, Kalwall and Buckinghamshire, England,-based

Origin Frames do use it.

Kalwall makes museum-quality facades, skyroofs, skylights, canopies and walkways. The goal is to transmit perfectly diffused light that mimics the transmission of the sun. While its aerogel-containing systems are translucent, the aerogel blocks none of the visible wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum. “[You are] seeing the true colour fidelity,” Keller says.

“It is a niche product for us. We’ve done over 1,000 applications. The only real barrier to entry is the price point,” Keller says. Systems with their aerogel option cost two to three times more than their conventional systems.

In some cases though, performance wins out over price. “Most aerogel customers are looking to design the highest performance building envelopes possible. They may be designing for LEED, BREAM, Net Zero, Passive House or other voluntary green standards that exceed minimum energy code requirements. Buildings are typically for commercial, institutional and/or governmental entities that think more about life cycle costs and want to demonstrate leadership in sustainable building practices,” Keller explains.

As for its translucency, Keller points out that while vision glazing is great at letting in light, it is not good at much else.

“Glass is especially ill-suited to skylights, particularly large top-lighting applications, because it allows too much heat gain, not enough thermal insulation, plus glare and areas of high contrast. Overuse (floor to ceiling) is not necessary and tends to produce negative side effects that must be mitigated by secondary light control and HVAC building systems.”

Kalwall has been selling aerogel-containing systems since about 2003. Keller’s grandfather and company founder brought aerogel into the company; the company lays claim to having invented the translucent structural sandwich panel.

“Aerogel was his ideal material for a

The translucent panels in the Yale Sculpture Building at Yale University contain granular aerogel.

Credit: Peter Aaron, OTTO

light-transmitting, super-insulating, lightweight material to integrate into his translucent panel design. He developed his own patented aerogel formulations, but those have never been manufactured at a large scale. Kalwall partnered with Cabot Industries to offer the first commercially available fenestration system [using aerogel] in the early 2000s. The brand name is Lumira,” Keller says.

Kalwall is not insulated glass, Keller explains. “We make a totally different product. It is fibreglass-reinforced polymer. The exterior face sheet is 0.07 inches thick and the interior pane is 0.045 inches thick, bonded to a structural grid core. In each of the spaces – cells - within the grid core we place insulation. We are part way between a wall and a panel.”

When aerogel is specified, Kalwall uses a granular aerogel, Keller says. “Aerogel granules are vastly less expensive than monolithic optically clear block or sheets of the material, which to my knowledge no one produces at a commercial scale even to this day.

“Since our panels transmit light, we require the highest commercial grade of granular aerogel that has no optical or colour defects. Lesser grades can be used for niche industrial applications where light transmission is not required and minor imperfections will not be seen.”

Origin, on the other hand, exploits aerogel’s excellent thermal properties to provide additional levels of thermal break insulation in its premium aluminum windows. It has been offering aerogel in its products globally for about seven years. “[The use of] aerogel was really driven by strict thermal codes in Europe,” says Ben Halvorsen, president of Origin USA.

Origin uses an aerogel that, combined with needled backing fibres, makes a flexible and resilient blanket. Its use as a thermal break yields a U-factor as low as 0.3 in a double-glazed window and as low as 0.15 in a triple-glazed window, according to Origin. The company asserts that aerogel improves a window’s overall thermal efficiency by 67 per cent.

When aerogel is not selected, the windows are manufactured with a polyamide thermal break, offering a U-factor of 0.34. While the difference between 0.30 and 0.34 sounds small, Halvorsen notes that, “This can be the difference between meet-

Aerogel, shown purple, is used as a thermal break in Origin aluminum windows.

ing energy codes or not.”

Halvorsen values the lower weight of aerogel and the sense of environmental responsibility that motivates clients that choose the aerogel option. “Aerogel is the lightest solid in the world, which can be important when weight is an issue.”

In somewhat the same way that some people happily pay a premium for electric cars, some will pay more for better insulated windows, Halvorsen says. “What sells aerogel is that we are very environmentally sensitive. Saving $50 a month does not sell aerogel.”

Thermal efficiency is not just based on keeping cold out. Origin has customer

bases in hot countries, like Dubai, where keeping homes cool is the main challenge. “It costs more to cool a home than to heat one. This is a tremendous burden on the planet,” Halvorsen says. As a side note to the improvements being missed by not making the use of aerogel more widespread, he adds, “We have not yet found a local authority that demands aerogel.”

Cost has been a disincentive to the widespread adoption of aerogel in the window industry, but so have insufficiently challenging code requirements and a simple lack of awareness of aerogel’s existence.

“Today there is still a mismatch

between what most energy codes require for fenestration and the cost of aerogel. There is also the primacy of glass and vision glazing. There is just not a huge incentive to adopt widespread use of aerogel if the goal is simply to meet code and contain costs,” Keller says.

Halvorsen believes that window designers are not pushing the innovation envelope hard enough. “We should be challenging one another. We recently came out of the International Builders Show in Las Vegas. The consensus was that there was nothing new in the industry. I think that is a real shame. It reflects a lack of drive and innovation in the industry.”

It may be more a lack of awareness than disinterest that lies behind aerogel not becoming a more mainstream solution for improving the thermal performance of windows. Halvorsen recalls a luncheon of architects at which Origin was giving a course it called “Structural, Thermal and Environmental Material Performance for Today’s Doors and Windows,” for American Institute of Architects Continuing Education Systems credit.

“For the first time, we saw 150 architects sit up and pay attention. This is so really cool. Very few industry experts are aware of aerogel. We have probably been remiss in not announcing our use of aerogel to the world,” Halvorsen says.

Tougher building codes might force a cost showdown between simply adding more panes of glass, say, and using aerogel. “Hopefully, as energy codes for fenestration strengthen, adoption will increase and prices will fall,” Keller says. “High-performance insulated glass can only improve so much. Other approaches, including designing with more translucent, aerogel-integrated products will be required to achieve superior building envelope performance.”

According to David Cooper of Guardian, researchers may not be far from reducing the opacity of aerogel to the point where it is useable as a fill in insulating glass. Cooper says aerogel-filled IG units conduct heat as if they have an R10 insulating factor. Combined with aerogel in the frame and other high-performance materials, it could be possible to construct a window that competes with the wall itself for thermal transmission performance.

& FINISH Black eye, green belt

Hard knocks can deliver the same lessons as a Lean seminar.

by Chris Meiorin

Ididn’t ever get a black eye that I didn’t learn something from. It might have been because I let my guard down. I may not have been in the exact spot I needed to be in. I was distracted, or perhaps I just plain drifted into a bad situation without noticing. Either way, I probably learned more what not to do from getting a black eye, than I did how to do things right.

I would like to think we have all had a black eye of some sort. It may have been a business idea gone wrong. Perhaps not well thought out. A career change for the worse. A project that took on a life of its own. Overpromised. Underdelivered. Either way, you probably took something away from it. Like, how to avoid getting a black eye, or even how you might learn to enjoy it. The point is, how you got the black eye and the lesson learned is strong. In combative sport, a black belt teaches you how to avoid a black eye, however, it’s likely you caught a couple on the way there. A Lean Six Sigma Black Belt in the business arena – that can be a real business game changer.

While Lean has a focus on eliminating waste from a process, Six Sigma focuses on removing or minimizing variability in manufacturing and dramatically reducing defective deliverables. Lean Six Sigma organizes Lean and Six Sigma to cut production costs, improve quality, speed up, stay competitive and save money. In short, Lean Six Sigma creates a well-balanced and organized solution to save money and produce better parts consistently.

Lean originated in the Toyota Production System. Although Lean and TPS are very similar in their intended goals, TPS mandates an emphasis on the working team. TPS, like Lean, focuses on minimizing waste, yet TPS emphasizes one waste in particular: waste of underutilized workers. Taiichi Ohno, creator of the TPS, is credited with improving the overall quality of the both the product it manufactures and the

environment in which it is manufactured with close linking of management and the shopfloor. “Gemba walks” are an opportunity for staff, both from the office and shopfloor, to remove themselves from their day-to-day tasks to walk the floor of their workplace and identify wasteful activities. When combined with “Kaizen” (improvement), the Gemba Walk is an opportunity to not only improve the overall product and process but to also build a team environment that puts as much emphasis on the shopfloor operator as is does on the CEO.

Lean, Six Sigma and TPS aside, I’ve seen classic examples of these philosophies by companies and owners who have never even heard of any of these labels. Recently, I was given the opportunity to tour a manufacturing facility where the principals of Lean, Six Sigma and TPS were in textbook form. It was a beautiful thing to see. The floors were clean, the production flow smooth and the team on the floor fully engaged. Contrast that to another shop tour where the floors were every bit as clean, the production as smooth and the workers all equally engaged. I asked the owner of this facility what facet of Lean he most related to and his reply was “what the fuck is Lean?”, proving that a Lean Black Belt, Green Belt or even a Yellow Belt isn’t necessary for success on the shopfloor. It’s the commitment to continous improvement, in any form, that makes the difference.

I’ve been immersed in Lean for over a year now, yet feel as if I have only scratched the surface. Interestingly enough, this is the mentality of all true practitioners of Lean, even those with years of practice and the highest level of certification. It’s a journey without an end making the beginning paramount. So, get a black eye. Get a few black eyes. Get a Lean belt. Take a course. Walk the floor. Continuously improve – both in the ring and in your business.

Image first

Good marketing starts at the front door.

by Phil Lewin

Back in the 80’s, I often did a marketing seminar where I would start by holding up a small black cube for the audience to see. I would ask, “What is this?” Of course, there were attendees with a predictable sense of humour who would respond, “A black box.” These are people of little imagination who I do not expect to succeed in marketing. Generally, the audience would politely wait for me to answer my own question. And, after a pregnant wait, the answer would be, “Your business, devoid of any marketing.” In other words, everything you do has ramifications on your image or, as today’s millennials like to say, your brand. By everything, we must include a lot of things that might seem like small potatoes but can carry a big message.

Let’s start with your facility. Potential customers are probably visiting you. Certainly, if you have a showroom, this occurs on a regular basis. The location should be convenient for your customer base to access. Parking should be convenient and free. If you have a street retail location and parking is metered, put a change jar up front with a sign stating, “Thank you for your visit - please let us pay for your parking!” Yes, the cost is almost irrelevant, but the gesture says a ton. Shrubs and gardens around your entranceway should be manicured. No garbage on the ground, please. Make sure it’s safe to walk across your parking lot in winter. A lack of concern for your facility will always suggest that you will also lack concern for your customer’s premises.

The exterior of your building should be an effective billboard for your business. Passers-by should be able to tell what you do at a glance. You want to create an impression that says, “File the name and location of this company away for future reference.” In my early days in the window and door industry, I was cold-calling 30 to 40 dealer locations a day when on the road. In those days, you knew how many window sales people had been to that town within the last year by how many phone booths had phone books with the window section stripped out with a razor. This didn’t mean I made 30 to 40 calls. In many cases, as I cruised up to a location I didn’t even bother to get out of my car. Lack of signage, garbage piled at the side of the building among other items on my

personal checklist convinced me the occupants were not the droids I was looking for.

OK, a potential customer walks in your door.

The first 60 seconds may be critical to the opinion the potential customer has of your business. Recently I walked unannounced into the front door of a business and wandered around for over five minutes before I spotted a live human being. Oddly, my presence wasn’t of interest to that particular warm body and I had to actually stop someone in a hall to explain that I was looking to talk to someone about purchasing their products. Eventually someone claiming to be a manager came out to see me but was unable to answer any questions. I purchased elsewhere. Personally, I like to have anyone who walks through the door approached quickly and immediately thanked for coming in. You don’t have to say, “What can I do for you?” That will follow from the visitor as you stand there smiling.

In your showroom, the question to ponder is, how much information do you want to provide as part of displays versus leaving it to a sales person’s discretion to talk about or not? Ideally, there are two goals the posted information should achieve. The first is, information should generally reinforce to the potential customer that they made the right decision by walking through your door and your establishment is a fine, upstanding member of the community. Typically, for as long as I can remember, thank-you letters from local charities and teams along with pictures of same have been fixtures in many showrooms. Awards and memberships in industry and community groups and associations do help establish your personality. The second is specific information that will help lead a visitor to asking more questions on the topic. In other words, it raises a topic without closing out the need for further detail in an interaction with your sales person. Now that the topic is raised and in the forefront of the visitor’s mind, they will likely raise the subject in conversation if it is important to them.

Phil Lewin is sales and marketing manager for GEM Windows. He’s been annoying people in the window industry since 1984.

WINDOW AND DOOR BUYERS GUIDE

INDUSTRY SUPPLIERS

A1 WINDOWS

#1-8038 Glenwood Drive

Burnaby, BC V3N 5E9

 604-777-8000

 info@a1windows.ca a1windows.ca

ACRYLON PLASTICS

2954 Day St. Winnipeg, MB R2C 2Z2

 1-204-669-2224

 richardd@acrylon.com acrylon.com

AGC GLASS COMPANY NORTH AMERICA

191 Coronation Street

Woodbridge, ON L4L 6M4

 905-738-9400

ALWEATHER WINDOWS & DOORS (HEAD OFFICE)

27 Troop Ave.

Dartmouth, NS B3B 2A7

 902-468-2605

 info@awwd.ca www.awwd.ca

AMBIA WINDOWS & DOORS INC.

50 Bartor Rd.

Toronto, ON M9M 2G5

 416 744-1118

Toll-Free: 1-866-831-3719

 info@ambiawindowsdoors. com ambiawindowsdoors.com

AMERI-CAN MACHINERY LTD.

2650 Meadowvale Blvd., Unit 5 Mississauga, ON L5N 6M5

 905-542-2055 www.ameri-can.ca

AMERICAN RENOLIT CORP.

301 Berkeley Dr., Ste. B Swedesboro, NJ 08085

 616-581-2156

 exterioramerica@renolit.com www.Renolit.com/EXTERIOR/US

AMESBURYTRUTH

3600 Minnesota Dr. Suite 800 Edina, MN 55435

 800-866-7884

 info@amesburytruth.com www.amesburytruth.com

ANIG WINDOW & DOOR MANUFACTURING LIMITED 2040 Ellesmere Rd. Scarborough, ON M1H 3B6

 416-438-7213

Toll-Free: 1-800-570-2870

 info@anigwindows.com www.anigwindows.com

AQUASURTECH OEM- HEAD OFFICE

2148 Trans. Canada Hwy. Dorval, QC H9P 2N4

 514-684-2628

Toll-Free: 1-888-884-8982

 sales@aquasurtech-oem.com www.aquasurtech-oem.com

ARIBELL PRODUCTS LIMITED

71 Whitmore Road, Units 1 & 2 Woodbridge, ON L4L 8G5

 905-669-5001

 brian@aribell.ca www.aribell.ca

BENDHEIM WALL SYSTEMS, INC.

82 Totowa Rd Wayne, NJ 07470

 973-471-1733

Toll-Free: 1-800-221-7379

 info@bendheim.com www.bendheim.com

CALDWELL MANUFACTURING CO.

P.O.Box 92891 Rochester, NY 14692-8991

 888-347-7771

 CService@CaldwellMfgCo. com www.caldwellmfgco.com

CAN-BEST

38 Regan Road, Unit 4 Brampton, ON L7A 1C6  905-840-2014 www.can-best.com

CHAMELEON TOPCOATINGS

14320 121A Ave NW Edmonton, AB T5L 4L2

 (780) 758-2552

 accounts@ chameleontopcoatings.com www.chameleontopcoatings.com

DEL WINDOWS & DOORS INC.

944 South Service Rd.

Stoney Creek, ON L8E 6A2

 905-561-4335

Toll-Free: 877-561-4335

 info@delwd.ca www.delwd.ca

CLEARVIEW INDUSTRIES LTD

45 Fenmar Drive Toronto, ON M9L 1M1

 416-745-6666

 sales@clearview.on.ca www.clearview.on.ca

CLEB, A UL COMPANY

1320 Lionel-Boulet Blvd. Varennes, QC J3X 1P7  855-353-2532  info@cleb.com www.cleb.com

COLLINS-TOKER AGENCIES LTD.

8 - 1347 Border St. Winnipeg, MB R3H 0N1  204-953-4210

 ttoker123@aol.com www.collinstoker.ca

COMMDOOR ALUMINUM 471 Chrislea Rd. Woodbridge, ON L4L 8N6  416-743-3667

CONSTRUCTION DISTRIBUTION & SUPPLY (CDS) CO INC.

300 Confederation Parkway, Unit #300

Concord, ON L4K 4T8

 416- 665-8006

Toll-Free: 1-800-237-5565

 productinfo@cdsco.net

CRL-U.S. ALUMINUM

65 Tigi Ct. Concord, ON L4K 5E4

 800-421-6144

Toll-Free: 1-800-421-6144

 askus@crlaurence.com www.crlaurence.ca

DORPLEX ENTRY SYSTEMS

100 Norfinch Drive Toronto, ON M3N 1X1

 416-744-3667

Toll-Free: 1-888-590-4772

 info@dorplex.com www.dorplex.com

One of Canada’s leading door manufacturers, Dorplex is the only company in Canada that offers a Lifetime Warranty on all its products. Yes, that includes a lifetime warranty on paint.

ELTON MANUFACTURING

8400 Lawson Rd., Unit 2 Milton, ON L9T 0A4  905-876-1290

Toll-Free: 1-800-297-8299

 sales@eltonmanufacturing. com

www.eltonmanufacturing.com

Manufacturer of door lite frames, venting door lites, executive panels, door and window components and profile wrapping.

ENERGI FENESTRATION SOLUTIONS

30 Royal Group Crescent Woodbridge, ON L4H 1X9

 450- 687-5115

ENTRYGUARD DOORS INC.

8150 Keele Street

Concord, ON L4K 2A5

 905-532-0740

www.entryguarddoors.com

ERDMAN AUTOMATION CORP.

1603 14th Lane North Princeton, MN 55371

 763-389-9475

 eac@erdmanautomation.com www.erdmanautomation.com

EURO VINYL WINDOWS & DOORS INC.

167 Caster Avenue, Unit 3

Woodbridge, ON L7L 5V8

 905-851-9711

 info@evw.ca

www.evw.ca

EUROLINE WINDOWS INC.

7620 Macdonald Rd.

Delta, BC V4G 1N2

 604-940-8485

 info@euroline-windows.com

www.euroline-windows.com

EVERLAST GROUP OF COMPANIES

299 Carlingview Dr. Etobicoke, ON M9W 5G3

 416-241-8527

Toll-Free: 800-897-5118

 vince@everlastproducts.ca www.everlastproducts.ca

Get it all in one place. Aluminum and Vinyl Storm Doors and Porch Enclosures, Storm Windows, Vinyl, Aluminum and Aluminum Clad Windows, Custom Wood Entry Doors, Cardinal Insulated Glass.

EXOVA INC.

2395 Speakman Drive Mississauga, ON L5K 1B3

 905-822-4111 www.exova.com

FENESTRA PURCHASING CO-

OPERATIVE LTD.

140 Fullarton St.

London, ON N6A 5P2

 (514) 600-4270

Toll-Free: 1-888-713-6282

 jfk@Fenestra.coop www.fenestra.coop

FENESTRATION CANADA

P.O. Box 62060

Ottawa, ON K1C 2S0

 613-424-7239

 info@fenestrationcanada.ca www.fenestrationcanada.ca

FENESTRATION PRO-TECH

353 Route 202 Stanbridge Station, QC J0J 2J0

 450-248-4240

 info@fenprotech.com www.fenprotech.com

FENETECH INC.

260 Campus Dr. Aurora, OH 44202

 330-995-2830

 info@fenetech.com www.fenetech.com

FENPLAST

160 Boulevard de l’Industrie Candiac, QC J5R 1J3

 514-990-0012

 info@fenplast.com www.fenplast.com

FENTRO TECHNOLOGIES INC.

150 Grant St. Morden, MB R6M 1Y4

 204-822-1405 www.fentro.com

FERCO ARCHITECTURAL HARDWARE

2000, rue Berlier

Laval, QC H7L 4S4

 450-973-1437

 ferco@ferco.ca www.ferco.ca

FRANK LOWE

44 Ramsey Road

Shirley, NY 11967

 631-777-2707

Toll-Free: 1-800-777-0202

 sales@franklowe.com www.franklowe.com

GENTEK BUILDING PRODUCTS LTD.

1001 Corporate Dr. Burlington, ON L7L 5V5

 905-319-5560

 info@gentek.ca www.gentek.ca

INDUSTRYSUPPLIERS

GLASSWARE CONNECTIONS

PO Box 25007 Burlington, ON L7L 0V6

 647-960-1900

 glasswareconnect@gmail.com

GROUPE ASTRAL 1203, boul. Curé-Poirier Ouest Longueuil, QC J4K 2G3

 450 463-1116

 info@groupeastral.com www.groupeastral.com

GROUPE RACINE PORTES ET FENÊTRES

423, Avenue Mathers Saint-Eustache, QC J7P 4C1

 450-472-3658

 marketing@grouperacine.com www.portesetfenetresracine.com

GROVE PRODUCTS, INC. P.O.Box 240 Leominster, MA 01453

 978-534-5188

Toll-Free: 1-800-Grove

 sales@groveproductsinc.com www.groveproductsinc.com

GUARDIAN INDUSTRIES CORP.

2300 Harmon Rd. Auburn Hills, MI 48326-1714

 734-654-4822 innovation.guardianglass.com

HASEDA HOLDING LTD

300 Bloor St. East,. Suite 2202 Toronto, ON M4W 3Y2

 416-624-5721

 hakanonce@haseda,ca www.akfix.ca

HOPPE NORTH AMERICA, INC.

205 E. Blackhawk Dr. Fort Atkinson, WI 53538

 1-888-485-4885

Toll-Free: 1-888-485-4885 www.hoppe.com/us/us/home

IMSENT INC.

7030 Woodbine Ave, Suite 500 Markham, ON L3R 6G2

 416-497-4299

 info@imsent.com www.imsent.com

INNOVATIVE GLASS CORP.

120 Commercial Street Plainview, NY 11803

 516-777-1100

 info@eGlass.com

Our Dynamic & Smart Glass solutions offer full control over privacy, light, sunglare & heat. eGlass windows, doors & skylights provide an unmatched combination of comfort, security and energy efficiency.

INT MACHINERY INC.

3240 Lenworth Dr. Mississauga, ON L4X 2G1

 647-642-3646

 info@int-machinery.com www.int-machinery.com

INTERLOCK USA

1105 S. Rock Blvd. Ste 120-123 Reno, NV 89502

 775-852-8808

Toll-Free: 877-852-8808

 info@interlockna.com www.interlockna.com

JELD-WEN OF CANADA LTD. 90 Stone Ridge Rd. Vaughan, ON L4H 3G9

 1-905-265-5700 ww.jeld-wen.ca

JSA MACHINERY INC.

3275, ch. de l’Industrie, unit 8 St-Mathieu-de-Beloeil, QC J3G 0M8

 450-339-4899

 jstarnaud@jsapvcmachineries. com jsamachinerie.com/en

KEAR FABRICATION INC. 27 Vanley Cres. North York, ON M3J 2B7  416-398-8666 www.kearmfg.com

KITS GLASS LTD.

#170 - 2800 Viking Way Richmond, BC V6V 1N5

 604-231-0878

Toll-Free: 1-888-594-5277

 sales@kitsglass.ca www.kitsglass.ca

INDUSTRYSUPPLIERS

LAMATEK, INC.

1226 Forest Parkway

West Deptford, NJ 08066

 8 00-526-2835 www.lamatek.com

LAURELWOOD WINDOWS & DOORS LTD.

1509 Snow Valley Road, R.R. #3

Minesing, ON L9X-1K3

 705-737-5315

 info@laurelwoodmillwork.com laurelwoodwindows.ca

LOTHAR’S INDUSTRIAL SALES

2717 Rena Rd.

Mississauga, ON L4T 3K1

 9 05-678-2397

 info@lothars.ca www.lothars.ca

MARITIME DOOR & WINDOW

118 Albert Street

Moncton, NB E1C 1B2

 5 06-857-8108

 info@maritimedw.com www.maritimedw.com

MASONITE

2771 Rutherford Rd

Concord, ON L4K 2N6

 1-8 00-463-5011

 s ac62@masonite.com www.masonite.ca

MASTERGRAIN

8550 Keele St.

Concord, ON L4K 2N2

 800-782-0559

 sales@mastergrain.com www.mastergrain.com

MILLCRAFT SYSTEMS INC.

369 Concession Rd. 6 East Hamilton, ON L8B 1M2

 9 05-689-9502

Toll-Free: 1-888-689-9502

 info@millcraftsystems.ca millcraftcustomwindows.com

MOUSTIQUAIES MSA

SCREENS

690 chemin Olivier

Lévis, QC G7A 2N6

 418-831-3 035

Toll-Free: 1-800-661-3035

 info@moustiquairesms a.com www.msascreens.com

MULTICYL INC.

640 Hardwick Rd. Unit #1

Bolton, ON L7E 5R1

 9 05-951-0670

Toll-Free: 1-800-388-6359

 s ales@multicyl.com www.multicyl.com

NORTH STAR WINDOWS AND DOORS

40684 Talbot Line

St. Thomas, ON N5P 3T2

 519-637-7899

Toll-Free: 1-800-265-5701 www.northstarwindows.com

PHIFER INCORPORATED

4400 Kauloosa Ave. Tuscaloosa, AL 35401

 205-3 45-2120

 info@phifer.com www.phifer.com

Manufacturer of aluminum, fiberglass and specialty insect screening. Ask for Phifer’s new Water Shed Technology™. Spend more time enjoying the view and less time cleaning screens.

PILKINGTON NORTH AMERICA INC.

81 Madison Avenue, P.O. Box 799 Toledo, OH 43604-5684

 419-247-4836 www.pilkington.com

OPENJANELA LLC

101-4915 S. Drexel Ave. Chicago, IL 60615

 28 9-803-7889

 info@openjanela.com www.openjanela.com

The Fastest growing Software for Window and Door Sales and Manufacturing. CRM, Manufacturing, Barcode, Inventory, Service, Shipping, A/R, Dealer System, and more. Starting at $100/month for 2 users.

P.H. TECH INC.

8650 Boulevard GuillaumeCouture

Levis, QC G6V 9G9

 418- 833-3231

Toll-Free: 1-800-463-4392

 marketing@phtech.ca www.phtech.ca

PARADIGM

182A. Boulevard Iberville Repentigny, QC J6A 1Y8

 45 0-654-3287

Toll-Free: 888-654-3287

 cont actus@myparadigm.com; contacteznous@myparadigm.com myparadigm.com

PAULINE RICHARDS, WINDOW & DOOR CERTIFICATION CONSULTANT

562 Fallingbrook Dr. Waterloo, ON N2L 4N4

 519-570-6917

 prichards.ap@gmail.com

POLLARD WINDOWS & DOORS INC.

1217 King Rd., P.O. Box 507 Burlington, ON L7R 3Y3

 9 05-634-2365

Toll-Free: 1-800-585-5561

 jgriffit@pollardwindows.com www.pollardwindows.com

PROTECTIVE PACKAGING LTD.

34 Carson St. Toronto, ON M8W 3R9  416-255-7308

 lbudd@protectivepackaging.ca www.protectivepackaging.ca

PROTOMACH & GML MACHINERY

110 rue Industrielle, St-Louis-de-Blandford,, QC G0Z 1B0

 819-3 64-7270

 vente@protomach.ca www.protomach.ca/index.php/ en-us/home

Manufacturer of industrial machinery since 1996 - for windows, entry doors, garage doors. PVC, fiberglass, light alloys, wood. We are known for our ability to adapt to your needs. A complete solution!

PVC ARCHITECTURAL INC.

220, rue Industrielle Saint-Apollinaire, QC G0S 2E0  418-8 81-2286

Toll-Free: 888-404-2286 www.pvcarchitectural.com

RDH BUILDING SCIENCE INC.

400 - 4333 Still Creek Dr. Burnaby, BC V5C 6S6

 6 04-873-1181

rdh.com

REFLECT WINDOW & DOOR 8711 53 Ave NW Edmonton, AB T6E 5E9

 5 87-414-7661

Toll-Free: 1-877-434-3410

 info@reflectwindow.com www.reflectwindow.com

RENKO RUBBER