Members of the United Electrical (UE) Workers Local 1110, representing the former workers from Republic Windows and Doors, filed charges today against their former employer at the National Labor Relations Board in Chicago. This is according to a press release issued by the UE who say the company shut down operations without negotiating the decision [...]

What do you do when the market is flat and profit margins on existing products are eroding due to stiffening price competition? Well, you could cut corners and drop prices to maintain share while trying to maintain some degree of profitability. But, why not choose a different approach? Why not invest in product development and [...]

ProVia Door in Sugarcreek, Ohio, announced on January 5 that it has purchased the assets of Heartland Building Products (HBP) (vinyl siding producer) in Booneville, Miss., from Jancor Companies Inc. as well as two separate manufacturing facilities in Olive Branch, Miss., and Macon, Miss. The U.S. Bankruptcy Court approved the purchase of HBP assets on [...]

The management of Ultra Hardware Products LLC in Pennsauken, N.J., has completed a buy-out of the business from its parent company, Shapes/Arch Holdings LLC. The amount of the transaction, which closed December 31, were not disclosed.

Ultra Hardware president Daniel Carpey led the buy-out, with the assistance of Dajalis Ltd. of Montreal, Canada, a private investment [...]

Longroad Asset Management LLC, the private equity firm that had agreed to purchase Hurd Windows & Doors in November, has formed a new company, HWD Acquisition Inc., which will retain Hurd’s assets, including the Hurd brand, as well as the employees and management team of the company. HWD Acquisition will be based in Medford, Wis., [...]

Republic Windows & Doors filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy relief on Friday, December 12, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois. In a statement released by Republic, the company says the bankruptcy filing for liquidation was required by its lender, Bank of America, in the negotiated settlement with the United Electrical, [...]

Republic Windows and Doors has reached a settlement with its employees, who’ve been occupying the plant since it closed on Friday, in which they’ll receive eight weeks of pay, two months continued health coverage and pay for all accrued and unused vacation.
The settlement, which totals $1.75 million, was reached late last night. Bank of America announced [...]

Jerry Howard, president and CEO of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), announced today that staff and operating cutbacks will take place that will result in the savings of $11.5 million for the association in 2009. Howard says this move is necessary as “the housing industry is confronting the most serious recession in more [...]

When reports surfaced last week that Chicago’s Republic Windows and Doors would close on Friday December 5, due to the fact that Bank of America canceled its line of credit, many in the industry were shocked. Then came the news on Friday that workers staged a sit in demanding their severance and vacation pay, according [...]

U.S. demand for doors and windows is forecast to rise 2.8 percent annually to $40 billion in 2012, according to Windows & Doors, a new study just released from The Freedonia Group. Demand gains will be restrained by a subdued outlook for residential construction, which constitutes the largest market for doors and windows, according to [...]