There have been a series of announcements lately regarding door and window companies closing. If we look at these situations through the most rigidly capitalist lenses, such closings are probably positive for the industry in the long term. They are representative of the types of activities that we predicted in the process of capitulation that [...]

In the last several weeks, the unwinding financial crisis has been competing with the upcoming birth of my daughter for my full attention. Since the first mention of the $700billion bailout package, we’ve all become a somewhat numb to the magnitude of the problem. Despite my admittedly distracted attention to these issues, several thoughts have [...]

Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Some of the most venerable names on Wall Street have, of late, become cautionary tales: Bear Stearns, Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, Merrill Lynch, Lehman Brothers and AIG. I’ve spent my entire career in the financial world and I don’t think anyone would have predicted quite the extent to [...]

In my work with door and window manufacturers, there is a trait that I see commonly among smaller companies that I think has the potential to cause more problems than it does to provide benefits. That is the attempt to achieve a sort of self-sufficiency by bringing any number of ancillary goods and services in-house. [...]

When I was asked by a vinyl window manufacturer recently whether I knew what workers’ compensation classification was in use by other vinyl manufacturers in the industry, I couldn’t imagine the reason for the question. When I learned that the answer might help companies save money on their worker’s compensation insurance, I decided to look [...]

I’m frequently asked how we came to select the door and window industry as a market on which to focus. I think the answer to that question is of great relevance to door and window industry participants. The way that an outsider views one’s industry can sometimes provide a perspective on the forest that you [...]

In this, my inaugural blog, I thought I would outline what readers can expect from my blogging in the future. As an investment banker focused on the door and window industry, much of my view of the industry is made up of a perspective from a capital markets standpoint—mergers, acquisitions and plant expansions. In that [...]