Credit is the key word these days. Not only are window manufacturers being scrutinized by their creditors but so are their potential customers! Getting the sale is only half the battle. Helping the customer to obtain financing is now a challenge these days. Home equity lines of credit are tougher to get and unsecured lines [...]

In these lean times, one might think that the company’s salespeople should be focusing the majority of their time trying to capture new business. After all, with existing customers ordering less, the only way to grow overall sales numbers is to gain market share right? So doesn’t that translate to a focus mainly on new [...]

Last week, while attending the Glass Build Show in Las Vegas, I presented an hour long seminar as part of the American Architectural Manufacturers Association’s (AAMA) “Architects of a Better Mind” program. AAMA’s annual seminar program offers architects who attend the opportunity to earn eight learning units (LUs), all of which qualify as Health, Safety, [...]

This week I sat down with a marketing executive of one of one of the top ten window companies in America. Of course, I asked him how business was going, and I was so pleased and refreshed to hear him say, “It is going surprisingly well!”  I repeat – he said, “IT IS GOING SURPRISINGLY [...]

American Weatherseal, a major vinyl window manufacturer located in Orrville, Ohio, shut down operations this week. Things were looking bright only several years ago that they decided to build a new plant, which they moved into last year. I remember visiting the new plant just after it opened in 2007, and I was amazed at [...]

Triple pane windows are really taking off! What was once a market niche is becoming a high-growth segment of the window market. Look at thermal images of a dual-pane window versus a triple-pane window with one side cold and one side room temperature. With the dual-pane design, one can see heat loss all around the [...]

The GlassBuild America (GBA) Show is just around the corner. October 6 will be here before we know it. Yet, many remain unsure as to whether they are going to attend or not. Many suppliers are worried that they will all be standing around talking to each other.
During my travels the last few weeks, I [...]

Go to Google™ and type in the word “innovation.” You’ll soon end up at Wikipedia, which says, “The term innovation may refer to both radical and incremental changes in thinking, in things, in processes or in services (Mckeown, 2008).”

Go to Google™ and type in the word “innovation.” You’ll soon end up at Wikipedia, which says, “The term innovation may refer to both radical and incremental changes in thinking, in things, in processes or in services (Mckeown, 2008).” The description goes on to say, “The goal of innovation is positive change, to make [...]

Good news! Oil dropped to $124 a barrel yesterday and looks like it is headed lower due in part to falling U.S. demand for gasoline. Economists sound relieved. Some of them actually sound surprised! Well, when prices go up, demand does fall, even when it comes to gasoline, the demand for which may be [...]