You don’t have to look far to see how manufacturing quality can affect sales and reputation. Think of aerospace, pharmaceuticals, automotive, food service or other industrial sectors. In our business, cutting a corner to achieve a short-term advantage is a false economy that can end up backfiring with distributors, contractors, builders, homeowners and, yes, even […]

Your shop floor is constantly alive with activity. Raw materials arrive, units are assembled and finished products are shipped to customers. In an ideal scenario, it’s a smooth-running process you can depend on to keep up with your day-to-day production schedules. But many different factors can interrupt even the best laid plans, especially as our […]

You may have heard that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released they S second draft of the Energtar Version 7.0 specification in late February for windows and doors. Little has changed from the initial draft we saw last year, as it maintains the same prescriptive window criteria proposed in Draft 1 of Version 7.0. […]

Window and door manufacturers across the country continue to show exceptional resiliency in working through demand backlogs. Large or small, automated or not, many of the manufacturers I work with are dedicated to delivering quality products in as timely a manner as is possible. Not that it’s easy—it can be tempting to fall into a […]

It’s 2022. You’ve probably found yourself keeping busy during these past few winter months, and are likely to do so throughout the months to come. In years past we would be beyond the crest of the industry’s typical busy season but with supply chain issues and a larger than ever backlog we still need to […]

Automation is something of an inevitability—not just in the fenestration industry, but the broader manufacturing landscape at large. Not everyone has the budget or production numbers to justify a massive investment in a fully-automated production line by one of the major equipment OEMs, but most understand the tangible benefits automatic equipment can bring to any […]

Creating efficiency on a manufacturing floor can sometimes feel like a cold and calculating process. It’s about implementing the right systems and strategies, about optimizing inputs and outputs, and leveraging technological advancements to create quality products. As the operations director for Quanex’s Mikron vinyl window systems, I know this feeling well. And I know that […]

The general situation for manufacturers of residential windows has remained constant for some time now: high demand, labor challenges and supply chain issues. As of late 2021, these are things that window manufacturers may be accustomed to, but that doesn’t make them any easier to deal with—especially considering other factors my colleagues have noted in […]

Imagine yourself in the following scenario: All things considered, your operations are running smoothly given the shared challenges our industry has dealt with for the past year. Your customers are getting solid products in a relatively timely manner, your fabrication process is operating efficiently, and overall quality concerns are low. However, high demand is necessitating […]

In the Shop Talk blog, we’ve talked a lot about the here and now: how to be more productive with fewer employees, health and safety in the COVID-19 era and tips to improve quality and efficiency. We’re all focused on how we get through the next day or week, and we need to be. But […]