The door and window industry is on the brink of what’s traditionally been our busy season. But for many of us, it feels like it’s been busy season for the past year. A hot housing market, low interest rates and homeowners looking to make enhancements to their spaces—they’ve all worked to drive a major spike […]

A high-quality insulating glass (IG) unit is the result of many small processes that have been performed correctly by an appropriately trained and knowledgeable team. But considering today’s labor market, pulling this off has become a major challenge for some door and window makers. Ongoing difficulties with hiring and high turnover rates mean that today’s […]

To a window manufacturer that’s struggling to keep employees on the shop floor, the benefits of automation have been clear for a while. And as our collective labor struggles continue, my sense is that continued investment in automation will be occurring for the foreseeable future, even as lead times for equipment continue to stretch across […]

“What are we short on this week?” That’s a question that door and window plant managers have probably been asking themselves a lot lately. Whether it’s glass, vinyl, or something simpler, like weatherstripping, a wide range of components and raw materials have been in short and inconsistent supply for months. For managers and shop workers […]

We all know what happened. About a year ago, life as we knew it changed, as did the way we do business. Speaking as someone whose profession involves travelling about 80% of the time, I can affirm that statement with some certainty. As a technical services representative for Quanex Building Products, I visit customers on-site, […]

Does the figure eight to 10 weeks sound familiar to you? It’s the average amount of lead time I’ve heard reported from several of my door and window customers recently. Which is to say: If you’re a homeowner who pulls the trigger on new windows today—right now—you can expect that they might not be installed […]