Creative Millwork’s new Grid Runner System.

GlassBuild America is back after COVID forced the event’s shelving in 2020. Door and window companies are displaying their new products—and determination—at the Georgia World Congress Center in the heart of downtown Atlanta.

Creative Millwork unveiled its Grid Runner System, an aluminum addition, to its product lineup.

Creative Millwork’s team is all about aluminum at GBA 2021.

“[It’s] normal aluminum that has muntin bars applied directly to the glass,” says Hutch Dannels, sales and marketing manager for Creative Millwork. “Many customers go with a piece-piece method and they pin in their muntin bars onto aluminum storefronts or their window systems in general. We have a new clip to where we can cut a full-length vertical or horizontal piece … When [users] go to assemble it, instead of dealing with all of the pins and labor it takes to build a window, they can just snap a piece together and apply everything at once and still screw into their window system.”

Dannels says the product has been in the works for two years.

Ritescreen’s team is happy to be back at GlassBuild 2021.

At the RiteScreen booth, it was all about showcasing the company’s digital offerings. “In January 2021, we launched our e-commerce program, which allows all of our customers to order online,” says chief sales and marketing director Chris Seebode. For new customers, it allows them to explore our 150-page catalogue, pick the screen that fits their window best and order within minutes.”

NuCoat emphasized its core business–paint for PVC windows featuring a one-component system, low-VOC (volatile organic compounds) and anti-heat technology.

NuCoat hopes to encourage in-house painting with its products.

“I think people need to realize they can paint in-house themselves,” says Shelley Lee, senior director of sales and marketing. “It’s a low-investment to get into painting. I think it’s scary for some people that aren’t familiar with paint. You get a spray gun, an exhaust fan going and you can put out some custom works and meet customer needs.”

Protectapeel offers temporary peelable protection and specialty coatings. Director of operations Sofia Bower says business has been booming during the pandemic. “I feel COVID has made us more accessible. We used to do a lot more in person, which I truly enjoy—going out to sites and factories. We’ve learned to adapt to that and now we can reach a lot more people in less time.”

Software suppliers have a large presence at the show and had many new updates to unveil. Daryl Huber, vice president of customer strategy at Soft Tech, mentioned that since the company was acquired last year by Compusoft, it now has additional resources. In turn, the company has made several updates to many of its software programs for the residential and commercial door and window industries. This includes a fully functional dealer module, Version 3.8 with an advanced drawing module and more.

“Everyone we talk to is busy,” says Huber. “And there are still labor problems so this is a way to help solve the labor problem through digitization.”

At Preference North America, Neil Barry reports that the company now has quite a library of mobile apps, virtual reality offerings and a new CRM and document management system. “We have grown a lot in these areas,” he says. “We are hoping to meet some new prospects here as well as our current customers.”

Friedman Corp. has made some changes in its software to coincide with the integration of other companies it has acquired and added to its portfolio. Those include Logimax, a warehouse management system for third party logistics and distribution centers and Varsity Logistiucs, a multi-carrier parcel and freight shipping software. Craig Skonieczny, vice president of operations, said the company also offers e-web services. “You can integrate our user experience into your website using our ERP software,” he says. “One of our customers has ten different lines utilizing that web service.”

The show continues through Wednesday. Stay tuned to dwmmag.com for continuing coverage from Atlanta.

Tara Taffera contributed to this report.