In talking to my customers, business in November is just like any other November. In other words, it has been very busy up until Thanksgiving, but since the turkey was cooked it’s been more like “Tanksgiving.” During the past two years, business was not seeing the normal holiday slowdown as door and window manufacturers were […]

Can you afford to take time away to go to upcoming trade shows? Well, most of my customers are still as busy as ever, despite the slowdown in new construction and thanks to backorders. But unfortunately, due to inflation and higher interest rates, a slowdown is just on the horizon. Holiday spending will be more […]

During customer visits in the last few weeks, the feedback I am getting is that a slowdown is indeed happening. Window fabricators may produce a steady number of units, but new orders do not match daily production levels. Backorders make up the difference. Lead times are coming back down and in some cases are returning […]

Right now, window and door fabricators live in a world where creating demand for their products is no issue. The day-to-day challenges of their business are driven by supply chain issues, labor shortages and long lead times associated with new equipment. But with inflation on the rise, interest-rate hikes being doled out by the Fed […]

Who’s the most knowledgeable person on your plant floor? Who’s the person you turn to when a problem arises? Is that person the same one it might have been two years ago? The fenestration industry’s ongoing struggle with labor is well established. A lot of focus is commonly put on simply being short on manpower. […]

This is the third blog to complete the series entitled the three “M” s that Will Define Your Company’s Future. The final “M” and perhaps the most important is Manpower. Your company can have the greatest Marketing plan and invest in the most modern automated Machinery, but without this third M, Manpower, you will be […]

Earlier this month, I wrote about The Three “M”s that Will Define Your Company’s Future, with the first M being Marketing. The second M is Machinery. Never before has machinery been so important to the window and door industry. Machinery does three things. Number One: Machinery improves efficiency if used correctly. The operative words here […]