Windsor Windows & Doors was founded in 1950 in Windsor Heights, Iowa, a suburb of Des Moines, Iowa. Initially, believe it or not, this company started in the back of a man's garage.

  Currently, John Smit is Windsor Windows & Doors' president, and Jeff Jones is vice president of sales and marketing. Phil Weser is the product design manager for Windsor, Greg Galloway is the director of product development, and Bill Tindell is the manufacturing manager for the Iowa plant. Over the years, the company has had a variety of owners and has stayed pretty regional in nature, just building wood windows.  

  In the 80s, the company was really close to closing its doors. The company was owned at that time by a group of investors who were heavily involved in the oil industry in Texas, so when the oil business went bad, that meant financial turmoil.  

  Windsor has grown exponentially, since it was bought in 1987 by Woodgrain Millwork, which is based in Fruitland, Idaho. According to Kris Winter, marketing communications manager for Windsor, Woodgrain Millwork, like Windsor, was a well kept secret. Woodgrain Millwork is the largest manufacturer in the United States of mouldings and pine doors. The company has over 22 locations, including two in South America.  

  Currently, Windsor is one of four Woodgrain divisions, dealing with windows and patio doors. The four divisions that make up Woodgrain Millwork are the millwork products division, the prefinish mouldings for manufactured housing division, the windows and doors division, and MillSource, which is the company's distribution arm. Winter explains Woodgrain's specialty is mouldings and pine doors. Woodgrain is the world's largest manufacturer of pine doors. According to Winter, "Woodgrain has helped Windsor grow into a national company; we ship windows from California to Maine. We have another manufacturing facility, which has 175 employees and has 200,000 square feet, in Monroe, N.C., just outside of Charlotte, N.C." The North Carolina general manager is Richard Stephens.  

  Windsor produces three separate lines of windows and patio doors. The company still has its core wood windows, but its vinyl window line, introduced in 1993, grew about 20 percent last year alone. "That's pretty explosive growth in a product for such a short period of time," states Winter. According to Winter, introducing the vinyl window was a major deal to Windsor, since the company and the parent company are deep into the wood line and how to utilize wood efficiently. "Windsor knew that vinyl was catching on in the industry and that it should offer that choice to its customers to stay competitive in the marketplace," explains Winter.  

  Windsor's newest vinyl series is the Next Dimension Series, which provides the perfect combination of high performance, durability, beautiful styling and value. According to Windsor Windows & Doors, "Not only are Next Dimension products beautiful to look at, they're also engineered to perform beautifully for the next generation." Quality features built into every Next Dimension Series are:   Multi-chambered vinyl construction for strength and performance, Durability that's virtually maintenance free, Contemporary color options, Frame thickness, Fusion-welded sash and frames with superior strength, A user-friendly, flexible mulling system, Premier quality insulated glass, Numerous glass options to satisfy every need, Heavy duty hardware and secure locking systems., Color-matched, easy care screens, An integral pre-punched extruded nail fin that simplifies installation, Weather stripping and baffle systems to keep water and air out, and a wide array of standard and custom units.    

  Windsor also has another line of vinyl windows, the Legend Series, which is a low-maintenance cellular PVC product. According to Windsor Windows & Doors, "The Legend Series gives you the finely crafted look and feel of wood windows with the outstanding performance characteristics of no-rot cellular PVC." Characteristics of the Legend Series are:   It never rots, warps, cracks, molds or swells, which eliminates service callbacks. There is a twenty-five-year warranty on cellular PVC. It has the look and solid density of wood. There is less contraction and expansion for smooth operation. It has superior R and U values, compared to conventional windows. There is a seven-year warranty on paint. It is available in all standard double-hung sizes. It has easy installation with nails or screws. There is a twenty-five-year warranty on glass.   According to Winter, the Legend Series is like a solid vinyl instead of a hollow vinyl, and right now, Windsor is the only manufacturer who is producing windows made entirely of this material. "We worked very closely with one of the leading manufacturers of this material to develop a total window line," says Winter. "Overall, we've developed a vinyl window that has worked well in meeting specific niches and needs of the marketplace, while still having wood windows that also do the same thing," says Winter. 

  "That's what's been interesting about adding new product lines to a wood window company." When looking at marketing vinyl windows throughout the United States, Winter says there are definitely different markets in the United States that want or need vinyl windows. A market like the Midwest where in some of the states the elements change from the cold winter months to the humid summer months tend to attract more homebuilders and homeowners who like the durability of the vinyl windows. The only problem with marketing vinyl windows is a lot of people have this perception that vinyl windows are only for lower-end housing, says Winter. Windsor, however, has been able to help change this perception and has marketed their windows to high-end home building and custom home building. One way Windsor has achieved this is by advertising in trade magazines geared toward custom home building. But residential building isn't the only market for Windsor's vinyl windows, they are also marketing to commercial building. Hotels, such as the Country Inns & Suites, have installed Windsor's vinyl windows.

  Whether its residential building or commercial building, its clear if a builder or contractor is looking for vinyl windows to install, Windsor is a brand to look for. Windsor Windows & Doors has over 150 distributors throughout the country.

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What Does Windsor Windows & Doors Supply Its Dealers with to Market Windsor Products?  

  Windsor Windows & Doors supplies its dealers with excellent brochures to help market its products to customers. One excellent example is the brochure for the WIN-PAC Sash Replacement Kit. With this brochure, the customer can install the window by himself or herself. There is no need to hire someone to install the window. It gives detailed instructions on how to measure the width (with measuring tool included on brochure), how to remove the old sash, how to prepare the new sash for installation, and how to install the new sash.