This past spring we began to see a significant increase in vinyl orders. This surge in volume was surprising after the past 3-4 years of sluggish sales. We welcomed this increase in volume as a sign of economic rebound and recovery for the residential housing market. This uptick in business allowed us to rehire many employees and increased the sizes of our crews.
Unfortunately, at the same time that orders began to ramp up, we lost a very important piece of equipment. The vinyl sash/frame welder required to produce Signature casement, single hung, double-hung and slider windows went down and was unable to be repaired. With orders strong for all vinyl products, we were working overtime to meet demand. This situation was a difficult dilemma for manufacturing and scheduling as well.
To resolve this issue, we recently sourced a lightly-used Wegoma welder that was nearly identical to the previous machine. It’s now installed and will be fully functional by mid-August. This welder has tremendous flexibility with a maximum frame width of 82.75" x 93" and a minimum frame of 11.5" x 15".
Equipment outages such as this have a dramatic impact on our production, but we’re now ready for whatever orders come our way. We thank you for your patience and understanding during this mechanical downtime.