I have the great pleasure of continuing to serve as the President of the
Canadian Window and Door Manufacturers Association (CWDMA) for
2010-2011. As an association we are fortunate to have a dedicated
Executive team and Board of Directors from across Canada working
tirelessly on behalf of our members.
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| Eva Ryterband was among those presenting committee results to attendees on the second day of the annual CWDMA meeting. Ryterband presented the results of the financial committee. This year’s meeting was held at the Pillar and Post Inn in Niagara-on-the-Lake. For additional coverage of the meeting, please see page 6 of this issue. |
I have the great pleasure of continuing to serve as the President of the Canadian Window and Door Manufacturers Association (CWDMA) for 2010-2011. As an association we are fortunate to have a dedicated Executive team and Board of Directors from across Canada working tirelessly on behalf of our members.
The CWDMA continues to be very active in all aspects of the industry to ensure our members are well represented and receive value for their membership dues. With six distinct committees, the association is focused on implementing key action items from its’ strategic plan. The six committees are: the Win-door Show Committee, the Membership and Marketing Committee, the Government Relations Committee, the Technical Committee, the Education Committee and the Meetings Committee.
The following is a summary of the activities, initiatives and achievements that the CWDMA has been involved with over the past 6 months:
Seminars will take fenestration to a new level.
The CWDMA’s Seminar series was once again presented through a series of webinars. Last year the association decided to use the web-based seminars as a mean to reduce costs for the members. The resulting feedback was very positive, so the same format was used in 2010.
CWDMA webinars were held the week of May 17th. For those who missed the CWDMA webinars, a voice recording and a pdf version of each presentation is now available on the members’ only area of the CWDMA website.
CWDMA ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2010
The CWDMA 2010 Annual Meeting was held in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario June 3-5 at the beautiful Pillar and Post Hotel. The program included a session on branding by Phil Otto of Revolve branding agency, updates on door and window technical issues by CWDMA Technical Consultant Jeff Baker, as well as building code and standards updates. Miles Murphy of the CSA presented an update on the CSA window installation personnel certification (F.I.T.) program, and Steve Hopwood of NRCan presented an Energy Star program update. On Saturday morning, Sepp Gmeiner of Lignum Consulting Corp. presented “Achieving Corporate Excellence by Using Lean Manufacturing Tools”. All sessions were well attended.
The CWDMA Annual General Meeting was held on Saturday morning. Committee chairs presented updates on their work throughout the year, and invited all in attendance to participate on the various committees. Skip McLean of Screenco is now the new Membership and Marketing Committee Chair while Mike Bruno of Alumitex Windows and Doors Inc. will become the new Education Committee Chair.
The CWDMA’s newest Board Members were announced at the CWDMA AGM in Niagara-on-the-Lake on Saturday June 5th. Representing Western Canada are Al Dueck of Duxton Windows & Doors and Rainey Read of All Weather Windows. Representing the Ontario Region are Benoit Legault of Marvin Windows & Doors and Mike McAndrew of Cardinal IG Company Ltd.
Knut Holmsen of Marvin Windows and Doors, who is retiring from the CWDMA Board of Directors, was recognized with a Service Award in appreciation of his hard work with the CWDMA. Mr. Holmsen most recently served as chair of the CWDMA Pioneers of the Industry Committee. Although not in attendance at the AGM, retiring directors John Ferris of Loewen Windows, John Martini of Ostaco and Dave Hiebert of Lynden Door Canada Inc. were also recognized.
As always, there were many social and networking opportunities, with an afternoon of golf at the Royal Niagara golf course and a winery tour which included a trip to the Ontario Butterfly Conservatory.
WINDOW INSTALLATION PERSONNEL CERTIFICATION UPDATE
The CWDMA in conjunction with Natural Resources Canada, CSA and industry stakeholders from across Canada have partnered to develop a new national window and door installation certification program exclusively for residential buildings. The program will be called the Fenestration Installation Personnel Certification Program “FIT”.
The FIT Committee has met several times to outline the structure of the program. The goals of the FIT program are to provide consistency of application, to improve the overall quality of installation and to enhance consumer confidence in the industry. The scope of the program has been defined such that it clearly only deals with the residential housing market up to 3 storeys; essentially referencing Part 9 of the building code.
The program will be based on the CSA A440.4 standard and industry best practices. The current focus of the committee is to establish a summary description of the certification program, to determine the number of possible certification levels, to establish what the program prerequisites will be, and to develop a description of what the criteria will ultimately be to consider an installer a Qualified Candidate.
A Job Task Analysis Committee has already completed an analysis of the FIT Level 1 Technician job and is enlisting the help of subject matter experts (installers, technicians, contractors, supervisors, educators, architects, designers, etc.) to participate in a short survey to confirm the results of the analysis and provide input. Please visit the CWDMA website at www.cwdma.ca to participate in the survey.
ENERGY STAR EXTENSION OF JUNE 1ST DEADLINE
Due to numerous requests and concerns expressed by industry, Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) has decided to change the implementation date of the new technical specification for windows, doors and skylights and the date for mandatory labelling from June 1, 2010 to October 1, 2010. A summary of these new deadline dates is presented on page six of this issue.
The arrangement expiry date refers to versions of administrative arrangements prior to the October 2009 version. Model information updates refers to the deadline for registered models to have their data information upgraded to the current requirements. Note: models that do not have the required specific air leakage information will be deleted effective October 1, 2010.
The NRCan database silent period will now be from noon on September 23, 2010 to October 1, 2010 inclusive. This means that data submissions will not be processed during that period of time to allow for changes to the database and website.
CWDMA TO BE REPRESENTED ON NRCAN ENERGY EFFICIENCY COMMITTEE
Jeff Baker, CWDMA Technical Consultant, has been invited by Natural Resources Canada to participate in the Joint Task Group for Energy Efficiency in Housing and Small Buildings. This task group will be writing the next version of the National Energy Code for Houses and Small Buildings. One of the main objectives for the publication of the 2011 National Energy Code for Buildings is to develop and include an energy efficiency objective.
WIN-DOOR 2010
The 2010 edition of Win-Door North America will be held November 16, 17, 18, 2010 in the South Building, Hall E, at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, Toronto, Ontario.
The Win-Door show offers exceptional value for all. Over 2500 window and door manufacturers from around the world will attend, bringing together a multitude of industry experts to highlight new ideas and technologies. A comprehensive seminar series will include business management information, economic forecasts and the ever popular technical sessions. Industry specific updates on building code requirements regarding windows and doors, and Energy Star specifications will enlighten all who attend. Seminars are free with your registration badge.
Bob Langdon, whose seminars were very well received at Win-Door 2009, will return as the Keynote speaker for Win-Door 2010! Mr. Langdon, CPA and author of Managing Your Business for Profit, has been assisting businesses in identifying and achieving their sales, marketing and financial goals since he began his consulting practice in 1981. He speaks continuously to corporate and association audiences and has spoken numerous times in the construction industry during the past five years. This experience enables Bob to understand the challenges and opportunities that we face. Mr. Langdon will deliver two one-hour seminars in November at Win-Door 2010.
As you can clearly see, the association continues to work diligently on behalf of its members. We will continue to do so over the course of the coming year, working with our industry partners to continuously improve the industry. The association is strong thanks in large part to the hard work of the executive, the CWDMA office and the Board of Directors. This foundation, along with the support of our membership, ensures that the CWDMA will continue to be the collective voice for the industry. You have my assurance that we will continue to work hard on your behalf, offering programs and services that continue to provide value. I invite you to visit the CWDMA website to review the benefits of being a member.
In closing I would like to thank Richard Lipman and the CWDMA office for their hard work in the day to day operations of the association. I would like to thank Yvan Houle for his support as 1st Vice President and Eva Ryterband for her continued support as Past President and Treasurer on the CWDMA Executive team.
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