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Economy hot topic for show

Show Report: Win-door 2008 will return to the Metro Toronto Convention Centre from November 11 to 13.

The next Win-door show will be held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre in Toronto, Ontario, November 11 to 12, 2008.

Frank Sangiuliano, president of Ameri-Can Machinery (centre), gives a tour of the machinery on display at his booth during Win-door 2007.

The Canadian Window and Door Manufacturers Association (CWDMA) hosted Win-door North America 2007 in Toronto, Ontario, from November 13 to 15. More than 150 exhibiting companies participated at this highly focussed fenestration trade show which featured all the latest computer hardware, software, doors, door lites, hardware, machinery, sealants, weatherseals, testing services, wood products and systems for the window and door industries. In addition to the domestic exhibitors, show organizers say attendees from the US and other countries boosted the show’s international presence which has been growing throughout its 13 year history.

The first day of the show was very busy and the hottest topic on the show floor was the strength of the Canadian dollar and the country’s steady economy compared to the slump in the US housing market due to the sub-prime mortgage crisis. For some US based manufacturers this was even more reason to exhibit at this show, to drum up more business north of the border, while Canadian manufacturers talked about adjusting to the currency’s parity.

“This is the only show in Canada where I can see so many of my customers,” says Frank Sangiuliano, president of Ameri-Can Machinery, who had a large booth to exhibit his company’s line of high output manufacturing equipment such as CNC machining centres and cleaners, four point welders and profile bending machines. “A show like this is useful for window manufacturers to see what’s new in the industry, compare technology and analyze the difference between high quality machinery and low quality imports,” he says.

Urban Machinery’s Jason Wadel, technical sales engineer for central and western Canada, says Win-door provides a venue for customers to see how they can customize their window fabricating equipment for the Canadian market. “The windows Canadian manufacturers are producing are a little different than what you see in the US, so we customize our machines a little to suit the Canadian market and we try to display this flexibility to our customers who could most benefit by it,” he says. “That’s why we have our machines working in our booth. We invite customers to bring samples of their window profiles to test out our machines,” he says.

Win-door 2008 will return to the Metro Toronto Convention Centre from November 11 to 13. -end-