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Fenestration Canada – August 2015

After completing a successful Annual General Meeting in Vancouver – one of Canada’s most breathtaking locations – it is easy to feel enthusiastic about the future of our industry. Mother Nature was kind, the sun bright and by all accounts attendees were well-served for the time and expense in attending.

Delegates were treated to thought-provoking discussion regarding all matters that concern our future and current businesses. Al Jaugelis of RDH presented a session on “NAFS and the Custom Home”; Murray Frank of Constructive Home Solutions presented “Window and Door Installation Challenges”; and Herman Koolman, the Building Officials Association of BC education coordinator, presented a code officials perspective on “Enforcement and Compliance Issues Regarding NAFS.” Installation discussions seemed to dominate the thoughts of many attendees who were invited to provide their perspective during a roundhouse session led by J.F. Kogovsek of Maxam Marketing, who also gave a thought-provoking presentation on “The Benefits of Having Proper Installation Procedures.” Randy Hnatko of Trainwest Management and Consulting delivered the keynote presentations on “10 Barriers to Your Success” at the Friday luncheon and “Eight Insights that will Change the Way you Think and Sell” at the Saturday morning session. The insights provided were both timely and thought-provoking.

Once again the Fabricators Council, led by Lisa Bergeron of Jeld-Wen and Greg Dickie of Atlantic Windows met to discuss issues facing fabricators and formulate a strategy moving forward. Over 30 fabricator companies were in attendance at the meetings and many participated in the council meeting. In a later session, technical expert Jeff Baker of WestLab informed attendees of upcoming changes to codes, Energy Star and other technical initiatives. The technical committee led by Jean Marois of Royal Building Products and Robert Jutras of Air-Ins was in session with many non-committee attendees taking part as observers.

One of the most intriguing discussions around the conference centered on the request by the National Research Council to modernize the code requirements for combustible windows in non-combustible (Part 3) buildings. This request was brought to our attention at Windoor 2014 and a task force was set up to prepare initial steps. There are two specific aims of the project: to assist participating manufacturers expand the use of pre-tested combustible window frames under the current code guidelines and to acquire specific data needed for an industry group to pursue changes in the code requirements that currently restrict the use of combustible windows in Part 3 buildings. Attendees were invited to participate in a webinar on June 23 to establish a framework for industry. NRC is proposing to design a research program that would provide industry participants useful and valuable data independent of any future code changes.

Our new website was unveiled at the AGM to rave reviews and will soon become the backbone of our marketing, information and education initiatives. Hats off to Laura Weil of Euro Vinyl Windows and her Membership and Marketing team for their efforts in developing an exciting, new and fresh-looking website.

A lot of work lies ahead for our re-energized committees. Volunteers are always welcomed to participate and contribute to discussions. Most meetings are held via conference call using GoToMeeting software and we try and schedule face-to-face meetings of committees during our annual conference and the Windoor Show.

Next year, our AGM will be held at the Fairmont Mont Tremblant resort from June 8 to 11, 2016.  We encourage everyone to save the dates on their calendars now. We will be working collaboratively with the AVFQ to ensure another successful event.

Skip Maclean is president of Fenestration Canada. He is business development manager for Tru-Tech Doors and has over 40 years’ experience in the window and door industry.