What’sNews

MEETING REVIEWS

NFRC Works Hard at Fall Meeting
The National Fenestration Rating Council’s (NFRC) Fall Meeting took place November 6-8 in Arlington, Va. in which members discussed a variety of topics and association business.

During the membership luncheon NFRC chairperson Marcia Falke addressed the group and spoke about the importance of change. 

“We need to learn to embrace it, learn from it and recognize it for the benefits it brings,” she said. 
She explained that sometimes changes seem “forced,” such as by building officials. 

“In some ways our efforts to offer new and improved options for rating and labeling nonresidential products can be considered forceful change. The California Energy Commission came to us and asked us to provide an alternative to the current Site-Built Program.” 

She also pointed out that change can also come from within a group or organization. 

“Every time we meet, members of this wonderful organization come forward with proposals to help us better achieve our mission.” Some examples she cited included new way to test thermal performance, requests to add new products to the rating and labeling system and proposals to conduct research for the benefit of the entire fenestration community. 
Falke said she is certain that there will be many issues that will be a challenge for the NFRC, including the new nonresidential options and re-certification, and added, “I hope that when change presents itself you will embrace it.” 

In an early morning session on November 7, Falke presented an alternative to the NFRC Site Built program. According to meeting reports, “the NFRC continues to move full-speed ahead with the Component Modeling Approach (CMA), and is working with its members to develop the program appropriately. While NFRC maintains its commitment to deliver the final program to meet California’s non-residential deadline, this proposed alternative will account for all possible scenarios. It’s a working alternative to Site-Built, and is not an all-encompassing solution, as CMA will be.”

In the subcommittee meeting, Michael Thoman of York, Pa.-based Architectural Testing Inc., led the update on the CMA validation test task group. Likewise, Jeff Baker of WestLab, provided an update on the CMA spacer grouping task group and Charlie Curcija of Carli Inc., provided updates on the CMA frame grouping RFT task group and the CMA condensation resistance RFT task group.

Thoman noted that the task group still has lots of work before it on its scope.

“The task group will continue to need to do work on the parameters on exactly what’s tested, so we’ll continue after this meeting,” he said.

Baker advised that the spacer task group has set before it three basic paths that spacer manufacturers can follow under the component modeling approach. 

Path one will be a simple path for spacers that contain no metal. “This is the solution for spacer manufacturers that don’t want to do any work but just want to get the spacer in the system,” Baker said.

Path two will be more specific but still a bit more generic than path three-a basic rating will be given to the spacers in this path. Path three will allow spacer manufacturers to have their ratings calculated on a range of measurements of the spacer.
For a full report from the NFRC meeting, including the board meeting, visit DWM’s website at www.dwmmag.com. 

COMPANY NEWS

Two More Companies Select BuyDesign from TDCI
Therma-Tru® Doors has selected BuyDesign® software solution from TDCI Inc. of Columbus, Ohio, as the company’s new Internet-based sales system. Therma-Tru will use BuyDesign’s collaborative multi-level sales channel support capabilities and product configuration technology to offer online and distributed quoting, ordering and status inquiry services to the company’s extensive national dealer/distributor network. 

TDCI Inc. also says that National Woodworks Inc., Birmingham, Alabama-based manufacturer of National Windows, has selected TDCI’s BuyDesign® software to streamline quoting and ordering processes for the company’s product lines. 

National Woodwork will implement the BuyDesign Configurator integrated with the company’s new enterprise resource planning system, SyteLine 7 from Infor of Alpharetta, Ga. They will also deploy the web-based BuyDesign Channel Sales solution to provide self-service product configuration, quoting and ordering for distributors and sales people. 

Novatech Door Adds New Ste-Julie Production Line 
Novatech Door Inc. announced it has opened a third production line at its Ste-Julie facility, designed and built to assemble the company’s new fiberglass door series.

Starting January 2007, Novatech will offer fiberglass doors including both the woodgrain and the smooth finishes. Both collection finishes will be constructed, specifically for colder climates, using reinforced laminated wood to prevent thermal bowing, and environmentally-friendly urethane for ozone protection.

Windsor Expands Product Line and Automates Production 
Windsor Windows & Doors of West Des Moines, Iowa, has made substantial investments in both its West Des Moines and Monroe, N.C. production facilities. The company has recently installed equipment used to make insulating glass, creating a new glazing system. The materials and machinery used in the glazing system will be used to produce some of Windsor’s existing product lines, in addition to producing a new vinyl window. This enlarged vinyl offering will now include a professional grade window called Next Dimension Pro.

The West Des Moines facility’s 100,000 square-foot expansion will house onsite insulating glass making capabilities and the production of the newly-expanded Next Dimension vinyl product line. Manufacturing in this new facility is anticipated to begin in November 2006, the company reports.

Windsor’s manufacturing plant located in Monroe, N.C., has also installed this new IG equipment. 

Cardinal Glass will produce the LoE2 glass that the IG will feature. The system will also utilize Edgetech’s Super Spacer, along with a secondary seal of hot-melt butyl, to seal the unit and keep moisture out. Additionally, fully-automated Lisec equipment was selected to create a unique insulating process. 

CMI to Open New Door-Manufacturing Plant in Texas
CraftMaster Manufacturing Inc. (CMI) of Chicago recently purchased a 277,740-square-foot distribution facility with acreage in Garland, Texas. CMI will convert the building into a manufacturing plant for its line of CraftMaster® Interior Doors. The Garland site is the company’s third door-manufacturing facility, joining Christiansburg, Va., and Ozark, Ala.

Located just northeast of Dallas, CMI anticipates installing state-of-the-art production machinery in early 2007 with plans to be fully operational in the second quarter.

CMI and the city of Garland expect the new CraftMaster manufacturing plant will bring 60 new jobs into town in its first year of operation and 150 jobs by year four.

PGT Industries Begins N.C. Operation
PGT Industries Inc. has begun its North Carolina manufacturing operations in Rowan County. There the company has relocated to a 390,000-square-foot GDX Automotive building near Granite Quarry, moving from a smaller building in Lexington, N.C. 
Glass tempering and laminating capabilities at the new site were expected to be fully operational this fall. 

PGT has operated a 230,000-square-foot plant in Lexington since 2003, which couldn’t be expanded to meet the company’s needs. PGT expects to sell the Lexington facility. 

Bilco Announces Plans for New Ohio Facility
The Bilco Co. of West Haven, Conn., will build and operate a blowmolding facility in Zanesville, Ohio. The new facility will manufacture the company’s line of polyethylene products: the Ultra Series Basement Door and the ScapeWEL® Window Well, for the residential building market. These products are currently manufactured under an outsourcing arrangement with a blowmolder in Buffalo, N.Y.

Zanesville was selected for its location and strong market in the Midwest. In addition its proximity to Midwest customers, the Zanesville location offers freight, utilities and other operating cost advantages. Construction of the new 75,000-square-foot facility is scheduled for completion early next year. 

CODES AND STANDARDS
ANSI Approves WDMA’s Revised Standard for Flush Doors
The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) granted approval to the recently revised Window and Door Manufacturers Association (WDMA) standard I.S.1A-04 Industry Standard for Architectural Wood Flush Doors. WDMA holds and maintains ANSI-approved standards for both architectural wood flush doors (I.S.1A) and architectural stile and rail doors (I.S.6A-01, Industry Standard for Architectural Stile and Rail Door.) There can only be one ANSI-approved standard in a specific area.

I.S.1A was revised and revamped several years ago to shift the specification to performance-based requirements as opposed to prescriptive criteria, making it more applicable in real-world construction. The standard established performance duty levels that assist the user in finding and installing the right door, based on their conditions of use. Other selected highlights of the standard include: the addition of low pressure decorative laminate as a face material; an updated section on the advantages of factory finishing versus field finishing; an explanation of positive pressure fire doors and how to differentiate them from neutral pressure doors; and an updated face veneer chart, published in collaboration with the Hardwood Plywood and Veneer Association of Reston, Va. 

ICC Evaluation Service Criteria for Skylights to Be Updated
The North American Fenestration Standard (NASF) Harmonization Task Group, consisting of representatives from the American Architectural Manufacturers Association (AAMA), Window and Door Manufacturers Association (WDMA) and Canadian Standards Association (CSA), through a meeting with the International Code Council (ICC) Evaluation Services, has requested that the AAMA Skylight Council and Skylight Performance Task Group review ICC-ES AC-16, Acceptance Criteria for Plastic Glazed Skylights. The AAMA Skylight Performance Task Group is being asked to make recommended changes to the AC-16 documents to align it with the AAMA/WDMA/CSA 101/I/S/ 2/A440-05.

ICC-ES acceptance criteria are developed by the ICC-ES technical staff for products that are alternates to what is specified in the code. The purpose of AC-16 is to establish requirements that plastic-glazed skylights must meet to be recognized under the 2003 International Building Code (IBC), the 2003 International Residential Code (IRC) and other model codes. AC-16 is applicable to fixed or operable curb mount, deck mount or tubular skylights, with plastic glazing and frames and sash members of wood, steel, plastic (including fiberglass) and homogeneous (not thermally-broken) aluminum.

AAMA Introduces Rating System to Certify Products for Blast Hazard Mitigation 
A testing and certification program for windows, glass doors and curtainwalls exposed to blast conditions, has been introduced by the American Architectural Manufacturers Association (AAMA). This new program responds to the dangers of personal injury and fatalities resulting from blast events, according to the association. The program combines an approved process for testing blast-resistant fenestration products with a certification program that verifies the quality of ongoing production and installation practices.

“The challenge of getting an installed blast-resistant fenestration product that meets the required performance for protection has long been a concern for designers, engineers, building owners and suppliers and installers of the fenestration products,” explained Ed Conrath, P.E. for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Protective Design Center. “AAMA, through the development of their voluntary guide specification and subsequent certification program, has established a method by which products can be certified to be installed as intended.” 

The need for blast mitigation performance standards became a reality after terrorist attacks in the United States, according to Rich Walker, AAMA president. “Many government and private agencies began mandating that structures be designed to mitigate the severity of the explosive impact of a bomb or accidental blast — but few testing procedures existed,” he continued. “AAMA answered the need for a certification program to verify continued compliance by licensing the use of its AAMA 510-06 document (Voluntary Guide Specification for Blast Hazard Mitigation for Fenestration Systems) to Architectural Testing Inc.” 
The certification program allows for both product-specific and project-specific certifications so that users can be assured that products they approve consistently meet the program requirements. According to Walker, a typical manufactured door or window can be certified for a period up to eight years, with ongoing quality control monitoring similar to that used for the AAMA Gold Label Certification Program. In the case of project-specific certification, verification is made by the program administrator at the manufacturing plant and the job site to validate the manufacturer’s certification specific to one project.
Architectural Testing Inc. (ATI), of York, Pa., has been named by AAMA as the program administrator. 
AAMA 510-06, The Voluntary Guide Specification for Blast Hazard Mitigation for Fenestration Systems, can be downloaded free from the AAMA website at http://www.aamanet.org/general.asp?sect=1&id=244. 

Solutia Inc. and NuAir Join Forces
NuAir Windows and Doors, a Florida-based door and window manufacturer, has teamed up with Saflex, a business unit of Solutia Inc. to offer code-approved hurricane protection products made with KeepSafe Maximum® interlayers. 

According to the companies, doors and windows constructed with Solutia’s KeepSafe Maximum glass provide an effective means of helping to protect homes during a hurricane. These products are certified, code-approved, and have passed Florida’s toughest building code requirements, including AAMA standards and Miami-Dade protocols, the companies said.

Building Experts Offer High-Wind Standards for Severe Weather
The Builders Hardware Manufacturers Association (BHMA) and the Steel Door Institute (SDI) have published a national severe windstorm resistance component standard, ANSI A250.13, Testing and Rating of Severe Windstorm Resistant Components for Swinging Door Assemblies.

The standard deals with a common challenge faced by builders and specifiers: constructing entryways that can withstand sustained wind speeds or gusts in the range of 110 to 150 miles per hour and wind-borne projectiles associated with severe windstorms and hurricanes. Once the exterior envelope is breached, either by wind force or debris, the fluctuation of the internal and external pressure can cause catastrophic failure of the building structure. For this reason, it is vital to maintain the integrity of the entry system.

“Standardization and independent product approval is a valid and practical way to test building products and construction methods in high-wind areas,” said Mike Tierney, standards coordinator for BHMA. “The component standards give builders and consumers reassurance that products and components are tested and certified to withstand windstorm conditions.”

KUDOS
Rohm and Haas Scientists Win Heroes of Chemistry Award
Rohm and Haas Co. of Philadelphia has announced that a team of its scientists, who developed the Aquaset™ technology, were among the winners of the 2006 American Chemical Society’s (ACS) Heroes of Chemistry Award. The Rohm and Haas scientists, one of six groups, were honored as ‘chemical innovators whose work has led to the welfare and progress of humanity.’

The Rohm and Haas scientists have demonstrated life-changing potential with the introduction of the Aquaset™ product line, a pioneering technology made without formaldehyde or formaldehyde-generating materials. The technology provides options to producers of fiberglass insulation for building and construction, appliances and other products for consumers and industry. 

Therma-Tru® Doors Selected as Provider for Pulte Homes
Therma-Tru® Doors has entered into an agreement with Pulte Homes to be Pulte Homes’ exclusive supplier of fiberglass entry doors nationwide. Therma-Tru’s fiberglass entry door systems have been selected to reinforce Pulte Homes’ commitment to building both quality homes and lifelong relationships with their customers. The agreement is effective until May 31, 2009.

Through the agreement, Pulte Homes divisions can choose from a select list of Therma-Tru’s most-preferred exterior door lines, which include Therma-Tru’s Classic-Craft® and Fiber-Classic® door systems. Pulte Homes customers will benefit from low-maintenance, Energy Star™-rated door systems that bring the rich look of natural hardwood to the front of their home. 


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