Win-Door Show Opens Next Week - Window and door makers from across Canada expected to gather in Toronto

Canadian window and door manufacturers, and at least a few from south of the border, will make their way to Toronto next week for Win-Door North America. The annual trade show sponsored by the Canadian Window & Door Manufacturers Association opens next Tuesday at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.

Last year’s event attracted over 3,600 attendees, an increase from 2006. With the relative strength of the Canadian market, at least compared to the U.S., exhibitors are optimistic for next week’s show too.

“WTS Paradigm has been doing this show for a number of years, which has been very successful for us,” states Nathan Herbst, president of the software supplier. “This year we expect to see both manufacturers and dealers of commercial and residential products visit our booth from the U.S. and Canada. We also have a healthy mix of existing customers and new prospects that we talk to at this show.” In addition to our manufacturing systems, WTS plans to showcase enhanced sales functionality in its product line for both dealers and manufacturers.

“The Toronto Win-Door show is always a good show for us,” states Volker Lamprecht, president and COO of Urban Machinery. “We expect a good turnout of Canadian window and door fabricators. Normally the show draws a solid US audience,” he continues. “However, with the current state of our industry in the US, I do not expect that many US fabricators will be attending.” Urban plans to focus on smaller machines at this year’s event, showing several saws, a single-head CNC corner cleaner, and a two-point welder. Its Cambridge plant is only an hour away from the show hall, Lamprecht adds, and it will also take some customers to see high-volume machines there.

“Truth Hardware is excited about the opportunity to showcase our products to the Canadian market,” says the company’s Matt Kottke. “With the housing industry in Canada not having experienced as much of the same economic woes as those in the states, our customers have had a good year.” His company is showing a variety of new products, including TwinLatch tilt latches, the Nexus Mortise Locks for patio doors, and a wide arrange of new handle/cover styles for casement and awning operators. “We’re hoping that Win-Door will follow a similar path with strong attendance from the manufacturers in the window and door market wanting to come and see the new products we have to offer that will help them continue seeing positive results in 2009.”

Although Win-Door generally draws numerous exhibitors from the U.S. and beyond, it traditionally serves as a showcase for Canadian suppliers, who take some of the largest spaces. The show also draws a broad mix of window and door product and component suppliers, ranging from vinyl extruders to door slab suppliers. An up-to-date list of exhibitors can be found on the Win-Door Web site.

EXPANDED EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM
For 2008, the CWDMA education committee and the Win-Door Show committee have been working hard to bring new ideas to the event. A new “Education Pavilion” is being created on the show floor this year, with seminars to be held throughout the day during show hours. Seminars include the following:

The Energy Star Program—An update on the ratings program, information on compliance and benefits to participating manufacturers will be addressed by a group of speakers including Jeff Baker, CWDMA technical consultant; Steve Hopwood of Canada’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Phil Lewin of Vinyl Window Designs.

R&D Efforts—Lynda Sturgeoff, the research and technology manager for the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency, and her colleagues Richard Lee and Gary Grieco will offer a one-hour seminar designed to de-mystify the grants available for research and assist interested parties on how to apply and what is covered by the grants

Self Management—Bob McHardy of SelfManagement Group will explore key competencies of successful people, including elements of performance; coaching vs. coaxing; accountability and responsibility and how to coach for both; how to coach for self commitment and how to get people to do what you are paying them to do.

Also in the Education Pavillion, on Wednesday, November 12th at 9 a.m. will be the CWDMA 2008 Fall Meeting. That event will feature reports from the organization’s active committees. On Thursday, November 13 at 9 a.m., Win-Door will feature John Johnson, chief economist for the Royal Bank of Canada, who will offer his overview on the economic climate and a look at the coming year.

Also on the Win-Door floor will be Presentation Theatre, an area designed for exhibitors to demonstrate products and services for show attendees. Finally, CWDMA also plans to continue its efforts to support window and balcony safety at Win-Door. Emergency management service crews will again be on hand for the show’s popular putting contest. Such fundraising efforts have helped CWDMA develop window and balcony safety educational booths now in use in 12 regions of Canada.

Show hours this year run from 5 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, November 11; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday, November 12 and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 13. More information on the event is available at