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The evolution of Allsco Building Products Ltd. has followed the evolution of building and construction materials in general. The company was founded in 1975 as a manufacturer of windows and doors made...
The evolution of Allsco Building Products Ltd. has followed the evolution of building and construction materials in general. The company was founded in 1975 as a manufacturer of windows and doors made of aluminum, an origin that is still evident in its name. At the time aluminum was considered the material of the future because of its durability and maintenance-free features, but soon vinyl siding was introduced and widely accepted in the market. Allsco began to distribute vinyl siding and, around the mid-80s began to exclusively manufacture Homeguard vinyl doors and windows.
“Atlantic Canada is the vinyl capital of Canada,” says president Gordon Lahanky. “Vinyl dominates here over all other building materials on a per capita basis.” Lahanky notes that vinyl’s resistance to moisture, design flexibility, good insulating properties and cost competitiveness make it ideal for Atlantic Canada.
Today Allsco is the largest independent distributor of vinyl siding in Eastern Canada. The siding is manufactured by Woodbridge, Ont.-based Royal Group Technologies Ltd. and sold under Royal Group’s Heritage Line trademark. Royal also supplies the company with custom extruded profiles, which are then cut and assembled into the Homeguard line of windows and doors at Allsco’s plant in Moncton, N.B. Lahanky says Allsco’s partnership with Royal Group can be traced to the roots of both companies and the close business relationship between his father, Don and Royal’s president and CEO, Vic De Zen. In developing a new window or door system, Allsco and Royal essentially partner, Lahanky reports. Allsco will usually provide the basic design premise for the product, while Royal furnishes technical support leading to the development of tooling.
Vinyl windows have grown to be the cornerstone of the business. The bulk of Allsco’s sales are to contractors installing windows in both home renovation and new home construction projects in Atlantic Canada, although the company maintains an export branch in Maine and has shipped product to customers as far away as Japan and South America.
Allsco’s window line consists of casement, awning, slider, double and single hung, and other designs. The windows incorporate standard features such as multiple weatherstripping, double-pane sealed insulation and 3/4 in. glazing, and fusion welded frames and sashes.
The key to Allsco’s success in the window and door market has been innovation and its ability to meet the expectations of customers, which include both contractors and home-owners, notes Lahanky. Windows are designed to be easy to install and minimize time-demand on contractors. The Energy-Plus Advantage window system comes with low emissivity glass that has a metallic coating which reflects energy into the interior of a building in the winter and outside in the summer. Accessories, such exterior brickmold trim, improve window appearance and reduce maintenance time and costs. The company has also pioneered a vinyl door jamb which now accounts for approximately 75 percent of its door business volume. The vinyl door jamb consists of a vinyl frame reinforced with steel and provides substantially improved security compared with wood.
Rising resin costs forced Allsco last year to issue its first price increase in nearly five years. Lahanky is now concerned about the possible effect an expected increase in the cost of glass will have on the pricing structure in the window industry.
“We’ve looked at extruding vinyl but that’s a big jump,” says Lahanky. “If you can’t run 24/7 it’s hard to justify.” He says the company remains committed to research and development and being a pioneer in vinyl building products.