Westeck Windows and Doors

MEMBER PROFILE
Specials Department Supervisor Josh McGinnis displays oval vinyl window frame.
General Manager Neal Turner and Terry Adamson, Technical Director
...there is more interest in the
“
window and door industry now in BC
than at any time in history.
”
Westeck
Windows and Doors
Westeck manufacturers a variety of bi-fold doors. Shown is a version as 1L3R, meaning 1 left 3 right. Photo: Westeck
Homegrown innovation keeps
Chilliwack firm a leader in the
fenestration industry
By Frank O’Brien
Westeck Windows and Doors of Chilliwack
is well known for its industry
breakthroughs in product, design and
colours but it is from-the-floor
manufacturing innovations that perhaps
best explain how Westeck has remained a
BC industry leader for 14 years.
Westeck, formed in 1999 by Casey
Kerkhoff, began as a “vinyl window maker
just like everyone else,” said general
manager Neal Turner.
Two key inventions, however, soon put
Westeck onto a different and faster track.
“We developed a PVC casement window
with a solid fir interior. It is called our
Combo window and it took the market by
storm,” said Terry Adamson, Westeck’s
technical director.
Westeck then became the first BC vinyl
window manufacturer to paint vinyl frames
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in any colour the
Eighty percent of Westeck windows
client requested.
are sold into the new home market
“ose two things
propelled us into the
custom window
market.”
Westeck soon
became the go-to
manufacturer for
custom home
builders, quality
home renovations
and high-end
multiple-unit
residential
developers seeking
the right
combination of
window
performance and
colours such as black, bronze and silver,
aesthetics. Eighty percent of Westeck
remains one of Westeck’s top sellers. As
windows are sold into the new home
Turner explains, the design allows
market.
customization in that feature rooms can
e combo window, now known as the
sport all fir interiors while the entire project
PVC 4000 Combo Casement in designer
will have identical profiles on the exterior.
FENESTRATION WEST / Fall 2013
Natural-gas fueled PVC profile prep machine, designed
by Westeck founder Casey Kerkhoff, can prepare 18
lineal feet of vinyl for paint in under 15 seconds.
Innovation
Westeck encourages its 120 frontline
manufacturing staff to be innovative, and
the encouragement has paid off with at
least two breakthroughs that reduced cost
and created better products.
One example is a PVC paint preparation
machine, designed by Casey Kerkoff and
built in Westeck’s Chilliwack plant. e
natural gas-fueled machine can prepare an
18-foot length of vinyl for painting in less
than 15 seconds.
Another is a hot air bending tube
machine that replaced the use of expensive
and messy glycerin oil commonly used to
produce rounded vinyl products, such as
oval windows. e bender machine, now
used daily, was developed by a long-time
Westeck employee.
Complete manufacturer
Westeck is a complete manufacturer, not
just a fabricator. e company produces its
own sealed units, and specialty glazing.
“We cut and assemble our own sealed units
using Edgetech’s warm edge foam
SuperSpacer. Having that additional control
gives a great deal of flexibility to meet rush
unit orders or quickly create a replacement
FENESTRATION WEST / Fall 2013
if something goes wrong on the loading
dock or in the field,” Turner explained.
Because of Westeck’s ability to provide a
variety of products (vinyl, aluminum, wood
and Combo windows, as well as an
extensive line of standard and custom
wood, aluminum, steel, fiberglass and metal
clad doors, including bi-folding exterior
doors), Westeck has become a “one stop”
manufacturer for builders and
homeowners.
While primarily a supplier to the BC
market, Westeck’s windows are also shipped
across Canada and to the United States
where they are popular in heritage
renovations and higher-end single family
homes, condominium and townhouse
developments.
Westeck also offers a robust vinyl
window, based on European tilt-and-turn
technology, as a challenger to
aluminum-framed windows in the
commercial market. “We believe it will see
wider acceptance as the new Energy Codes
become enforced,” Turner said.
Meeting the Code
Like all window and door
manufacturers, Westeck is prepared for the
enforcement this December of the new
North American Fenestration Standard
known as NAFS-08 and the Canadian
Supplement, as part of the 2012 BC
Building Code.
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In-house designed and built PVC
profile heating oven reduces the
cost and mess of bending vinyl
frames into virtually any shape
Westeck manufactures a line up of bi-fold doors, popular in high-end homes.
“
Westeck custom windows are often requested for contemporary high-end custom homes. Photo: Westeck
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FENESTRATION WEST / Fall 2013
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Tested products include two
new Westeck products rolling
out this year; a PVC li-and-slide
door and a solid fir frame
window with aluminum clad
exterior.
Westeck has studied the
concept of triple-pane windows
that many believe will become
necessary in Vancouver to meet
new energy standards coming in
g.c
New products
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had a huge challenge in testing
everything to meet NAFS-08.
“We have done a lot of work and
we still have a lot of work to do,”
Adamson said.
2014. Adamson, noting that the
extra weight and cost of
triple-pane glazing may prove
restrictive, suggests that adding a
fourth surface coating to the
typical dual pane, single low-e
unit may allow manufacturers to
meet the new City of Vancouver
window standard without
necessarily going with a
triple-pane configuration.
Turner welcomes such debate.
For him it proves that “there is
more interest in the window and
door industry now in BC than at
any time in history. is is an
exciting time to be in the
industry and it is definitely
growing,” he said.
If history and innovation is
any guide, Westeck Windows &
Doors will continue to grow with
it. n
FENESTRATIONINNOVATIONEXPERTS
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“[NAFS-08] is an industry challenge, but
it is necessary,” Turner said. “I think that it
will flush out the very poor products that are
sold in the market.” He sees the new
building codes simply as another hurdle that
premier manufacturers must meet. “e
simple fact is if we didn’t have building
codes we would all have single-pane
windows in our homes and doors with
leaking sills.”
Turner praised the Fenestration
Association of BC for its work in
co-operating with code officials, inspectors
and the industry on getting the word out on
the need for higher performing products.
Westeck, due to the large variety of
window and door products that it offers, has
”
tonc
o
1999 company founded in
Chilliwack, BC
5 offices: Chilliwack, Kelowna,
Vancouver, Victoria, Nanaimo
60,000 square feet of
manufacturing space, Chilliwack
120 employees
www.lay
Westeck by numbers
... if we didn’t have
building codes we would all
have single-pane windows
in our homes and doors
with leaking sills.
FENESTRATION WEST / Fall 2013
GLAZING,CLADDING
ANDSPECIALTY
STRUCTURALENGINEERING
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