March2005

Volume 6 Issue 2 March 2005

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Mum’s the Word
by Tara Taffera

Everyone knows how hard it is to keep a secret. It’s so tempting. You tell yourself, “I’ll just tell this one person—just to get it out of my system.”

I know this is going to sound like bragging, but I am known to my friends as one of the best secret keeper’s around. They are amazed at the stuff I’ve kept quiet for several months, such as impending births, including my own children. But even though I’m good at it doesn’t mean it’s easy. I’m telling you all this because I’m tempted to spill some secrets regarding Cardinal IG—but I won’t. Off the record is off the record. (I believe Cardinal executives collectively just let out a sigh of relief).

The company opened up a new IG plant in Roanoke and allowed DWM to get the grand tour. The article, which will appear in a future issue, tells of the company’s pursuit of quality and its quest to eliminate even the slightest imperfections. At one point in the tour, I started scribbling furiously in my notebook. I witnessed something that was extremely innovative so I asked plant manager Steve Beckwith about it. “You can see how we wouldn’t want anyone to know about that,” he said. I stopped writing. Another secret to keep. Even though I can’t spread the word, it’s nice to know that companies are still striving to be innovative, to improve their processes so they may have another edge on the competition.

I noticed something else at Cardinal that struck me (this one’s not a secret), though I wasn’t sure how innovative it was. To me, it seemed like a practice all companies would employ.

But, after asking a few people, I found it’s not as common as I thought.

First, let me give you a little background, our company owns the domain name glass.com, and homeowners frequently log on to our site to ask a variety of warranty-related questions. I’m always surprised about how many homeowners say they don’t know when the window was built, etc.

At Cardinal, Beckwith told me, “If I don’t see our name on the window it’s not our glass.” The company etches a variety of basic information right on the glass to save the homeowner a step.

I’ve visited window manufacturing plants that have similar systems, so I decided to do a little more digging. I talked to DWM columnist Jim Plavecksy who confirmed that this is not as common as one would think.

“The practices that you speak of are certainly desirable and consistent with the more progressive window manufacturers but I would not say that it is commonplace,” said Plavecksy. “I would say that it is a new trend and a very desirable one for homeowners.”

A future issue of DWM will include an extensive article on warranties. If you are a window manufacturer who would like to be interviewed for this article, please contact me.

And if you have news to spill you know where to find me. I promise, I won’t tell, unless, of course, you want me to.