HOUSTON-Crestline Windows & Doors is closing its plant in Leon, Iowa, and consolidating its vinyl and wood window production in a single, 660,000-square-foot plant in Mosinee, Wis., the company announced at the NAHB Builders' Show. Crestline, like several other wood window companies, has diversified into vinyl windows in recent years. The Wausau, Wis., firm began offering vinyl windows in 1993, introducing at that year's Builders' Show a wood window clad with vinyl on the outside. At last year's show, Crestline kicked off its VinylCrest all-vinyl window.
The company converted its Leon wood window plant to fabrication of both wood and vinyl. But demand for vinyl windows was double Crestline's original forecast, said Dominic Truniger, brand marketing manager.
``We found we couldn't keep up'' in Leon, he said during an interview at the Houston show, held Jan. 27-30.
About 70 people will be laid off in Leon, he said. About 1,000 work at the Mosinee factory during peak production.
Crestline is a division of SNE Enterprises, a subsidiary of Ply Gem Industries Inc. of New York.
The consolidation will boost efficiency, according to Hans Vetter, national sales manager of SNE Enterprises.
``Putting everything under one roof means we eliminate a tremendous number of truck transfers that were required to move subassemblies between Iowa and Wisconsin,'' he said.
Crestline is equipping the plant, which was built in 1991, with automated PVC window machinery. The plant is set up for cellular manufacturing.
Crestline fabricates its vinyl windows from extruded profiles it buys from Royal Plastics Group Ltd. of Weston, Ontario.
In Houston, Crestline showed its new CrestWood sliding patio door, with a wood interior and vinyl exterior.
