Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
[00:00:09] Speaker B: Welcome to the Clear Impact Podcast brought to you by Mitre Brands University. Thanks for joining us today. My name is Sheri Conner and I am your host.
[00:00:24] Speaker A: Welcome to the Clear Impact Podcast. We are recording today at the Foss Waterway Seaport on Dock street in Tacoma. We are live at this amazing venue with all these boats and glass and fancy windows and doors that is launching. So we're here to talk about the C700 event and Anthony Scales.
[00:00:43] Speaker C: C700 hype man.
[00:00:45] Speaker A: C700 hype man. Self appointment has brought over these two or somebody may have nominated him for it.
[00:00:53] Speaker C: I nominated myself.
[00:00:54] Speaker A: There you go. Somebody gets to do that. So Anthony did that and brought these two lovely people over. So I'll let you guys introduce yourselves.
[00:01:01] Speaker D: Yeah, I'm Nathan Bose and this is my wife Heidi.
[00:01:04] Speaker E: Hello.
[00:01:04] Speaker A: Hi, Heidi. Hi, Nathan.
[00:01:06] Speaker D: Hi.
[00:01:06] Speaker A: So tell me about your business.
[00:01:08] Speaker D: We own Hillsview Building windows and doors down in Portland.
[00:01:11] Speaker A: In Portland, Oregon. Okay.
[00:01:12] Speaker F: Yeah.
[00:01:13] Speaker A: And how long have you been connected to Milgard?
[00:01:15] Speaker D: Well, for the last seven years I've been running the business and then my father in law actually had it before that for probably 15, 15 years or so.
[00:01:25] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:01:25] Speaker D: So yeah, we've been in the Milgard family for a while.
[00:01:28] Speaker A: So Heidi, you grew up in the business?
[00:01:29] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:01:30] Speaker A: If your parents had it. Okay. So that's why you're now only involved this much.
[00:01:33] Speaker G: Because I'm co owner of Hillsview Building, so I get to do all the billing.
[00:01:38] Speaker A: Somebody has to do that.
[00:01:39] Speaker G: Someone has to do it.
[00:01:40] Speaker A: That's an important part of the business.
So I presume that you are currently selling the C650.
[00:01:47] Speaker H: Yeah.
[00:01:47] Speaker A: And how's that been going for you?
[00:01:49] Speaker D: It's been great. We've only had great experiences with it. It is a little long in the tooth from a design perspective. So we're super excited about the functionality and the design of the new product and first impressions today were great.
[00:02:01] Speaker A: Yeah. What was the thing that was most surprising to you of all that you saw?
[00:02:06] Speaker G: I would say the size of the picture window for sure. I walked in was like, wow, that's a stunning window. The size of. It's awesome.
[00:02:13] Speaker A: I know. Six by ten, right?
[00:02:15] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:02:15] Speaker E: Yep.
[00:02:16] Speaker G: And all the clean lines and. Oh, they're beautiful.
[00:02:19] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
[00:02:20] Speaker D: A little backstory. Anthony knows this, but we're getting ready to build our own personal house here coming up in a couple months and so I thought it would be great to bring Heidi here and get a sneak peek because we had previously thinking that we were going to go a vinyl direction, but I knew if she saw stuff tonight that we'd probably end up with fiberglass.
[00:02:36] Speaker G: So that is what we're doing.
[00:02:37] Speaker D: Yes.
[00:02:38] Speaker A: Nice.
[00:02:39] Speaker C: Pilot order, special deal.
[00:02:40] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:02:41] Speaker A: Awesome. How do you see this helping your business?
[00:02:43] Speaker D: We do a lot of project work and so there's some limitations at times with projects because of size and design and everything that the specs and the way it was engineered is going to open up us to get into projects that we wouldn't have previously been able to. So pretty excited by that.
[00:02:58] Speaker A: Nice. That's awesome. And so you're mostly custom builds or like, what is your focus?
[00:03:05] Speaker D: We do a lot of customs and a lot of multifamily.
[00:03:08] Speaker A: Okay, awesome.
[00:03:10] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:03:11] Speaker A: I know. This will have some commercial applications as well, right?
[00:03:14] Speaker D: Yeah. So a lot of the three, four story buildings, because of design pressure limitations, we couldn't compete as well with the 650 line.
So now with the changes made on this, it'll be all on us now. Not because of Milgard not meeting specs.
[00:03:29] Speaker A: Nice. And so were you part of the feedback that they talked about tonight? Where a lot of the improvements and a lot of the design came from the customer base? Were you part of those conversations?
[00:03:41] Speaker D: Maybe not formally, but over the years with sales reps and bringing projects, talking about projects, trying to figure out ways to get around certain things. I would say Anthony and my reps, they know our feedback and they've been aware of our feedback, so.
[00:03:55] Speaker C: And roundtables, you can put in leadership every year and talk about this. So, yeah, things that we need.
[00:03:59] Speaker A: So, Anthony, as the C700 hype man, what is your feeling about tonight's event
[00:04:06] Speaker C: other than actually feeling cold?
I would say that emotionally this is hitting all the marks that we were looking for. It did start off as a tuxedo kind of, you know, black tie affair, but we know where we're at. We're in the Pacific Northwest, we're on the West Coast. It's a little more informal, but we still wanted to present this window as a luxury product and we wanted to produce an environment that was luxury. So a cool venue, dressing up for fun, you know, good food, good drinks, showing off the product, elevating only inviting leadership from the locations. Reps will come later, but right now it's ownership and management only to kind of show this is a very high level. We've never done anything like this before, so this is really cool.
[00:04:46] Speaker A: Yeah. Oh, it's impressive.
[00:04:48] Speaker D: It is.
[00:04:48] Speaker G: Yeah.
[00:04:48] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:04:49] Speaker A: Awesome.
[00:04:49] Speaker D: Yeah. It's not something I would expect from the trades like this. This feels very fancy.
[00:04:54] Speaker C: Yeah. I love that check.
[00:04:56] Speaker E: Yes.
[00:04:56] Speaker D: Well done.
[00:04:57] Speaker A: Well, we're fancy every now and then.
[00:04:59] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:04:59] Speaker A: You know, we can get down and dirty just like everybody else. Right.
[00:05:02] Speaker C: But they will experience that. They'll be experiencing the E. ETP trip next week, so they will understand. They mitered down and dirty, so.
[00:05:08] Speaker A: Oh yeah. Well, I will let you guys get back to the party. I know they were passing out some desserts, but I appreciate your time. Tell me again the name of the business.
[00:05:16] Speaker D: Hillsview Building.
[00:05:17] Speaker A: Hillsview Building. And you are in Portland. Okay, awesome. Well, thanks for making the trip up and hanging out, chatting.
Look forward to seeing you next time.
[00:05:26] Speaker E: Great.
[00:05:27] Speaker G: All right, thanks guys.
[00:05:28] Speaker A: All right, so we are at the Tacoma pre launch event. We were standing in line for a beverage and you and I struck up a conversation.
[00:05:40] Speaker E: And then I think I remember that you cut in line.
[00:05:44] Speaker A: I think you said, please get in front of me.
[00:05:48] Speaker E: However it went down, it was a perfect introduction. It worked out great.
[00:05:51] Speaker A: It was. And then I said, I'm with Mitre Brands University. And you were like, oh, I need to talk to you. So if I recall, you have someone starting on your team in a couple weeks.
[00:06:00] Speaker E: Correct.
[00:06:01] Speaker A: They need some education and so I can show you how to get in there. And you have my card. And so anyway, thanks for sitting down to chat with me. Tell me a little bit about you and your business and how you happen to be here tonight.
[00:06:13] Speaker E: Well, we're just a small family owned business. Just me, my two sons, one of my best friends and another kid. But we're trying to grow. Last year we did great with the fiberglass product with the C650 Ultra. And I love it. Super easy to install. It's a beautiful luxury product.
But there was a couple things that I thought we could improve on.
So one of the first, actually the first no guard event I went to was Prescott Valley dealer roundtable about six weeks ago. They invited me up there. So that was eye opening, just being able to meet other dealers, being able to sit there with the Milgard management, great people. But that really was heartwarming for me to know that my little tiny company, my voice was heard. We talked about some of the things that we see that are issues that are kind of repetitive, but they're very small issues. But they're a big deal to some of the clients.
Like the hardware on the Altra doors, the French doors, I brought that up. That was a little sticking point there, but that's a little issue. But in the long run. Little did I know that you were going to be releasing new hardware for this product.
So that came up and I was there talking with Joe and Steve and Mike was there as well. And they knew all this was happening behind the scenes. So it's really cool to see it all come into fruition and that you guys already know this is something that you want to improve, put out a better quality product. And it's a great product to begin with. But the more we improve, the better we're going to be. Because I am selling this as the luxury window that Milgard offers.
[00:07:39] Speaker A: Right.
[00:07:40] Speaker E: And all facets of it need to be luxury, especially on a replacement project. When homeowners are a little bit older, they're retiring, this is the last hurrah. Putting a bunch of money into their house and they need the hardware to be smoother. They want the windows to be easier to operate as they're getting older, the doors easier to operate. So I really like the improvements that we've made on this and we're going to sell a lot of it this year.
[00:08:02] Speaker A: That's amazing. And so tell me the name of your company.
[00:08:05] Speaker E: Weston Windows and Doors.
[00:08:07] Speaker A: Okay. And where are you located?
[00:08:08] Speaker E: We are in Phoenix, Arizona.
[00:08:09] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:08:10] Speaker E: We serve all of Arizona, but Phoenix is huge. So we're kind of like in the hub. It doesn't matter where we go in the metropolitan area. It's an hour drive.
[00:08:18] Speaker C: Okay.
[00:08:19] Speaker A: Right.
[00:08:19] Speaker E: Yeah, right in the center.
[00:08:20] Speaker A: Yeah. I lived in Phoenix for a short time and it was many, many years ago, but it was an hour to get from one side of Phoenix to the other.
[00:08:26] Speaker E: So yeah, now it's an hour and a half.
[00:08:29] Speaker A: Right. And so are you predominantly retro or do you do new construction or a little both?
[00:08:34] Speaker E: Probably 70% new construction as far as dollars.
[00:08:38] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:08:38] Speaker E: And 30% retrofit. Retrofit takes a little bit longer.
[00:08:41] Speaker A: Sure.
[00:08:42] Speaker E: And so time wise, investment wise, it's just different. But I really love where we're at. We've never done any marketing or advertising. It's all referral based.
[00:08:50] Speaker A: Oh, nice.
[00:08:51] Speaker E: But that's changing this year. So with this revitalized relationship with Milgard and Mi. Robert Watkins, Sandy Penney. So they're doing a great job trying to help me take advantage of all of the offerings that Milgard has.
[00:09:06] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:09:06] Speaker E: With the marketing dollars that are available.
[00:09:08] Speaker A: Sure.
[00:09:08] Speaker E: For me to use, to be able to spend on advertising products or showroom products. That's fantastic. So we're gonna use that for the first time this year.
[00:09:17] Speaker B: We are sharing our expertise around all topics relating to the window and door industry. Whether you are a customer selling our products or a Homeowner doing research. The Clear Impact podcast provides helpful content that makes an impact. Subscribe today wherever you listen to podcasts.
[00:09:34] Speaker A: Excellent. Well, it's good to have the mindset of, hey, there's opportunity. Hey, I have a great business partner. Why not? If you have family in the business, obviously you want your sons to prosper and do well, and maybe you get to retire and they just do it.
[00:09:48] Speaker E: All right, that'd be nice.
[00:09:49] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:09:50] Speaker E: I'm thinking this is. That's actually why I started this business was I wanted something to give to my voice. More than that, I wanted to do something with them. So having four sons and building a little business that they can join me in and my two oldest have. We'll see what happens with the two younger ones. They're a little bit smarter. I don't mean that as a slight, but they're thinking about, you know, doing some other things, engineering, and we'll see what happens. But I kind of have a feeling they're going to come work for me anyways.
[00:10:14] Speaker A: Yeah, well, engineering is a big part of what happens in building. Right. You have to be able to think like that whether or not you're doing CAD drawings full time or whether you're just helping people solve problems. That engineering mindset is really vital in those kinds of spaces.
[00:10:30] Speaker E: Agreed.
[00:10:31] Speaker A: And so what was your impression tonight?
[00:10:34] Speaker E: This is all new to me. Fantastic. I love the product launch. Watching the video, the hype, the excitement behind it, and seeing how being able to talk to the developers, the engineers behind this that have been working on it for three years, trying to get this ready for this night, for this moment is very cool. You can see they're dedicated to making this product work, making something that they're proud of. That's going to change the industry. That's exciting to see.
[00:11:02] Speaker A: So when you were in Prescott Valley, did you tour any of the manufacturing facilities?
[00:11:06] Speaker E: We did, yeah.
[00:11:07] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:11:08] Speaker E: Toured the MI plant there, the Milgard plant.
[00:11:10] Speaker A: So you'll be really excited to see tomorrow.
[00:11:12] Speaker E: Yes.
[00:11:12] Speaker A: I haven't been over there yet. I heard it's really amazing. I'll see it tomorrow with everybody else.
[00:11:16] Speaker E: So, brand new facility, state of the art production line.
[00:11:19] Speaker A: Yep.
[00:11:19] Speaker E: It's going to be amazing.
[00:11:20] Speaker A: Some of the machinery, so like the Joseph machines, which are basically a CNC machine, an average Joseph has like 22 different functions in that machine. These have over 30.
[00:11:32] Speaker E: Wow.
[00:11:33] Speaker A: So they actually went back to our vendor and said, this is what we need from you. And so not only is it revolutionary to downstream, but it's revolutionary upstream. It's a massive effort for a lot of people to be able to produce something like this in a fully automated line.
[00:11:50] Speaker E: Yeah, that's beautiful.
[00:11:52] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:11:52] Speaker E: What an investment. Oh, right. And time, energy, manpower, resources. I mean, the machinery.
[00:11:58] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:11:58] Speaker E: So thank you.
[00:11:59] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:11:59] Speaker E: Yeah. Thank you for doing that.
[00:12:00] Speaker A: Yeah. Miter Brands really believes in being the best and not having a product that is outdated. And you know, the C650, they said it's been around for like 30 years, so obviously styles have changed and it's time for a refresh. So pretty exciting stuff.
[00:12:15] Speaker E: Yeah, super exciting.
[00:12:16] Speaker A: Awesome. Well, I really appreciate your time. Thanks for sitting down with me.
[00:12:19] Speaker E: Thanks, Sherry.
[00:12:20] Speaker A: All right, have a good night.
[00:12:21] Speaker E: You too.
[00:12:21] Speaker A: Okay, so we're here on the Clear Impact podcast and we are recording at the Tacoma C700 pre launch event. Seen some videos and we've heard from some of the people behind the scenes and we've seen the product now. And so Todd had an assignment. So bring me somebody to come and talk about the C700. And so I will let you introduce yourself. And here you are. Thank you, Todd.
[00:12:46] Speaker H: So Todd Ward, director of sales in Sacramento. Been with the company for 23 years. Coming up in about two weeks.
[00:12:53] Speaker A: Wow.
[00:12:53] Speaker H: So getting ready to celebrate an anniversary.
[00:12:55] Speaker A: That's amazing.
[00:12:56] Speaker H: It's been great.
[00:12:57] Speaker A: Always in the sales function.
[00:12:59] Speaker H: So as a sales rep for 15 or so years and then moved into leadership on the sales side and then in the last five years been a director on the sales side.
[00:13:10] Speaker A: So tell us a little bit about you and your company.
[00:13:13] Speaker F: Excellent. So we're Southgate Glass. We're out of Sacramento, California.
[00:13:16] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:13:17] Speaker F: We're a family owned business, 65 years.
[00:13:20] Speaker C: Wow.
[00:13:21] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:13:21] Speaker F: Yeah. So we started off with a father to son kind of concept. Never been closed, never been under new management, so to speak. And so I've been there for 22 years myself for all the right reasons. And we've been a proud seller of no guard windows and doors that whole time.
[00:13:36] Speaker A: That's amazing. Awesome. And so I want to hear a little bit about your current business and experience with the C650 and then what your impressions are of the C700.
[00:13:46] Speaker F: I've been doing ultra for, well, 20 plus years and walking through here tonight and looking at the changes in the finish of the product, the new locking systems, the new smart touch lock being added to that is everything. But it's better. It's hard to describe it. There's a professional, clean, contemporary look to that product now that wasn't there before.
[00:14:07] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:14:08] Speaker F: And that's what I'm seeing.
[00:14:09] Speaker A: Now, yeah, sexy was the word earlier.
[00:14:11] Speaker F: It is sexy. It's very sexy.
[00:14:14] Speaker A: You know, that'll sell windows.
[00:14:16] Speaker F: Yeah, it will, it will. But it's a big difference. It really is because we're used to those oversized frames, those frames that cause blinds and shutters to go away because you can couldn't install them on a retrofit or in a replacement market at all. And then so looking at tonight, the cleanliness of the frames, the smooth joinery is night and day. It really is the ease of the operation of the large units. That oversized awning in there is mind blowing. Actually, from what I've seen in this business, this is one of the best windows I've ever seen. There really is.
[00:14:46] Speaker A: Wow, that's amazing. How do you see this impacting your business?
[00:14:50] Speaker F: Thinking about it, for the discerning consumer, for somebody where they're not necessarily shopping because of price, they don't want a vinyl window. They want quality product in their home. It's a upper level home and this is gonna be the perfect fit for them. That's what I think. I would be very proud to put this product in the home right now. Just looking at it tonight, in difference to what The Ultra, the C650 was, is night and day. It really is. I was kind of blown away by it actually, by looking at it and saying this is. I'm ready to go back to sales myself, to step out and go out into the market myself and be in person sales, you know, instead of overseeing sales. Because this is something very special. I think it's going to take the market. I think it's going to put a, an impact in the market. I think our competitors are going to stand up and go, what the heck's going on over at no guard. I think that's the next move. I've already got other manufacturers asking, you know, to see this product. They're asking when am I getting my samples, when am I getting my displays? They're asking what's going on. I want to see this product. I want to know what the heck we're up against. So that's what we're seeing.
[00:15:50] Speaker A: They're going to be three years behind.
[00:15:51] Speaker F: Yeah, they're going to have to catch up. Yeah, they really are. The work and the engineering and the thought process to getting to here is pretty phenomenal. I've always been impressed. We were talking about it earlier at dinner about the engineering process, the brains that go into developing product like this, that develop the machinery and the capability to develop a product like this. The thought Process is absolutely amazing. And so that's going to show up in the market. As my guys go out in the field, they're going to be able to take this product and say this is what you want in your home. This is worth spending the dollars on, this is worth putting in your home. We're going to see that for sure.
[00:16:25] Speaker A: Well, and a lot of times people are more interested in fancy cabinets or countertops. But when you pay for the view, you want something that's not going to take away from that. And having those larger expanses is really going to capitalize on what they've already invested in. They didn't pick that lot or that house because it had a terrible view mostly. Right. They've picked something that they want to relax and enjoy and take pleasure in what they already have. And so you're just nudging it up a notch. Todd, what are your thoughts?
[00:16:56] Speaker H: So everything these guys have said, spot on, right? Being around for 20 plus years, you know, you go talk to multiple dealers every year and you ask what, what can be better? What's the deficiency? How do I compete against the Andersons and the Marvins of the world? And you'll get a list. And so you look at this product very confidently. I will tell you, you just check, check, check. Everything's been addressed. And I've seen a handful of launches in my 23 years. This is by far the product that's been most ready to go to market. The timeline may be a little, you know, we've got doors that are coming a little bit later, but everything that you see tonight, it's ready to go, it's ready to be sold. And I have a couple peeves personally that I wanted to see done. So one thing that didn't get talked about, I bet was the corner joinery. That's an incredible enhancement of the products of what we have today. This new product. If you go look, there's not one corner in there that is even remotely out of square. There's no touch up paint. There's just perfect, perfect lines. And what we're going to see tomorrow, not to. You can't see what I'm talking about.
[00:18:02] Speaker A: Right.
[00:18:03] Speaker H: Obviously. But what these guys are going to see tomorrow is the machinery that we've invested in takes all people, physicalness, I guess, for lack of a better word out of it.
[00:18:12] Speaker A: Right.
[00:18:12] Speaker H: It creates a perfect corner. And then all the other things they talked about, of course, the color options, the paint, the oversizes, the fit and finish. As Larry mentioned, the depth of the frame, that's a big deal in the fiberglass world. The depth of the frame. Right. So we've addressed that. Less frame, more glass. It's been a thing since Trinsic. Right. That's not gone away. And we're from California, so that's still a major thing in California.
So back to my original statement. Go down the list. Check, check, check. Everything's checked off. Right. Even the packaging that hasn't been talked about. And they're going to see it tomorrow. We didn't even talk about that tonight. The enhancements on the packaging. Better. Everything's just better. So I'm excited.
[00:18:49] Speaker A: So Anthony Scales declared himself as the C700 height man. I wonder if he knows he's got some competition here.
[00:18:56] Speaker H: Well, let's just be clear who the big dog is on the west in Sacramento.
[00:18:59] Speaker A: Okay, okay.
[00:19:01] Speaker H: In all seriousness, we sell a lot of fiberglass. We're the highest producing fiberglass location. So I have a lot of exposure to it.
[00:19:07] Speaker A: Right.
[00:19:07] Speaker H: And we are dealing with a lot of the same issues over and over again. It gets old.
[00:19:12] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:19:12] Speaker H: Right. So when this first started and Anthony was fallen told that he was going to be on this project, he said it very nicely on stage that he volunteered for it.
[00:19:21] Speaker F: Okay, whatever.
[00:19:22] Speaker H: From a sales perspective, I knew I had a guy in the room that knows some of the things that we need to address.
[00:19:27] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:19:27] Speaker H: That's not to poo poo the engineers and everybody, because I think Jason and his team have done a phenomenal job. But you got to have a sales perspective of it. And when you address everything that I know is going to move the needle from a sales perspective, from a financial perspective, I know it's going to to move the needle.
[00:19:42] Speaker A: Sure.
[00:19:42] Speaker H: I can't be but excited. I cannot wait.
[00:19:45] Speaker A: That's awesome. All right, well, this is fun. I can't wait for the tour tomorrow to see the plan. I've been in conversation with some of the production leadership today. We recorded some episodes earlier and so I've been hearing all about the corner keys and all of that, so I'm excited to take a look for myself. So anyway, gentlemen, thank you so much for taking time to chat with me and we'll let you get back at it.
[00:20:06] Speaker H: Thank you.
[00:20:06] Speaker A: All right, take care.
[00:20:09] Speaker B: The Clear Impact podcast is brought to you by Mitre Brands University.
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