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: Good afternoon. We are here on the Clear Impact Podcast and we are recording from the Fife Golfing the facility, the Evergreen Golf Place. I guess it's an indoor virtual golf thing, which is kind of cool. I'm glad it's indoors. I was a little nervous when I first heard.
[00:00:40] Speaker C: A lot of people were nervous, especially the ones from Florida and California.
[00:00:44] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. We're wimpy. And so we've been wrangling some people to come over. And so we have Lee and Ty who have joined me. So thank you.
[00:00:51] Speaker D: Welcome.
[00:00:52] Speaker A: So I'll let you guys introduce yourselves and you can tell us what you do and why you're here.
[00:00:56] Speaker D: My name's Lee Brohel. I own Discount Windows. We have a store in Portland, Oregon, and in Junction City, Oregon, which is down by Eugene. We have been open for 21 years, and we've been using Milgard for almost 20 now.
[00:01:09] Speaker A: Okay, awesome. And so is your primary market R and R or new construction or a mix?
[00:01:15] Speaker D: Our primary market is a mix of everything. I literally have people that come in and say, I want a window for a chicken coop To I want 400 windows for an apartment. So it's really wide scale of what we do.
[00:01:27] Speaker A: Wow. Yeah, that. Windows in a chicken coop. I didn't think about that.
[00:01:30] Speaker D: Well, a big part of our business when we started this business 20 years ago is we used to get the overruns from Milgard, Ply Gem, all these companies, and that was our main business. Well, over the years, we've transitioned into more of a retail business. So people still. That's Discount Windows. So everybody thinks, oh, discount windows. But we've changed our model over the last 20 years, so now we're probably more 80% retail and doing new stuff. And. And then I still get that overstock. I still get those people that come out for the shed or the, you know, think they're gonna come buy a $30 window, but not as many as we used to.
[00:02:02] Speaker A: Okay. All right.
[00:02:03] Speaker C: And Ty, I'll introduce myself. So I've been with Milgard for over 11 years.
[00:02:08] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:02:08] Speaker C: I started down in the Portland territory working in outside sales, and then senior rep role and position came open for the Tacoma sales leader. And, you know, it's two and a half hours away from Portland, and I knew the sales team up in Tacoma and a lot of the people inside the building, and so naturally, it was the next move. I wanted to make in my career, and I haven't looked back once since I've done it. It's been a lot of fun. And having support, too, from our leadership team has also helped in that transition as well. I'm very well supported and loved in my position, so I'm happy where I'm at. But I do miss my Portland customers like Lee sitting next to me. But being at these events is great because I get to see the customers that, you know, I used to see regularly when I was in Portland.
[00:02:54] Speaker A: Right. And so this is obviously the backyard of Milgard Manufacturing. And so you have probably a lot of legacy customers in this space that can be challenging.
[00:03:04] Speaker C: Well, they bring a different style. And because it is the legacy and they expect more from us, and I appreciate that they should expect more from us, and we should always be challenging ourselves every day to provide the best for them.
[00:03:16] Speaker A: Right.
[00:03:17] Speaker C: A lot of our customers in this market actually worked at Milgard.
[00:03:21] Speaker A: Oh, okay.
[00:03:22] Speaker C: So a lot of them were on the outside sales team at one point. We call it the Wall of fame. If you go in our vinyl manufacturing building, there's a bunch of framed photos of all of the legends of the sales reps who won the president's club competition every year. And a lot of those photos have our dealers in them.
[00:03:41] Speaker A: Oh, okay.
[00:03:42] Speaker C: So it's great because they know when I come to them as a sales leader saying, I need more business from you. They know that because they once were on the sales team at Milgard and they respect me coming to them and asking them for more business.
[00:03:54] Speaker A: That's awesome.
[00:03:54] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:03:55] Speaker A: But obviously we were here for the C700 pre launch. So, Lee, you've been selling the 650?
[00:04:01] Speaker D: Yes, ma'.
[00:04:01] Speaker A: Am. So I would just love to know your impressions of last night and today.
[00:04:07] Speaker D: Last night was a fabulous show. I mean, they did an amazing job.
And I talked with Matt and Mike both, and I told them this C700 window can go from west to east and sell no problem. I know it's going to start out here, but for sure, it's just a great window. It's got it. The slimness still. It's still got a little of that transit look, you know, that people like. But the thing that's going to sell that window is the sizing. I think. I think the bigger sizes you can do, I mean, get a 540 awning now, like, nobody can do that. And it's going to sell itself. Absolutely.
[00:04:36] Speaker A: Yeah. That was my impression as well. What were your thoughts about the factory tour this Morning.
[00:04:40] Speaker D: Getting less people, more machines.
Yeah. I mean, that's great, but I think if it builds how they say it's gonna. It's hard to believe without seeing it, but it's gonna be amazing how it's gonna get done.
[00:04:50] Speaker A: Yeah. The automation piece and being able to track, you know, what's happening, the RFID system and not having to go back and reorder, if there is an issue, they can just go scan it and just do another one. That was impressive to me. What. What were your thoughts, Ty?
[00:05:05] Speaker C: So I just have to highlight something Lee said, and this is absolutely what I thought about this window when I first saw it. And the manufacturing facility was. He said, it's going to sell itself, no problem. It's going to be easy. And that's the number one goal, is we want to give our customers products that they're saying, I can sell this easily, and they're excited about it. And so when I got to see that facility this summer and walk in, I had been in it previously when it was our Essence Store facility. And walking in and seeing the investment that Mitre made into that building was incredible. It's beautiful. And you're very proud to bring customers in and for them to see the magic, even the murals with our guiding principles, it's inspirational. And I also like that it's inspirational to our team members who work in that building as well. A lot of our buildings are older, and, you know, Mike said it on the tour today, the lighting's not great. You walk into that building and it's alive, and it makes you feel good, and it makes you want to come to work. And so that's important. But it's also important that we have a facility that we're excited to bring customers into and show them what we're doing, how we're making it, and they can see the science behind it.
[00:06:11] Speaker D: Yeah, the window will sell in every market. But I'd love to hear six, eight months after it starts, the bigger markets like the Seattles and the Portlands. I guarantee it's going to kill in those markets for sure.
[00:06:21] Speaker A: I think the thing that struck me today was how excited the manufacturing team members were. I was in Mike Barton's group, and he had a couple of people that were on the line, like, and they were just so honored and proud to show off what they're doing.
Like, you know, it's going to be good if the people that are touching it and putting it together have that kind of pride in what they're doing. You know, it's going to really resonate with homeowners.
[00:06:45] Speaker C: Yes, absolutely.
[00:06:47] Speaker A: Yeah. And so how's your golf game today?
[00:06:49] Speaker D: Horrible, like usual. Fun. I got to play Bandon. It was great.
[00:06:54] Speaker A: Nice. And so for you, how long before you'll have this product in your hands? A couple months.
[00:06:59] Speaker D: That's a tie question. I'm not sure.
[00:07:01] Speaker A: Oh, geez.
[00:07:01] Speaker C: Now I'm on hotspot. You might have cut this out.
[00:07:03] Speaker A: I might have.
[00:07:04] Speaker D: 27th. I think I heard 27th.
[00:07:06] Speaker C: And you know what? Yes, the 27th, he'll be able to start quoting and ordering. So the Portland, the Tacoma customers get to go first with this product. We're very excited. So, yes, you will have it in hand. And we already have samples made up that will start shipping out.
[00:07:22] Speaker D: All this product's getting built out of Tacoma, though, right?
[00:07:24] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:07:24] Speaker D: Yeah. Okay.
[00:07:25] Speaker C: Two and a half hours away from you, right?
[00:07:27] Speaker A: Yeah. Put it on the truck the night before.
Get it there before 9am you're golden. Yeah. Awesome. Well, any closing thoughts?
[00:07:35] Speaker D: No, I would just thank Milgard for, like I said, this was a great trip. They did a really good job at everything. So. Yeah. Thank you much, Milgard.
[00:07:41] Speaker C: Yeah. And I'm just excited to see see Lee as excited about it. A lot of people think windows and they go the route of vinyl, and I love that Lee, you know, in his business, he does install replacement, new construction. And I know that you are going to be so successful with this window, and I'm excited to see what your team does with it.
[00:07:59] Speaker D: Me too.
[00:07:59] Speaker A: Excellent. All right, well, thank you. I appreciate it.
[00:08:02] Speaker C: Yeah. Thank you, Sherry.
[00:08:03] Speaker A: Have an amazing day. Thank you, Sherry. All right, take care.
[00:08:07] 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.
[00:08:24] Speaker A: All right, so good afternoon. We are here on the Clear Impact podcast and we are in Tacoma, or actually we're in Fife. Okay. Which is near Tacoma, outside of Tacoma. And we're at a golf event, which thankfully is indoors. I was nervous about the whole golf thing.
[00:08:41] Speaker E: It was cold, and we're from California, so. Yeah, it was cold.
[00:08:45] Speaker F: It's cold.
[00:08:45] Speaker A: Yeah. And I'm from Florida, so I right there with you. And so we're just had some lunch and we're just hanging out. So Tony and John and Linda have gotten wrangled into coming over and chatting with me. So I'll let you guys introduce yourselves and then we'll talk about the C700. Hi, I'm Linda from John's Window and Awning in Burbank, California. Nice. Welcome.
[00:09:06] Speaker F: I'm John from John's Window and Awning, also in Burbank, California. Same place?
Yeah. We've been Milgard dealer for about 30 years and kind of a smaller operation, but sell a ton of Milgard products.
[00:09:19] Speaker A: Are you the John of John's Window endorsement?
[00:09:22] Speaker F: Yeah, that would be me.
[00:09:22] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:09:23] Speaker C: All right.
[00:09:24] Speaker A: Well, it's glad to have you here.
[00:09:25] Speaker F: Yeah.
[00:09:25] Speaker A: Okay. And Tony.
[00:09:26] Speaker E: And I'm Tony. I work for Milgard out of the Temecula location, and I'm the director of the Southwest.
[00:09:32] Speaker A: Okay. And so what regions do you cover other than, obviously, Burbank?
[00:09:36] Speaker E: Yeah. So we have Southern California. All of Southern California now. And then we go into the desert Mountain, which is Arizona, Las Vegas, over the mountain, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Mexico, those areas.
[00:09:48] Speaker A: You cover all of that?
[00:09:50] Speaker E: I oversee it.
[00:09:51] Speaker A: Oh, my gosh. That's a lot of miles.
[00:09:53] Speaker E: I have people.
[00:09:54] Speaker A: Okay, that's good. And how long have you been with the company, Tony?
[00:09:58] Speaker E: I've been 21 years.
[00:09:59] Speaker A: Wow. Okay. That's amazing. And you guys have been a Milgard dealer for 30?
[00:10:03] Speaker F: Just about.
[00:10:04] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:10:05] Speaker F: About 97, I believe. I'd have to check, but I believe we became dealers in 97. So close to it.
[00:10:10] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:10:11] Speaker E: Which, coincidentally, is when we introduced our first ultra line.
[00:10:16] Speaker A: Right. The C650. And so what is your market? Like, who are you serving in your customer base?
[00:10:23] Speaker F: Mainly it's replacement, a lot of retrofit. We do a fair amount of commercial and doing a little bit more lately, and I think that C700 is just going to be so great for a lot of the. Well, I think, like, the people that, you know, suffered from the fires and Pacific Palisades seems very much geared towards what they would like. Yeah. It's just I feel that product is going to be pretty big. It's very streamlined and extremely more refined than it was. You know, it's a great product. I always felt like it had great potential, and now I think it's reached that it's finally something that it should be, you know? Yeah. So very excited about it and think there's a big market in where we're located in our surrounding area that will definitely be interested in.
[00:11:07] Speaker A: Well, and it's so weird, like, because people really focus on flooring and countertops and lighting fixtures and those kinds of things. But when you start looking at windows like you want to maximize your view. And I think that was the thing that was so Impressive. Last night was learning about the max sizes, 6 by 10. Right on the picture windows. That's phenomenal.
[00:11:28] Speaker F: Yeah.
[00:11:29] Speaker E: As big as I've seen, so. And that's the first time that I've seen it. Like, I was just as surprised and shocked by what I saw last night as our dealers were, though. Yeah.
[00:11:39] Speaker F: And very narrow profile, which is what everybody wants. So that picture window is just beautiful. Also was pretty amazed at the size of the awning window that is available. I know that's way bigger than I've ever seen Milgard make or most people. So, yeah, that was pretty impressive. And the casement, the height, 78 inches is just.
[00:11:58] Speaker A: It's a monster.
[00:11:58] Speaker F: That's a big one. Yeah. Yeah. So I get a lot of plans sent to me that ask for things like that. And unable to kind of quote it because of size limitations. And I feel like this is going to feel. Be able to quote a lot more.
[00:12:10] Speaker A: Yeah, no, it's very impressive. In fact, I was chatting with a couple of the engineers today. I'm like, hey, can I do fiberglass in Florida? Like, I kind of want this in my house. They're like, no, not quite yet anyway. So what was something that was surprising about the factory tour this morning?
[00:12:24] Speaker F: You know, definitely the automation of it all and how it almost seems like it's so exact and so perfectly made that way and without mechanically being, you know, like humanly done. I guess it just is. It seems almost foolproof. Like it can't ever come incorrect or maybe not up to par, so to speak. It just feels like it's going to be something that's a quality product every time.
[00:12:48] Speaker A: I think that's the goal.
[00:12:49] Speaker F: Yeah, of course. And it's just a beautiful product. Just really excited.
[00:12:53] Speaker A: Tony, what are your thoughts?
[00:12:54] Speaker E: I'm going to say that what John just said is my greatest pleasure.
The fact that he thinks that and he saw that and he's going to be talking to his customers about that is more than I could have asked for out of this event. So. Thank you, Jim.
[00:13:08] Speaker F: No, of course. You know, it's the truth.
[00:13:10] Speaker A: So, Linda, anything? Have you been on a factory tour before?
[00:13:13] Speaker C: Just out of Simi Valley.
[00:13:14] Speaker A: Okay. To that one. And yeah, it seems like John said foolproof. Yeah.
[00:13:20] Speaker F: Linda said last night, she goes, can we buy a new house so we can put these windows in? That was literally what she said, probably two or three times.
[00:13:26] Speaker A: Yeah.
Okay.
You know, if you sell enough of them, probably be able to do that. Yeah. No, it's an amazing thing. I was really impressed with the Packaging machine, because we do cardboard packaging. So I'm based out of our PGT headquarters, which is in Venice, Florida. And we do the cardboard around the sides and the top and the bottom and then we band it. But it's all pre cut cardboard. But I saw that giant machine today and I was like, whoa, that is so cool.
[00:13:57] Speaker F: It really is.
[00:13:58] Speaker A: So, yeah, fun stuff.
[00:13:59] Speaker F: I said to Linda, I said, you need that during Christmas to, you know, cut your paper, crease it for you.
[00:14:04] Speaker A: Oh, my gosh.
[00:14:06] Speaker F: Yeah, yeah, it is pretty impressive for sure.
[00:14:09] Speaker A: That's what you hire the 15 year old girl next door, like, come wrap all my presents, I'll give you 50 bucks and you're done. Right? Yeah, yeah.
[00:14:16] Speaker E: So that came about out of the voice of the customer. So what does this product need that the C650 doesn't do as well? And it was packaging. It came out loud and clear. So to see him make that kind of investment based on just talking to our dealers was impressive.
[00:14:33] Speaker A: Well, in just having different conversations with engineering team and design teams while I've been here, just understanding how much of that was really considered in the design. It wasn't us designing something and hoping you guys liked it or that it was going to suit your needs. It was working the other way around, you know, almost a crowdsourcing kind of process.
[00:14:55] Speaker E: Yeah. Well said.
[00:14:56] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. Awesome.
[00:14:57] Speaker D: Okay.
[00:14:58] Speaker A: Thanks for sitting down.
[00:14:58] Speaker F: Absolutely. And the screens too, I have to say. The screens.
[00:15:01] Speaker A: Okay. Yeah.
[00:15:02] Speaker F: Amazing. Like, what an improvement. Sorry to go off.
[00:15:06] Speaker A: Yeah, no, no, no.
I didn't want to cut you off.
[00:15:08] Speaker F: I just really was impressed by that. I didn't even realize there was a screen in the product until we got up close to it and went, oh, my gosh. And just that whole idea and not having a frame and just having a sort of a seamless look is just makes that product even better. I mean, I think the screens were kind of a hit, you know. Yeah, more so than you think, right, of course. But yeah, it was really impressive, the whole thing.
[00:15:29] Speaker A: Awesome. Well, we're hoping that it leads to your success and happy customers and we keep all those fancy new machines running all the time.
[00:15:37] Speaker F: Oh, yeah, definitely.
[00:15:38] Speaker A: Awesome. All right, thanks, guys.
[00:15:40] Speaker F: Thank you so much.
[00:15:40] Speaker E: Thank you.
[00:15:41] Speaker A: All right, have a good day.
[00:15:42] Speaker E: You do too.
[00:15:43] Speaker A: Bye.
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