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.
[00:00:19] Speaker A: And so there's not a whole lot of middle ground. You have either the very basic or the very high spec. Costly. Right? Whereas when you look at Milgard, we have five vinyl lines and they kind of slowly bump up in spec and offering and what they can do. And so there's everything in between. And so typically we have a far higher ability to be able to service whatever it is they're looking for at the most cost efficient way.
[00:00:46] Speaker B: Good afternoon. We are here on the Clear Impact Podcast and today I am chatting on the phone with Jacob Wittman. Welcome to the podcast.
[00:00:55] Speaker A: Thank you very much for having me.
[00:00:57] Speaker B: Yeah, thanks for making time. And so I don't know that we've actually met. I'm sure we've been at the same place at the same time in the last couple of years, but I'm curious to know a little bit about you. Like before we tackle our topic for today, give us an idea of your background, your experience, maybe the territories that you're covering and then your role and responsibilities with Mitre Brands.
[00:01:21] Speaker A: Yeah, absolutely. So I'm based in Los Angeles, California. I grew up in Southern California, lived here my whole life.
I was raised in San Diego and then moved to Los Angeles about 20 years ago. My dad's a builder, so I grew up around job sites. I remember spending my summers working with my dad and he was a framer and a superintendent and moved his way up into estimating and managing budgets for large high end homes like in San Diego area. And so got to go to some pretty cool homes growing up and was kind of always around the whole construction area. And then fast forward into my adult life. I ended up working at a window and door shop in the San Fernando Valley. And so I've been selling windows and doors for about 15 years.
Started at that window and door shop in my early to mid-20s in the San Fernando Valley. Started off unloading trucks in the warehouse and then worked my way up into being a sales rep. And they were a shop that sold retro replacement jobs to homeowners. And we sold hardware and molding to local contractors and interior door packages. And so I worked there for about four years and learned how to sell windows and doors and hardware. And but the biggest brand we sold at the time when I worked there was Milgard. And so Milgard was our biggest partner. And sure enough, long story short, I came to work for Milgard in 2015 as an outside sales rep for tract production homes. And so they hired me out of Simi Valley location and I repped builder work with our production home builders, like some national builders and some regional, but doing mainly single family home communities in Southern California and Central Cal. Did that for quite a while and then worked my way into being a dealer rep in the LA area. So when Mitre purchased Milgard, I went out of tract and went into a dealer territory. And then I was based mainly in the San Fernando Valley and Santa Monica. And then last year in June 2025, I was offered a role to think about starting a new department for multifamily. And so I've always been very builder focused. I lean towards the builder side of our business and I really appreciate the relationships of working on the builder side and with architects and on these large new development projects. And one of the fastest growing segments for us over the last few years has been multifamily. And so especially where I'm based in Los Angeles, I mean, it's on every block we have major multifamily projects going in that are either new buildings they're building or older buildings that they're fixing up, rehabbing and we're doing retrofit windows for. Right. And so I was offered a new opportunity to go into the role as a multifamily business development manager. And I've been in that role since June of last year.
And I'm supporting Milgard and Western and Analyn and my biggest goal is to grow our multifamily and commercial opportunities as well as our sales and market share. And so I've spent the last eight to ten months now building a team of reps and of dealers and we've hired some inside sales support and trained them and essentially built a department that's completely tailored towards going after multifamily opportunities and then supporting them into successful sales, essentially.
[00:04:43] Speaker B: Wow. First of all, that's an amazing background and not surprised that you're in the role that you are given that your dad was a builder and you grew up in that and then sold to builders. It sounds like it's a really tailor made spot for you. So not surprised to hear all of that. That's awesome.
[00:05:00] Speaker A: Thank you.
[00:05:00] Speaker B: Yeah. What is your territory like? Is it just the greater LA area or is it bigger than that?
[00:05:06] Speaker A: Yeah. So now in the new role, the multifamily role, I cover the Western US and so it's all the Milgard locations as well as Western and.
And so essentially Texas, Western Texas to The West. And so Milgard has five locations specifically. For example, there's one in Prescott Valley, Arizona. And then we have Temecula, California, Sacramento, California, Portland, Oregon and then Tacoma, Washington. And so I support all of those locations and I'm working with both national and regional builders to try to identify opportunities. And then we have a team of reps and dealers in those regions that are quoting and bidding and supporting those sales.
[00:05:48] Speaker B: Wow, that's quite a scope. And so define multifamily for me. Like you mentioned, it's new construction from the ground up and also retrofit. But what qualifies as a multifamily unit? Is it just a duplex or is it multiple stories or like, give me an example of what that actually is.
[00:06:05] Speaker A: Yeah, so essentially it's anything attached, multi unit attached. Right. And so like you just mentioned, it's new construction that we supply. So, so we do a lot of new construction projects with builders and developers and architects, but we also do a lot of replacement projects with property owners. Right. And so there are a lot of companies that own properties even in multi states all over the country. And some of these properties are ranging from 20 to 30 to 50, 60 years old.
And as rents continue to increase, a lot of those property owners are fixing up their properties and doing up. In the Pacific Northwest, for example, there's a term called strip and reclad, right. Where essentially they come in and they do new windows, they do new siding, they do new painting and it's basically just a big fix up for the building. Right. So they can continue to rent out the units for another 10, 20, 30 years or whatever it may be. But overall it's apartments for rent like what we're talking about. But it's also, we're seeing a big increase in assisted living projects. Milgard also does a ton of hotels and motels up to five or six stories. You'll see us typically on your Embassy Suites and your Marriott, those type of hotels. A lot of low income housing in the west right now, especially in California, there's a lot of projects that are being incentivized and or pushed for low income units as well as military housing. And so there's been a lot of activity lately on our end with retro projects and military bases up and down the coast where they're doing either major rehabs or even new buildings like new construction. So I know we have a couple of those going on right now. Another big one is mixed use podiums. And so all throughout the metro areas we're seeing a big rise in these mixed use projects where you'll have retail on the bottom, like mall or restaurants for example, and then up above for four, five, six stories, you'll have condominiums up above those. And so we're doing a ton of those types of projects in the metro areas across the west in, you know, Phoenix, San Diego, Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay area, up into Portland and Seattle. These are all major places for these podium mixed use projects. And then also in the more spread out, we're doing a ton of townhomes and condominiums like for sale with the national builders. And so whether it's for rent or for sale, essentially anything that's attached we consider multifamily.
And then like I mentioned, there's that commercial aspect. If we can fit the spec, we will go ahead and bid it and quote it, supply it.
[00:08:48] Speaker B: Wow, that's amazing. So the next time I'm out at a hotel on the west coast, I'll have to check it out and see if those are Milgard windows or not.
[00:08:56] Speaker A: Yeah, I love it. That's one of the things I always look for. Like at every hotel, the first thing I do when I go in the room is check to see if it's a Milgard window. And oftentimes it is, especially out here in the West.
[00:09:07] Speaker B: And so who are the contacts? Are you primarily talking to architects or property managers or purchasing agents? Like who are your people?
[00:09:17] Speaker A: Yeah, so our product is sold 100% through dealers. And so we've got a vast network of distributing dealers across the West. There's, I want to say a couple thousand dealers. In fact, I often joke. We have as many dealers as a Chevy or a Ford. So you can buy our product at glass shops, at lumber yards, even at Home Depot, for example. But we do have dealers that are specialized in installing and supplying for large multifamily projects. And so we're working a ton with those specialized dealers. And then from there they sell to the builders and the developers and the homeowners or property owners. And so there's a ton of work from our department going into working with architects on the front side. And so essentially, if you want to start ground up, step one is the architect. So typically the architect designs the building and they specify windows and they have certain specs that they need to be able to meet for wind and energy and sound and color. And there's all these things that they require as part of their plans. And so we work with those architects to help specify windows and educate them on our product so that they know how to specify our windows, because we have several different lines to pick from. And then from there, once our windows are specified, or let's just say they have vinyl windows in general specified, we'll often work with the builders and the developers to help them get information on the front side of projects. And so there's kind of like a triangle partnership, I guess you could say, between the builder developer, our dealer, and us as a manufacturer. And we all partner together and ultimately our dealer is the one selling the product and it goes to the builder and so forth.
[00:11:03] Speaker B: Okay, that makes sense because, I mean, I know just enough about California to know that you really have to understand energy codes and Title 24. And, you know, even Colorado has some pretty stringent energy codes.
And so you have to meet all of that, especially if you're doing military housing or any kind of low income housing where it's government subsidized or government funded, you know, you definitely have to meet those specs, right?
[00:11:31] Speaker A: Absolutely. Yeah. So on any project, there's probably about a half a dozen code or spec requirements that absolutely have to get met. And if they aren't met, it could mean the project not passing inspection or passing a water test, or passing sound requirements. So there's all these requirements. So that's a lot of what my department gets involved to support our dealers in is helping to go through plans, helping to go through specs, verify what the requirements are, and then help them pick from our seven different product lines that we have to identify the best one that's going to meet all the specs for that project. For example,
[00:12:15] 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.
[00:12:30] Speaker A: Cast.
[00:12:32] Speaker B: Right, so walk me through what the process of that is. So it begins with specking and then what happens?
[00:12:41] Speaker A: Yeah, so typically there's specs that are put within a set of plans, as in like a window schedule, for example, or there's a specification document that gets created that's kind of like a long essay that will list out all the things that they want in the project. Right.
And it's not just windows. They'll list out. These documents are often a couple hundred pages long. They list out everything for the whole building.
[00:13:04] Speaker B: Oh, wow.
[00:13:04] Speaker A: And so we have our own section for windows and we usually go straight there and windows and doors and look at those. And they'll reference things like the frame material. So, for example, vinyl, aluminum, fiberglass, wood. They'll then reference things like color, energy requirements. They'll typically list out sound requirements. These days, we're starting to see that more and more, where in noisy areas in the Metro, you know, next to a train or a freeway, for example, there's often a sound requirement spec. So thicker glass can often be required to meet the sound specs. And so, yeah, there's several specs that have to get met. And again, if they don't get met, the project can fail inspection or potentially fail a water test.
And so we work very diligently on our side to make sure we're hitting specific and making sure that any product we supply for any multifamily project is hitting and or exceeding spec.
And we have all the documentation and the testing reports and all that stuff to be able to put together what's called a submittal. So we can give that to the customer and show them that everything is exceeding what they need.
[00:14:15] Speaker B: Nice.
And so from there, then it gets quoted, right? There's a bid.
[00:14:21] Speaker A: Correct.
[00:14:21] Speaker B: And then hopefully you've got it so buttoned up and have obviously superior products and superior installer partners that you get the bid. Right. And then they order it, and then it gets delivered and installed.
[00:14:34] Speaker A: Yeah, and oftentimes in the bidding process, we'll offer value engineering. We'll say what's called ve, Right. We'll say we'll give them some VE options. And so, for example, we offer five different vinyl lines, and they vary quite immensely on specs, and they vary on price as well. Right. And so there's times when we'll look at the specs and bid it to meet what they have. But then we'll also come and say, hey, well, if you could look at this or if you could look at that, then we could entertain using maybe this other product that we have, and maybe that might save you 10% or 5% or whatever it may be. And so we're always trying to give options like that to our customers as well, to meet what they have, as well as give them ideas on how we can best get to where they need to be from a spec perspective as well as from a budgetary perspective for cost.
[00:15:28] Speaker B: Oh, that's so smart.
That's what happens when you have a full product line and lots of options. And, you know, I'm pretty familiar with all the Milgard products and the Anlin products and the Western products, because we've done training content around much of that. So it's nice that you have all of those tools in your toolbox, right, that you can say, hey, we can meet this, that or the other.
[00:15:49] Speaker A: I love it. And that's one of my favorite things about working for Mitre in the West, Especially between the three brands we have with Aniline, Milgard and Western, I truly believe we have a solution for every project out there.
[00:16:02] Speaker B: That's amazing.
And so how is that different, do you imagine, from other manufacturers that you're competing with?
[00:16:10] Speaker A: So most other companies we see out there, manufacturers, they do one thing and they do one, and that's it. Most of them will be focused 100% on the one niche that they do. So if we talk vinyl, for example, most of our vinyl competitors are either focused on the far entry level side, meaning very low spec. You know, low price is. Price is what they drive, essentially. So that's one avenue. And then on the other side of the vinyl competitor, we have a very high specific, very commercial, and it often comes with a high cost. And so there's not a whole lot of middle ground. You have either the very basic or the very high spec. Costly. Right? Whereas when you look at Milgard, we have five vinyl lines and they kind of slowly bump up in spec and offering and what they can do. And so there's everything in between. And so typically we have a far higher ability to be able to service whatever it is they're looking for at the most cost efficient way.
[00:17:10] Speaker B: And so what would you say, like, what's the most popular Milgard line that
[00:17:15] Speaker A: you're seeing for multifamily? Specifically, it would be our Tuscany, our V400 line, due to its higher performing ratings, that we have, its ability for more models. So it has the most amount of tested and rated models. It has a thicker frame as far as the frame depth, has a three and a quarter inch frame depth, which gives it higher ratings than our other lines that we have. And it also has a mulling capability that we call a delta mole at Milgard. So it has a structural mulling capability where everything's rated. We can do multi config options. It is the most robust. It's also the most gorgeous window that we offer, the V400 Tuscany. It's all equal sight lines. The window itself has depth from the outside of the window to the glass.
It is the most architecturally pleasant looking window that we sell. So I would say it's the most popular. And it's definitely our number one seller for a long time has been the V400 Tuscany. We also offer, obviously our V250 Styleline window would probably be number two right behind it, which is more of a expanded view builder kind of entry level window, that it still has a lot of options, but it's a thinner frame, more glass view that also equates to not as high of ratings as you get with the Tuscany line. And so typically these days we're seeing a lot of multifamily projects that are going higher than three stories. We're seeing in fact a lot of them across the west in the five, six, seven, even eight stories above grade range. And so when they start getting that high, typically they'll have a rating requirement that is pushing the job into a Tuscany spec or even our V450 line. And so we do have a V450 commercial window that's made in our Arizona location. And that window, that's our high spec window, that it's higher DP ratings and higher STC than anything else. And so I know I gave you multiple answers there a couple different options, but it depends on the specs. And overall, first thing we do is open the plans and open the building elevations and get an idea of what the structural requirement is. And that's often what's driving these products into spec.
[00:19:32] Speaker B: Oh, that makes total sense. Okay, so I mean, I know you're a Milgard rep and obviously we don't want this to be just a blatant commercial, but why do you feel like Milgard is the best window and door partner for these types of projects and customers?
[00:19:48] Speaker A: So there's a few reasons. I can't point to any one reason why I think Milgard is clearly the best, but there's a few reasons and to me there always has been. And so number one is the people. And I don't want to sound cheesy, but I think we have the best people in the industry working at Milgard Windows and Doors. We have five factory locations across the West. And so local manufacturing has always been a big factor to our success. Being able to support the customer with local manufacturing, quick lead times on time, delivery in full, and then also the ability to service our product when we need to from a local standpoint with our in house support as well as our vast dealer network that we have across the west. And so Milgard has been around for over 60 years now and they've done a dang good job innovating products. But also one of the big focuses, partnerships and relationships. And so we've had incredible dealers that we've been able to partner with across the west and some of those partnerships have grown and grown and grown over 30 or 40, maybe even 50 years. And their success has been our success. And I think that's been a big part of us being able to be successful with builders is having the right dealers that we're able to partner with. They distribute our products, they install our products in many cases.
And so that's been a big part of us. And then lastly the products themselves. And so we continue to innovate new products. You know, Tuscany, with its smart touch lock has always been known as the nicest, best vinyl window in the industry with the most incredible hardware anyone's ever seen. Right. And so we've continued to innovate, innovate with lines like our Trinsic line and we have our new fiberglass C700 line coming out. I think people are going to be excited and impressed when they see that new window. And again, we continue to innovate with new products that the market calls for.
And that's why I think I'm at the best place. And like I mentioned earlier, we have products that can satisfy any project from a retro job to a new construction to a hotel, to an apartment, to a modular pod condominium project.
[00:22:05] Speaker B: Right.
[00:22:07] Speaker A: So I love Milgard for that in that we have this ability to serve the customer unlike any other company out there.
[00:22:13] Speaker B: Yeah, well. And you know, if you're managing a big project like that, the whole goal is to minimize your headaches. And you know, you might save a little bit of money here or there by going with maybe a less experienced or lesser known brand, but that's a gamble. You don't know how long they're going to be in business and how well trained are their people and do they know what they're doing? Because especially on multi family, multi story, if you've got a window leak on floor six, that's going to wreak a lot of havoc for everybody. So just having that trusted partner and knowing that I can rely on this company, they've been around for a long time, they know what they're doing, these are good products and then you hold their hand through the spec process.
I mean, it's a no brainer.
[00:22:58] Speaker A: Yeah, absolutely. Like I said mentioned, their success is our success and vice versa. And so, so it's important for us to continue to have those relationships and continue to grow in that sense.
[00:23:10] Speaker B: No, that's amazing. I love that. I didn't realize that Milgard was doing all of that. Like, I know there's different divisions of sales and there's different focuses, but I did not realize the expansiveness of this, and so that's amazing. So thank you for shedding some light on the multifamily project and what you offer and how people can leverage our experience and expertise and obviously fantastic products to accomplish what they're trying to get done, which is, you know, construction is always kind of a mix. Right. It can be the most rewarding and also the most frustrating. There's so many things that you have to coordinate in order to finish a project, and so having one less thing to worry about. If the windows and doors are solid, then you can move forward with all the other things, you know, flooring and cabinets and plumbing and all of those things. So I appreciate your time. I have one more question for you, and I've been asking this of a lot of people.
So we're talking about the Mitre DNA statements. And so of all of those statements, which ones, one or ones are your favorites?
[00:24:15] Speaker A: Yeah. So I love the Mitre DNA statements, and it's been changing lately, but one that I keep coming back to over and over again is we are comfortable being uncomfortable. And I was in a room with a dozen sales reps a week ago. We get together for a meeting every so often, and they. We went around the room, and I think more than half the room picked us. We are comfortable being uncomfortable. Right. And I think that a big part of that is the theme of grit. The last time we got together with our leadership from mitre, the theme of our meeting was grit. And I think it really hit home with a lot of us, and it's really been appropriate for the last couple years in our success and for us to understand grit. And the quote that I keep hearing, they told it to us at the meeting. They even gave us a notebook with the words grit on the front of it that I carry around with me now. And on the back it says, talent is fleeting and luck runs out. The grit is chosen. And that one really hit home for me. And, you know, a lot of us are into sports, and a lot of our favorite sports people or our favorite sports teams or coaches or whatever it may be, grit is always a theme of the win. And so for us, constantly pushing to be the best, to be clearly the best. Right. And so we have a program. Historically, our dealers used to quote our program. It's called ctb. And, yeah, that stands for clearly the best. And so we've taken that one to heart over the years, and we want to continue to be the best choice, and we will fight for it in any case. When we need to. Absolutely.
[00:25:52] Speaker B: I love that. Yeah, that one is a common one amongst the sales team, even on the PGT side. That's one that a lot of people have chosen. So, yeah, it's a good one. I like them all. Anyway, Jake, it's been a pleasure to chat with you today and learn more about what you do for the company and how you're filling that gap for people that obviously need product and being able to walk alongside them and help guide them in a challenging space.
[00:26:19] Speaker A: Absolutely. Thank you for having me. I really appreciate you taking the time to speak with me and it's been great.
[00:26:24] Speaker B: Yeah, awesome. Well, I look forward to seeing you. We'll be at the CX meeting in Texas in December, so if you don't get to Florida before then, I will see you there.
[00:26:33] Speaker A: All right, sounds good. Thank you so much.
[00:26:37] Speaker B: The Clear Impact podcast is brought to you by Mitre Brands University. We are a part of Mitre Brands, a family of leading windows door brands united by our passion for quality and relentless pursuit of 100%. At Miter Brands, our common purpose is to deliver value by manufacturing the finest products, services and customer experience every day, everywhere. Our window and door brands deliver regionalized expertise, products and services, all backed by a national company.
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