Two pieces of news from Marvin Windows & Doors have come to light recently, despite little in the way of news announcements from the 98-year-old manufacturer. The Warroad, Minn.-based company discontinued its entry door product line in early May. Later in the month, the company announced the launch of a new siding product.
Entry Doors Discontinued
Speonk Lumber in Speonk, N.Y., reported that issues with Honduras-based manufacturing and transportation systems lead to the closing of the entry door line, and Marvin confirmed the discontinuation. Long-time Marvin customer David Roberts, president of Roberts Architects, Evanston, Ill., says he’s saddened by the discontinuation. “We’ve used a lot of they’re entry doors, which were really terrific,” he says. He's still determining which other entry door brand is best to use for his upscale projects.
The change came so abruptly that Roberts had quotes from his Marvin dealers on an entry door project, and his client was in the midst of product selection. “One of my suppliers called and said, ‘I know we have a quote out to you, but we aren’t going to be able to do that project,’” Roberts recalls. “He told me the line was being discontinued immediately.”
Roberts’ supplier told him that outstanding warranties on entry door products would continue to be honored by the manufacturer.
New Siding Line Launched
Without the entry doors business, Marvin will be able to shift some of its focus to its newest venture, Apex siding. The new siding line will use the same pultruded fiberglass as Marvin’s Infinity and Integrity windows. So far, Apex has launched only to select markets, including Minneapolis. The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported in May that, “unlike fiberglass siding panels produced by other companies, mostly for farm buildings, Marvin said Apex is the first fiberglass siding that can be installed on a house in overlapping boards that look like traditional siding.” The article also stated the products would be geared toward the “upper tier of the building supply market.”
Additional news about Apex siding, including photos and product information, is expected to be released within the next month.
Lauren Hunter is associate editor of Remodeling magazine. Victoria Markovitz contributed to this article. She is associate editor of ProSales magazine.
