Industry Insider: Champion Window Co.

Replace the aging windows and doors in your home and you will not only save on energy costs, but you will also find that your home is quieter, more attractive, safer and a lot less work to maintain, said Don Jones, president and chief operating officer of Champion Window Co.

Champion manufactures windows and doors, as well as roof systems for its patio rooms, in Cincinnati and Denver. The company has operations in 86 different markets within the United States. Locally, they are based in Elmhurst.

“We have been in business since 1953 and we are now considered the largest home remodeling company in the country,” Jones said.

Champion also installs vinyl siding and they manufacture the components for and then construct patio rooms with sliding glass windows or doors, topped by roofs with aluminum skins.

“During the 1950s and 60s, we were manufacturing aluminum windows and storm windows. It wasn’t until the oil embargo of the 1970s that the replacement window business was born. When people became frustrated by their energy bills, that is when they began taking a second look at their insulation and at energy loss through old windows.”

In those days virtually everyone installed storm windows over their usual windows every winter for extra protection from the cold.

“But they weren’t attractive and they were a big maintenance issue. Today people are too busy to devote a weekend or a Saturday each fall to washing, possibly painting, and then putting up their storm windows. So they have virtually disappeared. No one uses them anymore,” Jones said.

Instead, homeowners are opting to replace their old, inefficient windows with totally new windows that a professional installer just fits right into the void left by the previous window. And all of the ones that Champion manufactures are made of vinyl because it is maintenance-free and provides superior insulation value, Jones said.

“When you buy wood windows, they may look nice but their performance is not consistent because they tend to swell with moisture and temperature variations and the owners seem to be constantly painting, scraping and caulking them,” he said.

Vinyl windows are virtually maintenance free and they now come in eight different exterior colors while the interiors can be made to look like wood grain, thanks to their new “Timberbond” technique.

Windows are offered in three basic styles — double-hung, casement and sliding. All can be customized with various grid patterns which are installed between the two panes of glass for easy cleaning.

As for the glass in Champion windows, they are all equipped with double-pane “Comfort 365 glass,” a new Champion innovation which, Jones says, “outperforms our competitors’ triple-pane glass, in most cases.”

“A customer can go into any of our showrooms and get an interactive experience through which they can experience the amazing difference this glass offers,” he said.

While Comfort 365 glass has a very slight tint to it, it is something that most people would not even discern, Jones said. “We give maximum performance with a minimum tint because we didn’t want windows with a commercial look.”

One customer recently contacted the company to let them know that he had experienced a 30-percent reduction in his summer utility bills and couldn’t wait to see what happens this winter.

“Most people think in terms of replacement windows cutting their winter heating bills, but they will also find value in the summer when the sun is beating on the windows and the air conditioning is running all the time,” Jones said.

“All of our windows are Energy Star-rated so they come with a sticker that gives their energy rating. This is great for consumers because they can use those ratings to compare and evaluate different manufacturers’ windows’ performance,” he said.

“It is difficult to quantify energy savings because everyone’s home and lifestyle is different,” Jones said. “So there can be no promises or guarantees. But we enjoy getting letters from our customers. One said that she was on a budget billing plan with her utility company and after several months of continuing to pay it after she had gotten new windows, she got a letter from the utility telling her to discontinue payments for a few months because she had built up such a credit.”

That is also why the federal government is continuing to offer tax credits to homeowners who invest in replacement windows and doors. This year, if you have not already taken this credit, you can still get a $500 tax credit if you purchase a qualifying door or a $200 tax credit if you purchase qualifying windows.

Champion is particularly proud of its factory-direct business model because it offers people a single source to hold accountable for any problems.

“With most companies there is the manufacturer who sells to a distributor, who then sells to a dealer who then sells to a builder or installer, who sells to a homeowner and the consumer is paying for all of those steps,” Jones said.

“At Champion, we are both the manufacturer and the installer and we handle all of our own claims and since we control all of the steps in the distribution chain, we can offer consumers a better price. In fact, we won’t sell to a contractor or an installer or even a do-it-yourselfer. A window is only as great as its installation, so we will only install them ourselves,” he said.

Champion also offers a “lifetime plus one” warranty on all of its windows. This parts and labor warranty is good as long as the purchaser owns their home, plus the first year of a new homeowner’s ownership. After that, Champion will still service the windows, but not for free.

“We, here at Champion, are consumers, too. So we understand how important it is for a company to stand behind its product,” Jones said.

Champion Window of Chicago has its showroom at 549 W. Lake St., Elmhurst. For more information, visit www.championwindow.com/chicago/ or call (630) 748-8863.