By ADELLE LARMOUR
Timmins Polar Bear Windows has doubled its sales over the last four years since its move from retail to retail/manufacturing.
In 2001, the company moved from a 1,200-square-foot retail outlet to a 10,300-sq.-ft. retail/manufacturing facility to prompt growth, says manager Chris Sawicz.
The 35-employee company has been in Timmins for 10 years, remaining competitive in the window market.
The two-pronged business specializes in sales and installation, and manufacturing of vinyl thermal-insulated windows available in four different styles: slider, casement, picture and architectural. Although it doesn’t manufacture doors, it sells and installs them.
The company’s principle clientele are homeowners who want professionally installed windows, as well as those who wish to “do it themselves.” They also supply contractors, to a lesser extent.
With today’s escalating energy costs, designing a quality window that offers high insulation value is paramount.
Sawicz says those rising fuel rates have made the need for quality, insulated windows and doors more important, particularly in Northern Ontario.
Several features makes Polar Bear Windows stand apart from its competitors. Sawicz says there is no compromise on the quality of materials used to build the windows. Also, the use of low-E argon, an inert, clear, odourless gas that has greater density than the atmosphere, adds an invisible layer of insulation between two glass panes. The glass has an additional low-E coating comprised of an invisible metallic coating, which reflects long-wave radiation.
Essentially, heat that tries to escape from the house is reflected back in, warming the surface of the glass twice, thus, doubling the insulation value. Conversely, it also reflects heat from the sun during the summer months, maintaining a cooler temperature inside.
The company’s professional customer and post-sale service has also built up its reputation.
“We’ll really try to go that extra mile for the customer,” Sawicz says. But he adds that his employees, be it sales, installation, or manufacturing, are the best in the business.
“The moral we keep with the employees makes a tremendous difference,” he says. “We try to make it a positive place to work.”
Now four companies strong (they have offices in Sudbury, Orilla, Timmins and its newest plant in Barrie), Sawicz says future plans are to expand its manufacturing in regions throughout Ontario.
