Please congratulate me on my newest child . . . OpenUp®? Yes, all my children are window and door designs other than my adorable 10-year-old puppy Schnitzel.
This is the logical progression of our mission to pair Accoya with Metal and Glass to create innovative products with narrow sightlines. Switching from laser-cut steel to aluminum extrusions maintains the structural and insulating advantages of our metal/Accoya technology while reducing the production cost substantially.
Enter aluminum extrusions
By creating my own aluminum extrusions, rather than using off the shelf goods, I was able to incorporate 3D shapes and hollows that hide the gas struts and tiny flanges to hold weatherstripping forever.
To increase production, reduce costs, and provide the level of perfection that I require, we added additional CNC equipment to our digital factory. For many years I tried virtual manufacturing, making use of skilled craftspeople in both this country and abroad. In the end, I was not satisfied with the end result or the time it took to manufacture. So I found a great 4000 square foot building close to my home and created the digital factory of my dreams.
Digital manufacturing enters the building
After designing revolutionary narrow sightline window and door openings, my next strongest business trait is picking people. Over the years I have been blessed with the ability to build great teams of very talented people. My digital factory is staffed by my best team ever. Windows and Doors are produced to my exacting standards with uncanny speed, accuracy, and perfection.
As much as I enjoy designing custom projects using my 2FoldDoors Thermal Steel Windows and Doors (very expensive), I always dreamed of creating a window that could be more accessible, perhaps produced in standard sizes, providing narrow sightlines and extraordinary quality at a lower price point.
OpenUp® stands on its own two feet
OpenUp® comes to life as a single product, a pass-through awning window that clients love to join their kitchens with patio space functioning as a bar to serve and with stools outside a bar period. Lower cost was not the only goal, hiding the gas struts that lift the window 90˚ also became possible with a carefully designed aluminum extrusion. This was designed from top to bottom to be a pass-through window and lower the consumer cost by over 30% over its steel big brother.
Ok, here’s your cigar as a reward for allowing me to prattle on about my new baby. We plan to have many more children over the years as OpenUp® continues to evolve into a full-functioning product line. For now, we’re just going about setting up a national network of installing contractors and happy homeowners for our new child.