The need to differentiate applies to players across the building industry, including building product manufacturers. What really distinguishes one wood window maker from another? To answer that question, let’s take a quick trip to America’s rainiest location — Hilo, Hawaii.

Challenging standard practice helped transform window and door resiliency According to Freedonia Group analysis, the U.S. wood window and door industry commands a 26.2 percent market share of the $27.6 billion windows and doors marketplace. Only metal products top it. It’s easy to see why wood continues to play a leading role. What other material presents the durability, constructability, versatility, sustainability, attractiveness, affordability, and insulation qualities of wood? On the other hand, wood can also leave builders and contractors on edge because of its susceptibility to water damage, rot, and termite infestation. Most wood window and door manufacturers guard against these hazards by dipping window and door parts in a bath of chemical solvents for about 20 seconds. The quick, inexpensive bath imparts a protective topical coating. Today nearly all-wood window and door manufacturers use some form of the dipping method. Except one …  In the late 1990s, JELD-WEN challenged the status quo,…