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Sawdac Newsletter: Summer 2022

FIRESIDE CHAT
SAWDAC continues to work closely with allied associations across the country. Most recently, executive director, Jason Neal, was invited to participate in a “fireside chat” with Fenestration Canada technical director, Terry Adamson, at the association’s Spring Conference in Charlottetown, P.E.I. This was a chance for attendees to get to know Neal and SAWDAC and hear about some of the great work we are doing on behalf of window and door dealers. Neal talked about SAWDAC’s role in acting as a go-between for dealers and their customers with the able assistance of technical director, Phil Lewin. 

BENEFITS FOR DEALERS AND MANUFACTURERS
Neal explained Window Wise and its benefits as a tool for helping manufacturers ensure quality installations and reducing callbacks. He also recommended Renoplan and its ability to bump the value of projects by around 20 percent on average by making financing available to end users. Paperwork is minimal once the deal is signed with Renoplan’s financial partners taking over billing and collections. Neal explained Window Wise members commit to a rigorous program of oversight confirming their financial solvency, adherence to best practices and provision of high-performing Enercan- and Energy Star-certified products. Neal also commented that when it comes to supply allocations he’s seen Window Wise members getting their products first because of their track record of reliability and solid payment history.

GOVERNMENT ADVOCACY
Neal and Adamson talked about the work both associations have done to lobby government on behalf of the industry on such files as energy efficiency regulations and rebate programs. They agreed that Fenestration Canada and SAWDAC members are aligned on what they want to see in these programs, but that bureaucrats often greet their good suggestions with little more than a promise to “take it under advisement.” Neal pointed to the results of that reaction in a recent SAWDAC survey that reported 40 percent of fenestration dealers are not promoting the Greener Homes grant, with the most common reason being they would have to recommend more expensive products than the rebate will cover. SAWDAC has pushed for governments to offer the rebates to dealers instead and let them drive the push for higher-performing products, but these recommendations have not gotten past the “under advisement” stage. “Just get them into our showrooms and we’ll sell them a better product,” SAWDAC members are saying.

TRAINING
Neal talked about SAWDAC’s Window Wise training courses that are ongoing in Ontario and being offered at its Cambridge facility. He let attendees know that Window Wise training is geared to the specifc needs of window installers without trying to turn them into building envelope experts. It’s one day only and speaks to installers in their lingo, using regional experts who understand the local building practices. Neal and Adamson agreed that Fenestration Canada’s FIT training and the Window Wise course have different objectives and there’s a role for both in the industry.

FIRST NATIONS INVOLVEMENT
Neal announced at the event that SAWDAC is working with the a First Nation’s technical committee to offer training in fenestration installation to their citizens. He hopes this initiative could be a springboard to an untapped well of talent for the industry, while creating great careers for young people in need of opportunity.

2022 GOLF
SAWDAC members and friends will once again hit the links at Turtle Creek Golf Club in Campbellville, Ont., on Sept. 13. Your entrance fee gets you lunch, dinner, 18 holes of golf with Canada’s finest fenestration professionals and a prize table laden with fabulous gifts. Also, take a shot at Federated Insurance’s $10,000 hole-in-one prize. 

GREENER HOMES SURVEY

• Heard of Greener Homes: 86%
• Promoting it to customers: 63%
• Avg. % of sales: 25