HP: What hurricane protection products did you handle initially? What products do you handle today?
Gallant: As our company has grown organically and through acquisition, our product portfolio has also grown. Today’s impact shutter program, along with our lines of vinyl and aluminum impact windows and doors, evolved over time to be the complete solution it is today—our SafeHarbor impact-resistant family of products.

HP: Give a percentage breakdown of these products. What one product or line stands out above the rest?
Gallant: Within our hurricane/impact category, aluminum windows have the majority of the market share. However, our recent launch of the SafeHarbor vinyl program provides a great opportunity for us in both the new construction and replacement markets.

HP: What best describes your niche in the marketplace?
Gallant: Although we are one of the nation’s largest producers of vinyl and aluminum windows and doors, we pride ourselves that this size was achieved by allowing regional leaders in their categories to maintain the cultures, distribution channels and customers they earned before joining the Atrium family. This provides us with the purchasing power and size of a national leader, yet maintains the local agility each facility needs to service its customers.

HP: What are some of the key factors involved in your growth and success?
Gallant: Obviously, strategic acquisitions have been a huge factor in our growth. However, that has been supported by organic growth at our facilities. Those successes are due to having the right product and providing the best service possible. Additionally, we have been on the cutting edge of technology, both in manufacturing, processes and systems. All of those advancements positively affect the value proposition we provide to our customers.

HP: What are your strengths in the marketplace?
Gallant: We offer an incredible breadth of line, both in product and option availability. Although not all products we offer are available at every facility, we have a sophisticated cross-selling process that allows customers to share niche products throughout our customer base. For example, our STC (sound abatement product) has appeal in any market where sound abatement is needed. That product is only made in our Denver, CO, facility, but is made available anywhere in the country.

Moreover, at the local facility level we provide full product and option programs. These are supported by the customer service, sales and marketing initiatives and manufacturing expertise that combine to give us our competitive advantages.

HP: What distinguishes you from the competition?
Gallant: There is very little that significantly distinguishes products from one competitor to another. The real reasons a customer buys from a given supplier have more to do with the business relationship experience.

Our product offering is as complete as any in the industry, and we offer many additional products and options that many competitors simply do not offer. By not having any product voids, we are able to more heavily promote the online quote and order entry systems we provide; the focused customer service teams and culture we offer; and the great quality we try to build into every product. Very few competitors are able to offer the full line of products, options and services we have in our portfolio.

HP: Is your business computerized? Do you have a company Web site, and how is it used to communicate with customers?
Gallant: Our Web site, www.atrium.com, is the official Web site of the company. Additionally, most of our facilities also employ Web-based quotation and order entry systems.

Communication spans all available methods. We utilize Web/e-mail communication, fax and phone, but we still believe the best interaction with a customer is face to face.

HP: Who are your customers? What parts of the country do you service?
Gallant: We service the entire United States through multiple channels and brands. Our products are available through national home centers in some areas, as well as through traditional distribution outlets across the country. Our customers are some of the industry’s largest national distributors, as well as local, independent building supply distributors and lumberyards spread across all 50 states, as well as in Canada.

HP: How many salespeople do you employ?
Gallant: Each facility employs its sales force and the number varies by location and business model.

HP: How has your segment of the industry changed since you first began? Products? Service? Technology?
Gallant: “Since we first began” is a long time. However, a major development was clearly the evolution of the vinyl window. With our roots in the aluminum industry, many of our facilities migrated some or all of their products to vinyl and enjoyed enviable growth during the ’80s and ’90s. Today, we still enjoy great market share within the aluminum category in many markets, and vinyl continues to be the predominant material of choice across the company. We’re fortunate to be able to participate in both of those categories.

The service requirements of our customers have become much tighter over the years and we are a much better company as a result. Deliveries that could arrive within a two-day window just a few years ago are required to be delivered within a two-hour window today. That evolution required improvements in everything from order entry to manufacturing to shipping to supply chain management.

The improvements in technology have also been dramatic. Today’s phone systems, EDI, Web order entry, not to mention the entire Web as a marketing tool, are light years ahead of where they were when Atrium was founded in 1948. The cell phone and laptop alone have changed the way we all communicate internally and externally, regardless of the industry.

HP: Where do you see yourself and your company five years from now? Are there additional areas within the industry that you would like to get involved in?
Gallant: We will continue to pursue acquisitions that complement our business model and product portfolio. We are optimistic that the business cycle of the building materials industry will rebound, as it historically does, and we want to be in the best position possible to be ready for it.

In the meantime, we will continue to service our customers to our best ability and hopefully outperform our competitors in the process.

HP: What advice would you give to other hurricane protection professionals?
Gallant: It is imperative to understand the building codes in each area and to partner with a manufacturer who can provide the right impact solution for each market. Additionally, these codes change on a rapid basis and it is a challenge to stay on top of the regional nuances.

HP: What trends and cycles do you see occurring in the industry? How is your business addressing them?
Gallant: The building codes continue to become more stringent. It is incumbent on each manufacturer to be the authority on these changes for the benefit of the distributor, builder/remodeler and the homeowner. Our staffing plan includes ambassadors to the industry to ensure we know and understand the market, and that we are able to effectively communicate to the market place.

HP: What other products, if any, do you offer?
Gallant: We offer both vinyl and aluminum impact windows and doors. We also offer a full line of impact shutters. For sound abatement building needs, we offer a full line of STC products to meet noise reduction building codes. Thermal Industries, our facility in Pittsburgh, offers a full line of patio enclosures, vinyl railing and decking.

At the core of our business, however, is the industry’s most complete line of vinyl and aluminum windows and doors for the residential and light commercial categories.

Atrium Companies
3890 W. Northwest Hwy., Ste. 500, Dallas, TX 75220
(214) 630-5757 · E-mail: chris.reilly@artium.com · www.atrium.com