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AMD Exhibition Features Wealth of New Products
Denver—Business may be down, but innovation was clearly up at the Association of Millwork Distributors exhibition, which concluded here Monday. With a substantial number of new products on display, the show may have reflected the words of Larry Ray of GHDC Inc., the incoming AMD president, who noted at the opening ceremonies that despite today’s tough market, he was confident the organization’s members would “take this lemon and make lemonade.”
One of the most noteworthy introductions at the show was a new device from Highmark Digital that targets a relatively untapped business—the replacement door market. The company was showing its JambScan door imaging unit, which measures existing door openings and then provides data to a CNC machine that preps a door slab to be hung in the existing frame, explained David Winter, one of Highmark’s co-founders. Its One-Cut System, which includes the scanning device, software and the door machining equipment, creates a new market by enabling a homeowner to replace and upgrade both interior and exterior doors without the expense of tearing out the existing jambs, he noted.
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Highmark Digital introduced a new device for measuring existing door openings—part of a new system enabling door slabs to be prepped for retrofit installation. | Highmark is looking to sell its door processing machinery to prehangers and distributors around the country. It will also be selling the JambScan unit, along with its point-of-sale software, to dealers and retailers, which can in turn, take their orders and send them to the companies that have purchased its specialized machines. “The whole system is designed to be as seamless and mistake-proof as possible,” Winter emphasized.
Interest in the system at the show was high, he also reported. “It’s really a whole new market for this industry,” Winter noted, and particularly at a time when new construction is down, the opportunity to enter a completely different market is generating a lot of enthusiasm. “We’re seeing interest at all levels—from home centers, specialty dealers, pre-hangers and manufacturers.”
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Amesbury offered a sneak peak at its new Locca electronic hardware line. | The AMD show also saw the introduction of two new electronic products. Although it will be officially launched at the International Builders’ Show in February, the Amesbury Group was offering a “sneak peak” at its new Locca line of electronic locks in Denver. The hardware allows a homeowner to simply press a button on a remote and push open a door without fumbling with a key or the door knob, explained Amber Grayson, sales and marketing manager for the new division. It has particular benefits for the “age-in-place” market, she added.
Also adding electronics to its line is ODL. The supplier was showing a new motorized version of its internal miniblind doorlites. The product offers both ease of operation and eliminates the need for external cords or devices to operate the blinds, providing a cleaner look, noted ODL’s Angelo Marasco. It’s done extremely well in consumer testing, he added. Another unique aspect to the new automated system is that ODL is able to supply the blinds with low-E glass. Previously that has been a challenge for internal mini-blind systems, because the blinds eventually can damage the coated surface.
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ODL was featuring new doorlites with internal miniblinds with a motorized operation. |
Not all the new products on display in Denver were electronic. Craftmaster Manufacturing was launching a new interior Shaker-style three-panel door. Unlike its raised-panel interior door panels, the new Crossmore model features a flat panel design, which offers a look more akin to MDF doors, “at a significantly lower price point,” said CMI’s Mike Steiber.
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Taking an alternative approach to its typical raised-panel door facings, Craftmaster featured a new Shaker style door with a flat-panel design. |
Simpson Door featured a new Performance Series French door model. In addition to composite blocks that prevent water from penetrating the wood stiles, the new door incorporates a medium density overlay and PVC glazing bead on the exterior to enable the doors—even those used in unprotected patio type applications—to better resist the elements, said Brad Loveless, Simpson marketing manager. The new exterior, which is designed to be painted, offers a cost effective alternative to clad-wood patio doors, he added.
Other new items launched at the show included G-M Wood Products’ new DuraFrame jambs, which use rot- and moisture-resistant Alaskan yellow cypress at the bottom. In addition to its vinyl-clad door jambs, EverMark was showing a new fiberglass-clad version designed for use with fiberglass entry doors.
Despite the fact that distributor attendance on the floor of the show appeared to be off, the time is right for many of them to look at new products, suggested Dale Moses of W&F Manufacturing. His company has been promoting multipoint entry door hardware at the show for several years, he noted, and while attendees have been interested, many were simply too busy to add it to their lines. This year, Moses stated, many were stopping by, and talking about doing something to get a program started.
In addition to the show, the AMD convention featured a number of educational seminars, much discussion of potential door certification requirements and a vote to change the association’s bylaws. More detailed coverage will be included in next week’s WDweekly.
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