Coffee Briefs

One question ISC reps are often asked: “Where did the Frank Lowe name originate? Did a Frank Lowe really exist?” Yes, yes he did! Frank Lowe founded the Frank Lowe Rubber & Gasket Company in 1955 and ran it as one-man operation until he sold it to Ira Warren in 1975. According to Warren, he […] Read more

A premier supplier of products used for window, door, and glass fabrication, Frank Lowe is also known for going above and beyond helping customers. In fact, they’ll help a customer with just about any aspect of their business, whether it’s making a process more efficient or someone’s job easier. “We go beyond the sale,” says […] Read more

With interest rates currently down from a high of 8% in 2023, and the real estate market still experiencing a shortage of existing homes inventory, new home construction accounted for nearly one-third of housing inventory in 2023, up from an average of 10%. New construction captured about 15% of all single-family detached homes, the highest […] Read more

With over 13,000 SKUs and growing, Merchants Fasteners Corp. supplies the vast majority of the domestic fenestration industry. Any hiccup in the supply chain can have disastrous results – to Merchants and its customers. Planning for the unexpected isn’t new a new concept for Merchants, a third-generation, family-owned and operated business founded in 1946. Years […] Read more

Hunters Point in Cortez, Florida, is one of a growing number of developments “that combine the energy efficiency of green building design with the resilience of hurricane-resistant construction.” (Greener – and Tougher – Homes Gain Favor, WSJ, Dec. 4, 2023) The developers have billed Hunters Point as the first net-zero single-family home development in the […] Read more

For years, the industry standard in glass cutting fluids was ACECUT, a premium product used by window fabricators to influence the fissure during the scoring process and lubricate the high-speed cutting wheel on CNC cutting machines. “ACECUT is a good product, which we offered,” says Dana Barberet, Director of Automatic Glass Cutting and Chemicals for […] Read more

In his book, The Pumpkin Plan, Mike Michalowicz describes the seven-step process for creating one of those huge pumpkins you see at the state fair: Plant promising seeds Water, water, water Remove diseased or damaged pumpkins Weed like a mad dog Identify the stronger, faster-growing pumpkins; remove the others Focus all your attention on the […] Read more

Buildings consume 41% of U.S. energy and new technologies are necessary to improve window efficiencies. In the U.S. insulating glass industry, H.B. Fuller’s Ködispace 4SG is having a big impact in meeting tough new goals. “We sell in over 40 countries,” says Paul McHale, Director, Americas Glass for H.B. Fuller, “and Ködispace 4SG leads the […] Read more

Fast, innovative, low-cost tooling. Excellent customer-focused business practices. Good product fit. Wonderful team. For these reasons and more, AmesburyTruth purchased composite window lock maker Lawrence Industries in July 2023. However, this isn’t your standard story of big company purchases little company – and then little company gets swallowed into the whole. Instead, it’s about how […] Read more

At the start of 2021, costs of construction and projects were on the rise. Today, prices are still rising or maintaining high amounts.

Since the end of 2020, steel and lumber prices in the US have increased 20-25% across the industry. This is after several price surges throughout 2020, as access to raw goods and transportation decreased due to the pandemic.

Meet Amanda Bagala and Andrew Kerekes, ISC and EVO’s newest employees. Amanda works in our marketing department, and Andrew on our sales team.