On Friday10th of October, Centor Architectural was honoured to be named National Winner of the AMP Innovation Award at the Telstra Business Awards in Sydney.

The Award followed Centor winning three Telstra Business Awards at State level last month including the Queensland Panasonic Australia Medium Business Award, recognising businesses with 21 to 200 employees, and the Queensland AMP Innovation Award, which recognises businesses that have introduced an innovative product, service or process. Centor was also named overall Telstra Queensland Business of the Year for 2008.

Major US magazine Window & Door have announced Centor Architectural as one of the winners of the Crystal Achievement Awards for 2008. Presented annually by the official publication of the powerful National Glass Association, the awards honour the best in new product technology, manufacturing and marketing in the fenestration industry.

The award for Most Innovative Door Component, with its ground-breaking insect screening system was Centor’s second such award in two years!

“It’s another great endorsement for what we do,” said Centor Managing Director Nigel Spork. “Our weathersealed bifold door hardware was a big hit in 2006, and for the Centor Screen to get the same reaction really shows we’re on the right path”

Centor S1 is the largest capacity, most robust retractable screening system in production and responds to the increasing size of architectural openings allowed for by rapidly evolving door system technology.

Developed from the bifold-integrated ES2 screening system, S1 can be matched with every door and window type, including sliding and French doors, for a flexible, effective screening solution. Ready for action as soon as temperatures allow for open windows and doors, S1 remains rolled back out of view the rest of the year.

“The demand was clearly there for a stand-alone system,” said Spork. “We just had to find a way to deliver a system that looked as good and performed as well as ES2, without the limitations that come with an integrated system.”

The award caps a period of sustained growth for Centor, which has seen the company nominated as Finalist for three categories in the Telstra Business Awards.

“It’s certainly encouraging for us to be recognised ,” reflected Nigel Spork. “These awards inspire us to keep pushing the boundaries by creating systems that give people more control over their environment.”

The S1 Screen will be available in the US from October 2008 and in Australia and Europe early in 2009.

Centor Bi-fold System Miami Dade County Approved

In a region legendary for its coastal hurricanes which has the single toughest standard of testing anywhere in the world, the path towards approval was a very challenging one - particularly with an ambitious door set-up featuring panels 120” (3048mm) high by 42” (1067mm) wide. The full test regime requires repeating the test procedure (described below) with 3 complete door assemblies just to make sure that the result is repeatable and to give peace of mind to the consumer that any product with a compliance rating will be utterly reliable.

Each test includes normal wind (structural), water and air infiltration tests to exacting standards as applicable in many areas of the world, on top of this, however, Miami Dade County and Florida State test regulations include a very exciting “large missile impact” test. A length of wood over 7 foot long (2.1 metres) long and weighing over 9 pounds (4 kg) is fired end on into the glass and framing at critical points at a speed in excess of 34 mph (54km/h), simulating the flying debris likely to be encountered in an extreme storm event. This breaks the glass in the special impact resistant laminated glazing panels, however, a special interlayer is used that ensures that even after the glass is broken, the membrane which is bonded into the panel remains intact so as not to allow an opening in the building envelope that might put the building structure at risk to an even more destructive combination of wind forces. Not quite done yet, the battered unit is then subjected to a very serious structural wind load test regime. A total of 9000 pressure cycles (4500 negative and 4500 positive) including some up to the full design load rating. This part of the test takes roughly 8 hours to complete and is a very thorough examination of door system integrity.

IBS 2008

The full breadth of Centor innovation was on display at February’s IBS 2008 in Orlando, Florida. The United States’ largest building industry trade-show, with 1900 exhibitors and 92,000 building industry professionals in attendance, IBS can be a difficult place to stand out from the crowd. But with the show serving to introduce the ground-breaking Centor Screen to the American market and the brand-new F3 floor-rolling bifold system also on display, the excitement around the Centor stand was palpable.

“I want it! I want it now!” was the exuberant reaction of one female delegate to the Centor Screen with its ability to simply and effectively resolve the issue of insect screening for large openings. Another lady was adamant she’d be taking the display-Screen home with her! Praise flowed just as readily for the floor-rolling system, beautifully teamed with timber doors from Door Innovations on the Centor stand. Challenging assumptions about performance potential for floor-rolling systems and presenting the benefits of bifold doors to a far wider market, F3 looks like being another winner for Centor.

The flexibility of Centor’s top-hung bifold systems was obvious for all to see. Aluminum-clad timber doors by La Cantina incorporated the E3 system and featured Centor Screen. Full aluminum doors from Lanai Doors incorporated the same innovative systems for a completely different result, while Door Innovations added their timber joinery skills to the hefty, hurricane-rated E4 system. Elsewhere around the crowded exhibition hall, Centor systems showed up on the stands of major window and door industry players like Caoba, Jeld-Wen, Loewen, Marvin and Weather Shield demonstrating just how far Centor has come in terms of cementing its reputation for quality and innovation in the American market.

Australia - Centor featured on Nine’s Your Business Success

Centor Architectural’s efficient supply-chain management processes were profiled on a recent episode of the Nine Network’s Your Business Success. The program examined the impact of Microsoft’s Dynamics™ software on Centor’s business and advice that Centor could pass onto to Australian-based international marine hardware outfit Ronstan in getting the most out of the software.

Highlighting the disciplined approach Centor has taken to maintaining control of expanding product lines, new external branches and diversifying markets, the program concluded that without flexible, integrated software the task would have been far more difficult.

“We were dealing with multiple tax systems and multiple currencies, at the same time introducing a stream of new products,” commented Centor Managing Director Nigel Spork.

“There’s a lot to absorb and if you don’t have the right tools you won’t get much sleep.”

Acknowledged by Microsoft, Centor has been using the software to bring the sort of clarity as to inventory levels, costs and demand which is crucial for an expanding business. Taking data right through the production system from a single entry, the program’s compatibility with the Lean Manufacturing principles applied by Centor Architectural is producing great results.
“It’s improved delivery time, reduced stock-outs and given us a platform to build on,” said Spork.

“It’s meant staff can concentrate on sales, manufacturing and customer service, not administration.”

About Centor
Centor Architectural began in Brisbane in 1951 with the mission to create the finest sliding-door tracking available. Half a century later the array of superior sliding and folding window and door hardware systems available from Centor is without parallel in terms of quality, functionality and reliability. From Europe to the United States, via Asia and the Middle East, Centor’s growth into new territories is creating a world-wide revolution in the way architects, designers and end-users think about important architectural openings.

Designbuild 2006 Success!

Centor’s new insect Door Screen system took centre stage at Design Build 2006, Australia’s largest building and design expo, winning the prestigious Best Product award from a field of 433 exhibitors from 17 countries. Over four days in May more than 15,000 visitors crammed into the Melbourne Exhibition Centre to see the industry’s latest innovations. At times it seemed like nearly all of them were drawn to Centor’s imposing, elegantly minimal display stand which was also amongst the awards. Reaching the finals in the Best Stand 36sqm and over, the stand featured full-size working examples of doors utilising the new grand-scale E4 Sliding system, A6 Open Rail sliding and Weatherslide systems, E3 Bi-folding and E Window, in addition to the show-stopping Centor Door Screen.

Displayed in all its glory, three metres high and four metres wide the Door Screen, a world-first solution for insect screening of large architectural openings like bi-fold doors, enthralled stand visitors with its finger-tip operation and low-impact, near-invisible appearance when not in use. As much as the Door Screen has changed the rules for insect-screening of bi-fold sized openings, the muscular new E4 Sliding system had many visitors reassessing the possibilities for moveable external openings. Centor’s Weatherslide and A6 Open Rail sliding systems got plenty of looks for their extreme weather resistance and rugged industrial aesthetics respectively, while there were plenty of admirers for Centor’s bi-folding systems. Represented by the E3 and E Window systems, Centor bi-folds are still at the forefront of innovation as modern architecture’s favourite means of bringing the outside in.

A great chance to introduce new products to the industry, stay abreast of developments, forge new relationships and gauge first-hand reactions to the new lines, Centor Architectural looks forward with excitement to Design Build 2007.

Centor Architectural wins Best Door Component Award

Centor Architectural’s reputation for innovation has received another boost with three prestigious awards in the growing North American market. Window and Door magazine’s annual Crystal Achievement awards not only honoured Centor’s Exterior Folding Door Hardware with the Most Innovative Door Component prize, but named major industry player JELD-WEN’s IWP Exterior Folding Door – powered by Centor’s E3X system - as the Most Innovative Door. JELD-WEN and Centor scored again with the JELD-WEN IWP Door taking out the MVP Award from the authoritative Building Products Magazine.

Based in Klamath Falls, Oregon, JELD-WEN Inc is the world’s leading manufacturer of reliable windows and doors. Beginning as a small millwork plant in 1960 and growing into a company with more than 150 divisions and 20,000 employees worldwide, JELD-WEN is no stranger to industry awards of this type. Product marketing manager Shane Meisel said the new folding door system was introduced to meet the growing demand for bringing the outdoors in.

“Homeowners want to have more of a visual connection with the outdoors and make their homes more functional for outdoor entertaining,” he said.

“It’s a great combination of bold style that makes a dramatic statement, yet it is also highly functional. It’s perfect for traditional as well as contemporary homes – anywhere you want free-flowing access from inside to out.”

Window and Door magazine highlighted the impressive scale of openings allowed for by bi-fold doors and described the JELD-WEN doors as combining the “style, customization opportunities and elegance of a classic French door with the updated benefits and features of a sliding door.

In describing the Centor systems Window and Door noted the ability for manufacturers to use either standard or custom sized doors to create folding door systems. The impressive weight capacities across the system range and the multiple door configurations possible also rated a mention but the main focus remained on the systems’ renowned space-transforming benefits.

“When the weather is good these systems allow homeowners to enjoy seamless transitions between indoors and outdoors as panels fold away to the side,” they said.

“This is tremendous news for Centor,” said Centor North America president Paul Cornish.
“We’ve put a lot of work into the products, and into pairing those products with the right manufacturers. Now people in North America are finally beginning to see just what these systems can do!”

Folding Door System Takes Top Trade Honors

JELD-WEN® IWP® Exterior Folding Door System - powered by the Centor Architectural E3X hardware system - wins two industry awards.

KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. August 10, 2006 — The new JELD-WEN® IWP® Exterior Folding Door System has garnered two top industry awards, the MVP Award from Building Products magazine and the Crystal Achievement Award from Window & Door magazine.

Both publications honored JELD-WEN, the world’s leading manufacturer of reliable windows and doors, for its fresh approach to patio doors. The door panels of the JELD-WEN® IWP® Exterior Folding Door System tuck away, making wall spans virtually disappear and providing direct access to the outdoors.

“By introducing this new folding door system, we want to meet the growing demand for ‘bringing the outdoors in,’ ” said Shane Meisel, JELD-WEN door marketing manager. “Homeowners want to have more of a visual connection with the outdoors and make their homes more functional for outdoor entertaining. It’s a great combination of bold style that makes a dramatic statement, yet it is also highly functional.”

This dramatic door system operates “accordion-style” – the door sections slide on an overhead track and neatly fold away. Available in both wood and JELD-WEN’s award-winning IWP® Aurora™ Custom Fiberglass, it is virtually impossible to tell IWP Aurora from a real wood door, yet because these doors are made from fiberglass, they are exceptionally low-maintenance. With available heights of up to 10 feet in wood and eight feet in fiberglass, this door system provides tremendous light and outdoor viewing opportunities, even when closed. Both wood and fiberglass options are available in a wide variety of styles and finishes; including stained, painted or primed.

This door system is truly customizable, allowing for numerous configurations. A variety of system widths are available. The complete folding system, including doors, hardware and the overhead track, is now available from JELD-WEN through its dealer network.

Originally created and manufactured in Australia and also distributed in Great Britain, the door system has been designed to keep cold, wet weather at bay. For security, the door system features key-lockable drop bolts, a night latch and mortise lock or a hook latch, depending on the configuration style.

JELD-WEN, inc. is the world’s leading manufacturer of reliable windows and doors. Based in Klamath Falls, Ore., JELD-WEN began as a small Oregon millwork plant in 1960 and has grown into a company with more than 150 divisions and more than 20,000 employees worldwide. JELD-WEN is the official window, door and millwork provider of the PGA TOUR and Champions Tour, Proud Partner of THE PLAYERS and title sponsor of the JELD-WEN Tradition. JELD-WEN was the only window or door manufacturer to be named 2003 ENERGY STAR® “Partner of the Year” by the U.S. Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency. Eleven JELD-WEN® product lines and all windows and doors constructed with AuraLast® wood have earned the Good Housekeeping Seal. JELD-WEN® windows and doors have been honored by numerous consumer and industry publications. In 2005, JELD-WEN® Aurora™ Custom Fiberglass exterior doors received a Consumers Digest Best Buy rating.

For more information about the exceptional value and reliability of JELD-WEN products, or to find a dealer near you, please visit www.jeld-wen.com or call 800-877-9482.

News

Centor Bi-fold System Miami Dade County Approved

IBS 2008

Australia - Centor featured on Nine’s Your Business Success

Designbuild 2006 Success!

Centor Architectural wins Best Door Component Award

Folding Door System Takes Top Trade Honors

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