Minnesota business newspaper Finance & Commerce carried a story Monday about the state’s window industry and its constant efforts to pursue greater energy efficiency. Reporter Dan Heilman writes:

“In the marketplace today, consumers have created a big demand for energy-efficient products,” said Christine Marvin, head of product planning for Marvin Windows. “Fortunately, we were there to meet that trend. Now it’s an issue of dealing with stronger and stricter criteria that are in place.”

In the 1970s, Marvin Windows was considered a pioneer in the development of high-performance low-thermal emissivity (or low-E) windows, whose surface radiates or emits lower levels of heat energy, helping keep warm air inside during cold weather and out during summer.

According to Marvin, the ongoing progress of sustainability in the window market is the result of consumer demand, federal regulatory decrees such as Energy Star and the company’s internal ingenuity. [...]

“It’s a matter of push and pull,” Marvin said. “Consumers are educated: They want performance in their windows, and they want to save money.”

Read the full piece from Finance & Commerce.

Builder magazine’s editorial director Boyce Thompson sat for a pair of video interviews with architect Bill Devereaux and builder Bill Davidson, who are among the most recent inductees into Builder’s William S. Marvin Hall of Fame for Design Excellence.

In the interviews, Devereaux and Davidson discuss weighty topics such as what helped pull the housing industry out of previous recessions and finding success despite the current recession. Unfortunately, we can’t embed the videos here, but you can watch the interviews will Bill Devereaux and Bill Davidson on BuilderOnline.com.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune has compiled a list of 10 business newsmakers to watch in 2012, and Susan Marvin, president of Marvin Windows and Doors, is in great company on that list. The list also includes Narayana Kocherlakota, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis; Omar Ishrak, CEO of Medtronic; and William Cooper, chairman and CEO of TCF Financial Corp.

The Star Tribune writes, “Industry groups have forecast only modest recovery in window and door sales this year. Marvin has kept its financial house in order, which has helped it survive the downturn and positioned it to benefit when the housing market revives.”

If 2012 is anything like 2011 — a year that saw the company covered by an in-depth feature story from the New York Times and discussed in a major speech from President Obama — it’s sure to be another great year for Marvin Windows and Doors.

At Marvin, the options for our made-to-order windows and doors are virtually limitless. Since we don’t make a one-size-fits-all product, we can’t sell through a one-size-fits-all store. Instead, Marvin relies on the most highly qualified dealers that can help you find an elegant, high-performance solution, no matter the project.

In this video from Marvin’s Heritage series, see why we only partner with dealers that truly understand Marvin – not just the company and our products, but our values and ethics.

We were touched to see this lovely column in the Grand Forks Herald by Tom Dennis: “Marvin Windows is Warroad’s ‘Christmas Carol.’ ”

Since President Obama praised our commitment to community and employees in his speech last week, we’ve been getting a lot of nice pats on the back from friends, dealers and others who know our company. We appreciate the sentiments, although we’d be doing the same thing even if nobody had noticed.

But we’ll admit that being the subject of such a touching piece as Tom’s brings a little lump to our throats and a smile to our faces.

Things haven’t been easy in our industry these last few years, but by pulling together, we’ve kept going without losing the skills and dedication of the valued workers who are the lifeblood of our business — and our communities.

We know things will turn around, and when they do, our workers will share in the good times — just as they’ve shared the challenges of the tough times.

Following yesterday’s mention of Marvin Windows and Door by President Obama, both the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times‘ blogs mentioned the company’s no-layoff policy.

President Obama’s remarks we’re inspired by a feature story written by the New York Times‘ Andrew Martin who visited Warroad and saw firsthand our commitment to the community and workforce.

We’re honored that the president took notice of our longstanding efforts to strengthen our communities as we keep our work force intact. As a family-owned and operated company, our philosophy is simple: Do the right thing. If we stay focused on doing the right thing for our customers, our employees and our communities, then our business will be just fine. It’s been a tough few years, but by pulling together, we’ve survived — and we believe we’re poised to thrive.

Today, in Osawatomie, Kan., President Obama recognized Marvin’s commitment to its workforce and community. The remarks shared by C-Span can be seen below; Marvin Windows and Doors is addressed at 52:30.

President Obama’s remarks:

“In the end, rebuilding this economy based on fair play, a fair shot and a fair share will require all of us to see that we have a stake in each others’ success. … American business leaders [must] understand that their obligations don’t just end with their shareholders. …

“I think about a company based in Warroad, Minnesota, called Marvin Windows and Doors. During the recession, Marvin’s competitors closed dozens of plants and let go hundreds of workers. But Marvin did not lay off a single one of their four thousand or so employees. In fact, they’ve only laid off workers once in over a hundred years. Mr. Marvin’s grandfather even kept his eight employees during the Depression.

When times get tough, the workers agree to give up some perks and pay, and so do the owners. As one owner said, ‘You can’t grow if you’re cutting your lifeblood – and that’s the skills and experience your workforce delivers.’ For the CEO, it’s about the community: ‘These are people we went to school with,’ he said. ‘We go to church with them. We see them in the same restaurant. Indeed, a lot of us have married local girls and boys. We could be anywhere. But we are in Warroad.’

“That’s how America was built. That’s why we’re the greatest nation on Earth. That’s what our greatest companies understand. Our success has never just been about survival of the fittest. It’s been about building a nation where we’re all better off. We pull together, we pitch in, and we do our part, believing that hard work will pay off; that responsibility will be rewarded; and that our children will inherit a nation where those values live on.”

Learn more about Marvin’s heritage of supporting its community and workforce.

Marvin Windows and Doors’ proud heritage was built on uncompromising values, unwavering work ethic and honoring employees and customers alike. Even today, third and fourth generation members of the Marvin family working in all levels of the company embody the same spirit George Marvin did when he first came to Warroad, Minn., in 1904.

In this video from Marvin’s Heritage series, members of the Marvin family explain how the originating values and ethics live on as each Marvin seeks to leave the company even stronger for the generations to come.

Ed Salin is probably one of the best-known people in our hometown of Warroad, Minn. He started with Marvin Windows in 1964 as a truck driver and later spent many years in sales. Now he serves as a tours and training guide in our main factory, leading groups of builders, architects, dealers and other customers through the 2 million-square-foot facility.

We were talking with Ed recently about trust. That’s a subject that doesn’t seem to get a lot of discussion in the business world these days. But for Ed, it’s a fundamental part of his experience with Marvin, going right back to his early days with the company.

“The biggest thing about the Marvin heritage is honesty and trust,” Ed said. In his sales days, he thought of his role as less of a salesman and more of a guide, helping each customer make the right decision for their particular circumstances. And dealers always knew — as they do today — that Marvin would stand behind its products.

“We’ve stood behind products that we didn’t have to,” Ed said. “But first and foremost, we take care of our customers. We live up to that trust.”

Thanks, Ed — we couldn’t have said it any better.

We recently hosted a half-dozen top editors from the Hanley Wood building publications on a visit to our main factory in Warroad, Minn. It was a great trip and the participants seemed to really be interested in seeing how our windows and doors are made.

Now one of our visitors, Lauren Hunter, has posted a wonderful slideshow of her visit on the Remodeling magazine website. Wow — Lauren was really paying attention! The photo captions for her slideshow are packed with interesting information she gleaned during her day-and-a-half tour.

Thanks, Lauren — we hope you understand our products and our company much better than you did before you visited us. This is why we bring 4,000 visitors to Warroad every year: dealers, builders, remodelers, architects and even media members. There’s nothing like seeing for yourself the care and quality we put into everything we build.