Brett Boyum

Our newly promoted vice president of marketing, Brett Boyum, was featured in the Minneapolis Star Tribune as a “Mover & Shaker.” Brett has been with the Marvin family of companies for nearly 15 years, previously serving a term as director of marketing for both Marvin Windows and Doors, and Integrity Windows and Doors.

We’re proud that people of Brett’s caliber choose to build their careers with us, and that’s why we particularly liked one of the comments he made to the Star Tribune reporter:

“Staying at Marvin has been easy,” Brett said. “There’s a value system that aligns really strongly with my personal values, that’s about taking care of people, taking care of the customers and taking care of your community. We’re selling a product that’s part of a customer’s life, it’s part of their family, it’s their home.”

Well said. We look forward to great things under Brett’s leadership.

Marvin's Ultimate Glider is a great example of universal design.

We’ve long embraced the principles of universal design. And with America’s population aging and multi-generational families in a household becoming more common, those principles are getting a lot more attention within the building industry. That’s why we were pleased to be selected for inclusion in the Universal Design Tour at IBS 2012, planned and sponsored by the 50+ Housing Council’s Universal Design Committee.

Esther Greenhouse

“Universal design is inclusive,” said Esther Greenhouse, a committee member and one of America’s leading environmental gerontologists. “Universal products offer superior functionality, benefit a broad audience and have broad market appeal.”

In other words, the successful universal design product not only operates easily and performs well, it looks good and appeals to everyone. Many so-called “accessible design” products are narrowly tailored to appeal to the specific needs of a certain individual, Greenhouse pointed out — “and usually lack the advantage of being attractive.”

Marvin offers a wide range of universally designed products, including:

The Ultimate Glider: A complete re-engineering of a classic design, our Ultimate Glider features a low handle, one-hand operation and automatic locking.

The Low Profile, High Performance Sill: Made of durable Ultrex fiberglass, this sill has a low rise (less than 3/4″), making use with walkers and wheelchairs easier.

The Ultimate Casement: This revolutionary window swivels 140 degrees to let you wash the outside of the window from inside the house. No more ladders — which send 20,000 Americans to the emergency room every year!

Visit us at Booth W2339 and see our great products — which also happen to be great examples of universal design.

Greenhouse stopped by the Marvin booth for a quick chat about common misconceptions about universal design:

Boyum has been with Marvin for nearly 15 years, most recently as director of marketing for both Marvin and its sister brand, Integrity Windows and Doors. He succeeds Tom Angelis, who is retiring. Boyum has achieved a record of success during the most tumultuous time in history for the U.S. housing industry.

“As a key member of our marketing team, Brett has led the development and implementation of many of our most successful products and programs,” said Susan Marvin, president of Marvin Windows and Doors. “Marvin has increased market share in the most difficult environment any of us has experienced.

“Now that Brett has taken a senior management role, we’ll look to his proven knowledge and abilities to continue moving our business forward in the brighter days to come.”

A resident of Rosemount, Minn., Boyum graduated from the University of Minnesota and holds a master’s in business administration from Walden University. He currently serves as vice president of the Board of Directors of the Epilepsy Foundation of Minnesota and will serve as board chair in 2013-15.

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.

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.

Susan Marvin, president of Marvin Windows and Doors, appeared today on Bloomberg TV’s “Bottom Line.” In this 6-minute interview, Susan discusses Marvin’s emphasis on taking the long view of what’s best for the company and its communities. Marvin believes its employees and their skills are its most valuable resource — and that’s why the company has done everything in its power to avoid laying off workers in the economic downturn.

It’s a great interview, and “Bottom Line” host Mark Crumpton was incisive and well-prepared. Crumpton really was in command of his material in a way that you don’t always see in the hectic world of business TV journalism.

Best of all, Crumpton invited Susan back for a return engagement. We love telling the Marvin story and are always happy when someone gives us a turn in the “bully pulpit,” so we’ll look forward to talking with Mark again in the future.

Our president, Susan Marvin, will be on Bloomberg TV’s “Street Smart” program today at 4:10 p.m. Eastern time, discussing the economy and how Marvin Windows and Doors has been navigating through the economic downturn.

Susan has become a well-known figure in the national business media through her appearances in the New York Times, CNBC, MSNBC, Fox News, the Associated Press, CNN and other outlets.

Her candid and tough assessment of the business climate is coupled with a refreshing dose of optimism about how Marvin is positioning itself to emerge from the downturn stronger than ever.

If you have a few minutes this afternoon, check out Susan’s interview. To find Bloomberg TV on your local cable system, visit www.bloomberg.com/tv/channel-finder/. And then visit Marvin’s Facebook page and let us know your thoughts.

We’re proud to have been recognized by management expert Donald Delves in this great column for Forbes. Delves explores how the bond between Marvin, our hometown of Warroad and our valued workers has resulted in a healthy company and a healthy community.

Here’s an excerpt:

“Aside from the admiration and respect of employees, what has the company received in return for its commitment to employees? Marvin’s reliability as an employer has created a workforce that can be relied on for high-quality craftsmanship and meticulous quality control, sustained by strong esprit de corps stemming from a highly positive plant culture.”

Wow. We’re humbled. Thanks, Mr. Delves. We’re glad you recognize a culture that has been nurtured for generations — and that we will always work to strengthen.