- March 27, 2024
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Window businesses, from manufacturers to installers, got pounded in the recession, so when one firm makes a comeback it could bode well for the greater economy.
Bob Smith, CEO and co-owner of Sarasota-based Universal Window Solutions, is doing his part to prove that theory correct. Universal, in fact, recently moved into a new 25,000-square-foot facility that includes a 10,000-square-foot design center. The 20-employee firm recently hired four people, and plans at least seven more hires over the next three months in accounting, sales and operations. Smith, further, projects revenues at the $8 million firm could increase at least 25% in 2013 over 2012.
“Things have been good,” says Smith, who runs the business with his brother, Rocky Smith. “We are glad that we survived” the downturn.
In addition to a place for growth, the new Universal showroom, near the Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport, is the culmination of a gradual strategy shift. The firm still works with homebuilders, but it's started to specifically target individual homeowners and the remodeling community. (See Business Observer, July 13, 2012.)
That's why the new design center, says Smith, includes 185 full-size displays, to bring out the touch-and-feel aspect. Products range from entry-level windows to high-end sliding glass doors. “We have actually seen a dramatic increase in our customers who are remodeling,” says Rocky Smith. “It has become 50% of our business.”
Universal, which the Smith brothers bought in 2000, paid $900,000 for the building, a former heating and air-conditioning facility off U.S. 301. The firm spent another $200,000 on renovations. One of the bigger challenges in building the showroom, Bob Smith tells Coffee Talk, is he couldn't really scope out what others have done. “There is nothing else like this new design center in the industry,” he says. “We are breaking ground.”