Clear Impact Podcast

Customer service is a critical piece of any successful business, and great leaders come from the ground up. Jillian began 17 years ago on the manufacturing floor and now leads the teams taking care of customer and warranty services for the western side of MITER Brands. With the tremendous legacy to uphold, Jillian appreciates the opportunity to embrace new technologies that allow for improvements...

As the Operations Manager for Internal Supply, overseeing nearly 200 team members, Marc is a wealth of knowledge! He understands the process as someone who began 31 years ago on the production floor. He and his team are continually working to innovate and improve how we manufacture our extrusions in Tacoma. Like others, he is learning more about AI to expand our capabilities.

When people love what they do, it's been said they don't work a day of their life. After 22 years at MITER Brands, Tim enjoys working in his current role as Pricing Manager for Milgard. It provides a great opportunity for him to leverage his years of experience across various roles. Tim is also involved with the MITER Foundation and appreciating the teamwork involved in that effort.

Meeting colleagues on the other side of the country is such a fun thing to do! And then learning how their expertise supports the business. Jeremiah (a fellow Iowa native) shares about his various roles in the business over a 20+ year tenure. He now serves as VP of Marketing Operations. Joanie is working on a major puzzle, blending two different SalesForce platforms across our enterprise. She bega...

What makes a company innovative? Is it the people, the products, or their process? Maybe it's a magical mix of all three. Kevin and Erik share a bit about their roles in researching and developing products for our Western brands (Milgard, Western Window Systems, and Anlin Windows & Doors). The collaboration between product marketing and engineering allows for growth of this market share and pr...

Some folks just inspire others to greatness - and Dave Alexander is definitely one of those people. His enthusiasm for leading our Manufacturing Excellence Teams is evident - and a bit contagious! With the challenge of 20 manufacturing sites, and thousands of products manufactured daily, Dave remains humble while in the relentless pursuit of 100%. You'll learn about the attitude and mindset around...

Building relationships is an intentional component of our business, and the ETP trip allows for that very thing. Today we peek behind the curtain and chat about what goes into planning this trip, the criteria for going, and why we continue to provide this amazing trip for our partners. Brian and Katie share a bit about their experience and why it's so valuable to our customers, and to us.

Helping a non-profit organization AND taking a tropical vacation to Mexico? This combo was too good to pass up for Rick Cross with Paradigm, a MITER Brands vendor partner. When he attended a MITER Foundation event last year, and the ETP trip came up for bid, Rick raised his paddle. On the trip, he enjoyed networking with our teams and our customers, and his wife enjoyed some pool time. A win for t...

Whenever you go on a trip, you’re sure to make memories. Imagine catching your first fish ever and it’s a 140lb Marlin! That’s what happened when Jesus Castro (and his wife) attended the ETP trip in Los Cabos this year. Jesus is the Senior Director of Operations for The Window Depot based in Tuscon. They have been a Milgard dealer since 2011 and have ten retail locations throughout the SW Region o...

With 14 locations throughout Pennsylvania, Lezzer Lumber has been in business since 1927. They began selling MI products in the late 70’s, originally purchasing screens to go with a competitor’s windows. As a third-generation business, K.C. grew up in it, and is now VP of Sales. Relationships with their customers are what their focus is, and what lends to their success, and ours.

Florida Windows and Doors is a Diamond Dealer for PGT with several locations in Florida. They work heavily with builder partners and contractors and focus on relationships with their customers. Kelli Bryan and her husband Kyle attended our ETP trip for the first time this year and appreciated the networking opportunities the trip offered. Her advice for someone trying to level up? She recommends t...

Our team, MITER Brands University, or MBU (formerly PGTI University), has a new name, and a new look! With an expanded scope of customer education for all of MITER Brands, we wanted a logo that would fit us. Today’s episode brings Nick Board and Annie Leung to discuss the story behind our new look and the process of its creation.

Interacting with customers at a training event is one of our favorite things! We had a quick conversation with Tyler Kramer from Weathermaster Building Products, Jamie Smith from Lighthouse Windows, and Ryan DiPaolo, who is their Territory Rep for MITER Brands. We chat about WHY it's important to continue learning and understanding the industry and our products.

There is so much to learn in this industry, whether you're brand new or well seasoned. We had the chance to talk with Kyle Bryan from Florida Windows & Doors, who brought a few people from his team. Being knowledgeable about the business is a key factor in success for this Diamond Dealer partner.

When our team shows up for a training event, we know it's going to be an amazing event. Our learners appreciate having the interaction with us - and each other. This episode brings a short conversation with Matt, Kyle and Scott from Neighborhood Windows and Doors, as well as a short conversation with our team.

Our name is a representation of our core values, with each letter standing for an important element of who we are. It forms our connection with team members, customers, suppliers, and communities. Listen to this episode to learn more about MITER, as our CEO, Matt DeSoto, walks us through each letter and its meaning. You might learn something new!

What started out as helping distribute relief supplies, has evolved into exploring damage and performance of windows and doors. Our engineering teams learn a lot through this exercise, and partner with other organizations in post storm evaluations. Dean Ruark, our VP of Engineering and Innovation at PGT, shares some of his first-hand experiences in assessing post storm damage in these devastating...

We continue to chat with Lisa, Logan and Alonso as they share about the NFRC, the National Fenestration Rating Council. This organization manages all the testing for Fenestration products on several criteria. We learn more about this group, how they function, and why it’s important for our business and the consumers.

It’s time for a deep dive as we begin a new series! Today’s conversation is with Lisa Wilson, Logan Yoder, and Alonso Morlesin, as they share their knowledge with us about Energy. They share why it’s important, explain the differences between Energy Code & Energy Star, and how this impacts our industry and our customers.

Every three years, the Florida Building Code is updated, with the most recent version which took effect on January 1, 2024. Jim Heise and Lynn Miller share about the revision process, and what changes and revisions we can expect to see in the near future.

Our organization was built on solid relationships, and our architect community is a huge part of our success. Listen as Ty Cranford, Director of Architectural Sales, and Jim Heise, MITER Brands University Instructor, discuss the importance of working with trusted partners. We also discuss the complexities of California's Title 24 Energy Requirements, and what it took to develop this course.

On today's episode, we hear from Lynn Miller, our Code Compliance Manager. He shares about the collaboration between FGIA and the FWC to better understand glass, light pollution, and sea turtle hatchlings. This effort helps everyone wanting to stay compliant with their windows and doors, while also making sure sea turtles are protected.

Why do we care about Sea Turtles? Because they are endangered. Also because there are regulations for visible light transmittance for your windows and doors when you live on the beach. We sometimes refer to this as Turtle Glass, and its purpose is to minimize light pollution. Melissa Macksey, Senior Biologist and Conservation Manager of Mote Marine Laboratories in Sarasota joined me to talk about...

Jim Shank joins us today as we talk about the common concerns when it comes to your new windows and doors. What kind of entry door should you have? Is distortion normal? What about condensation? How about suction cup marks? All of these questions are answered in this final episode of Windows and Doors 101.

Wait, I have to maintain my windows and doors? What does this look like? What happens if I don't? Should I pressure wash them? In this short episode with Francisco Feliz, we help you understand why care and maintenance will help your window and door products functioning well for years to come.