A turn for the better

Using green technology to manufacture tilt-turn windows and doors, Eurobuilt Inc. has a market niche all sealed up

Ron Eberle saw his first vinyl window back in 1986, at a home show that was being held in the Halifax Forum. "I was intrigued by the uniqueness of the multi-chamber design and the green properties of the window," he says. When he learned that the product was made in part by environmentally friendly recyclable material, he was hooked. "The product will last for generations, and then it can be reprocessed."

Today Eberle is the president of Eurobuilt Inc. (www.eurobuilt.com), a Hubbards, N.S.–based company that designs and manufactures European–inspired windows and doors that are leading the industry in energy efficiency, safety, and durability. The vinyl frames are made from polyvinylchloride; the technology involves taking a vinyl compound, melting it into a liquid, and pushing it through a shape known as a die. "It's kind of like making noodles," jokes Eberle.

This method of creating frames using molds allows Eberle to build features into his products that help them perform better. Eurobuilt's frames have five hollow chambers, containing multiple layers of "dead air," which increase resistance to heat loss in winter in northern climates and reduce loss of cool air in southern climes. The unique centre-gasket system further eliminates air exchange through the frame components. "Energy efficiency and energy conservation are issues we've been dealing with since we began," says Eberle.

Ron Eberle at the newly built W Suites in Halifax. The 82-unit building has Eurobuilt windows and doors.

In 1981 Eberle first moved to Atlantic Canada from Ontario to work as a sales representative for a company that manufactured wood-burning stoves. "I was exposed to alternative-energy concepts back then," he says. "I can remember people getting away from oil and burning wood." Eberle learned his new business as he went along, since he had no prior knowledge or experience with window-and-door technology. In 1989 he incorporated his company.

When Eberle first discovered vinyl frame technology, North Americans weren't interested in it because it was expensive. When consumers started buying the products, the price-driven mass market created pressure to reduce costs. Vinyl windows became smaller, slimmer, and cheaper in North America, but they have remained heavy, rugged, and increasingly more multi-chambered in Europe. Eurobuilt's products provide a more energy efficient, high-quality alternative.

"Today there's a whole lot more interest in North America than there was 20 years ago," says Eberle. "It's an education process, and there is more and more interest all the time. In the 1980s energy conservation was a high priority, and the issue has come around again, not only in northern climates but in the south as well."

Eberle works with his wife, Mary, who is the office manager, and another eight to 10 full-time employees. Eurobuilt windows and doors are designed using "tilt-turn" technology, which also was developed in Europe; the dual action allows the windows and doors to swing inward as well as pivot into a tilt position that opens more at the top. If it's sunny out, the temperature in the room will increase; the warm air rises and stratifies at the ceiling. The window can be tilted inward so that hot air escapes from the top, while cool fresh air simultaneously enters at the bottom. This allows for an automatic air exchange without requiring any energy use or fans.

The windows also swing in for easy cleaning, all with the operation of a single handle. They can even act as a fire escape in case of emergencies. "Because our product is performance based," says?Eberle, "it's tested and certified." In the United States there have been recent changes to building codes; energy efficiency and impact performance, such as high winds and water from hurricanes, are the two major factors influencing those changes. "The building industry is facing critical issues, like energy conservation in any climate and using green technology," says Eberle. "We are almost a shoo-in because we meet the new codes and address those concerns."

Eurobuilt's rain-screen products are ideally suited for high rises and buildings in coastal areas that experience powerful winds and driving rain. Most of the company's business is international exports, with most of it coming from the states of Alaska, Washington, New Jersey, North Carolina, and Colorado. From providing windows for an Oregon resort that has to buffer 100-kilometre-per-hour winds to condominiums in Barbados to high rises in Dartmouth and Halifax, business is booming. "We've got a great long-term product," says?Eberle. "Everything installed is forever."

— Shannon Long

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