Simonton Windows announces layoffs

Simonton Windows laid off 115 employees at its Ritchie County facility because of economic conditions and a seasonal drop in business, a company official said Thursday Marty Davis, marketing manager for the ...

[Former customer]

I'm sure some of the layoffs are due to the economic down turn, but I'm also sure some are because the company quality and service have taken a big hit ever since Simonton was sold to Fortune Brands in 2006. They really are running the company into the ground...... they (meaning Fortune Brands and Simonton) lost Sears national account along with a very big distributor in NY and countless others...... wait until the screw up their largest account in the country , which is Norandex. Its all very sad, because they use to be the best window company out there and it went bad very quickly. Good job Fortune Brands..... Bravo!

[Simon]

Let's set the record straight on Simonton Windows with a few facts, vs. the rumor mill. If the quality of Simonton Windows has truly "taken a bit hit" since Fortune Brands bought the company (as you state), then how do you explain these recent facts?

1) Simonton was ranked #1 in Builder and Remodeler Satisfation in 2008 by J.D. Power & Associates;

2) Simonton Windows just received the #1 "Quality Rating" in the vinyl windows category in the prestigious BUILDER Magazine 2009 Brand Use Study.

The recent accolades from these independent studies--both received while under Fortune Brands' ownership, by the way--speak volumes about the company's quality, integrity, and dedication to their customers! If you truly are a "former customer" it may greatly benefit you to take a second look at Simonton Windows (the industry's quality leader) and align your business with them.

[Employee]

I feel the company has went down hill in the past year. They do not care about the employee or the quality of the window it is the amount of item that go out the door. Quality Control is the biggest waste of a paycheck I have every seen. They do nothing to fix the problem to many of been made so sent the window as is. If someone doesn't take over soon we will be out of a job. Yes orders are up now, but wait a couple of weeks and then see what happens.

[Employee]

Quality Control isnt the problem its the Supervisors that dont want to have repairs.

[Employee]

Employee wrote:

I feel the company has went down hill in the past year. They do not care about the employee or the quality of the window it is the amount of item that go out the door. Quality Control is the biggest waste of a paycheck I have every seen. They do nothing to fix the problem to many of been made so sent the window as is. If someone doesn't take over soon we will be out of a job. Yes orders are up now, but wait a couple of weeks and then see what happens.

I work on one of the lines every time we call Quality for a problem they do all that they can. The problem is the Supervision treats the Quality employees like crap and the override Quality. From what i see Quality tries to do their jobs but the Supervisors dont care about quality they just care about getting their numbers run with no repairs on the line. If quality tells them there is a problem they throw a fit. I dont know how they do their jobs. Maybe the Supervisors need to stay out of their offices and do their jobs the right way.