FIBREX^® - Fifty Years In The Making

Innovation has been the hallmark of Andersen Corporation since its founding in 1903, and Hall's Window Center is proud to carry on that tradition by offering Renewal by Andersen's most innovative product ever; windows made with Fibrex®.

Andersen Corporation was founded in 1903 and soon revolutionized the way windows were installed by pre-cutting materials for carpenters to assemble on the building site. Over the years, Andersen proudly introduced other industry milestones, including new technologies and methods that made windows and doors last longer, look better, and function as intended for many years. By the 1950s, Andersen's research and development efforts were laying the groundwork for Fibrex® material and a brand new way to provide homeowners with beautiful, high quality, and efficient replacement windows.

The History of Innovation, FIBREX^® Throughout The Years:

1958

Aluminum rejected as a framing material due to high conduction of heat and cold.

1959

Andersen is the first company to develop a hollow vinyl window in the U.S. but decides it doesn't have enough structural integrity. But the low-maintenance feature of the vinyl had possibilities.

1966

Andersen creates the "clad-wood" window and door category (still the standard of excellence in stock-size new construction). Andersen Research & Development invents a way to weld the corners together for airtight, watertight performance.

1970s

Over the decades, the company learns to approach manufacturing with the aim of extending, preserving and protecting resources. From the supply chain to the manufacturing line to the products themselves, Andersen strives to improve the return on its resources by making windows and doors that perform and last.

Andersen sees the extra wood created by its manufacturing process as a potential material resource. The company develops window sash made from reclaimed wood fibers and thermoplastic polymers. The new material performs and weathers well. But manufacturing methods are inefficient until developments are made in the next decade.

1968-78

The price of wood increases 400% in 10 years. Wood's unique structure preserves its strength right down to the cellular level. Andersen expands its use of reclaimed wood fibers into pressed wood boards for hidden parts of the window. Engineered wood - wood pieces combined and pressed together - actually prove stronger than traditional raw wood.

1991

Fibrex® material is patented - it combines the best qualities of wood and thermoplastic polymers.

1993

Fibrex® material used as a sub-sill component in the Andersen® Frenchwwod® hinged patio door. The Fibrex® material sill was selected for its superior strength and resistance to rot and decay, and performs exceptionally well in this demanding role.

1995

Renewal by Andersen founded. Now one of the largest window replacement companies in the U.S., Renewal by Andersen windows incorporate over 40% reclaimed materials from other window manufacturing operations.