Serious Materials Buys Another Window Company—Are Government Grants in the Future?

Serious Materials, the people who brought you ecologically friendly and sound-dampening drywall, have purchased Republic Windows and Doors.

The Chicago-area Republic had recently declared bankruptcy and let its workers go with only a short notice, prompting a sit-in of about 200 workers.

Serious got into the window business last year when it bought Alpen Window. The Thermaproof windows devised by Alpen (and now by Serious) insulate far better than standard windows and a lot of walls for that matter. The windows alone can cut home heating bills by 15 percent to 40 percent, Serious CEO Kevin Surace has said. (If you want to hear from Surace directly, go to the company’s Website. He pops out from the right side of the page.)

With the new administration coming in next week, green building could become a fairly strong market, even in a down economy. Obama has said that he wants to boost the energy efficiency of public buildings. Incoming Energy Secretary Steve Chu is a big fan of building efficiency. The administration is expected to give more grants to help weatherize low income housing.

And a lot of the jobs in green building—window factory worker, contractor, electrician—are part of the segment of the middle class that has been badly hurt economically.

It would not be a huge surprise to see companies like Serious getting grants for rescuing stranded manufacturing facilities like Republic and then getting paid to take on jobs improving buildings paid for by other grants.

It’s just a thought.