Development of Attachment Products Ratings Draws New Members
NFRC’s membership is growing at a fast pace this year with 20 new members since January. The NFRC’s recent meeting in Baltimore saw some of the highest attendance numbers in recent years and welcomed more than 25 first-time attendees. The common denominator in both these numbers is the strong presence of a very motivated new group of volunteers: the attachment industry.
Close to half of the new companies gaining a voice and a vote through NFRC membership are in the newly developed membership category concentrating on products not-yet-rated in the NFRC programs. The NFRC’s new mission reiterates the organization’s unwavering commitment to establishing and maintaining “…energy-related rating and certification programs that serve the public by providing fair, accurate, and credible information on fenestration performance.”
“It is NFRC’s mission to bring the expertise of our membership together to offer a solution for rating all fenestration products possible,” said Jim Benney, NFRC’s executive director.
Developers of fabric used in awnings (exterior) and window treatments (interior) and manufacturers of shutters and rolling doors are getting involved with processes to move forward the development and subsequent rating of fenestration attachment products.
Rising to the Challenge
“Attachment manufacturers, like us at Hunter Douglas, are proud of the energy-efficient products we offer. These products can partner with windows to improve the overall energy performance in homes and buildings,” Mike Cienian, of Hunter Douglas, and chair of the Attachment Products Subcommittee. “We would like to see ENERGY STAR® categories and designations for these products. Establishing the NFRC processes for rating Fenestration Attachments is a huge step in that direction.”
Cienian has been busy gathering the volunteer workforce needed to accomplish this challenging task. He has been a driving force in this effort and even had Hunter Douglas participate in NFRC’s sponsorship program to increase awareness of the energy-saving potential of attachment products.
On the NFRC Board of Director meeting on July 23, Cienian told the Board that networking during the NFRC Summer Membership Meeting provided a unique opportunity to improve awareness of how attachment manufacturers and window manufacturers can combine their knowledge and skills to better serve consumers and the fenestration industry in general.
Another meeting sponsor, the Professional Awnings Manufacturers Association (PAMA), is also focusing its efforts on the development of attachment ratings. John Gant, of Glen Raven, Inc., is a member of both PAMA and NFRC. He chairs several attachment-related task groups. In a July 23 NFRC News Now entry, he explained that PAMA is demonstrating a commitment to NFRC because it’s the right organization to develop ratings for his industry’s products.
To learn more about the NFRC Attachment Products Subcommittee or task groups, or to get involved in these groups, contact John Lewis, NFRC’s Attachment Subcommittee liaison, at 301-589-1776 or e-mail at jlewis@nfrc.org.
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NFRC Insider | Vol. 3, Issue 5 - August 2009