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Crystal Windows Celebrates 35th Anniversary

QUEENS, NY, May 12, 2025 – National manufacturer Crystal Window & Door Systems is marking its 35th anniversary since the company started.  The company was founded by Taiwanese-American immigrant Thomas Chen, who came to the United States at 27, speaking no English and with no formal education beyond high school.  After spending his first few years here working for others in a variety of jobs, Chen launched Crystal Windows in a small commercial garage in Queens, NY, in 1990, and the rest is history.  Today Crystal Windows has over one million square feet of production space in five major factories across the country and employs more than 750 workers. “I started Crystal Windows because I believed home and building owners deserved a quality replacement window that was affordable and would last,” said Chen.  “Today our team continues that tradition, designing and producing a broad array of new products that meet today’s stringent energy codes and deliver high quality, all in the most cost-effective manner.” The first event commemorating the 35th anniversary this year was held on Saturday, May 3, for Crystal employees, their families, and other guests.  Approximately 800 people attended a celebratory gala in Queens, featuring music, dancing, and a traditional multi-course Asian banquet.  Several elected officials also attended to congratulate Crystal on its achievements, and New York Governor Hochul’s Regional Director Aaron Ambrose presented a citation of accomplishment to Crystal Chairman Thomas Chen and CEO & Co-Chair Steve Chen . Crystal’s original product line consisted of a simple aluminum replacement window for the New York City apartment house market.  Today, Crystal offers over 25 lines of vinyl, aluminum, and uPVC commercial vinyl windows and doors for residential and commercial applications all over the nation. Already extruding vinyl window components in-house, the company vertically integrated further in 2003 with the purchase and expansion of its Union, MO, aluminum profile extruder Gateway Extrusions.  Besides launching three additional window production facilities, Crystal has also expanded its in-house engineering, design consulting, product testing, and field services to meet the demands of complex new construction projects requiring custom solutions. Crystal has supplied its quality products for some of the most notable projects across the country, including: the historic OMNI Shoreham Hotel in Washington, DC; the expansive city-within-a-city development Harbor Point in Stamford, CT; top security Point Loma Naval Base in San Diego, CA; hotel chains Marriott, Holiday Inn, and Hyatt; and universities in New York, Florida, Michigan, Texas, and Missouri. “Crystal has a long history of strong growth for more than three decades and the company shows no signs of stopping,” said CEO Jeffrey Smith.  “There are many new products in development, and plans are underway for new production facilities in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and in North Carolina.  These new products and plants will help Crystal meet its future growth in exciting new markets.” Crystal Window & Door Systems is one of the top 30 manufacturers in North America of replacement and new construction vinyl, uPVC, and aluminum window and door products and high-end fenestration systems.  Crystal offers a broad product line, rapid order-to-delivery times, quality workmanship, innovative product features, outstanding value, and an experienced and knowledgeable staff.  Headquartered in New York, the company operates a network of factories, branches, subsidiaries, and affiliates in California, Illinois, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Toronto (ON).  For further information about Crystal and its products, call 718-961-7300, or visit the website at www.crystalwindows.com.

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Crystal Windows Add Style to New Nashville Development

QUEENS, NY, April 24, 2025 – National manufacturer Crystal Window & Door Systems recently completed supplying over 2,500 energy efficient windows and doors for a large modern new mixed use residential development in Nashville, TN.  Crystal supplied state-of-the-art commercial uPVC vinyl tilt-and-turn and fixed windows as well as uPVC swing terrace and sliding patio doors. Located at 622 Merritt Avenue, The Finery totals 415,000-ft2 and consists of 3 distinct 5- and 6-story buildings plus an adjoining parking garage.  The buildings are interconnected by upper floor crossover bridges and at ground level by an open-air pedestrian plaza.  The buildings maintain their individual modern post-industrial characters through the use of three very different façade styles – colorful corrugated metal, diagonally seamed metal panels, and traditional dark brick.  The buildings’ apartments offer numerous balconies extending from the facades. Unplasticized polyvinyl chloride or uPVC has been a common window and door frame material in Europe for decades.  Now uPVC is growing in popularity in America since it offers strength similar to aluminum frames with the superior thermal efficiency and sound attenuation of traditional vinyl windows. “As one of the national leaders in uPVC window fabrication, Crystal is seeing increasing demand for our MAGNUS commercial uPVC windows in all types of mid- and high-rise projects, as they provide exceptional comfort for residents of multifamily properties,” said Papo Perez, Crystal Branch Manager and project leader for The Finery.  “It is great to have owners, GCs, and architects in Nashville and in all major markets across the country embrace this superior fenestration material.” The Finery project relied heavily on the Crystal MAGNUS 4500 dual action tilt-and-turn and fixed picture windows.  Over 2,100 of these operating and fixed window panels were used to fill 817 building openings, mostly in large floor-to-ceiling combinations.  In a few openings, a large 9-panel fixed arrangement spanned an opening 132” wide by 96” tall. The Crystal MAGNUS 4500 dual action tilt-and-turn window offers both in-swing casement and tilt-in at the top operations.  This uPVC window is rated CW-PG95/AW-PG70 and for this project was thermally rated at U=0.29.  The MAGNUS 4500 features multi-point locks, top quality European-styled hardware, sash perimeter compression seal technology, and opening limit safety devices.  The Crystal MAGNUS fixed window is also rated AW-PG70.  Both styles were specified with the 3-¼” frame option. For access to balconies and terraces, the Nashville residential development used 344 Crystal MAGNUS 4500 uPVC swing doors and 44 Crystal MAGNUS 2150 uPVC sliding doors.  The Crystal MAGNUS 4500 terrace door features a 3-¼” jamb depth, strong multi-chamber reinforced frame and sash, compression seals, multi-point locking and 3’ x 8’ custom sizing.  A number of the Crystal swing doors were combined with large adjoining windows to create expansive multiple units, some up to 140” in width.  Many of the Crystal MAGNUS 4500 out-swing terrace doors for ADA compliant apartments were specified with a low sill option.  The out-swing door is rated LC-PG80. The Crystal MAGNUS 2150 uPVC 2-panel sliding doors have a 4-9∕16” jamb depth and feature a durable locking handle and dual steel rollers for easy operation.  The custom sized sliding doors ranged in width from 72” to 96”.  Some sliding doors were combined with adjoining side and transom windows to span even larger openings for grander views. All the Crystal windows and doors on The Finery buildings used 1” dual-pane insulated glass units (IGUs).  To enhance thermal performance, Vitro Solarban 60 low-E glass with argon gas filling was specified.  Where required by code or safety, tempered glass was used.

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