Weather Tamer had 'very good year' in 2003

By Greg Miller
STAR STAFF
gmiller@starhq.com

   JOHNSON CITY -- "We had a very good year last year," said Jim Andes, Vice President of Sales & Marketing at Weather Tamer.
   "We had our second best year in 17 years in business right here in the Tri-Cities. We're looking forward to increasing that by 20-25 percent here this year."
   The construction of metal roofs and asphalt shingle roofs has been good for business at Weather Tamer, according to Andes, who said he would like thank the Tri-Cities for the growth the company has experienced.
   "I'd say the vinyl siding is probably what we do the most of right now, but in the past year we have added the construction of metal roofs and asphalt shingle roofs, which has really increased our market access out there," said Andes.
   The vinyl replacement window "is a very energy efficient window" with a lifetime written warranty. "If anything ever happens to it, glass breakage, screen repair, locks, latches, felt, the homeowner will never pay anything, parts or labor, to fix it," Andes said. "The warranty can be transferred if the home is sold." Following the transfer, a 40-year warranty kicks in.
   Weather Tamer uses "top-of-the-line" vinyl siding. "We use the thickest vinyl used in North America, it's a .48 mil thick vinyl. We have various colors, and we have woodgrain.
   "We are working right now with a specialty siding. It is a Cedar Shake that comes in six different colors. It has the appearance of wood, and it has the appearance of Cedar Shake, without having the vinyl look, and that has really picked up in the past year. We've done quite a few homes with that."
   Weather Tamer can also provide sun rooms and patio covers. "We do about anything for the exterior of a home that the homeowner wants done," Andes said.
   The local Weather Tamer site has 16 employees, and has more than $2 million in annual sales in the Tri-Cities area. "We are looking forward to expanding the Tri-Cities office," remarked Andes, who said the expansion would include a new office in the Winston-Salem, Greensboro, N.C. area. The North Carolina site will initially have four employees.
   The expansion also includes the renovation of the local facility. "We're looking at tearing this whole front out here and making a larger showroom," Andes said. "Our showroom is adequate now, but it's not what we need." Offices will be moved to the back of the building to make room for the enlarged showroom.
   Last year, the firm's biggest accomplishment was the "capital improvements that we've done to our building. We replaced quite a few of our maintenance vehicles and our service vehicles. We spent quite a bit there and in capital improvements on the exterior of the building." Adding new products was another big accomplishment.
   The Weather Tamer factory, located in Knoxville, has been operating since 1962.
   Mike and Carla Howerton own the local business. Barbara Cole is the office manager.
   Weather Tamer is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. and on Saturday by appointment. For more information, call 282-4741 or 800-774-5711.