In a recent discussion with Enviralum CEO Frank Messa, he shared three core beliefs in creating success as a local window and door manufacturer in the Miami market. Frank established Enviralum in 2010 with the vision of providing a line of quality commercial impact-resistant windows and doors to the South Florida market. With over 20 years of experience in the industry before starting the company, Frank knew exactly what and how he wanted to go to market.

1.) NEVER STOP INNOVATING

The window and door market in South Florida has always been an extremely competitive and fierce market. The competition is global, national, regional, and local. Manufacturers of every size and type want to have a piece of the South Florida hurricane window and door market, from residential builder grade products to luxury products for multi-million-dollar homes. From the stick-built commercial impact-resistant storefront systems to the massive four-sided, structurally glazed impact-resistant curtain wall products, South Florida is where innovation begins with impact-resistant products of every kind.

For Enviralum to survive and thrive in this competitive environment, they had to develop and offer a portfolio of innovative quality products that provided value-oriented solutions for their customers. Offering knock-off products that barely met the performance requirements would not have been the formula for success for Enviralum. From the beginning, innovation was the key, from designing and engineering new entrance door and window systems to making unique modifications based on specific project needs.

Enviralum’s newest product is the ENV-4545 Casement, Project Out Window. Customers kept asking for an operable window with the same performance and quality as the ENV-350 Door system and could be used together. Frank took a closer look at his ENV-350 Door, and the light bulb went off. He envisioned a vent in the door, the mid-rail popped out at Frank, and he immediately designed a receptor extrusion that allows the vent to close into his fixed window wall system. Frank is currently putting together the testing program for the product and anticipates having the product approval by Q3, 2021.

2.) ALWAYS PAY ATTENTION TO THE CUSTOMER (EXCEEDING THE CUSTOMERS EXPECTATIONS)

The long-term success of any business is the ability to deliver on your promise to the customer, meet the customers’ needs (with the intent to exceed those needs), and create customer loyalty. You cannot stay in business without customers! It is also important to pursue “the right” customer and not be afraid to walk away from “the wrong” customer. Sometimes it’s OK to turn down a customer that doesn’t share your values. Furthermore, once you have the right customer, you want to do everything you can to keep them and then find more like them.

Enviralum, from the beginning, knew that finding the right customer and offering the highest quality products at a competitive price, and always looking for ways to create value was the heartbeat of the company and would ultimately define its success. Today the company continues to find ways to bring unique value to both products and services.

Building loyalty with customers can be done in many ways but coming up with a specific need or project solution may be one of the best. . Enviralum had a customer who needed a center glazed heavy unit to be used as a balcony divider on a major high-rise project. There was nothing on the market that met the specifications. Frank reviewed the customer’s shop drawings and saw the unit design that they had come up with using off the shelf tubes and miscellaneous extrusions. There was very little thought put into how it would be fabricated, assembled, and installed. After reviewing the makeshift design, Frank considered his existing systems and came up with a modification that created a deep mullion unit that could use many of his current extrusions. The result was the ENV-750 Deep Mullion Fixed Window Wall system, a new product to Enviralum’s line and the perfect balcony divider solution for his client.

3. SAY YES AND THEN FIGURE IT OUT

Saying yes is more about attitude than actually saying yes to everything and everyone, but it’s a critical mindset. Providing solutions for clients creates trust and long-lasting relationships even if the answer may not be one of your solutions. In the customer’s mind, you want to be known as the expert in your field, as the go-to person that can help create or find the answer. Many of the product innovations by Enviralum have resulted from a client problem or unique design challenge where the answer or product didn’t exist at the time. Furthermore, Enviralum has always had the attitude that if they don’t have the solutions and someone else does, they will share that information. This approach has built incredible loyalty, trust, and respect with both direct customers and key influencers.

Looking forward to the next years…

Frank anticipates the next ten years will be an exciting yet challenging time for the company. The construction industry can be very rewarding and, as we all know, very difficult at times. However, maintaining these top three core beliefs within his organization will provide Enviralum with continued success.