In a recent article in Window and Door magazine
Having been watching the developments of self-cleaning windows for quite some time, we see a time when the big mirrored glass buildings will no longer need the same frequency of services. First of all, self-cleaning glass is not really self-cleaning at all, so many Industry call it low maintenance glass, but either way the idea is intriguing and appeals to consumers. Oh what we've seen in new home construction is a move to lower-cost, to standardize, and to move quickly.
Should we be concerned that this new innovation will upset the market sector causing and your reversible micro sector rotation, which will put out of business thousands of small time entrepreneurs engaged in the cleaning of windows? Well, not exactly, however in the future we will see a change in the industry and that change will likely come through a combination of self-cleaning windows and Nano-technology. What does this mean for companies glass coffee pots like; the Window Genie; the Window Gang; the Window Butler; and the Window Wash Guys.A company in Pittsburgh called SunClean self-cleaning glass products introduced their version of self-cleaning glass at the end of 2001, while their sales have increased and have met company expectations, we have seen the industry as a whole lag behind the original hype of the innovation. In custom homes and renovations to numbers are quite promising. But for now PPG industries, Pilkington and at least 50 other large glass manufacturers are riding the wave in this newest trend.
In a recent article in Window and Door magazine, in March of 2003 the industry was asked what they thought of self-cleaning glass many of those interviewed were among the building industry, interior designers, architects, glass manufacturers, new homebuilders, tenant improvements retrofitters and window cleaning service companies. When new home shoppers go to new models and discuss the purchase of a new home those sales offices indicated that they had approximately 40 minutes with the clients and at that time they either made the sale, made of favorable impression for a return visit or had lost the customer completely.
Does self-cleaning glass mean that all the window cleaners and small businesses across this country are doomed? No, not yet. Also with new customers buying on 1 to 3 percent down they also indicated that most customers and consumers barely squeaked by.. So it's 71 percent of consumers given the choice would be more likely to choose self-cleaning windows, within how come we have not seen the promised Boom? Well there are a couple reasons the first being that often consumers do not choose what can glass one other homes as the builders choose 70 percent of what goes into their homes. The option of self-cleaning glass comes with it a host of questions for instance; what is it? With no time to explain, they rarely got into the subject matter.Self-cleaning glass has been talked about a lot, with such a catchy name in his hit the headlines of not only the trade journals, but also the mass media.
However, as we watched the industry we have seen surveys that claim over 71 percent of consumers given the choice would be more likely to choose self-cleaning windows over the regular windows even with the increased cost.
