Window Products Inc., the Liberty Lake-based vinyl-window maker, says it has changed its name to Cascade Windows to carve out a more specific identity for itself and to focus attention on its core product line by the same name.


Mark McVay, Cascade Windows vice president of sales, says no ownership or management changes are occurring or are contemplated at the company in conjunction with the name change.


The name Window Products effectively represents an industry, but not necessarily our company, McVay says. Changing our brand to Cascade Windows allows us to effectively communicate our value. It eliminates confusion with other window brands and the general perception among our customers that the name Window Products Inc. is too generic. Focusing the brand on our core series will raise product recognition and perception even higher.


The company has been associated with the Cascade name for a long time because Cascade Series is the name of its signature product line. Most of our customers are already familiar with this series name, McVay says.


Cascade Windows currently employs about 350 people, including about 260 in the Spokane area, and sells its products throughout the western U.S. It has manufacturing plants in Spokane and Salt Lake City; distribution centers in Spokane, Boise, the Seattle suburb of Auburn, and Salt Lake City; and works with more than 400 dealerships that carry its products.


It opened two of its four distribution centers, in Auburn and Salt Lake City, earlier this year, and expects to open more, though it has yet to decide where or when that might occur, McVay says. He adds, though, that the company is expanding into the Colorado and Southern California markets.


Buoyed by new-home construction, the company posted $43 million in sales last year, up 26 percent from $34 million in 2002. It expects a smaller percentage increase this year, to about $44 million, due to some consolidation, but anticipates a sharper rise next year, McVay says.