From humble beginnings...A fenestration powerhouse.
The roots of Graham Architectural Products reach all the way back to 1960, when founder Donald C. Graham used $5,000 of borrowed capital to set up shop selling window design and tooling packages from the basement of a rented farmhouse in central Pennsylvania, just outside of York.
From those inauspicious beginnings emerged what is now the Graham Group, a collection of companies which together make numerous products through world-wide operating companies, including architectural windows and doors, plastics, construction materials, irrigation products and household appliances, in addition to investment management businesses.
Graham Architectural Products (GAP), one of the original operating businesses, began to manufacture window tooling in 1964 following the purchase of Marathon Tools and by 1970 was assembling window units on a contract basis. Two years later, it was manufacturing windows.
In 1976, GAP was formally incorporated, and in 1979 a 72,000 square foot manufacturing facility was constructed in York for window production.
The Innovation Begins
Over the next decade, the company enhanced its reputation for innovation, unveiling bold advancements such as contoured panning for historic renovation projects and the first blinded double hung window. And midway through the decade – in 1985 – a 56,000 square foot expansion enabled additional production lines for commercial window production.
The 1990s were marked by the introduction of a proprietary line of aluminum acoustical window products and, later, a complementary line of vinyl acoustic windows, including the first dual double hung tilt window.
The new millennium brought continued innovation. In 2002, GAP began to manufacture commercially rated fiberglass window and door products. A year later, the industry welcomed its first AAMA certified AW rated vinyl operable window, courtesy of GAP.
Dramatic Growth
GAP launched a complete line of blast mitigation products in 2004, including the first double hung tilt to meet GSA Level C protective criteria. In 2006, we expanded our hurricane line and in 2009 we acquired FM Enterprises, a curtain wall manufacturer in Merrill, WI, to supplement the window business with a full line of curtain wall products. That is now Graham Architectural Products, Curtain Wall Solutions.
2010 was an especially busy year. We introduced the GThurm product line, and with it a new approach to architectural grade window technology. By using Graham glass reinforced polyurethane G2RP for window lineals, GThurm windows achieved breakthrough performance in U Values for architectural grade windows.
That same year, GAP purchased the assets of Keystone Industries, a New Castle, PA, manufacturer of innovative European style windows and later formed Graham Thermal Products (GTP) to provide new product offerings for customers seeking innovative and energy efficient windows and doors.
The following year, we introduced several cutting edge, highly energy-efficient window designs, including the S6300 Human Impact window.
And in 2012, we consolidated our highly thermal windows and doors beneath the GT Series umbrella.
The Momentum Continues
More recently, GAP acquired a significant equity and operating partner position in the business of Hialeah, FL-based Continental Glass Systems LLC (CGS), broadening GAP’s footprint in the southern United States while enhancing the company’s hurricane impact portfolio.
Meanwhile, GAP continues to bring fresh and exciting solutions to the industry.
In 2015, we unveiled a great new ADA solution: the GT6200 SL Single-Lever Operator Window. It’s an out-swing casement with a single-point, multi-functioning hardware that allows locking, unlocking, opening and closing with minimal force, and can also function as a limited opening device. It is an ideal choice for operable windows, especially those in accessible spaces.
In addition, the company has developed a highly thermally efficient window wall system as a design alternative to conventional curtain wall to better meet market demand for aesthetics, ventilation, flexibility, cost and speed. We are uniquely capable of optimizing this technology due to our expertise in curtain walls, windows and doors.
Throughout our history, the Graham Architectural Products name has been synonymous with state-of-the-art innovation, unparalleled quality and the highest degrees of integrity and character. The future promises all that and much, much more.