What local contractors bring to a home renovation project

By WP BrandStudio

By working with businesses rooted in the area, homeowners can do more than just spruce up their property—they can also give the community a boost.

By June of this year, the majority of the U.S. labor force was working from home full-time. And after spending more time in spaces they may not have used much in the past, many people looked to give their dwellings a facelift—which could be why the home improvement industry experienced a 71% jump in spending in the spring of 2020.

At the same time, people have been especially careful with where they spend their money in recent months, and increasingly, they’re choosing to buy from local businesses; this year, 86% of people have supported local businesses and 75% plan to continue doing so.

Thompson Creek Window Company, a home improvement company with four decades of Chesapeake-region experience, offers area homeowners an opportunity to buy locally while making the home improvements they’re dreaming of. Local companies bring an understanding of regional conditions and a high level of trust to every job, which ensures a smoother renovation process. And working with a local business can give the community an economic boost—especially important during a time when approximately 1.4 million people in D.C., Maryland and Virginia are facing unemployment.

On top of that, Thompson Creek offers extra assistance to homebuyers looking to spruce up their spaces by handling the manufacturing, installation and servicing of products like windows, doors and roofing—all the way from start to finish.

The broad impacts of local businesses

In a globalized world, it can be easy to overlook the economic and social importance of local economies. But businesses with fewer than 500 employees are essential to the U.S. economy, providing 48% of jobs and accounting for about 44% of gross domestic product. Research has shown that communities with the highest density of small, locally owned businesses also have the highest per capita job and income growth rates.

Compared to nonlocal businesses, “every dollar that goes through local businesses generates two to four times [more] jobs and income effects,” said Michael H. Shuman, an economist and author focused on community economics.

Consumers have long recognized the value of shopping at small businesses in their communities; the Shop Small movement, which encourages purchasing from independent local businesses, is a decade old. Along with quality products and (until recently) an in-person experience, people shop locally for the sense of discovery it offers and for the chance to boost their communities: 61% of consumers said they head to local stores to find unique products, and 40% do so because they want to support their local economy.

This is something that Thompson Creek knows well. On top of being a crucial part of the economy, their devotion to their local customers and roots in the area allow them to offer a level of customer service that can’t be found at a larger company.

“Peace of mind, no runaround, and an outstanding warranty are all things the customer gets from us, along with our knowledge and expertise related to our geographical area,” said George Schaub, Director of Marketing at Thompson Creek.

Home improvement with a local touch

For Thompson Creek, becoming a community fixture meant changing their entire approach to business. They had been manufacturing windows and selling them to industry middlemen, like contractors, home centers and other manufacturers. But when company president Rick Wuest got a call from a customer on a snowy day about a contractor’s faulty installation of Thompson Creek windows, he decided that his company should do it all, from manufacturing products to installation to service after the fact.

“Even if the window is the best window in the world, if we just put it in your driveway, it doesn’t do you any good,” Wuest said.

Many people are willing to pay for the extra assurance; about 84% of window installations are professionally done. But products themselves also vary substantially, and it can be difficult for consumers to assess different window options based only on their appearance—which is where a trustworthy local business can step in and help.

Getting that assistance can save homeowners money in the long run, since as much as 50% of a home’s heat can be lost through poor-quality windows and doors. Windows that are well suited to the climate, on the other hand, can be crucial to a home’s energy efficiency; in the rainy Pacific Northwest, for example, moisture-resistant vinyl and wood-resin frames, as well as glass that’s highly resistant to temperature transference, are important, whereas most window frames in South Florida are made from sturdy aluminum for hurricane resistance.

Over time, Thompson Creek has learned the benefits of investing in materials that suit the needs of the local climate and that last longer, such as glass that boosts energy efficiency and can withstand the Mid-Atlantic region’s mix of tropical storms, winter nor’easters, heavy rains, and both very hot and very cold days. That regional knowledge includes the history of how buildings were constructed in the area, which informs how they install windows, according to Wuest.

“For most people, home is their biggest investment. If [the installation] isn’t done right, there’s a tremendous expense to them,” he said.

Working with a local window company has long-term benefits, as well. Homeowners tend not to notice issues with their windows until 10 to 15 years after they’re installed, said Schaub. And if a homeowner bought their windows from a window dealer or broker, it can often be challenging to get the follow-up assistance needed to solve any problems.

Because Thompson Creek designs, builds and installs their windows, they take full accountability for any window issues that happen down the line, and their No-Hassle Warranty protects customers for up to 50 years after installation. That kind of security, backed by Thompson Creek’s 40 years’ worth of experience, “gives customers [comfort] that they can’t get from a middleman,” added Schaub.

Investing in the Community

Thompson Creek has earned the trust of local homeowners by providing products and services that are high quality and regionally specific, and by offering long-term support and security. But they’ve also made it their mission to invest in the community that they serve; the company has grown from 30-some employees in the 1980s to nearly 400 today, providing growth opportunities for staff along the way.

“It’s very gratifying to grow up together with [long-term employees] and see how everybody’s able to improve their lives through this business that we’ve built together,” Wuest said.

How companies treat their employees is increasingly important to U.S. consumers: More than one-third list it as a top reason for trusting a business, and business trust is a deciding factor for 80% of American consumers when making a purchase. Additionally, eight in 10 people said that they’ll buy repeatedly from a business they trust and pay more for that brand’s products and services.

More and more, that insistence on trust is leading people to buy from local businesses, and that preference for keeping their dollars in their home communities persists “across political boundaries and geographies,” according to Shuman.

“In terms of trust, people love local business,” he said.

Learn more about how to begin your home improvement project with Thompson Creek Window Company

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