Simonton Windows said last week it has recalled 110 employees to two manufacturing facilities, mainly as part of its traditional spring sales revival but also because recent tax credits appear to be spurring more interest in energy-efficient windows.
The Parkersburg, W.Va.-based company hired back 80 employees at its facilities in Ritchie County, W.Va., and another 30 workers at its Paris, Ill., facility. That's about half the number of people who were laid off late last year and earlier this year as part of the traditional winter slowdown in production, a Simonton spokesperson said.
"In the winter months we traditionally see a seasonal drop in business," Mark Wherry, vice president of manufacturing for Simonton Windows, said in a statement. "With the arrival of spring, we're now seeing an upturn in product demand, which allows us to hire back employees.
"In addition to the traditional increase in business that occurs each spring, we're also seeing greater interest from homeowners in window replacement projects based on the newly-introduced tax credit for adding energy-efficient windows to the home," Wherry added. The credit—part of the recently enacted economic stimulus bill—allows homeowners to gain a tax credit of 30% of the cost of qualifying energy-efficient upgrades to a maximum of $1,500 per household for 2009 and 2010.