Chicago Mayor Richard Daley commends the dramatic turnaround of Serious Materials Chicago. Watch the video of the mayor’s speech here.

Senator Dick Durbin praises Serious Materials for reopening the Republic Windows & Doors plant, saving hundreds of jobs. “The federal investments in the Recovery Act are paying dividends in Illinois at a time when we need as many jobs as possible.” Watch the video of the senator’s speech here.

Senator Roland Burris discusses the impact of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which has provided “the first step to re-igniting the great American economic engine through targeted tax relief, job creation, infrastructure, [and] education projects.” Watch the video of the senator’s speech here.

Frank Edwards of Serious Materials welcomes Vice President Joe Biden to the Chicago plant. Watch the video of Frank here.

Serious Materials’ CEO, Kevin Surace, welcomes Vice President Joe Biden along with United States Senators Dick Durbin and Roland Burris and Mayor Richard Daley to its most recently acquired windows manufacturing plant in Chicago. Watch the video of Kevin’s opening remarks here.

Vice President Joe Biden sees immediate green job creation with energy-saving building materials. Serious Materials Chicago, formerly Republic Windows and Doors, reopened this year thanks to increased demand for energy-saving building products as a result of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act investments in energy programs and energy efficiency tax credits. Watch the video of Vice President Biden’s remarks here.

Seesimmediate Green Job Creation with Energy-Saving Building Materials; Calls out SeriousWindows as the most energy-efficient in the world and commends creation of new green jobs

CHICAGO, IL — Serious Materials, the leading energy-saving building materials company in the U.S., today welcomed United States Vice President Joe Biden along with United States Senators Dick Durbin and Roland Burris and Mayor Richard Daley to its most recently acquired windows manufacturing plant in Chicago.  Vice President Biden, whose support played a pivotal role in the passing of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), visited the high-performance window manufacturing plant to demonstrate his support for the creation of new green jobs through the American manufacturing of energy-saving building materials like  SeriousWindows™ and SeriousGlass™.

“This is a story about how we inspire a better tomorrow.  You’re making some of the most energy-efficient windows in the world, I would argue, the most energy-efficient windows in the world,” said Vice President Joe Biden. Speaking to Serious Materials’ employees, Vice President Biden continues, “And you’re not just providing for your family with the income you’re making here; but by lowering energy bills, you’re saving the families in Delaware, California, Mississippi, Maine — you’re saving all of them. You’re saving people in public housing which are investing in weatherization. You’re saving people on the bottom line of how much money they will have to care for their families.” Biden continues, “Kevin, thank you and Serious for your faith in the people here at this factory, your faith in the country, your willingness to invest here in America.”

“Today, because of the hard work and determination of many people, this factory is once again providing jobs for people at the very time jobs are most needed in our country,” said Mayor Richard Daley.  “And, in part because of new federal tax credits for buyers of energy-efficient products such as the ones Serious makes, the future looks bright for the company, its employees and this community.”

Republic Windows and Doors garnered national attention in December 2008 when it suddenly closed its doors, declared bankruptcy, and left over 260 people unemployed just before Christmas 2008. At the end of February, Serious Materials acquired the assets of the former Republic Windows and Doors. The Company has since began to rehire former-Republic union workers and is quickly installing new equipment for the manufacturing of its SeriousWindows products and commercial glass, SeriousGlass. With this new plant, Serious Materials will be able to meet the increased demand for its super-insulating windows accelerated by funding made available through the ARRA for energy-efficient building projects. The Company intends to formally re-open the factory within the next sixty days, creating more green manufacturing jobs.

“It is a great honor to host Vice President Biden at our Serious Materials Chicago factory. Vice President Biden understands how devastating it can be to a community when factories close and jobs leave,” said Kevin Surace, CEO of Serious Materials. “That is why I’m so proud to lead Serious Materials – a company that is re-opening factories, and creating the green-collar jobs that are the key to our economic future.”

With the upcoming reopening of former Republic Windows and last month’s reopening of former Kensington Windows in Vandergrift, Pennsylvania, Serious Materials is on track to accelerate production for its SeriousWindows and SeriousGlass product lines by tenfold this year. Replacement of existing windows with SeriousWindows and SeriousGlass could reduce the U.S. total energy use and carbon emissions by 200 million metric tons of C02 per year. Super-insulating, full-frame R-5 to R-11 windows exceed ENERGY STAR®® requirements by up to four times and can reduce heating and cooling up to 50%, resulting in a 5% savings in national energy use. SeriousWindows and SeriousGlass support energy efficiency programs as outlined under The American Recovery & Reinvestment Act (ARRA) including: Weatherization (WAP), Green Federal Buildings, State Energy Program (SEP), Energy Efficiency Block Grants, Energy Tax Credit for Consumers, and Tax Deductions for Commercial Buildings.

Just last month, Serious Materials was commended by President Obama for the work it is doing to create thousands of American green jobs. On March 23, President Obama commented, “Serious Materials just reopened a manufacturing plant outside of Pittsburgh. Last year, that factory was shuttered and more than one hundred jobs were lost. The town was devastated. Today, that factory is whirring back to life, and Serious Materials is rehiring the folks who lost their jobs. And these workers will now have a new mission: producing some of the most energy efficient windows in the world.”

ABOUT Serious Materials
Serious Materials develops and manufactures sustainable green building materials that save energy, save money, improve comfort and aggressively address climate change.  The company was voted #1 at Cleantech Forum XII, won Global Gypsum Product of the Year 2008, won the first Aspen Institute award for innovation in Energy Conservation, and was awarded Green Product of the Year by Popular Science.  It has also been recognized by TIME/CNN, Fortune, and Business Week as one of the top green technology companies. SeriousWindows™ and SeriousGlass™ reduce heating and cooling energy costs by up to 50% and improve occupant comfort. QuietRock® soundproof drywall and QuietGlass® reduce material use, enhance livability, and support dense sustainable urban construction.  EcoRock™ uses 80% less energy in its core production and has the potential to save billions of pounds of CO2 annually making it the only true green alternative to gypsum drywall and five times more environmentally friendly. SeriousWindows, SeriousGlass and super-insulating ThermaRock™ drywall support energy efficiency funding programs as outlined under The American Recovery & Reinvestment Act (ARRA) including Weatherization (WAP), Green Federal Buildings, State Energy Program (SEP), Energy Efficiency Block Grants, Energy Tax Credit for Consumers, and Tax Deductions for Commercial Buildings. The company was commended by President Obama for the work it is doing to create thousands of American green jobs.
For more information visit www.SeriousMaterials.com.

# # #

Vice President Joe Biden visits Serious Materials’ Chicago windows plant and discusses how the Recovery Act  is creating jobs and building a 21st Century economy in Chicago and across the nation. Here’s the official transcripts from the speech:

Kevin, it’s not merely that you have the science, technology, and innovation to turn a failed factory into a potentially thriving business that can lead this country, but the thing I want to thank you for, having gone through these kinds of transitions in my years as a United States senator seeing “old” industries in my state close, is you’ve done something that is a little unusual; you’ve recognized, as Dick Durbin said, that the greatest asset that this factory had were the men and women who just spoke, the workers here. 

And instead of doing what has too often been the case in the last, I would argue, 10 to 15 years, you reached out for the most qualified workers in the world.  Instead of saying, if you want to come back I’m going to break your union, you said, come back, union and all.  That’s a big deal.  That’s a big deal.  (Applause.)

And I want to thank Frank Edwards, the production supervisor.  I also want to thank my friend, Dick Durbin, because Senator Burris said it correctly, we spent a lot of time — I spent a lot of time in November and December here in Chicago during the transition period — as a lot of aldermen saw us coming and going — working on the crisis we had inherited.  As a matter of fact, there was a great line the President used — he said, maybe we bought too high at the time because it was only becoming apparent just how deep this economic crisis was.

And as we were literally sitting around the conference table day after day coming up with notions as to how we would try to kick-start this economy, we came up with what was — the President came up with was an incredibly bold idea.  He was going to have this thing called Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and try to convince the Congress and the American people that we should be trusted with $787 billion in this moment of crisis, and try to create or prevent the loss of 3.5 to 4 million jobs.

And you may remember we were told, Mr. Mayor, that that wasn’t likely to get done.  But they didn’t know we had Dick Durbin.  They didn’t know we — seriously, they did not know.  And I think sometimes in your own city, your own state, you go somewhat unappreciated because they know you as Dick, and you’re here all the time and it’s standing out.  The fact of the matter is, Dick, this act would not have passed without your leadership.  And that’s not malarkey.  I mean, that’s literally steering this through in record time.  It got through in less than a month.  It was incredible.  It exceeded every expectation anyone had, and Dick Durbin deserves the lion’s share of the credit.  (Applause.)

And I remember in January talking with Dick Durbin about this factory.  He used it as an illustration of how badly things were going, and how dismissively American workers were being treated.  And so this is a guy who has been with you, like many other people here, but I happen to be closest to him, and was aware of what was happening out here.

Senator Roland Burris came along and provided an incredibly important vote.  This thing only passed by a razor-thin margin.  And I also want to thank Congressman Mike Quigley, who is — took over Rahm Emanuel’s seat — for his support, as well as a woman I’ve become good friends with, Debbie Halvorson — Congresswoman — for her support. 

And Attorney General Lisa Madigan is here. It’s great to see you, Lisa, and thanks for all you’re doing.  And Carl Rosen, president of the United Electrical Workers — United Electrical Union. 

I want to say to all of you, thank you.  And again, I know that, having been a local official 180 years ago, that you aldermen know what’s happening more immediately and more profoundly than any of us, because you’re there; they have your phone number; you know exactly what’s going on in your communities.  And thank you for sticking with your workers.

Ladies and gentlemen, to all of you let me say it’s great to be back in Chicago.  You know there was an old British politician who was around in the 19th century — his name was James Bryce.  And he described your town when he was studying America, he described it this way.  He said, “Perhaps the most typical American place in America is Chicago” — a description that I think so perfectly embodied the optimism I feel, and felt as soon as I walked in. 

We have a couple dozen or more workers back here.  I’m hoping, Kevin, I get invited back when all 600 folks are working three shifts here, and things are really moving along.  (Applause.)

But the optimism, the optimism here is palpable; it’s real, and it brings to life — it’s encouraging, and it brings to life directly, immediately, and profoundly the real impact of the Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and to what it’s having — it’s impact on families.  This is being replicated all across America.

You see, the President and I, we realize that the full measure of our success hinges on one thing, and only one thing, and that is whether the standard of living of middle-class people actually rises, and whether those who are aspiring to the middle class make it and are able to stay there.  That’s it, that’s the measure; that’s the goal we set from day one, and that’s the goal we have now.

We understand that our success is not measured by a statistical jump in the GDP, but by a leap forward in opportunity, the kind of thing that’s happening here today. It’s measured by the progress we see, and equally as important, by the promises, the promises we keep.  And it’s measured by the men and women who will be able to come back to work here over the upcoming months, getting their paychecks, helping them rebuild their families, their communities.

Everyone — everywhere I go, and everyone I see, there are places and stories just like this, stories about how the Recovery Act, in record time, has spurred economic growth in this country, a growth that we so badly, so badly need; stories of hard workers filling good jobs — not just making windows, but by building the sturdy platform upon which we’re going to build the economy of the 21st century; stories about how $8 billion in investment in weatherization has reopened doors and remade windows — right here in Chicago and in your five other plants across the country, Kevin — about how tax credits are encouraging homeowners to make their homes more energy efficient, and spurring a market — spurring a market for what we need to make every single day. 

The single greatest immediate impact on the environment that we can have as a nation, and the world can have, is weatherization.  That’s the immediate biggest bang for the buck.  It has the advantage of creating jobs, jobs right here in America; good jobs, union jobs, jobs people can raise a middle-class family on.

This, in a nutshell, is what the Recovery and Reinvestment Act is about.  And this is the story of Republic Windows and Serious Materials.  This is the story of how a new economy predicated on innovation and efficiency is not only helping us today but in inspiring a better tomorrow.

Kevin was talking to the Mayor and me over there showing us the final — part of the final product.  And he pointed out to us it’s not just windows he’s investing in; it’s a whole new family of business — business material — building material that his business will be investing in — not here, windows are — but all across the country.

So, folks, the fact of the matter is, this is a story about how we inspire a better tomorrow.  And it’s a story that I think you’ve — we’ve demonstrated here, we’re all writing together:  labor, business, management, government, all the citizens — we’re writing this together.

Now, don’t get me wrong, we know there’s still a great deal of work to be done, a great deal of work to be done.  But just seeing you here today makes me even more confident about the certainty I have that we’re going to succeed.  You see, you’re not just turning out windows; you’re making some of the most energy-efficient windows in the world, I would argue, the most energy-efficient windows in the world. 

And you’re not just providing for your family with the income you’re making here; but by lowering energy bills, you’re saving the families in Delaware, California, Mississippi, Maine — you’re saving all of them.  You’re saving people in public housing which are investing in weatherization.  You’re saving — you’re saving people on the bottom line of how much money they will have to care for their families. 

And it makes sense.  It all makes sense, of course, but the city — the city of broad shoulders, and those shoulders, your shoulders are built to help ease the burden of not only of families here, but the burden on families all across this country.  With more stories like this all around the country, we’ll see the same kind of success. We’ll see men and women like you who are back to work.  We’ll see moms and dads who can once again, in these troubled times, look their worried children in the eye and say, honey, it’s going to be okay, we’re okay, it’s going to be all right — because that’s the ultimate measure of whether or not you’re providing, when you’re able to look at your kids and say, don’t worry, it’s going to be okay.   Because one day our children are going to look at the world outside their windows, outside these windows, and see how their future was built by the broad shoulders of the folks right here in the city of Chicago.

So, Mr. Mayor, thank you for all you do.  Kevin, thank you and Serious for your faith in the people here at this factory, your faith in the country, your willingness to invest here in America.  And may God bless you all.  And most importantly, may God protect our troops.

Chicago’s ABC Channel 7 News profiled Vice President Biden’s visit to our most recently acquired windows manufacturing plant in Chicago. The Vice President was joined by United States Senators Dick Durbin and Roland Burris and Mayor Richard Daley. Watch the clip here.

It’s amazing that when Vice President Biden has so many places he could visit to highlight the use of ARRA funds in creating our future economy, he picks Serious Materials.

This morning, he appeared at our most recently acquired window factory outside of Chicago. We also met Mayor Daley and both Illinois Senators, Dick Durbin and Roland Burris.

See an initial set of photos here.

Read the full Press Release here.

It is a great honor to host Vice President Biden, because he understands both the immediate impact energy-saving windows can have on cutting carbon emissions as well as on American job creation. There is no faster, greater return on both energy and cost savings than the opportunity we have right now to retrofit, weatherize, and build with the most energy-saving building materials available today. We will, and we must, continue to build for the future. We must create the very kind of jobs that will be of lasting benefit for generations to come and will reverse the destabilizing trends in our energy-starved world.

We like to think that this visit means more than just that we make great windows which also insulate, but because Kevin Surace, our CEO, is really exerting leadership and collaboration to use the economic crisis for social good.

Kevin thinks we can move the country to sustainable building practices relatively quickly using the ARRA retrofit funds, and that’s why we bought the former Republic Windows & Doors and former Kensington factory as well. After all, when you consider both the manufacturing processes and the buildings themselves, the built environment is responsible for 52% of greenhouse gas emissions.

It was a very inspirational event for all of us – certainly there were tears in all of Serious Materials Marketing’s eyes (and I’m sure in those of others as well!).