Klamath Falls, Ore. — Jeld-Wen welcomed the public with open doors on Thursday afternoon with a ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrating the grand opening of its consolidated and expanded customer support center, as well as a rare tour of the Jeld-Wen Tech Center in Klamath Falls.
The $3.5 billion manufacturer of windows and doors is in the process of consolidating its customer support services headquarters in Klamath Falls, company officials said.
“We’ve certainly had our stresses at Jeld-Wen, but now the housing market is recovering,” said Bob Merrill, executive vice president for the company.
“We’re now able to invest again in our plants, our equipment, our processes and our people. We’re growing our business in several facilities in Oregon.”
Part of that growth is doubling the size of its customer support staff in Klamath Falls, according to Jeld-Wen officials, with more than 40 customer support staff, room for 60 total, and possible room for more growth locally.
“As part of that investment, we’re improving our customer service and warranty customer care facility,” Merrill said. “We’re growing what we’re doing in Klamath Falls.”
CEO and president of Jeld-Wen, Kirk Hachigian, told the Herald and News Wednesday that the company will add 20 engineers to its Klamath Falls division, and that the company employs more than 1,000 employees in the Klamath Falls area. There are 2,000 employed for Jeld-Wen in Oregon, 10,000 in Oregon and 20,000 total worldwide.
Company tours
Attendees got a rare, up-close look at the company through tours of the customer support center as well as the research and development laboratory.
All orders for doors at Jeld-Wen come through the Klamath Falls customer support center, including orders for doors from The Home Depot and Lowe’s Home Improvement.
Nicole Cline started working for Jeld-Wen 18 years ago, making doors in Chiloquin. Cline started working in the customer support division two years ago, and shared the inner workings of the center with tour attendees on Thursday.
“In the past, all of the functions that are currently being done in this department were being done at each individual plant,” Cline said.
“We are in the middle of consolidating all of those orders for all of those production facilities that are going through decentralized support centers so the customers just have one point of contact.
“We’re also able to standardize a lot of our processes that way and come up with the best practices.”
Those on the tour also got a view of design and material testing of the research and development laboratory, where employees showcased new equipment and how door prototypes are built.
Product engineer Rudy Hamilton showcased new equipment that allows the company to build its own prototypes, as well as products the company is preparing to launch. Jeld-Wen tries to launch three to five new products each year, officials said.
Klamath County Commissioner Kelley Minty Morris expressed her gratitude to the company and their commitment to the Klamath Basin prior to the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
