Fendor Glass & Aluminum (1993) Inc.

Fendor is a small business in the Westboro area of Ottawa, that manufactures aluminum boat docks and accessories, and supplies and installs windows, doors and garage doors, and also provides service for the same. We currently employ twelve full time employees, and four casual part time employees, and in the spring we usually hire two or three seasonal employees from a local employment agency.

The company was founded in 1941 by Mr. Frank Fentiman and his son Clarence, and was originally called F. Fentiman & Sons Ltd. The company started out right here at 335 Roosevelt Ave., in a tiny wood-frame building, selling sash balances, weatherstripping, and sull sash. Over the years the business expanded into overhead doors and aluminum windows and then into large commercial window and curtainwall installations.

When the Fentimans decided to retire in 1976 they wanted to ensure the continued growth of the company and the welfare of its workers so they sold it to two longtime employees, Len Westwell and Peter Royds. Over the years, the business has grown and prospered and diversified with such products as aluminum boat docks (Fendock).

Fendor is a community minded company, and help support many community events and fundraisers. We support (Corporate Founder) the Cottage Dreams (Cottage Dreams is a charitable organization that provides recent cancer survivors with the opportunity to get away to a donated cottage for a week of rest & relaxation), United Way, and also promote the United Way campaign to our employees. The Ottawa Dragon Boat Festival is another community event that Fendor supports, through the donation of numerous “Fendocks” (boat docks) for the boaters to access their boats for the event. We not only donate the docks, but also do the set up and dismantling of the docks.

The Ottawa Dragon Boat Race Festival raises money for three charities: the Alzheimer Society of Ottawa, the Special Needs Equipment Exchange Services, and the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada, Ottawa Chapter. In 2003, Fendor was a Gold Sponsor for this Festival. In 2003, Fendor was also a Silver Sponsor for the Carleton Place Dragon Boat Races, again donating docks, setting them up and dismantling them following the races.

Fendor sponsors the Christie Lake Boys and Girls Club, again by donating docks for their canoe races at Mooney’s Bay, here in Ottawa. For many years now Fendor has purchased tickets for the Shrine Circus to help support the charitable effort of the Shriner’s. Fendor has given monetary donations to support Minor Soccer, and Minor Hockey. Specifically, we have supported the South Nepean United U11 Boy’s Premier Soccer Team, and the Kanata Jets Atom ‘B’ Hockey Club. Both of these teams have team members and/or coaching staff that are related to someone employed by Fendor, hence we are not only supporting the team, but also our staff.

We also support the CHEO Coloring Book, and the Ottawa Fire Fighters Benevolent Fund. This year we have also provided space to help the Goya Theatre, a registered charitable organization, and the only community-based theatre company in Ottawa presenting exclusively new Canadian works of theatre. The space is a large work area to enable them to create back drops and props for their productions (GOYA - Giving Opportunities to Young Artists). New for us this year as well is helping a citizen-based organization called The Ottawa Riverkeeper, an organization which is concerned with the ecological welfare of the Ottawa River. It is one of over 100 organizations that form the Waterkeeper Alliance. This year we provided transportation of their boat from Perth to Ottawa, lending our time and trucking service.

Fendor has been a long time supporter of the Scotia Banks Fund Drive for the Terry Fox Run, and also supports one of our local participants annually in the same event. We also purchase tickets to support The Old Timers Hockey Challenge, and The Ontario Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics. Fendor has also donated monies to the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority’s Watershed Watch program, to help carry out a water quality monitoring program on six lakes in the Rideau Lakes area. Watershed Watch is a long term program of baseline sampling which tracks the health of the lakes and helps identify problem areas or potential water quality hots pots for further investigation. Fendor also helps to protect the health of all our lakes and rivers by manufacturing an environmentally friendly boat dock.

And lastly Fendor helps to support our local sports teams by purchasing seasons tickets for the Ottawa Renegades, and the Ottawa Senators. These tickets not only support our local teams, but are also used to give to employees (to foster good relations) and to business clients (to promote client relations).

Job Creation/Employee Relations

The owner and President of Fendor Glass & Aluminum (1993) Inc., Mr. Greg Westwell, has always had an open door policy at work for employees, not only for work related issues, but also for personal challenges. Mr. Westwell arranges an annual Christmas Party for employees and their spouses, always held at a local restaurant (to help support local restauranteurs), and provides each employee with a Christmas turkey, and a gift. This year, for the company’s 10th Anniversary, Mr. Westwell took all his employees, full time and part time, his accountant and lawyer, and all their spouses on the Wakefied Train for the Sunset Dinner Run – it was a fun time for all!

For a number of years Fendor has hired students for summer employment, hoping to help develop good work ethics, dependability, self-confidence, and work related skills in our youth. Fendor has hired untrained and unskilled employees over the years, and provided on the job training for them. Fendor also provides ‘WHMIS’ training and ‘Fall Protection’ training for employees. Fork-lift training is also provided to employees as needed. The salesmen have been sent on sales related courses and suppliers have been invited in to do presentations and training on any of their new products.

Fendor has had profitable increases each and every year, since 1993, when Mr. Greg Westwell started the company. From 1993 to the present Fendor has had a 325% increase in sales, again showing an increase each and every year.
We have been able to do this because of many factors.

We are members of the organizations listed below:

The Better Business Bureau
The Ontario Construction Association
Ontario Sailors Association

This not only enables us to keep current, but also helps us to network. It was part of our business plan to purchase our own property, which we have now done. Presently we are also negotiating new purchase of land for expansion.
We use advertising strategies (locally) to promote our products. We advertise in The Ottawa Sun, The Ottawa Citizen, and The Pennysaver.

We also advertise within our community through sponsoring The Dovercourt Recreation Assosciation, and nationally by advertising in several magazines - the Cottage Life Magazine, Canadian Homes and Cottages Magazine, Ontario Sailor Magazine and Real Living Magazine. Fendor is a participant in many local shows as well. We have booth space at The Cottage and Country Home Show (Ottawa), The Ottawa Boat, Sportsman, and Cottage Show, the Halifax International Boat Show, the Cottage Life Show (Toronto), and the North Bay Home, BOAT & SPORTSMEN’S Show (Abbotsford, B.C.) & Cottage Lions Club Show. We keep in constant communication with our dealers, by visiting them, doing demonstrations and training for them, and providing them with a 1-800 number for any questions or concerns they may have.

We also purchase and distribute many promotional products, which also helps to create public awareness. In order to help out with our seasonal production of products, we have gone to our suppliers of aluminum and negotiated better terms to allow for manufacturing lead times.

This year we have signed on with the Home Hardware Company, which expands our dealers nation wide (approximately 1000 stores across Canada). We have participated in the Home Hardware Show in St. Jacobs, Ontario, to promote our product line to all participating Home Hardware Stores.

Fendor prides itself in providing quality products and customer satisfaction. We have built new show room displays of different types of windows, doors and garage doors in order to help our customers see what it is they are purchasing and make informed choices regarding their purchases.

We also have an outdoor dock display, and a year round indoor scaled-down dock display for our customers. The purchase of a new automated aluminum chop saw has improved manufacturing speed and quality. Warranty cards are enclosed in every dock package, and accessory package. Because we sell our “Fendock” line through dealers across Canada, we do not always have direct contact with the customer. These warranty cards provide us with pertinent information - who has purchased a product, what products they have purchased, which dealer they have purchased the product through, and where the dock has been set up. It also gives us a mailing list for more potential sales. A warranty certificate is issued for window products, and customer satisfaction cards are mailed out. We follow up with our customers, and also provide a 24 hr emergency service.

Over the years Fendor has improved their main-stay product, the ‘Fendock’ using customer feed-back and research, and developed many new products: floating docks, swimming rafts, a dock bench, boat racks, a dock hinging kit, a canoe caddy, a snowmobile lift, boat roller ramps, a boat caddy, adaptation for an awning for our dock, and enlarging dock widths to create decks for seating space and increased versatility. We have also researched alternate types of decking for our docks. All new products are tested before being released to the public. Fendor has also been forging forward with the development of its website, e-mail, and on-line ordering. Fendor uses a beautiful colour brochure to market its products. This brochure is updated with new products, and newly formatted every two years, and is given out at all trade shows. We also mail out many brochures each year to customers phoning in with enquires, or to customers coming in to our showroom.

In summary Fendor being a small family oriented, and community oriented company takes pride in its quality products, and competent, knowledgeable and friendly staff, and community involvement.