To begin with all our custumers, past, present or to come remains the cornerstone , because nothing we achieved would have been possible without customer support over the years
^{- George Thériault}

About

An extraordinary story of perseverance and passion...

In the early 50's, in Drummond NB, a farmer's son spent much of his time woodworking in his father's shed behind the family house. At the age of 13, George Thériault had learned enough to build a small rocking chair for a child. By that point, the young man was being torn in two directions, the family farm and his passion for woodwork. When he wasn't helping his father in the fields, you could find him in the shed cutting, sawing, nailing and planing down wood. 

One day, at the age of 16, he found an old-style storm window. Many youngsters at that age might have simply smashed the window with a rock and take off running. Instead, the young enthusiast took the window home and proceeded to take it apart and put it back together again, just to see how it was crafted. Gifted and perseverant, he came to know enough about this type of window to start making them by himself. This turned out to be quite a discovery and a turning point in his life.

The new entrepreneur was now recognized as a manufacturer and immediately registered with the province for sales tax purposes which would allow him to deal directly with wholesalers and distributors. This signalled the start of his new venture in the world of business in 1958.

...this company will establish itself whithin new markets without sacrificing what brought them prosperity: quality and customer service.

By 1969, his father's shed had become much too small for his evolving business. The young entrepreneur needed more manpower and lots of space. Aggressive and somewhat of a visionary, he knew that McCain Foods would be setting up shop in Grand Falls and that a new shopping mall was being built which meant that residential construction would be booming in a near future.

In order to meet the increasing demand for windows and doors, he invested in a building on Tobique road in Grand Falls, hired three qualified workers and acquired more productive equipment. This dynamic woodworker watched the market fluctuations closely and decided to launch a new product: the wood windows with storm windows and sliding glass. This dynamic approach allowed him to become the major supplier of doors and windows in the Grand Falls region. 

By 1980, G.R. Thériault Ltd. had 20 employees manufacturing doors and windows. The facilities needed expansion and storage areas, which were therefore added on the property. Seeing there was room for quality improvement, he started finger jointing, a revolutionary process which maximizes use of materials and reduces wood waste, which in the long run, will help protect our environment.

In 1984, still on the lookout for new technological breakthroughs, the company diversified its production by adding a new line: the wood casement window and aluminum clad exterior. This allowed him to maintain his share of an increasingly competitive windows and doors market and compete with other national manufacturers. 

In 1989, PVC windows started to surface in the European and North American markets. At this time, few companies dared to venture in this new process. However, this product was a tailor made for Mr. Thériault in the sense that it would prove to be of high quality, maintenance-free and affordable to all. He again takes the risk and decides to invest in new facilities. A few years later, as he predicted, in came the increase in demand for PVC products. Inevitably, expansion was pushed to new levels in order to produce at greater volume. This decision proved to be most profitable when he subsequently cornered a larger part of the North Western New Brunswick market. With the PVC window market on the rise, 1994 would be an exceptional year, and it would all be topped off with the Grand Falls Region Development Commission awarding him the Business Excellence Award.

To stay on the same track, a property was purchased in the Grand Falls Industrial Park in 1995, including a 6000 square foot pre-existing building. At first, this became the temporary door manufacturing location. With expansion as the main objective, it would later result in it becoming the main site for PVC window manufacturing.

In 1996, with his eye still on expansion, a 2500 square foot warehouse was built next to the existing building. This would eventually serve as storage space for raw materials required in the production of PVC windows.

In 1997 the final phase of expansion saw 6000 square feet of space added to the existing building for a total of 14,500 square feet of total space just for manufacturing PVC windows in the Industrial Park. In December, all of the PVC equipments and materials were transferred to the new site in order to start the production process. As for the original site on Tobique road, it will continue to be the location for production of doors and frames.

Over the ten following years, the company continued its growth and evolution at all levels of operations. To guarantee its place in an ever changing market and where competition has become as ferocious as ever, major decisions were taken and important investments were allocated:

In 2003, the sales and accounting departments saw the integration of computer software that would help create quotations, orders, packing slips and invoices.

In 2004, a new major PVC supplier came into the picture: Soniplastics Inc. Not only were they recognized for their reliability and the quality of their products, they enabled G.R. Thériault Ltd. to regroup a large number of suppliers into just one. In having the complete line of PVC materials under one roof proved to be the most cost effective operation yet, all the while increasing its purchasing power. The end result: a high quality product at an always competitive price.

The purchase of a 36 foot tractor trailer was added to the existing fleet. This enabled a better service to expanding markets by delivering complete truckloads of orders without any delays. It also became a huge advantage when it came to transporting the increasing volume of raw material purchases which required more space during shipping and better handling techniques.Always in 2004, it was decided to start construction of a 7500 square foot storage facility. This building would be used towards the ever increasing storage space required for raw materials.

The beginning of 2005 brought a lot of excitement in the manufacturing sector with the purchase of four head PVC welder along with an automated corner cleaner. These new sophisticated technological advances made an instant impact and brought about immediate improvements. The production team could now produce complete PVC window orders within a minimum time frame and at the same time increasing production by 50%. These robotic systems are of incredible precisions require the lowest of maintenance. Although these equipments required major investments, our entrepreneur's courage and confidence in his business seems unwavering.

In 2006, the steel door division was updated by the addition of an automated door puncher. This equipment reduced handling time, errors and defects which brought about increased efficiencies in production in excess of 30%.

In 2007, G.R. Thériault Ltd. received the "Energy Star®" certification and "N.F.R.C." ratings which now confirmed its own place and merit within the elite in the windows and doors industry on an international scale.

The next step was to implement an upgraded computer software system that would take it one step further. Custom made for G.R. Thériault Ltd.'s specific needs and details, it has been updated with all of the current technologies which now includes the production process and all accounting and financial systems. This meant that all errors will now be contained and kept to a minimum not to mention that an almost infinite amount of data and information, being past, present and future will now be available at the push of a button.

Today G.R. Thériault Ltd, windows and doors is firmly established and present in all major cities and in all four corners of New Brunswick. In addition, even with all the fluctuations with the U.S. dollar, our neighbours in the United States have come to recognize the real value of a quality product. This respect and recognition enabled both parties to build a strong and long lasting relationship.

With all of this being said, many of Mr Thériaults' goals have finally been achieved. Presently, everything is working at full capacity. His dreams as a young woodworker have all been surpassed.

Our market extends all over our province even crossing over into Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Québec. And we cannot forget our neighbours in the states of Maine down through Connecticut who have always showed a keen interest in our products even with the dollar fluctuations
^{Mr Thériault}

He is the first to admit that such success cannot come from one single individual.

To begin with, all our customers, past, present or to come remain the cornerstone, because nothing we have achieved would have been possible without customer support over the years. Infinite thanks seem insufficient. Secondly, the pride that our employees put into their work is also vital to the survival of any business. The dedication, integrity and honesty shown by our work force contribute to the longevity of this business, as well as the perception people have of this being a business where quality and service are our priorities. It is well worth mentioning that we can count on large number of employees who have served this company many years and even decades. And I must not forget, all our suppliers who were partners in the past and still are today. Thank you for your confidence.

Last and surely not the least, they say that behind every successful man, there stands a great woman and in this case, his wife Parise wears the title perfectly. Her faithful support and encouragement on a daily basis has helped her husband preserve through the toughest of times. On many occasions, she was the spark and lightning rod that motivated not only George but the entire staff. She is still the same today.

In addition to achieving success in his business, George Thériault has always made community involvement a priority through his work with the Grand Falls Richelieu Club, especially in the construction of the Richelieu Swimming Pool and the Richelieu Auditorium. Every year, he supports and is involved with local minor hockey programs and helped establish Mad-Vic Crime Stoppers in the region. Also, a considerable contribution has been pledged towards the Grand Falls Sports Complex. This is one of the ways to say thank you to the community that has continually showed its support.

What does the future hold? The foundation has already been laid for a long-term replacement with Michel Theriault, son of George and Parise. Already skilful in taking major decisions and with close to twenty years of experience at all levels, the company now has a new found enthusiasm and confidence that will help maintain its primary vision. G.R Thériault Ltd. is now ready to face new challenges without sacrificing its integrity which is supplying a superior quality product to all.

Comfort, quality and peace of mind; Parise and George Thériault hav always put the emphasis on their customers' expectations. Still active founders and owners, today they continue to teach their employees the importance of maintaining the highest standards and never losing site of customer needs. We have witnessed many changes over the past 50 years, but customer satisfaction has always been and always will be the number one priority at G.R. Thériault Ltd., windows and doors.