In the beginning...

Chelsea Building Products, Inc. was one of the pioneering companies in the U.S. vinyl window industry. Chelsea made a good idea even better, when it introduced the first all-vinyl, double-hung tilt window system to the U.S. market shortly after the company's window extrusion operation was founded in Pittsburgh in 1975.

Chelsea has continued to improve upon its original window designs, contributing many innovations to the window and door industry. The company was the first U.S. extruder to offer vinyl windows in a variety of colors, giving designers and contractors more choices to offer homebuyers. Chelsea also was the first manufacturer to offer a warranty on its products to the end user.

Chelsea Growth...

Begun as Maynard Plastics in the late 1940's, the company began rigid plastic extrusions in the mid-1960's. In 1975, the company's first window extrusion operation was started in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It began with one extrusion machine in a small warehouse facility. By 1980, the company, now with five extruders, moved to larger quarters. By 1985, the company had grown to 15 extrusion machines and moved to its present location in Oakmont, an eastern suburb. In 1989, the company had grown to more than 24 extrusion lines and, officially, became Chelsea Building Products.
Chelsea has added to its Oakmont facility several times, and has grown to more than 50 extrusion lines that run 24 hours a day, seven days a week and produce in excess of 135 million feet of extrusions per year.

An International Reach...

In January 1997, the Belgian firm the Tessenderlo Group purchased Chelsea Building Products. Based in Brussels, Tessenderlo Group is a diversified chemical company traded on the Brussels Stock Exchange, with annual sales of approximately $2.8 billion. Chelsea became part of the company's Plastics Processing Division, which operates profile and pipe extrusion plants around the world, and employs about 1,300 people. Tessenderlo Group has more than 8,100 employees and operates more than 50 plants worldwide.

A Quality Company...

Chelsea's headquarters is part of a modern, 500,000-square-foot complex that includes production and distribution facilities. There, nearly 200 employees design, develop, and extrude vinyl and composite window and door systems destined for installation in homes and office buildings around the world.

With Chelsea Building Products' history of innovation, quality, and service, the company is sure to remain a key part of the continuing growth in the industry.