Apogee Enterprises, Inc. (Apogee, the Company or we) was incorporated under the
laws of the State of Minnesota in 1949. We are a world leader in certain technologies
involving the design and development of value-added glass solutions for enclosing
commercial buildings and framing art.
Our Company has four reporting segments:
The Architectural Glass segment fabricates coated, high-performance glass used
in customized window and wall systems comprising the outside skin of commercial,
institutional and high-end multi-family residential buildings.
The Architectural Services segment designs, engineers, fabricates and installs
the walls of glass, windows and other curtainwall products making up the outside
skin of commercial and institutional buildings.
The Architectural Framing Systems segment designs, engineers, fabricates and
finishes the aluminum frames used in customized aluminum and glass window, curtainwall,
storefront and entrance systems comprising the outside skin and entrances of
commercial, institutional and high-end multi-family residential buildings.
The Large-Scale Optical Technologies (LSO) segment manufactures value-added
glass and acrylic products for the custom picture framing and fine art markets.
Our overall strategy in the Architectural Glass and Architectural Framing Systems
segments is to deliver growth faster than our defined commercial construction
markets. We accomplish this through geographic and market segment expansion
and new product offerings, while differentiating ourselves through superior
service and lead times, remaining focused on distinctive solutions for enclosing
commercial buildings. In recent years, we have increased our focus on the window
and curtainwall retrofit and renovation of existing commercial buildings. We
have seen increased interest from the non-residential and high-end multi-family
building sectors in upgrading the façades and improving the energy efficiency
of their buildings. We consider this to be a significant opportunity for Apogee
in the coming years.
In the Architectural Services segment, our emphasis is on improving margins
through focused project selection, while continuing to deliver organic growth
in line with our available project management capacity.
Within our LSO segment, our strategy is to grow by continuing to convert the
custom picture framing and fine art markets from clear uncoated glass and acrylic
products to value-added products that protect art from UV damage and minimize
reflection, both within the United States (U.S.) and internationally. Additionally,
we have begun identifying new display markets that desire the value-added properties
our glass and acrylic products provide.
Each of our segments has the ability to grow organically through geographic
expansion and product line extension, and we also regularly evaluate business
development opportunities in complementary sectors. These strategies can also
be executed by acquisition or strategic alliances.
Finally, we are constantly working to improve the efficiency and productivity
of our manufacturing and installation operations by implementing lean manufacturing
disciplines and automation throughout our business. We expect this initiative
to continue to deliver gross margin expansion into the foreseeable future.
We have several trademarks and trade names that we believe have significant value
in the marketing of our products, including APOGEE®. Trademark registrations
in the U.S. are generally for a term of 10 years, renewable every 10 years as
long as the trademark is used in the regular course of trade.
Within the Architectural Glass segment, VIRACON®, VIRACON VUE-50®,
DIGITALDISTINCTIONS®, ROOMSIDE®, EXTREMEDGE®, BUILDING DESIGN®,
GLASS IS EVERYTHING®, CLEAR POINT®, CYBERSHIELD®, MORE POSSIBILITIES
FROM THE LEADER IN GLASS FABRICATION® and STORMGUARD® are registered
trademarks. VIRASPAN™ is an unregistered trademark. In addition, GLASSEC®,
INSULATTO® and BLINDATTO® are registered trademarks in Brazil. GLASSECVIRACON™
is an unregistered trademark in Brazil.
Within the Architectural Services segment, HARMON®, HARMON GLASS®,
HI-7000® and INNOVATIVE FACADE SOLUTIONS® are registered trademarks.
UCW-8000™, HI-8500™, HI-9000™, SMU-6000™ and HPW-250™
are unregistered trademarks.
Within the Architectural Framing Systems segment, LINETEC®, WAUSAU WINDOW
AND WALL SYSTEMS®, TUBELITE®, ADVANTAGE BY WAUSAU®, FINISHER OF
CHOICE®, THERML=BLOCK®, MAXBLOCK®, DFG®, ECOLUMINUM®, ALUMINATE®,
GET THE POINT!® and FORCEFRONT® are registered trademarks. CUSTOM WINDOW™,
INVENT™, INVENT.PLUS™, INVENT RETRO™, INVISION™, CLEARSTORY™,
EPIC™, HERITAGE™, VISULINE™, SEAL™ and SUPERWALL™
are unregistered trademarks. ALUMICOR™ and BUILDING EXCELLENCETM are unregistered
trademarks in Canada.
Within the LSO segment, TRU VUE®, CONSERVATION CLEAR®, CONSERVATION
MASTERPIECE ACRYLIC®, CONSERVATION REFLECTION CONTROL®, ULTRAVUE®,
MUSEUM GLASS®, OPTIUM®, PREMIUM CLEAN®, REFLECTION CONTROL®,
AR REFLECTION-FREE®, TRU VUE AR®, OPTIUM ACRYLIC®, OPTIUM MUSEUM
ACRYLIC®, CONSERVATION MASTERPIECE®, STATICSHIELD®, TRULIFE®
and VISTA AR® are registered trademarks. TRULIFE INFINITY FRAMETM is an
unregistered trademark.
We have several patents pertaining to our glass coating methods and products,
including our UV coating and etch processes for anti-reflective glass for the
picture framing industry and fine art market. Despite being a point of differentiation
from our competitors, no single patent is considered to be material.
