Wallside Windows celebrates 75 years as Lorraine Blanck reflects on her husband, Founder Martin Blanck’s, success.
When Martin Blanck founded the home improvement company that would become Wallside Windows, his wife, Lorraine, was skeptical.
“I thought it was crazy!” she recently said. “But I guess it wasn’t crazy 75 years later.”
As the Taylor, Michigan, company celebrates 75 years in business, Lorraine recently recalled the early days.
Martin, who passed away in January 2001, was the son of Eastern European immigrants and grew up in Detroit. Full of entrepreneurial spirit from the start, he sold fruit to help support his family during those years. Eventually, he served in the U.S. Army, and when he returned home, it was time to be his own boss for good.
With a small budget, Martin launched his home improvement company in 1944. From the beginning, he sought out contractors who met the high standards of quality and service that Wallside would become known for over the decades.
To Martin, it was of utmost importance that the customer was left satisfied and that his name was only attached to the best quality work.
“Martin was patient and dedicated,” Lorraine said. “He did anything to make the customer happy, and had a high sense of morals and ethics that drove how he ran the business.”
She said that the family made sacrifices along the way, as starting a business takes a lot of time and effort. But seeing what Wallside Windows has become over the years and all that is has provided to its employees’ families and customers makes her proud of her husband and family, which continues to run the business.
Wallside Windows is known for its commitment to customer service and quality replacement vinyl window products. But it’s also a place that beats the odds of employee satisfaction and has an unusually high number of employees who have made a decades-long career at one company.
These long-time employees often credit Wallside’s integrity and family atmosphere for their commitment to the company, as well as the commitment that they feel Martin, his sons, Stuart, Stanford and Fred, and now grandson, Adam, show to them. Many employees can point to times when the Blanck family, starting with Martin, supported or helped them out in a meaningful, personal way.
Lorraine appreciates that Martin’s legacy lives on in this way and said the people are the company’s biggest strength.
“Many people that still work at Wallside were hired by my husband, and the commitment to the customer and the company and that legacy is what sets Wallside apart,” she said.
Wallside Windows is proud to celebrate 75 years in business. If it’s time to get your replacement vinyl windows visit WallsideWindows.com/estimate or call 1-800-521-7800 to schedule your free estimate.
