Charles Window & Door Company Profile

iko Frithiof was born in Sweden and came to America as a boy. His family settled in San Anselmo and he grew up as a Marin County boy. As a young man, he dabbled in several different careers, including 10 years of restaurant ownership and management. But he was always attracted to the building trades. In fact, in addition to acting as the maitre d' at his restaurant, he constructed the building himself.

Over the years he had occasion to do business with Charles Window & Door Company in San Rafael and "always had a great experience." In 2004 he learned that the business was for sale and he soon became the new owner, buying the business from Richard Charles who had founded it in 1995.

Capable of Offering Services Others Can't
"At that time, Charles Window and Door was a well-run vinyl replacement company," said Niko. "We took it and diversified a lot. We opened it up and became general contractors ourselves, adding a wide line of products and services that it couldn't offer before."

Today, Charles Window and Door Company offers a full line of the highest quality window products from such manufacturers as Milgard, Marvin, Andersen and Simonton, to name a few. They have a large, well-appointed showroom at their San Rafael location highlighting their full range of products and services including the popular James Hardie siding materials and a full array of windows and doors.

Master Installers, Years of Experience
Niko and the other installers at Charles Window and Door Company have earned the "Master Installer" designation from the National Fenestration Association, but, as Niko said, "Their requirements are far below what we do and offer. We do it right because we know this business and have lots of experience. We do a lot of work for other general contractors who want it done right and don't have enough experience with windows and doors. We also do work for the City of San Francisco for the same reason."

Charles Window and Door Company keeps four crews busy in the field. There are now 15 employees and most are very long-term. ‘We hire people and train them from scratch so we know they're doing the installs our way, with the quality that we seek to bring to each job," said Niko. "We have a great crew that feels more like a large family."

Able to Handle Highly-Customized Jobs
Charles Window and Door Company is capable of doing jobs many other window and door companies can't, such as highly-specialized custom jobs involving a great degree of finesse, skill and know-how. "We're like a one-stop shop with a much wider range of capacities," said Niko. "Pretty much anything you want or can dream up we can do."

Charles Window and Door Company donates to local high schools and a program that helps underprivileged kids. They have also contributed to Habitat for Humanity and other organizations.

Diamond Certified
With a large amount of their work coming from repeat customers or referrals, Charles Window and Door Company brings more to their customers than the sales and installation of doors and windows. They enjoy designing and creating for their customers and helping them realize their vision. Niko and his team recently earned the coveted Diamond Certified designation awarded to only those businesses that rate the highest in quality and customer service and satisfaction. "We don't strive to be the cheapest, but we do strive to be the best," said Niko.



---Jim Brumm
Staff Writer
The Prime Buyer's Report