Loewen is a Canadian

millwork Millwork is historically any Sawmill, wood mill produced decorative materials used in Construction#Building construction, building construction. Stock profiled and patterned millwork building components fabricated by Milling (machining), millin ...

manufacturer of wood

window A window is an opening in a wall, door, roof, or vehicle that allows the exchange of light and may also allow the passage of sound and sometimes air. Modern windows are usually glazed or covered in some other transparent or translucent materia ...

and

door A door is a hinged or otherwise movable barrier that allows ingress (entry) into and egress (exit) from an enclosure. The created opening in the wall is a ''doorway'' or ''portal''. A door's essential and primary purpose is to provide security b ...

systems for residential and light commercial use. The company uses

Douglas Fir The Douglas fir (''Pseudotsuga menziesii'') is an evergreen conifer species in the pine family, Pinaceae. It is native to western North America and is also known as Douglas-fir, Douglas spruce, Oregon pine, and Columbian pine. There are three va ...

and

Mahogany Mahogany is a straight-grained, reddish-brown timber of three tropical hardwood species of the genus ''Swietenia'', indigenous to the AmericasBridgewater, Samuel (2012). ''A Natural History of Belize: Inside the Maya Forest''. Austin: Unive ...

for its products. Loewen targets the high-end market, and, as of late 2019, has a network of several hundred dealers across North America, employing over 500 people.

History

The company was founded in 1905 by Cornelius Toews Loewen who established Loewen Millwork, based out of

Steinbach, Manitoba Steinbach () ( Plautdietsch: /ˈʃte̞nbah/ or /ˈʃte̞nbax/) is a city located about south-east of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Steinbach is the third-largest city in Manitoba, with a population of 17,806, and the largest community in the Eas ...

, Canada. Among its early products were items such as church pews and beekeeping equipment. From the 1930s through the 1940s the company shifted to manufacturing pre-built windows and doors to supply the

post-war boom In Western usage, the phrase post-war era (or postwar era) usually refers to the time since the end of World War II. More broadly, a post-war period (or postwar period) is the interval immediately following the end of a war. A post-war period c ...

in housing

construction Construction is a general term meaning the art and science to form objects, systems, or organizations,"Construction" def. 1.a. 1.b. and 1.c. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) Oxford University Press 2009 and com ...

. In the 1980s Loewen combined the company's old-world craftsmanship and

work ethic Work ethic is a belief that work and diligence have a moral benefit and an inherent ability, virtue or value to strengthen character and individual abilities. It is a set of values centered on importance of work and manifested by determination o ...

with the most advanced production technology available at the time.

International expansion

Through the 90's, Loewen expanded its distribution into the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and became one of the leading suppliers of high-end, custom wood windows and doors.

References

{{reflist
Industry Canada
- Canadian Company Capabilities, Complete Profile - C.P. Loewen Enterprises Ltd.
Loewen, Cornelius Toews (1883-1960)
- Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online

External links

Official website
Companies based in Manitoba Steinbach, Manitoba