Building slump opens window of opportunity

Shipping heavy sash windows across the Atlantic may not appear to be a profitable venture during a recession, but it produced turnover of €2.6m for an Irish firm which hopes to have found a niche in the US market, writes Trish Dromey

IDENTIFYING an export opportunity in the midst of the construction industry slump, Carlow company I-Con Windows started in business by shipping 1,200 large bespoke sliding sash windows across the Atlantic.

Winning a contract to replace the sash windows in a 120-year-old, seven-storey apartment block in East Manhattan, I-Con sent over a container with 40 windows every week for more than eight months last year.