Recently, Retrotec was happy to have a visit from Chuckanut Builders, who toured our factory and learned a little about Retrotec’s operations. Read Chuckanut Builder’s article below, or view the original on their website here. Thank you Chuckanut Builders for stopping by!
The following aricle was written by: Jenny Rae of Chuckanut Builders. View the original article here.
“We recently learned that Retrotec, a blower door and duct testing manufacturing company, is located in Everson, Washington. We had no idea! As a building performance contractor committed to buying local whenever possible we were shocked we’d never met the folks at Retrotec and quickly set to remedying it. Our crew is also now using Retrotec equipment, namely the duct tester and blower door. I thought it would be interesting to tour their facility and learn a bit about Retrotec and how they manufacture the equipment.
Retrotec has been manufacturing blower door and duct testing equipment for over 30 years. They’ve moved around a bit, starting in Ottawa, Canada, moving to Queen St. in Bellingham and eventually moving to the space they are in now in Everson. Initially each piece of equipment was a handbuilt prototype, and each one was custom built for clients. This was clearly pricey. As time went by duct testing equipment became more mainstream, prices dropped and now the production process is much more streamlined. In addition to assembling equipment on-site the folks at Retrotec complete equipment repair in-house, they have a trade in and upgrade option and they sell refurbished equipment.
Retrotec equipment is sold around the world with nearly half of their sales going to overseas markets. Because they have such a large overseas market Retrotec recently completed their accreditation with ANAB, which is required to sell the equipment in Europe. This accreditation provides quality control oversight and certifies that the manufacturing process and technical procedures are monitored.
Keep an eye on our blog and social media pages in the next few months as we’re planning to make a few joint videos with Retrotec about increasing building performance on residential remodels!”
