In the home improvement industry, growth can be harder when a company relies on partners who do not share its standards. A contractor may make a strong promise to the homeowner, but that promise can quickly lose value when the product, service, or supplier behind it falls short.
That challenge shaped a recent PowerChat conversation hosted by Greg Cummings, CEO of Power100, with Yarek Ostaniewicz, Co-Founder & Co-Owner of OKNA Windows & Doors. Their conversation examined what happens when a manufacturer and a contractor choose to grow around shared values, strong products, and a real commitment to the people they serve. For homeowners, that kind of partnership matters because the quality of the product and the quality of the company bringing it into the home must work together.
For Yarek, the story goes beyond selling more windows. He explained that supporting the community has long been part of OKNA’s approach to growth.
“The idea of supporting a community has always been our focus,” Yarek shared.
That belief helped make PJ Fitzpatrick an important company for OKNA long before the partnership became real. Yarek often saw PJ Fitzpatrick vehicles while driving between home and work, and the company was frequently discussed during OKNA sales meetings.
The question was not only how OKNA could gain the business. It was also why two respected companies serving the same wider community should not create more opportunities together. A stronger partnership could support employees, help families, give homeowners a better experience, and keep more business growth close to home.
That shared purpose is also why the conversation aligns with Power100’s mission. Power100 brings together trusted leaders, companies, and industry partners so the home improvement market can learn from relationships that raise standards for everyone.
Power100 is the only unbiased third-party platform that recognizes and elevates the top leaders and most impactful companies in the home improvement industry. By bringing Greg Cummings and Yarek Ostaniewicz together for this PowerChat, Power100 helped show that the strongest business partnerships are not always built around volume alone. They can be built on trust, product quality, shared standards, and the belief that business growth should create value for the surrounding community.
In his PowerChat conversation with Greg Cummings, Yarek Ostaniewicz, Co-Founder & Co-Owner of OKNA Windows & Doors, shared a view of growth that reaches beyond sales numbers. For Yarek, a strong business relationship should help more than the two companies signing the deal. It should create better work, support local jobs, give families more opportunities, help contractors serve homeowners well, and build trust that lasts.
Greg Cummings, CEO of Power100 interview with Yarek Ostaniewicz, Co-Founder & Co-Owner of OKNA Windows & Doors
That view became clear as Yarek reflected on the relationship between OKNA Windows & Doors and PJ Fitzpatrick. The story was not about a fast sale. It was about two companies that had known each other for years, shared similar standards, and finally found the right time to work together. What followed was a broader lesson about community, quality, trust, and the kind of growth that can grow stronger when built close to home.
For Yarek, supporting the community was not an idea that came after success. It was already part of how OKNA leaders thought about business.
“The idea of supporting a community has always been our focus,” Yarek said.
That belief shaped how the company looked at growth. A new customer could mean more than another order. It could mean more work for local employees, more stability for families, and more business moving through a community that both companies already serve.
Yarek explained that OKNA values the chance to employ local people and give them a way to support their families. That makes growth more personal. When production grows, more people can benefit from that progress.
For OKNA, this type of business thinking may never be seen from the outside. Yet it can shape the people, products, and services that go into the final project. When a manufacturer cares about the strength of the people around the business, growth can extend far beyond the factory floor.
The bigger lesson is simple. A company does not have to choose between growth and community value. When strong businesses grow together, employees, families, contractors, suppliers, and homeowners can all feel part of that progress.
Learn more about OKNA Windows & Doors and the company behind its window and door products.
The relationship with PJ Fitzpatrick gave Yarek a clear example of what community-based growth can look like.
PJ Fitzpatrick vehicles ready to serve the homeowner
He explained that he had seen PJ Fitzpatrick vehicles many times while driving between home and work. The company was not far away or unknown to him. It was already part of the same wider business community.
“It was many times discussed at the sales meeting: how can we actually gain the business of supplying the Fitzpatrick organization with our product?” Yarek shared.
That makes the story different from a normal sales pursuit. PJ Fitzpatrick was not simply another name on a list. OKNA already knew the company, respected its presence, and saw value in building a relationship with a business operating close to home.
Yarek also raised a simple question. Why search far away for every new opportunity when a strong company with similar values may already be nearby?
That idea gives local businesses a strategic value. A window manufacturer can grow across many markets, but there can still be real value in building strong relationships with respected companies in its own region.
The PJ Fitzpatrick relationship showed that being close can create another layer of meaning. Growth between two nearby companies can help keep work, jobs, and opportunities connected to the same wider community.
Explore OKNA Windows & Doors and learn more about its approach to window manufacturing.
Location helped make the relationship meaningful, but Yarek made it clear that being nearby was not enough.
OKNA respected PJ Fitzpatrick because of the way the company had built its reputation. The contractor was known for quality, service, and a strong homeowner experience. Those standards mattered because a good product still needs the right company to represent it in the home.
A manufacturer can build a strong window, but the homeowner does not experience manufacturing alone. The homeowner also experiences the sales conversation, the installation, the communication, and the service that follows.
That means choosing the right dealer or contractor can become part of protecting the product itself.
For a homeowner, that full relationship matters. The product and the company bringing it into the home need to work together.
This is where the OKNA and PJ Fitzpatrick partnership moved beyond simple volume. Both sides were looking for quality. Both cared about service. Both understood the value of reputation. Both wanted the homeowner experience to protect the trust they had built.
A large account can create sales. A well-matched account can create something stronger because both companies are working toward the same standard.
Visit OKNA Windows & Doors to explore its products and dealer focused approach.
Yarek then brought the conversation back to the manufacturer’s role.
His view is that OKNA should not focus only on producing more windows. The company should keep improving what it makes so that the businesses selling those products have something they can stand behind with confidence.
“We want our product to be wanted. We just don’t want to push customer,” Yarek said.
That statement helps explain why OKNA continues to focus on performance, appearance, manufacturing, and innovation. Yarek believes that when the product becomes stronger, the dealer can spend more time serving the customer and less time addressing doubts about what is being sold.
That is especially important when homeowners are comparing Energy Star windows and other high-performance options. A contractor needs to explain why one product is the right fit, and that conversation becomes easier when the product itself gives the salesperson something real to believe in.
For Yarek, product improvement is therefore not only an internal goal. It helps the businesses that depend on OKNA products.
A window leaving the factory is only one part of the result. The larger win occurs when that product helps a trusted contractor deliver a better experience to the homeowner.
When that happens repeatedly, product quality can strengthen the dealer-homeowner relationship and the business community around both companies.
The way PJ Fitzpatrick eventually connected with OKNA gave Yarek another lesson in long-term growth.
OKNA had wanted the relationship before it happened. But the breakthrough did not come from simply making another sales call. It came through NEWPRO, an existing customer that had worked with OKNA for more than ten years.
Yarek saw that recommendation as proof.
If a customer who knows the product, understands the service, and expects high standards is willing to recommend the company, that trust carries weight.
The referral helped PJ Fitzpatrick see more than a promise. It gave the company evidence from another respected business that had already experienced the relationship.
That is important for any replacement window manufacturer trying to grow. The strongest sales message may sometimes come from a customer who has already seen how the company performs when the order is real, and the expectations are high.
Yarek’s story also shows why taking care of today’s customers can create tomorrow’s opportunities. Strong service can become a recommendation. A recommendation can become a conversation. A conversation can become a partnership that once seemed difficult to reach.
Reputation can continue working long after the first sale is complete.
The final lesson from Yarek’s perspective is patience.
OKNA wanted to work with PJ Fitzpatrick before the partnership became real. Yet Yarek did not describe that waiting period as wasted time. The company continued doing what it could control.
It kept working on the product.
It kept serving existing customers.
It kept improving.
It kept building trust.
Yarek explained that sometimes a company simply has to “be patient” and keep doing its job well.
That idea stands apart in an industry where growth can often feel urgent. Businesses may feel pressure to add more customers, enter more markets, or push more volume. Yarek’s view suggests another path.
Keep becoming a company that the right customers will want to work with.
That thinking also supports the position of a high-quality vinyl window manufacturer. Quality cannot be treated as a short-term campaign. It has to be built over time through the product, the process, the service, and the relationships surrounding each order.
OKNA did not earn the PJ Fitzpatrick relationship because it pushed the hardest. The opportunity came after years of building products, serving customers, earning recommendations, and staying ready when the right relationship finally opened.
The lesson is one that can reach beyond window manufacturing.
Some of the strongest growth begins before the sales conversation ever takes place. It begins with the work a company does every day to become worth choosing.
The ideas Yarek Ostaniewicz shared during the PowerChat are also evident in how OKNA Windows & Doors has grown over time. For more than three decades, the company has kept its manufacturing base in Bristol, Pennsylvania, helping create hundreds of steady manufacturing jobs in Bucks County. That long term local presence gives real weight to Yarek’s belief that business growth should create opportunity for the people and families around the company.
This local impact is important because manufacturing growth can reach far beyond the factory. Stable jobs support households, local spending, skilled work, and long-term career paths. By keeping its manufacturing operations rooted in the region, OKNA has become more than a producer of windows and doors. It has become part of the local economic base, helping people build careers and support their families.
That same thinking is also evident in how OKNA works with independent contractors and certified dealers. The company has built a hands-on dealer support network that focuses on close relationships with regional home improvement businesses. For many small and midsize contractors, access to a dependable manufacturer can help improve product confidence, customer service, and long-term business growth.
That approach also connects back to Yarek’s own path in the industry. Before becoming a manufacturer, he had experience as an installer. That background adds meaning to the way OKNA supports businesses that work directly with homeowners. The company understands that a strong product is only part of the job. Contractors also need reliable support, clear communication, and a manufacturer that understands the pressure of delivering a good result in the home.
Together, these efforts show what community-focused growth can look like in practice. OKNA is helping create local jobs while also supporting the independent businesses that bring its products to homeowners. For Yarek, that makes growth more than a number. It becomes a way to strengthen the people, businesses, and communities connected to every part of the work.
The partnership between OKNA Windows & Doors and PJ Fitzpatrick shows that business growth can take on greater meaning when the right companies grow together. One company builds the product. The other brings that product into the home. But the value created between them can extend far beyond the sale itself.
That value can be seen in the work created, the people supported, the families strengthened, and the trust built with homeowners. It can also be seen in the confidence a contractor gains when the product behind the promise is made by a manufacturer that takes quality, service, and long-term improvement seriously.
For Yarek Ostaniewicz, this is where community and business strength meet. Supporting the people around a company does not mean lowering standards or slowing growth. In many ways, the opposite is true. Strong manufacturing, better products, careful partner selection, and dependable service give a company the foundation it needs to create lasting value.
As OKNA Windows & Doors continues to grow with trusted partners, the opportunity is bigger than adding more business. It is the chance to build relationships that help good companies serve more homeowners while creating more opportunities for the people connected to that work.
For Yarek Ostaniewicz, supporting the community is not something that comes after a company succeeds. It can be part of how the company chooses to succeed from the very beginning.
Power100 helps homeowners narrow a very large market down to a smaller group of companies evaluated through its ranking system. Its website says it maintains a database of about 7,600 home improvement companies and uses a five-layer system to identify the top performers. The goal is to give homeowners more useful information before they choose a company for a major home project.
Power100 rankings are not based on paid placement or self-submission. Its evaluation looks at areas such as leadership, company culture, customer experience, community engagement, and sustainable growth. That means a company must be measured on real business signals rather than simply buying visibility.
OKNA Windows & Doors does not direct homeowners to buy its windows and patio doors straight from the factory. The company says its products are purchased through certified dealers. Homeowners can contact OKNA, and the company can connect them with a certified dealer in their area to discuss products and installation needs.
OKNA provides a dealer connection process for homeowners looking for a local company that sells and installs its products. Homeowners can contact OKNA with their needs, and the inquiry can be sent to a certified dealer serving their area. This gives customers a clear path from the manufacturer to a local professional who can help with the project.
OKNA offers more than one type of window. Its product range includes double hung windows, slider windows, casement windows, picture windows, bay and bow windows, and patio doors. Several products are available for both replacement and new construction needs, giving homeowners and contractors more choices for different types of projects.
OKNA recommends checking the National Fenestration Rating Council label when comparing the energy performance of windows and patio doors. That label provides measurements such as U Value, Solar Heat Gain Coefficient, and Visible Light Transmittance. OKNA also offers ENERGY STAR window options and products built with features designed to improve thermal performance. These ratings give homeowners concrete numbers to compare rather than relying solely on sales claims.
OKNA maintains its manufacturing operations in Bristol, Pennsylvania, but its reach extends beyond the local market. The company says it moved into its Bristol manufacturing facility in 2015, grew its workforce to more than 200 employees, and expanded distribution throughout the East Coast and Midwest through a growing network of certified dealers. This allows the company to remain rooted in its home region while serving dealers and homeowners across a much wider area.
OKNA provides a care and support section with warranty information, product care guidance, product identification help, and guidance on addressing issues with existing windows and patio doors. The company also directs homeowners to contact their certified dealer with questions about installed products. This support helps connect the product sale with the service that may be needed later.
Power100 is the only unbiased third-party platform that recognizes and elevates the top leaders and most impactful companies in the home improvement industry. Led by Greg Cummings, Power100 helps homeowners, contractors, manufacturers, and industry partners better understand the leaders and businesses raising the standard across residential home improvement. Through national rankings, leadership evaluations, PowerChat interviews, and industry partnerships, the platform brings greater visibility to companies that lead through strong customer service, community impact, trusted relationships, and sustainable growth while giving the industry a clearer view of the people and ideas moving it forward.
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Power100 is the nation's premier CEO ranking and media platform for the home improvement industry. Using a proprietary 5-layer evaluation system, Power100 identifies and celebrates the top CEOs, companies, and strategic partners driving innovation, customer satisfaction, and leadership excellence across the country.
