Cardinal's History

A Snapshot in Time

1962 Founded in Minneapolis, Minnesota by M.L. Gordon.

1977 Introduced triple-pane insulating glass for energy savings.

1978 Began use of silicone dual-seal insulating glass for improved durability.

1983 Introduced LoĒ™ coatings to produce triple-pane performance in dual-pane construction.

1983 Built dedicated factory to supply LoĒ coatings for residential windows.

1987 Introduced argon gas filling of insulating glass units: combined with LoĒ this provides “quad-pane” performance in a dual pane IG unit.

1991 Introduced LoĒ^{2 ®} coatings for year-round energy performance.

1992 Built first float glass plant to stabilize a glass supply chain for IG and CG plants.

1993 Launched XL Edge^® glass, a durable, warm edge IG spacer system.

2002 Introduction of easier-to-clean LoĒ² Plus^® glass – built for the busy lifestyle.

2002 Preserve^® film application launched. Protects windows through the entire construction process.

2006 Neat^® glass introduced, the next generation of easier-to-clean glazing.

2006 LoĒ³-366^®. The next generation of low-E: triple silver for low U-factor, low solar heat gain, and high light transmission.

2010 LoĒ-i81^®. A durable low-E coating that can be used in exposed applications without the haze attributable to most “hard-coat” products.

2011 LoĒ-180. High solar gain low-E, re-engineered. The highest light transmission and lowest U-factor of any passive solar glazing.

2012 LoĒ-i89^®. Energy-saving 4th surface coated glass. It offers more light transmittance and less reflectance than the i81 product.

2014 Endur^™ IG. Exceptional longevity and warm edge performance. Delivers the industry’s lowest failure rate with the only comprehensive 20-year factory warranty.

Technology leader

Cardinal has always positioned itself as a technology leader. Here are some of the many new developments that Cardinal has presented to the industry:

Dual seal insulating glass
Sealed corners on IG spacer frames
Volume introduction of heat-strengthened 2.3mm glass for resistance to thermal stress breakage
Steel packing pallets for all glass products, eliminating waste of wooden shipping boxes
Cullet repurchase program for float glass recycling
Rotating targets for sputtering on new coating materials
Post-temperable LoĒ, LoĒ², and LoĒ³ coatings
On-line color measurement and quality assurance (QA) for coated glass
On-line laser inspection/QA control of float glass
On-line measurement of IG unit air space thickness

The secret to our success

Our success in the residential glass industry is due to three core ambitions: Providing superior-quality products, staying highly competitive in the marketplace and executing high-end customer service every day.

Thanks to the entrepreneurial spirit of our employees, we consistently meet these objectives and continue to maintain our leadership position in the glazing industry.