PGT sells assets for $28 million

VENICE — Venice-based window and door manufacturer PGT Innovations Inc. sold assets it used in processing glass components for doors for $28 million to Cardinal Glass Industries.

PGT also entered into a seven-year supply agreement for Cardinal to supply those components to the firm, according to a press release. Cardinal is a manufacturer of residential glass for windows and doors. It has 37 locations around the U.S., including one in Ocala.

“This enhanced partnership is a strong strategic fit, leveraging the two companies' respective strengths,” says PGT Innovations President Jeff Jackson in the statement. “We invested in glass processing capacity in 2014, a time when no other company in our industry was investing in those assets, and that investment has paid off with the sale of these assets, generating a 37% annualized return for our shareholders on the investment.”

He also says in the press release the agreement enables PGT to pay down debt by the amount of the purchase price, less taxes, and removes some future capital requirements and equipment maintenance costs.

PGT will retain and continue to use certain strategic assets, such as its window glass processing equipment and all production facilities, including the glass plant where the equipment sold to Cardinal has been located.

The statement says PGT plans to reallocate about 160 employees into its window and door assembly operations and other areas. This will be done to “help the company alleviate employment constraints it has experienced periodically due to a tight labor market in the Venice area,” the statement adds.

PGTI has about 2,800 employees in Florida. The company's brands include CGI, PGT Custom Windows & Doors and WinDoor.