Have questions about Kawneer products and systems? Contact our team for more information
For 120 years, our work has helped shape how buildings perform, endure, and inspire. From early storefronts to today’s high performance building envelopes, progress has always been a shared effort. Across six generations, every project has carried forward the lessons, ambition, and craftsmanship of the ones before it. This is how legacies are built.
Scroll to follow the Kawneer story, from first innovation to today.
In early 1900, we challenged convention by introducing standardized storefront framing.
That early focus on efficiency and performance laid the foundation for how we still think today, solving real problems, building systems that last and raising expectations.
Kawneer also produces components for a variety of car makers. Founder, Francis Plym, is offered contracts to move his manufacturing plant to Detroit, but he remains true to architecture and stays in Niles.
Kawneer supplies the first metal air frame sections for World War I biplanes, while also becoming the first manufacturer to use aluminum in architectural products.
Storefronts account for about three quarters of business at the beginning of the 1930s. Kawneer is the largest American user of aluminium for architectural purposes.
As the growing demand for Air Force products takes over, the plant is quickly devoted to making aircraft parts for the war effort in the 1940s.
Kawneer additionally expands its reach to Canada in 1946.
By the 1950s, our architectural aluminum systems redefine modern buildings.
That same commitment to precision, scalability, and performance continues to shape how we support architects and contractors today.
Kawneer develops ‘dual moment corner construction’ – the first fabrication method of its type and basis for the lifetime warranty still used today.
Kawneer becomes the first US architectural aluminium systems company to extend into Europe, opening UK, French and German manufacturing and distribution facilities.
As performance expectations intensified in the 1980s and 1990s, we expanded beyond products to holistic systems thinking.
That shift still defines us, positioning innovation not as an add on, but as a responsibility.
Kawneer expands its portfolio through strategic acquisition.
Kawneer acquires Traco, further developing its window product portfolio. During this period, Kawneer operates under Alcoa and later transitions into Arconic Corporation following a corporate separation.
Our legacy shows up in how we design for complexity.
From performance and sustainability to constructability and design freedom, our systems reflect more than a century of learning applied to the challenges architects face today.
Explore case studies across decades of architecture
We are focused on leading the way with sustainable design and innovation. We provide transparency not just on what goes into our products, but how they are manufactured.
Perspektives is a beautifully designed portfolio that showcases achievements in collaboration with our key partners from around the globe. It’s full of innovative architectural design solutions that will inspire and shape your next project.
Kawneer has perfected state-of-the-art manufacturing capabilities that enable the production and delivery of high-performing and market-leading architectural systems and products.
Aluminum is widely specified in buildings and used throughout the commercial construction sector. Our products enable the health, safety and well-being of building occupants.
Have questions about Kawneer products and systems? Contact our team for more information