I became a widow this spring. No, not that kind of widow, but a baseball widow. My husband bought season tickets to the Washington Nationals so he and one of our sons can watch their favorite team in a new state-of-the-art stadium. They won't let me go to any games because the tickets are just for two guys who have a zillion baseball stats in their heads and who love to eat overpriced ice cream out of small plastic baseball caps.
Despite my distaste for the major leagues this summer, I am thrilled by the MVP Award winners. No, not the baseball players, but the products that were named Building Products' Most Valuable Product Award winners featured in this issue. The annual MVP Awards recognize the best new products manufacturers introduced during the past year, and they are selected by a panel of esteemed builders, remodelers, architects, and developers. Manufacturers pay a fee to enter the awards competition, and while the products don't represent all the outstanding wares companies unveiled, they do offer a glimpse at some of the best and brightest introductions.
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| Jean Dimeo Editorial Director |
And in these incredibly tough times, the MVPs offer you ways to stand out from your competitors. Manufacturers continue to churn out innovations and enhancements that can help you do a better job running your business, cut costs, speed up installations, or just make your clients say, "Wow!"
This season's MVPs are no exception. Some offer an inexpensive solution for a custom look, such as Creative Specialties International's easy-install Mirrorscapes line of mirror frames. Others save
installation time, such as Henkel's
Polyseamseal EST Speed Seal caulk that dries in two hours.
Also, there are a number of champions that sport green attributes, increasingly important to homeowners seeking ways to slash energy costs and keep their families healthy. The MVPs with eco-friendly benefits include Trane's Energy Star-qualified XV95 furnace that is 96.7 percent efficient; Fafco's SunGrabber solar hot water system that can cut water-heating bills by as much as 50 percent; and Whirlpool's Energy Star-qualified Duet Steam washer and dryer that remove wrinkles and odors.
On a final note, I want to thank our panel of judges--C. Mason Hearn Jr., HomeMasons; Eve Horn, Milestone Management; Edward Binkley, BSB Design; and Randy Sebastian, Renaissance Homes--for their time and expertise. They sifted through hundreds of entries before anointing our 21 home-run products.