Optimum Window Manufacturing Corporation was formed in 1986 by Candido Perez, whose experience in all facets of the fenestration industry spans five decades. The company began in the Hunts Point industrial area of the Bronx, in New York City, with 7 employees in a 20,000-ft² factory. Not long after an impressive first year in sales, Optimum doubled its manufacturing space to meet the growing demand for its products, particularly fire-rated windows for the New York City market.

The company continued to grow steadily, adding major markets in the Chicago area and on the West Coast. In 1989, Optimum moved just outside the New York metropolitan area to Warwick, NY, to a larger facility. A few years later, the company purchased the famous Schrade knife factory in Ellenville and relocated its operations to this 137,000-ft² facility. The entire Optimum product line is manufactured here.

Optimum’s success is largely due to the fenestration experience and business vision of the company’s founder and key senior management. Candido Perez was instrumental in establishing businesses in glazing and storefront glass systems, window product wholesaling, window manufacturing, and installations before launching Optimum. It was through this very comprehensive experience that market opportunities for growth with product specialization became clear. Candido realized that a tremendous need for fire-rated and other quality metal windows existed in urban environments such as New York City, with stringent building and fire codes as well as historic and landmark structures.

He Collaborated He with an Italian window fabricator to devise and design and a fire-rated window line, well-suited to the demands presented by New York and other U.S. cities. Optimum was created to focus on these windows, and the company continues to introduce new window products and features regularly.

The relocation to Ellenville, NY, just outside the high-expense New York metropolitan area, allows Optimum to operate cost-effectively yet remain well poised to serve the entire Northeast region’s metropolitan centers. A strong, competent local labor pool is readily available to meet all needs as the company expands, the current factory space permits new lines and equipment to be added with ease.

Optimum’s strategic planning ensures it is prepared to take advantage of market opportunities, shifts and changes that lie ahead.