Crystal Window & Door welcomes Smith as new CEO

Queens, NY National manufacturer Crystal Window & Door Systems named Jeffrey Smith to its leadership team as the new chief executive officer. He joins Crystal chairman and founder Thomas Chen and president Steve Chen to guide the company in its future growth and expansion.

“Jeff brings a stellar track record of leadership, running large profitable businesses, and strong customer relationships to Crystal,” said Thomas Chen. “From start-up 34 years ago until today, Crystal has flourished. Jeff is very highly regarded in our industry, and working with our dedicated employees, he will build on this strong foundation of success and position Crystal for exciting growth and continued prosperity in the coming years.”

“I am thrilled and honored to join a company whose culture is committed to product excellence, superior customer service, and an unwavering commitment to its employees,” said Smith.

“My approach is quite simple: continue striving for the highest product quality and best-in-class service to our customers, ensure production operations continue efficiently and sustainably, and seize opportunities to advance the company.”

Since its inception in 1990, Crystal has progressively grown to be one of the largest window manufacturers in North America. Now with over one million s/f of manufacturing space at five facilities and over 750 employees across the country, and with one of the broadest product lines in the industry, the company continues its growth and success. With new products in the pipeline, new production capabilities coming online, and expansion opportunities being realized, the company is poised for even greater achievement.

“While Crystal has established its prominent national presence in the building products industry through times of both economic boom and challenge, we want to take the company to even greater heights,” said Steve Chen. “Jeff is the right executive with the right experience to make that a reality.”

Smith brings a wealth of broad building materials industry experience to the role of CEO. He has held top leadership roles as president and CEO of Trussway Manufacturing of Houston, TX, High Industries of Lancaster, Penn., and most recently as senior vice president of multifamily components for Builders FirstSource, Inc. of Dallas, TX, one of the nation’s largest building material dealers and manufacturers.

Smith also brings to Crystal a well-rounded background of progressively responsible roles in management, engineering, and manufacturing operations from respected leading brands, including Colgate Palmolive, GAF Materials Corp., and CertainTeed Corp. While at CertainTeed, Smith held operations leadership roles in the company’s roofing and siding divisions, most notably running the company’s vinyl siding and window lineal extrusion operations.

Smith holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Stevens Institute of Technology (Hoboken, NJ), and an MBA in Finance from Southern Methodist University (Dallas, TX).  Throughout his career he has specialized in key areas such as lean manufacturing, quality improvement, sustainability, new product development, and sales growth.