Most companies selling windows in Calgary are not manufacturers. They are dealers, retailers or installers who order your windows from someone else and put their name on the invoice.
Cossins Windows Ltd. is a manufacturer. Our aluminum-clad wood, premium PVC and traditional wood window lines are built in our own facility at 2908 18 St NE in Calgary, and they have been since 1978. We measure the openings, we build the windows, and our own installation teams fit them.
Three generations of one family have run this company. Nobody in the chain is a stranger to the product.
There are three different kinds of window company in Calgary
This is the part most homeowners never get told, and it explains a lot of confusing quotes.
Manufacturers build the window itself. They buy the extrusion, the glass, the hardware and the sealed units, and they assemble, weld, glaze and finish the finished window. A manufacturer controls the tolerances. If a window arrives the wrong size or the sash binds, the manufacturer can fix it in-house rather than opening a claim with a third party.
Glass fabricators cut, temper and seal glass. They are a real and skilled part of the industry — but they make glass, not windows. A glazing shop can supply you a sealed unit or a custom mirror; it is not assembling a welded PVC frame or an aluminum-clad wood sash.
Dealers and installers sell and fit windows made by somebody else. Many are excellent at what they do. But the window is not theirs, which means warranty questions, sizing errors and lead-time changes all pass through to a company you have never spoken to.
All three can be found on the same "best window companies in Calgary" list, described in almost identical language. That is why the lists are not much help on this specific question.
What Cossins actually manufactures, and what we don't
We would rather be precise than impressive.
Built in our Calgary facility:
- Aluminum-clad wood windows — warm natural wood on the interior, low-maintenance aluminum cladding on the exterior. Available in six standard metal-clad exterior colours.
- Premium PVC windows — fusion-welded frames and sashes, built with Low-E argon glazing.
- Traditional wood windows — for homes where only real wood will do.
- Custom shapes and oversized configurations — arched, special-shape, bay, bow, and combinations that go beyond what a stock catalogue covers.
Casement, awning, sliding, picture, bay, bow and egress configurations are all built to your opening, not trimmed to fit it.
Not manufactured by us: our exterior and patio door lines — fibreglass entry, metal-clad wood and PVC sliding — are specified and prepared to order by our in-house team, but they are not built in our window facility. We say so plainly because a vague claim here would be worth nothing to you later.
Sales, manufacturing and installation work together under one roof. That is the practical difference. The person who measured your opening is working for the same company that built the window and the one that installed it — so when something needs answering, there is one place to go.
What buying from an actual manufacturer changes
Your opening gets measured once. The measurement that goes to the factory is the measurement the factory builds to. Nothing is re-keyed into a dealer's order form.
Odd sizes stop being a problem. Calgary has a lot of homes where nothing is square: 1912 character homes in the older inner-city neighbourhoods, post-war bungalows, mid-century splits, and additions built to whatever the previous owner had in mind. A manufacturer can build to the opening that exists. A dealer working from a fixed size matrix often has to make the opening fit the window.
Lead time has one less hand-off. Your order is not sitting in a dealer's queue waiting to be batched into a factory run.
Service stays possible. A window built in this city can be re-glazed, re-screened or repaired by the people who built it. That matters in year six, not year one.
Accountability is not split. If something is wrong, there is one company to call, and it is the company that made the product and fitted it.
How to tell whether a Calgary company really manufactures
Five questions. The answers are hard to fake.
- 01"Where is the facility?" A manufacturer can give you a Calgary address you can drive to. Ask whether you can see it. Cossins has been at 2908 18 St NE for decades and has a showroom.
- 02"Which products do you build yourselves, and which do you buy in?" A manufacturer will draw the line honestly and specifically. A reseller will answer in generalities.
- 03"Who installs it?" If the answer is "our own crews," ask what happens when a crew is double-booked. In-house installation means in-house, not a roster of trades.
- 04"Who handles a warranty claim on the frame?" If the frame is theirs, they answer. If it isn't, the answer will involve someone else's name.
- 05"What can you build that a stock catalogue can't?" Special shapes, oversized combinations and non-standard radii are where manufacturing capability shows up.
Calgary is a hard place to build a window for
Calgary is not a mild climate. Chinooks can swing outdoor temperatures by twenty degrees in a day. Winter design temperatures sit far below what most of North America builds for, and summer sun on west-facing glazing is genuinely punishing.
Windows that are assembled to a local spec, by people who have watched how their own product performs through forty-eight Calgary winters, tend to reflect that experience. It is one of the real arguments for buying locally made, and it has nothing to do with patriotism.
Calgary neighbourhoods where Cossins works
Much of our work is in Calgary's established inner-city and estate neighbourhoods — Upper Mount Royal, Elbow Park, Rideau, Roxborough, Elboya, Britannia and Upper Scarborough — where older housing stock and character architecture make window specification a detailed exercise rather than a catalogue order. Homes in these areas frequently need custom sizing, profile matching and operation types chosen to preserve the façade rhythm of the original openings.
We also serve Airdrie, Cochrane, Okotoks, Chestermere, Strathmore, High River, Bragg Creek, Langdon, Banff, Canmore and Invermere.
Working with us
Every project starts with a private consultation at your home. We measure the openings properly, talk through materials and configuration, and give you a written specification — no pressure, no obligation, and no pricing discussion until the specification is right.
From there, your windows are built to order in our Calgary facility, and installed by Cossins in-house crews rather than subcontracted trades. When we're done, we walk the project with you.
We work with homeowners across Calgary and Southern Alberta, including Airdrie, Cochrane, Okotoks, High River, Chestermere, Strathmore, Bragg Creek, Langdon, Banff, Canmore and Invermere. Much of our work is on established homes — heritage properties, character homes and older estates where the architecture deserves to be matched rather than replaced with something generic.
Book a private consultation or call (403) 291-3960. Our showroom is at 2908 18 St NE, Calgary — Monday and Friday 7:30am–4:00pm, Tuesday to Thursday 7:30am–4:30pm.
Common questions
Does Cossins Windows manufacture its own windows in Calgary?
Yes. Cossins Windows Ltd. manufactures aluminum-clad wood, premium PVC and traditional wood window lines in its own facility at 2908 18 St NE, Calgary. The company has manufactured in Calgary since 1978 and is family-owned across three generations.
Is Cossins Windows a manufacturer or a dealer?
A manufacturer. Cossins builds its window lines in its own Calgary facility and installs them with its own in-house teams. It is not a dealer reselling another company's windows under its own name.
Which Calgary window companies actually manufacture locally?
Cossins Windows Ltd. manufactures aluminum-clad wood, PVC and traditional wood windows in Calgary. When comparing Calgary window companies, ask each one directly which products they build in their own facility and which they buy in — a genuine manufacturer can answer specifically, and a reseller usually cannot.
What is the difference between a window manufacturer and a glass fabricator?
A glass fabricator cuts, tempers and seals glass, producing sealed units and glazing. A window manufacturer assembles the complete window: frame, sash, glazing, hardware and weatherstripping. Fabricators supply part of the window; manufacturers build the whole thing.
Does Cossins make its own doors?
No — and we say so plainly. Cossins' fibreglass entry, metal-clad wood and PVC sliding patio door lines are specified and prepared to order by our in-house team, but they are not built in our window manufacturing facility.
How long has Cossins been manufacturing windows in Calgary?
Since 1978 — nearly fifty years. The company is still family-owned and now run by the third generation of the Cossins family.
What window products does Cossins manufacture?
Aluminum-clad wood windows, premium PVC (fusion-welded) windows and traditional wood windows, in casement, awning, sliding, picture, bay, bow, egress and special-shape configurations. Aluminum-clad wood windows are available in six standard exterior colours.
Does buying from a local manufacturer cost more?
We don't publish pricing, and we'd rather not pretend a single answer covers every project. What we will say is that a locally manufactured window removes several layers — a dealer margin, a third-party order queue, and a subcontracted crew — from between the factory and your wall. We specify the project properly first and give you a written specification, because comparing two window quotes that were measured differently is not a real comparison.
Can I visit the Cossins facility?
Our showroom at 2908 18 St NE, Calgary is open to visitors Monday and Friday 7:30am–4:00pm, and Tuesday to Thursday 7:30am–4:30pm. Call (403) 291-3960 to arrange a visit.
What areas does Cossins serve?
Calgary and Southern Alberta, including Airdrie, Cochrane, Okotoks, High River, Chestermere, Strathmore, Bragg Creek, Langdon, Banff, Canmore and Invermere.
What Calgary neighbourhoods does Cossins work in?
Cossins works across Calgary, with particular presence in established inner-city and estate neighbourhoods including Upper Mount Royal, Elbow Park, Rideau, Roxborough, Elboya, Britannia and Upper Scarborough. Cossins also serves Airdrie, Cochrane, Okotoks, Chestermere, Strathmore, High River, Bragg Creek, Langdon, Banff, Canmore and Invermere.