2007 Minnesota Business Hall of Fame

Bill Marvin is loath to take all the credit for the company’s innovations and continued profitability. “Marvin Windows and Doors’ success comes from a true spirit of collaboration,” he says. “I was never known as a woodworker; but luckily, other people had the talents needed to make great windows. My role has always been that of a coordinator, looking at the big picture and seeing beyond today to tomorrow.”

One sign of this forward thinking: Many of his children are running the business, and a fourth generation has begun working at Marvin. Daughter Susan, perhaps the most public face of the company, is president; her brother Jake is CEO. Three other children and seven grandchildren are also involved in the firm.

The current travails of the home-construction industry are well known. Low demand for new houses and increased costs for materials have affected Marvin as well. But Marvin Windows has been baptized by fire—what Bill Marvin and his family have built won’t let something as minor as a dip in the business cycle get it down.

> Watch video from the 2007 Hall of Fame gala.