What does JELD-WEN mean?

Naming the company JELD-WEN was a highly personal decision spearheaded by company founder Richard “Dick” Wendt. He knew he didn’t want to limit the new company – which started in 1960 as one small millwork plant in Oregon – by location or product, fearing it would stifle potential growth opportunities. An instinct that would pay off.

Instead, the name was borrowed from a Depression-era childhood memory. In the early 1930s, Dick Wendt’s father bought a small farm in rural Iowa. The family decided that naming the farm should be a contest, with the winning submission coming from Wendt’s cousin, Jeanette Coughlin. 

The farm became known as “JELD-WEN Acres,” a mashed-up version of letters with specific meanings in the Wendt immediate family. “J” is for Dick’s sister Jewel; “E” is for Evelyn, his mother; “L” is for Lester, his father; and finally, “D” is for Dick. “Wen” came from a shorter version of the family name Wendt. Hence the name JELD-WEN.

Since the company’s founding, JELD-WEN has become one of the world’s largest door and window manufacturers – operating facilities in 16 countries in North America, and Europe – and a recognized innovator in energy-efficient products.