Project 10 of 36
S100 4track-corner-pocket
- Company
- C.R. Laurence
- Role
- Product manager, stage-gate lead
- Year
- 2025
- Discipline
- Sliding systems
- Status
- Gate 2 complete, July 2025
- Images
- 9
The Palisades S100 is CRL's thermally broken, high-performance sliding door system. It is Florida product approved and rated CW40, but it topped out at three tracks. Our architectural sales team was losing projects that needed more panels, a corner with no post, or panels that disappear into a wall, and many customers didn't know the system could be configured that way.
The program adds a 4-track configuration, a pocket option that stacks panels into a built-in wall, and a 90° corner with no fixed post, all within the S100's performance rating. The first application was a luxury showroom in Manhattan that needed all three at once.
- S100 sales, 2023 to 2024
- +21%
- Max panel size, up to 700 lb
- 13 × 7 ft
- Max opening with four panels
- 56 ft
- Performance grade
- CW40
Overview
- Problem
Without 4-track, pocket and corner capability we lost projects, and neither customers nor our own sales team knew those configurations were possible.
- Solution
New 4-track, pocket and 90° corner members for the S100, keeping its CW40 rating and thermally broken frame.
- Customers
Architects and Division 8 contractors; hotels, government buildings, retail and hospitality.
- Value
More configurations for architects on a high-performing, Florida-approved system.
- Risk
Track can't be crimped on site, which makes long assemblies unwieldy to build and transport.
- Competition
Western Window Systems 7600, Andersen MultiGlide, Mi Windows V2000, PRL Max.
My role
I co-led the S100 expansion with the senior product manager and took it through Gates 0 to 2 in one month, after leadership asked us to accelerate. I made the case from lost projects and the open pipeline, drafted the project charter with engineering, and scoped the 4-track, pocket and corner work around a live showroom project.
Stakeholders I coordinated
- Project
- Architect and glazing contractor on the launch showroom
- Sales
- Architectural business development
- Internal teams
- New product development · Product testing · Marketing · Sales and service centers · Sourcing and purchasing · Demand planning · Master data
- Gate committee
- VP Engineering · VP Product Design & Development · VP Sales · VP Marketing · Head of Product & Innovation
Stage-gate progress
- G0 Concept Jul 2025
- G1 Define Jul 2025
- G2 Develop Jul 2025
- G3 Validate Planned
- G4 Launch Planned
- G5 Post-launch Planned
Plan to win back S100 projects
S100 sales dropped about 35% from 2022 to 2023 and had only partly recovered. The system wasn't the problem; it couldn't be configured the way many projects needed, and our own sales team didn't know what was possible.
- 01
Close the configuration gap
Add 4-track, pocket and post-free 90° corner configurations within the existing CW40 rating, so projects that need more panels aren't lost.
- 02
Prove it on a real job
Use a high-profile Manhattan showroom that needed all three configurations at once as the first application.
- 03
Teach the sales team
Train architectural sales on the new configurations so they can bring them to architects early, when the system is specified.
Research
Competitive benchmark
Every comparable premium system already offered 4-track, pocket and corner configurations, which made them table stakes. Going beyond four tracks would need a modular redesign.
| System | Max panel | Design pressure | Water | U-factor | STC | Stile | 4-track, pocket, corner |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CRL S100 | 7' × 13' | 40 psf | 6.06 psf | 0.38 | 33–37 | 1-5/16" | In development |
| Milgard AX650 | 5' × 10' | – | 12 psf | 0.31 | – | 2-15/16" | Yes |
| NanaWall Cero II | 7.5' × 13' | 35 psf | 12 psf | 0.30 | 44 | 2-1/16" | Yes |
| Western Window Systems 7600 | 12' × 15' | 50 psf | 8 psf | 0.30 | – | 2-57/64" | Yes |
| Panda Slimline | 16' × 20' | 70 psf | 12 psf | 0.42 | – | 2-5/16" | Yes |
| Reynaers Hi-Finity | 11.5' × 13' | 41 psf | 12 psf | 0.28 | 45 | 1-3/8" | Yes |
| LaCantina Multi-Slide | 8' × 12' | 40 psf | 7.5 psf | 0.53 | – | 2-3/4" | Yes |
S100 sales, indexed
2022 = 100. After a dip in 2023, sales recovered 21% in 2024 and kept climbing through July 2025.
Indexed from internal sales data; actual figures withheld.
New configurations
X = sliding panel, O = fixed panel, P = pocket.
| Option | Configurations | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| XP, XXP, XXXP, PXXP, PXXXXP | Panels stack into a built-in wall; single, double or triple track; raised or recessed sill | |
| 90° corner | XO, XP, XX, XOX, XXO, XXP, XXX, XXXP | No corner post; customer provides corner structure |
| 4-track | Up to four sliding panels | Openings up to 56 ft wide |
Challenges and resolutions
-
01
Challenge
Leadership wanted to accelerate the program because much of the engineering already existed, but there was no charter defining the scope.
ResolutionWe wrote the charter in a week covering all three configurations, reviewed it with engineering, and cleared Gates 0 to 2 in July 2025.
Gallery
