VPI Quality Windows Inc., a Spokane Valley vinyl window and patio door manufacturer, has agreed to buy the window and door manufacturing assets of Beaverton, Ore.-based Mercer Windows.

Burke Blevins, president and CEO of VPI, says that specifically, the company has agreed to buy Mercer’s manufacturing plant and its designs and technology.

Blevins declines to disclose the terms of the agreement. The transaction is expected to be completed before July.

He says the company just entered the due-diligence phase of negotiations last week. He says he felt it was important to for VPI to sign the letter of intent to acquire Mercer because the Oregon company last month had announced its intent to wind down operations.

At that time, Mercer had more than 60 employees.

VPI, on the other hand, has had strong recent growth, Blevins says.

VPI employs about 100 people here at its 90,000-square-foot plant at 3420 E. Ferry. “We’ve been growing over the last three years from the depths of the recession,” he says.

Blevins declines to say how many of Mercer’s employees will be retained at the Beaverton plant.

“It’s premature to say who will be staying and who will be moving on,” he says.

Blevins says the Beaverton plant will operate under the Mercer Windows name as a unit of VPI.

“Our intention is to keep the Mercer brand name alive,” he says. “It has a strong quality perception. We believe it’s an asset.”

The companies are complementary in terms of markets they serve and products they manufacture, he says. Both companies make high-performance products, which means they exceed light-commercial standards for thermal, energy efficiency, and structural integrity, Blevins says.

VPI, which was founded in in 1993, markets its products to contractors, architects, and homeowners and supplies dealers throughout the Pacific Northwest and in Montana, California, Nevada, Alaska, and Hawaii.

Founded in 1926, Mercer makes vinyl and aluminum-frame windows and door products for residential, multifamily, and commercial markets.

“Geographically, Mercer’s coverage is strong in Portland, which is a market we were targeting to grow in 2014 and in the future,” he says, adding that the Northern California market also is important to VPI’s future growth plans.

“They also have a line of products not in our offering that is very interesting to us,” Blevins says, referring to Mercer’s aluminum storefront doors and windows.