Alike in the metal, different in where they are made and what the catalogue holds. We fabricate one and install the other; here is how we choose.
Where we stand. We are factory-certified to fabricate, install and service Alutech, and we install Cortizo from the manufacturer’s fabricator; we have built both in New York many times and can quote either. Series names, depths and positioning below are from the manufacturers’ published system data; performance numbers for a specific series and glass come from the manufacturer’s test reports, which we file in the test reports in our Technical Library as we receive them, and from the project’s own calculation. We do not quote a U-factor or an STC here that we cannot point to a report for.
Both are serious European thermally broken aluminum systems, and on most New York jobs either will do the work. The practical difference is where the window is made. Alutech we fabricate ourselves on Staten Island from stock profile, which means shorter lead times, shop drawings in-house, and repairs from stock for the life of the building. Cortizo is fabricated by the manufacturer’s fabricator to our survey, which means a longer lead time and a wider catalogue — including COR Vision, the slim large-format slider that Alutech does not match. Choose Alutech for a multifamily or storefront program where schedule and service matter; choose Cortizo for a facade or a custom house where the catalogue does.
| Alutech | Cortizo | |
|---|---|---|
| Origin | Alutech Group, Belarus, with EU production; supplied to the US market with its own test reports | Cortizo, Spain; the largest European aluminum extruder, global range |
| Our relationship | Certified fabricator, installer and service provider; stock and shop drawings on Staten Island | Installer; units fabricated by the manufacturer’s fabricator to our survey |
| Tilt-and-turn window series | W62, W72 (62 / 72 mm depth) | COR 70 Industrial, COR 80 (70 / 80 mm depth); COR 60 for budget |
| Sliding doors | ALT SL160 lift-slide | COR Vision (slim, large), 4200 / 4600 sliders |
| Curtain wall | ALT F50 (50 mm mullion face) | TP 52 and structural glazing variants |
| Storefront / entrances | Yes; ALT C48 doors | Yes; Millennium and COR door series |
| Sightlines | Conventional European | Conventional; COR Vision is the slim exception |
| Thermal performance | Good; polyamide breaks; triple glass to ~50 mm | Good to very good; COR 80 and Vision for the highest numbers |
| Lead time to New York | Short: fabricated here from stock profile | Longer: fabricated abroad or by a US fabricator to order |
| Repairs and parts | From our shop, from stock | Ordered; longer |
| Where we have used it | 408 Lefferts, 461 East New York, 2 Bushwick, 3915 Flatlands | The Anable, 165 East 64th, 47th Road, Gravesend Neck Road |
Both are multi-chamber aluminum profiles with polyamide thermal breaks, EPDM gaskets, multi-point hardware and glazing to around 50 millimetres, so both carry triple glass. Both make a tilt-and-turn window, a lift-slide door, a storefront door and a curtain wall, and both have the US test data (AAMA/NAFS, NFRC) a New York filing needs. Both take any RAL powder coat. On a mid-size opening with double glazing the finished windows are hard to tell apart from the street.
Fabrication. The largest difference is not in the metal. Alutech profile is on our racks; we cut, machine, assemble and glaze it, and we hold the shop drawings. When a sash needs a new gasket in eight years, the part is in our shop. Cortizo units arrive finished from the fabricator; a repair part is a phone call to Spain or to the US fabricator. On a rental program of eighty windows, that is the deciding factor. Catalogue. Cortizo’s range is wider and its slim large-format sliders — COR Vision — are a product Alutech has no equivalent to. On The Anable the curtain wall with sliding and tilt-turn inserts and the curved corner glass were a Cortizo job because the catalogue had every piece. Thermal ceiling. COR 80 and Vision reach higher thermal numbers than the Alutech W72 in the same glass; on a passive-house target, Cortizo. For ordinary code compliance, either.
Multifamily window replacement, storefront on an avenue, a mixed-use building with a schedule: Alutech, because we control the fabrication and the service. New construction facade, custom house with big sliders, an architect specifying a European look: Cortizo, or Reynaers where the sightline has to be slimmest (see Reynaers vs Alutech). A building that already has one system: the same system, for the parts.
Not as a rule. Cortizo has a wider catalogue and a higher thermal ceiling; Alutech we fabricate ourselves, so lead time and service are shorter. On a standard window either meets code; the job decides.
Alutech, because we fabricate it on Staten Island and it suits the multifamily and storefront work that is most of our volume. Cortizo goes on facades and custom houses.
Yes. Gaskets, hardware and glass are serviceable; system-specific parts are ordered from the manufacturer or the US fabricator, which takes longer than an Alutech part from our stock.
Yes, with Low-E argon double glazing; both carry triple glass where the design asks for it. Project numbers come from the test reports and the calculation.
Comparable on standard windows. Cortizo’s COR Vision slider is slimmer than anything in the Alutech range; for the slimmest windows overall, see Reynaers SlimLine.
About this page. Written by Alex GC Inc. d/b/a Alex Glass Construction and reviewed before publication by Aleksandr Chernovolenko, Managing Partner, with our design and estimating lead and a field foreman. Our foremen hold the NYC DOB Site Safety Training supervisor card and our crews the 40-hour worker card; we are certified to fabricate, install and service Alutech and Everest aluminum systems. Facts are drawn from our own projects, manufacturer test data and the applicable codes; where we are giving an opinion, we say so. Last reviewed September 2026. Credentials
Tell us the building and the openings. We will say which system we would use and why, and quote it.
