EXHIBIT (a)(1)

                       ASSOCIATED MATERIALS INCORPORATED

                                                                  March 22, 2002

Dear Stockholder:

     I am pleased to inform you that Associated Materials Incorporated has
entered into a merger agreement with Associated Materials Holdings Inc.,
formerly Harvest/AMI Holdings Inc. ("Parent"), a newly formed affiliate of
Harvest Partners, Inc., a private equity firm. Under the merger agreement, a
wholly owned subsidiary of Parent has commenced a tender offer to purchase all
of the outstanding shares of the Company's common stock for $50.00 per share in
cash. The tender offer is conditioned upon, among other things, Parent
purchasing at least a majority of the shares in the tender offer on a fully
diluted basis, the receipt of acquisition financing, regulatory approvals and
other customary conditions. The tender offer will be followed by a merger in
which each share of the Company's common stock not purchased in the tender offer
will be converted into the right to receive $50.00 per share in cash.

     YOUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS HAS UNANIMOUSLY DETERMINED THAT THE TERMS OF
PARENT'S OFFER AND THE MERGER ARE FAIR TO AND IN THE BEST INTERESTS OF THE
COMPANY'S STOCKHOLDERS. YOUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS RECOMMENDS THAT ALL THE
COMPANY'S STOCKHOLDERS ACCEPT PARENT'S OFFER AND TENDER THEIR SHARES OF THE
COMPANY'S COMMON STOCK PURSUANT TO THE OFFER.

     In arriving at its recommendation, your Board of Directors considered a
number of factors, as described in the attached Schedule 14D-9. The Company's
financial advisor, Salomon Smith Barney Inc., has delivered to the Board of
Directors a written opinion dated March 16, 2002 to the effect that, as of that
date and based upon and subject to certain matters stated in such opinion, the
$50.00 per share cash consideration to be received in the tender offer and the
merger by the holders of the Company's common stock (other than Parent and its
affiliates) was fair, from a financial point of view, to such holders. A copy of
Salomon Smith Barney's written opinion dated March 16, 2002, which sets forth
the assumptions made, matters considered and limitations on the review
undertaken by Salomon Smith Barney in rendering its opinion, can be found in
Annex A to the attached Schedule 14D-9. You should read the opinion carefully
and in its entirety.

     Enclosed are Parent's Offer to Purchase, dated March 22, 2002, a letter of
transmittal and other related documents. These documents provide instructions on
how to tender your shares and set forth the terms and conditions of the tender
offer and other important information. The Schedule 14D-9 describes in more
detail the background and reasons considered by the Board in its decision to
approve the tender offer and the merger and contains other information relating
to the tender offer. I urge you to consider this information carefully.

                                            Sincerely,

                                            [/s/ WILLIAM W. WINSPEAR]
                                            William W. Winspear
                                            Chairman, President and Chief
                                            Executive Officer

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