Pella buys EFCO- the release is out

As soon as I have the release I will post a link to it here... but there was nothing groundbreaking in the release that everyone who has been reading this did not know.

Again coming up next is a complete breakdown of the deal and its effects.

Thank you to everyone in Missouri and Iowa who have hit this blog over the last month. I had record numbers and that was basically because of you and this deal. I hope that you have bookmarked and you come back each week for more insight.

So let's get ready... the next big deal is on the horizon... Who is it?

BREAKINGI! It is official! EFCO sold to Pella

UPDATE 4pm- DEAL IS DONE- Press Release soon to follow.

Just a quick note... had this left on one of the comment sections... guess its done...

pella took over operations at efco at midnight on aug. 29th a employee meeting is set for aug 31st . two days after the fact --typical efco "top secrets"

1:06 PM

More news on this as it breaks, and also check USGNN for more as well. And of course once deal is official a complete breakdown on what this means to all involved....

The lawsuits keep coming!

Another lawsuit for us to follow hit the news this week. This time its SAFTI First (O’Keefe’s) taking on 3 companies for infringing on its patented Superlite I-W product. And of the three companies, one is a real doozy… TGP- Technical Glass Products. For most people, TGP is the holy grail of the fire rated material world and while SAFTI First is certainly no slouch, they are not TGP. Its also funnyto see TGP and Pilkington put together in this but as separate defendants as Pilkington works quite a bit of exclusive deals with TGP, so I guess when you play together, you sometimes have to defend together eh? Anyway if SAFTI wins this suit or makes any sort of positive agreement for them, it may tip the scales their way. That said, this one will be interesting to watch, as I expect all three companies named in the lawsuit to defend themselves pretty vigorously and for O’Keefe’s to be just as intense on the other side. Something tells me this won’t be a boring one…. and why is this important? Fire Rated glass is a growing segment and will keep growing based on the technology and the codes, so if TGP and the others get shut down on this product, the ripples will be gigantic.

Elsewhere…

-- I asked for any insight on the OC/Cardinal lawsuit and got several replies that basically said all is quiet on the western front. Somewhere down the line this one will break. Thank you to all who took the time to write in.

-- Also a reminder if you want your collectors item, “Say No to China” button please drop me a note. The pins are due in this week and you’ll have them before the show. If not, they’ll be easy to find on the show floor….

-- Who woulda thought with the dire predictions of major hurricanes this season that the places most under water would be Ohio and Minnesota? Hopefully those folks can dry out quick- what a mess. Mother Nature has a very strange way of doing things.

-- Wouldn’t it be a kick in the pants if it’s not Pella buying EFCO? Nah, last week the chances were 98% and I believe its now 99%.... the big question is will the new marriage be announced at the glass show? And if it is, will there be anyone left surprised? The funny thing is that a major consultant keeps sending out notes about this deal… acting like he is ahead of the story… while its been on here and online for weeks and weeks. Comical.

-- In the Green note of the week… Can the color of your website background use up more energy? Amazingly there is a movement to push people to a black background because on the older monitors, white backgrounds actually use more energy to show. I can’t wait till we can offer LEED credit for having website with dark backgrounds. Anyway, if you care, the story is HERE.

-- Last, I am a week late here, but if you have a kid in the house between 8 and 14 then you probably have been living with High School Musical mania. The “Grease” of the new generation, this Disney movie has broken record after record. Anyway the reason I bring up, is that both High School Musical movies are good, clean, fun entertainment. And the fact that records are being broken at epic paces proves that there is truly a place for family fare on TV. While I love shows like Entourage that are far from family fare, its just nice to see that shows like High School Musical have a place in our society and we’re not all headed down the path of debauchery.

And now that I got the feel good angle done… YOU MUST WATCH THIS VIDEO… its Miss South Carolina at a recent pageant absolutely butchering an answer in the Q&A portion. Seriously its 48 seconds and you will be amazed at her answer…

Be patient its almost there....

The deal, the deal, the deal.. that’s all anyone wants to talk about anymore. Whether its e-mails to me, or visits to the site, the majority is made up on the EFCO sale possibility. From every indication the deal is done, but deals of this size take time to close up. Believe me its not like buying a car… there is so much to go into it that it could easily carry on for another month or two. And in that time the deal could go sour. But given the disaster that is the residential window side, I have a feeling that Pella will not let that happen.

In case you missed it, this comment was left on my last post:

Pella's purchase is interesting in that they are weak when it comes to calling on the commercial architectural community; guess buying EFCO provides them more expertise in this arena. If I were an EFCO employee I'd much rather have Pella as the parent company b/c they treat their employees great and are surely more financially stable then EFCO has been - which is also good for suppliers & customers.
Warning: working for Pella may lead to serious brain-washing, but it could be worse.

It’s a very interesting comment because what does happen to the salespeople and reps? Does the new company keep its residential guys and teach them commercial or vice versa? Plus do any Pella guys know anything about aluminum? After all they bash its existence in every ad they do seemingly, so that will be a switch. Anyway this is one of many storylines to follow as we get closer to done deal.

Elsewhere…

-- Speaking of storylines.. anyone have any updates on the Cardinal-Oldcastle lawsuit? I still think that would be fascinating one to partake in as a spectator. I must be a serious glass geek.

-- For all the people that complain that our industries pricing is crazy, I would say at least we are not like the gas providers. I am amazed as I pass by the local gas station and every day they charge a different price for gas. Everyday. That volatility amazes me. Well it also looks like some of the big gas companies may be taking some heat as it looks like a class action suit will be filed charging some unfair practices. Very interesting read HERE.

-- Amazing and frustrating story of the week is my mom. Particularly her windows. She has needed Hurricane Windows for a while and in advance of the next storm that will surely hit Florida (probably Felix in the next week +) Well me being the son in the industry I tried to hook her up with someone to replace her windows. Now granted we don’t install and don’t make windows or residential sliders at Arch, so I had depend on others… and as of this day I am 0 for 4. Yes 4 window installers in South Florida have visited my Mom.. measured and categorically blown her off. No phone calls with estimates, nothing. I even called one guy back and asked if he’d be getting with my Mom and he said he would… and of course NEVER DID. Keep in mind she was not getting bids… first one that gave her a price GETS IT! Anyway, tts unreal, I am in the business and can’t get stuff done. I can only imagine what happens to people who are not the business. Anyway, it goes to show, that no matter what the business climate, that service can still leaving you wanting.

-- The “green” note of the week...want to go “green” in your life.. then check out this LINK and you’ll be taken to treehugger.com. It has everything on how to “green” your worklife to “greening” your sexlife (for which I did not even want to know…) Wow this revolution covers everything huh?

No video of the week… instead its “Button of the Week” as this is what the hottest button at the upcoming glass show will look like. I have gotten a few requests for these and as soon as I get them I’ll mail out… if you want some let me know.. it’s what every smart and fashionable North American should be wearing!

EFCO Sale Update II

This posted late last night...

Anonymous said...

Efco shut down at 11:00 p.m.Friday August 17th to start inventory .
Employees still do not know new owners

12:08 AM

I would say the odds via percentage on the owners is:

Pella 98%
Kawneer (Alcoa) 1%
Someone totally stunning 1%

Seriously all indications show Pella making the deal... and with a mid month inventory, I guess this deal is about to go down.

Thanks to everyone for the tips on this one....

NOTE- I have been messing around with a new look.... hopefully it works....

There is NO substitute for the BEST

A lot of confusion has popped up regarding the upcoming glass show and the February BEC event. BEC is the A-1 ultimate event for our industry. The BEC like event that is scheduled ahead of the glass show is not. Sure it may be a decent event, make no mistake, it is not the be all, end all event that the BEC is. The reason I bring this up is many people have been confused by this differing event and some scuttlebutt has led people to believe that this show is actually the BEC- which it is not. So simply said, you can still plan on being in Vegas, in February, for one conference that truly covers the commercial glazing industry and has been doing so for more than 10 years.

Elsewhere….

-- Can the news on the residential side get any worse? Today’s report was that existing home sales have fallen in 41 states… and that followed a simply depressing article on the disaster that is Florida… that Florida piece, titled “Blood in the water in Florida Property Market” can be seen HERE. So bottom line is that there is a reason that the rumors of the Pella’s and Marvin’s going more commercial are out there. And why the Cardinal’s of the world have suddenly decided to become all commercial friendly again….

-- Is there any easier subject to hammer than communist China? By the way, at the upcoming glass show, look for the “SAY NO TO CHINA” pins that will be popping up on the floor. Plus if you want one yourself, please let me know and I’ll make sure you know where to get one. Should be interesting with tons of communist booths there.

-- And speaking of China, nice to see the Aluminum Extruders Council jump in with an opinion on what’s going on. Story on that is HERE. And again this does effect everyone, glaziers too… believe me, selling direct to the end user is surely an option and has happened before.

-- Good job AEC! Way to protect your membership… it’s a shame that other “National” organizations not only ignore protecting their membership on this, but actually are helping the communists become more legit.

-- The reaction to the Energy Bill in the US House has been somewhat quiet. Probably because no one really truly understands what it means to them. Basically it’s a very intense approach, one that could really change the way things are done glass-wise. It would probably mean more softcoat glass and possibly going to triple pane glazing too. Getting more energy efficient products should be a must and I think the industry for the most part would easily stand behind that. Whether or not some of the aggressive time-table or detail needs can be met may be another issue, but taking the step seems positive.

Video of the week.. is from the on going and never ending Britney Spears adventure… In this video a subpoena is attempting to be served to her assistant to testify in the upcoming custody case with her ex-husband. Comical. It really amazes me that people care about watching the trainwreck that is Britney (or Paris or Lindsay Lohan for that matter) but I guess it’s an escape from our everyday stuff. Gee I wonder if for them to relax they find humor in me picking on the NFRC or the communists?

Click HERE to watch the video (sorry could not embed this one)....

Quick Update

My full weekly post will come later on Wednesday, but I had to address the e-mails and hits I am getting regarding the possible EFCO deal.

A comment was left on a previous post that the new owners were coming to town. I am hearing a due diligence of some sort is going on, but after that the details become pretty murky. The people that were convinced that this deal would happen August 2nd, are now waffling some. In addition, just like the Oldcastle deal, another name has been dropped in.

To refresh, late in the Oldcastle/Vistawall deal, rumblings were out that it was Kawneer buying Vistawall, not Oldcastle. Well the same exact thing is happening here. And its Kawneer's name again as well. I don't put a lot of play into it, as with the amount of hits I get on this site from Iowa surely make me think Pella is the play, but I had to put it out there.

So down the stretch we come, it will become more interesting as the month ends, as normally deals come to fruition at month ends/starts. In the meantime, I think there's a ton of people in Iowa and Missouri with their ears to the ground. (Not to mention the EFCO manufacturer reps all over the country that are very interested in the outcome of this adventure.)

More as it progresses....

Some Fresh Comments and a GREAT Video

I feel like a broken record lately… NFRC, blah blah blah… Communist China.. blah, blah, blah and so on. So this week’s post, I’ll do my best to avoid those subjects and do some fresh things… but not without the update on EFCO…

It’s amazing how may people want to know what’s going on with EFCO and the possible sale. But to me the funniest thing was this week, I got e-mailed a link to this blog, telling me look for the EFCO story. I also got the actual newspaper story sent to me several times, including once today from someone believing it was a hot scoop! Well I guess not everyone reads this eh? Dang, traffic is good, but not that good. Anyway the only update I have is it looks full speed ahead… but as I joked with someone today, the bride is walking down the aisle, but there’s still time to run…. But she’s getting closer to the altar.

Elsewhere…

-- Green note… on of my favorite TV shows… “24” has promised to go “green” this year. Click HERE for the details… I was bummed, I thought it meant that Jack would use environmentally correct ways to strangle the communist Chinese…. But alas, its nice that someone in Hollywood is putting their money where their mouth is per say… I can’t stand when Madonna preaches to save the Earth and then she takes off in her private jet, that helps kill it… (Supposedly I must add, as there are some readers who do NOT believe in any of the global warming issues)

-- I learned today from one of my favorite people in the industry that 8 billion birds die per year from slamming into windows. I also learned that being “bird friendly” is now a part of the building process. Plus I got the link to www.flap.org which breaks down this whole phenomenon. This whole thing blew me away. I guess there’s always something new to learn eh… But you know what… I am shocked the NFRC hasn’t figured out a way to add “bird friendliness” to their rating systems….

Yep I know I mentioned communist China and NFRC in the post… but that’s it.. I swear.

-- Saw Jim Charles announced his retirement… best of luck Jim! I only knew Jim from working briefly with him at various GANA functions, but he was always very nice to me- which I appreciated. Anyway, after a lifetime in the mirror business, Jim surely deserves an enjoyable retirement!

-- Last, I am going to save my comments on the table top issue til next post, but if you do not know what I am talking about, go to the Message Boards HERE. Kris Vockler started a thread and it really has garnered serious interest and debate.

The video this week is from the X Games… a skateboarder falling from 50 FEET and walking away!! Plus the announcers are actually un-intentionally funny… These guys from the X Games are nuts… which means they’d be perfect to work in our industry!

EFCO Sale Update

After I posted this week's post (below) I had a comment to check a story on the pending EFCO sale... (yes interaction....)

Anyway- you can click HERE to read the story.

Very interesting, as they can not confirm or deny its Pella. But the best part was the comment on the rumors. No question, EFCO has been mentioned in every rumor out there- whether it was Kawneer, Oldcastle Arc, the man on the moon... they have been fodder.

We'll have to see how this progresses, but it looks like the smoke that had been billowing was coming from a fire....