Passing of Industry Icon

Mid day Sunday after I had initially posted, I received word that Eddie Goldberg passed away.  This one has shaken me up some, as Eddie not only was a relative of mine, but an industry icon as an owner and leader at a few different companies, most recently and for several years at Utica Glass.  He was a serious fixture at industry events and a guy that truly cared a ton for what we all do.  Eddie always greeted me (and most others) with a great smile and handshake and could immediately jump into any of the issues effecting our world with ease.  He and I used to go round and round about the location of GlassBuild.  He was never a fan of Vegas, feeling it was great for quantity but not for quality. No matter what role Eddie held in the businesses he owned and worked at, he always took the same classy approach, always welcoming, always looking forward.  Many in the industry and reading this may have never met Eddie or known him, and that's a shame, as he was an excellent man who will be greatly missed.

Elsewhere…

--  Since my last post Greenbuild was held and reaction was mixed.  There were some folks who felt it was a solid show that met expectations but others that disagreed.  From an exhibitor point of view, it has to get concerning when this show keeps ending up in the most expensive venues possible, last year Toronto, this year San Fran, next year Philly.  Those are budget-busting cities if I have seen one.

--  And still I’d love to know how rock concerts, exclusive swanky parties, and tons of worthless swag are good for the health of our planet?  To me it smacks of the “do what we say, not what we do” mentality. 

--  Also on Greenbuild, there was a decent amount of news generated from the show, and once again a lot of it was from the “dynamic” glass space.  Soladigm rebranded their company as View, and SAGE announced a marketing agreement with Viracon.  The dynamic space even got quality mainstream media notice in USA Today.  I know there are doubters, but the momentum is really strong when it comes to the technologies that make up this segment. 

--  Going hand in hand with this was McGraw Hill releasing a very positive outlook for the “green” building market.  While I believe certifications like LEED will wane, I do think that solid sustainable building practices, bolstered by codes and code enforcement will be dominant in the next several years.

--  A hearty congrats to the gang at Metropolitan Glass in Denver for their “Circle of Safety” award.  A commitment like that to a safe workplace can never be underestimated or underplayed.

--  This may stun some of my loyal readers… but I have to give major kudos to the folks at Oldcastle BE for their BIM IQ rollout and website.  It is simply amazing.  BIM has been this bizarre mystery in our industry as it’s not mainstream and you have very few folks embracing because its usage is inconsistent.  Oldcastle’s new set up may change that- congrats to them for this effort- looks very promising.

--  Hey the ABI rocked upward again… It is really “put up or shut up” time for this index in my opinion.  Starting with next month we’ll be watching last year’s totals and comparing them to what is happening in real time.

--  Congrats to the folks at Guardian subsidiary SRG for their setting of a Guinness World Record at a recent family day in Spain… they broke they record for… get this… rhythmic snapping!! Here’s the evidence…

--  Last this week, I was able to see the new movie Lincoln and all I can say is WOW. This was an amazing movie that was made even more so by the performance of Daniel Day-Lewis in the lead role.  The Oscars should not even waste their time nominating anyone else for Best Actor and just give him that statue.  He was that good.  In addition I would not be surprised if Sally Field took home best actress.  You know a movie is good when you come home and dig into the computer looking up as much as you can about the subject. 

LINKS of the WEEK

--  Classic story, robbers take a music studio and leave their tracks behind.  Oops. 

--  See this is one of those areas where Solar makes some sense… will be curious to see how this turns out.

--  Leftover Halloween candy for Football tickets?  Fair trade?

VIDEO of the WEEK

Not sure about you but I have tons of leaves in my yard…. But nowhere near as many as these folks who are promoting the worlds biggest pile of leaves… wow… stuff you see on Youtube.

Congrats, Kudos, Thanks, and more

Well the election in the US has finally passed and for those on the winning side, a breath of excitement while those on the losing side, the absolute angst of defeat.  No matter who you were for, the deal is done and the hope on both sides should be that the dysfunction junction that is Washington DC can get it together for the good of our world going forward.  As for our industry the focus will return to the lending institutions, as many of the projections in the last few months noted that the election would have an effect on construction, so we’ll now surely see what that exactly is.

Elsewhere…

Lots of good news this week… let’s hit a few…

--  Congrats to an old friend and co-worker of mine, Jeff Ziesche (also known as my Mom’s 3^rd favorite kid behind my brother and sister).  Jeff was tabbed by the sharp folks at CRL to become Director of Sales & Marketing for the US Aluminum division of the company.  I am thrilled for Z and family- a great spot for him.

--  Kudos to Arlene Stewart, one of the keenest minds ever to talk energy, was named the Florida Home Builders Association (FHBA) Associate Member of the Year.  Arlene brings credibility and passion to all she does and it’s nice to see the FHBA recognized that.

--  The folks at YKK AP picked up an award from Architectural Products Magazine in their “Innovative Products” section for their latest curtain wall release.  More than 50 judges from all angles of the construction industry tabbed YKK for the honor.  Congrats to Oliver Stepe, Mike Turner and all of the folks there.

--  This week is Greenbuild and I will miss it… but I know plenty of folks going so we’ll have any pertinent details when I post again.  And speaking of posting again, this will be the last post until the week of November 25^th.  Giving my fingers and brain a break for the holiday.

--  Of course I will post if there’s news to post and there’s some hot and heavy rumors of some more acquisitions and consolidation in our industry.  We’ll see if any of it breaks and if it does, it will show up here.

--  And last week saw another acquisition for the Consolidated Glass group, they are surely on the move.  Loved seeing my old pal Don Power have his name in the news too.  If you know Don, you know he’d rather be anywhere than in the media. 

--  By the way a huge story this week with the ICC pushing to laminated on hand and guardrails.  That should have a significant effect on business and design that is for sure.  The bad news is that with how slow municipalities are to adopt measures it will be a while before this truly shows its value.

--  Last this week… two items… a happy birthday to my Mother… and Happy Thanksgiving to all of my American readers.  Hope everyone can take that day to sit back, relax and enjoy and get away from the race and pressure of this breakneck society we live in. 

LINKS of the WEEK

--  Solar panels every 15 seconds?  Can this really work going forward?

--  So here’s a story on how those folks who are into “extreme couponing” are wasting their time… I worked at one time with a prolific extreme couponer and I’ll be curious for her reaction. 

--  The Dallas Mavericks unveiled new uniforms for their Cheerleaders… and they are not leaving a lot to the imagination….

VIDEO of the WEEK

All credit to my daughter who pointed me to this song and video.  Performed by "The Script" and called “Hall of Fame” the lyrics are fantastic and video pretty dang cool.  My girl has some great musical tastes!