MVP! MVP!

So for the past several weeks I have been sifting through a ton of e-mails recommending to me who should be the 2013 Glass and Glazing MVP.  To win this, the person needed to be a combination of strong company person and someone who also supports our industry.  In simple terms a “go to” candidate that can always be counted on to have our best interests in hand and represent our world right.  I have to say there was no shortage of possibilities as we have some amazing people in our world.  Some who work very hard with little to no recognition, but they do so because of their desire and/or their companies desire to be the best.  Picking one person was very hard, but in the end, I had to buckle down and choose just one… so the winner of my first Glass and Glazing MVP is….. Tracy Rogers of Quanex.   Tracy does bring it all; professionally he possesses great technical knowledge and a strong marketing feel. He also brings superior industry group participation (and that was a big piece for me) and I believe a sincere desire to make sure our world is always represented in the best manner possible.  Kudos would also need to go to Quanex as well because without a strong backing company, one that cares tremendously like they do, Tracy probably couldn’t do all he does.  So congrats to Tracy and Quanex, and since ironically I don’t believe Tracy reads my stuff (but I know plenty of other Quanex people do) please pass this along to him! And with Tracy’s fun sense of humor I can only imagine the comment he’ll be making about this…

Elsewhere…

This will be my last post of 2013, unless of course major news breaks…

--  It’s been a tremendous and interesting year.  We did experience a bounce back business wise.  While some pockets in North America are still challenged, many others have had a good to great year.  No one I think will admit that publicly, afraid to jinx the trend, but that’s what I am seeing.  Now we need to keep that momentum going!

--  In also looking back… I think we saw great strides in products and technology.  The aluminum guys continue to bring new and innovative products out.  You know I am a fan of YKK, and I have to give props to CRL/US Aluminum, they are really coming down the pike with some fascinating product lines.  On the glass side… The 4^th surface Low E play started to make an impact and the dynamic glass space is boiling over with excitement. I know many people are getting wearied about hearing about dynamics, but its here to stay and will be a factor going forward.  Other areas like machinery (one example, the huge Michael Schmidt ForEl news) hardware, and spacers all made major advances in 2013 as well.  In reality, a lot of movers and shakers were doing their thing in 2013 and I am excited to see what next year now brings.

--  As for looking forward, we come into 2014 with some momentum from the forecasts, hopefully they are finally right!  I also believe we’ll see more deals and consolidations as well, there’s been a ton of talk of major forces teaming together and if that happens it will make serious waves.

Other quick notes-

--  I love that GANA BEC will have ESPN analyst and former Philadelphia QB Ron Jaworski as one of their speakers.  “Jaws” will be a fun one to see and hear. 

--  I still don’t have my health insurance lined up for next year; this should be a very interesting few weeks…

--  Loved Bill Evans blog from last week.  The guy consistently delivers greatness.  I think the only thing I have on him is quantity!

--  I saw a quick note on Cristacurva carrying Onyx Solar Products and I was surprised since it sure seemed that the photovoltaic push had stalled some.  This will be interesting to watch and see if it perks back up.

--  For you soccer fans, the US has no chance in the upcoming world cup.  What a horrible draw for them. 

--  For you football fans, what an end to the College Football season… Sparty comes through and we get what should be a fun high scoring final between Auburn and Florida State.

--  Last…. As many of you know I call this blog “my therapy” and it allows me to get thoughts off my chest.  Getting to share with you is a thrill and getting picked up weekly in Glass Magazine is an extreme honor.  So with that I want to wish all of you a happy and HEALTHY 2014.  It will be a good year, I know it.  And on the healthy side, a special wish of health to my brother who will happily turn the page on the misery of 2013, and be 100% in the new year.  What an adventure he’s been on, and I am glad to say he’s finally almost back!

See you in January!!

LINKS of the WEEK

--  Someone has to explain to me what “Bitcoin” is and how this sign could make 24k.  I am in the wrong business if this is real.

--  Personally I love Amazon.com, but this guy sure doesn’t

--  Never got a note like this for all the miles I fly… but nice touch.

VIDEO of the WEEK

I just finished a book called “Nothing to Lose, The Making of KISS” which was a great oral history of the first few years of KISS the rock group.  If you like them at all, get the book, great stories on how they started and made it.  (Spoiler: They worked VERY hard).  Anyway, this clip of Gene Simmons of KISS appearing on the Mike Douglas show back in the 70’s has been making the rounds and its really something… bizarre and interesting all at the same time!