Our industry lost another unique and special person in the
last week. A gentleman who did things
his own way and did them extremely well.
The passing of Al Shaprio, also known to many as “Active Al” was a
stunner and bummer to me. Al was a
character through and through but one that would take legitimate interest in
the lives of the people he was dealing with.
While he owned a few extremely successful operations, it was Active
Glass that I dealt with. And despite
being a nice guy, Al was unforgiving. He
paid you fast (best around) so he expected to be first in line for
everything. He rode me hard but also
made sure that he took care of me and my company too. He also had a huge heart, when my children
were born, Al sent thoughtful gifts that we still have to this day. He always asked about everyone in my life as
well. And while I didn’t communicate
with Al much in the last several years because my life had changed, when I ran
into him, he was always as warm as ever- always offering to give me as much
business as I could handle (even if I wasn’t a fabricator anymore) and note,
that no one will pay me faster… Anyway, it was a shocking piece of news, and I
am so sorry to see him go. My
condolences to his family. Our industry
and world lost a great one….
Elsewhere…
-- Are we as an industry in line for another battle? This past week the Urban Green Council took
some shots at glass and its usage. Now
what they said was not all wrong, in fact they made some good points about
choosing materials wisely. However the
title alone of “Urban Green Council Warns Against Glass Envelopes” does not
portray us well. Especially in this
short attention span society where most folks will only read the headline and
move on. In any case it needs to be said
that we’re still vulnerable and still not a product of choice. Oh and my metal friends, there was a blast on
you guys in there too…. So just a heads up, that once again we have people
taking shots…
-- Each month I read Glass Magazine and pick out the best ad of
the issue. This month the kudos go to
the gang at Quanex. Their ad for TriSeal
was clean, sharp and bold. Good work with a really smart use of call out
bubbles. It caught my eye for sure. Well done!
-- Also in the always-excellent Glass Magazine was a very
powerful letter and picture to the editor by Joe Bruce of Guardian. I have known Joe for many years and he’s a
tremendous guy, and his letter on returnable racks and the cost of people
discarding them was excellent and spot on.
We can be our own worst enemy in this industry sometimes. Hopefully people will read Joe’s letter and
be smarter and more respectful with other people’s property.
-- As you surely know GlassBuild America is coming and I am
starting to see more and more press releases on products that will be on the
floor. One product that will catch
people’s eye will be AGC’s
Dragontrail™It is an ultra thin glass that is mostly used in mobile devices and
tablets but will also have expanded use in architectural applications. AGC will be doing a ball drop test in their
booth showing this off and it will be something to see. I believe it’s just a matter of time before “thin”
glass starts to hit in many different applications… Good call by AGC to show it off at a show
with the power and size of GlassBuild.
-- Last this week… the Architectural Billings Index continued
to soar. I think from a sales standpoint
things are solid out there. Not getting
any complaints on that. Cash flow is a
different story… that continues to be the bugaboo for many. Hopefully things will normalize on that end
soon.
LINKS of the WEEK
This can’t be real right?
A long list of deal breakers for a man looking for dates…
Count me as one who hates baseball’s “unwritten rules”
VIDEO of the WEEK
I’m a huge fan of voice impressionist Frank Caliendo. This past week he used his immense talent to
read a letter from basketball player LeBron James in the voice of actor Morgan
Freeman. Just tremendous stuff (more if
you are fan of Frank and followed the whole LeBron saga)
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