The 2014 edition of glasstec is in the books and quite
simply it was amazing. Having never been
to this event I did not know what to expect and despite studying like crazy I
was still caught off guard by the pure size of everything. Mostly every booth (or stand as they call
them at this show) was monstrous. The
equipment on display was breathtaking and as a glass geek, I just was in awe at
so much of it. If there was a disappointment (other than horrendous internet at
my hotel) it was the weakness in glass technology. I did not see the innovation that I expected
and honestly I think we had more innovation with glass products at GlassBuild. But that was minor because the equipment, the
software, and the ability to see how people do things from all over the world
was more than enough to make this an incredibly memorable week.
Overall the show was packed and people very positive about
the future. The only scary part was the
scuttlebutt about tightening glass supply in North America and the very obvious
and frustrating lack of trucking that is causing delivery delays. The themes of 2015 will be logistics and
planning because our industry is not the same as it was 5 years ago. We have less float plants, less available
trucks and drivers and now major improving economic conditions. So if you are a fabricator, you need to plan
and inventory differently than you have in the past and if you are a glazier,
make sure you and your fabricator are communicating leadtimes effectively
because they may be disrupted due to transport issues. I will have much more on this in the coming
weeks.
As I always do after a show… the seen and heard… and its
quite long this time appropriate for a long event like this… Lots to get to…
-- Hardware was everywhere and great usages and advancements
continue. That all glass look with
classy hardware is just awesome and it’s only going to get better. What was the “in” product that seemed to be
everywhere? Blinds in between
glass. Stunning since that is not
exactly a new technology. Also quite a
bit of decorative, though I heard from many that the styles on display were not
eye catching and I must agree.
-- Busiest booth?
Guardian. Especially on day 3 of the show. The place was like a Vegas nightclub, people
jam-packed in there. Somewhere in that
mass of humanity I did get to chat with the super Amy Hennes who now has helped
point me the right direction at yet another show. Thankfully I got in on day 1
of the show before the masses descended on their spot. Also great to visit with
Chris Dolan, Jay Phillips, and Matt Hill.
I feel horrible I never could spend time with my favorite Chinese
connection Dan Plotnick. He was just too
busy. But not seeing me is best for his street cred in China.
-- Coolest machinery?
Everything I saw was awesome, but 2 stood out for me. (1) The loading/unloading robot that the
tremendous guys from Salem showed me at the Bavone booth. That will help efficiency in plants for sure. (2) The cutter from Turomas Tecnocat was
incredible. Fast, quiet, and seriously
effective. I watched in awe for a while, including a part where it cut 1” thick
glass like the hot knife through butter.
Thank you to Juan Pablo Herrera of IGE for getting me my own private
demo there.
-- Seen out and about… Got to visit with Doug Marren at Eastman
and even saw Aimee Davis from there as well- she no longer works on our side of
the industry, so I never get to see her, so that was a treat! Met for the first time Ruby Singh of Glassfab. Seriously good guy and was also nice to see
Mike Goldfarb of Glassfab too. I had not
seen Doug Studt from Torstenson Glass in quite a while so super to run into
him. And always a pleasure and honor to
see Bernard Lax of Pulp Studios.
-- Pat Kenny of PPG was stationed right across from the
NGA\WDDA booth so catching up with him was excellent. It was his first glasstec in many years. Meanwhile Max Hals was making yet another
triumphant appearance at the show- he’s been here every year since 1982. Such a good man, glad we have the same name
and people confuse us sometimes- I benefit from that deal that’s for sure! Getting to chat with Ren Bartoe is the best
though, he interrupted a conversation with others to say hi to me and I
appreciate that. Got to spend time with
Manny Borda of IGE and it was fantastic- pure class that man is. And speaking of class as well as “cool”
Michael Schmidt of Forel fits that description.
Meeting with him in the massive Forel exhibition was a neat experience. And while in that booth I visited with Steve
Bouchard of Glass Distributors Inc. which was totally enjoyable.
-- No Diego Cuevas of Onyx as he had to work Greenbuild but
their booth was busy and I got to meet the very sharp and intelligent Mila
Plaza who was covering the stand for them. I love that solar is gaining traction. Getting a few minutes with Steve Weidner of
NSG/Pilkington was awesome. He treats me
better than I deserve. Always good to
see Scott Hoover of Tecglass/Arrow as well as spending a little time with Carey
and Chris Mobius of Garibaldi.
-- Not seen? I saw Devin Bowman of TGP at the airport in
Atlanta and then never saw him again. Rob
Botman and Jordan Richards of Glassopolis were at the show, but never saw them
and rumor has it they owned the town at night with legendary outings. Nice.
-- Last, on my final day here, I went for a nice (but icy cold)
run along the Rhein. Portions of my
lungs I think are still behind in Germany floating along that river. Somewhere my running idol Jeff Ziesche of
CRL/US Aluminum has to be smiling about that one.
I’m sure I missed more than one thing and we’ll catch that
next week as we return once again to normal….
LINKS/VIDEO of the WEEK
I hope you can give me a pass on both of these- internet was
not great in Germany, so looking up and finding anything was not going to
happen. They’ll return next week!
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