And your 2015 MVP is.....

The time has arrived to award the 2015 Industry MVP and for the 2^nd year in a row, my choice happened to be involved in a billion dollar deal.  Though this time the deal came before I named the winner, but still… nice to be associated with mega world changing events!  So my latest recipient is a gentleman that I believe met every parameter that I had envisioned.  He is extremely involved at the trade level, leading GANA’s largest division and biggest event.  He also sits on the board at NACC, the glazing certification effort that I believe is very important to the future of our industry.  Our winner also has written some excellent educational articles and presented on some seriously large stages.  His company is active in the industry, involved in the various shows and conferences.  So with that said, our winner this year is Jon Kimberlain of Dow Corning.  To me this is much deserved recognition of an excellent and dedicated industry player.  Another key attribute?  Jon is extremely likable. His personality allows him to deal with all styles of people, and as we know this industry surely runs the gamut on that.  So congrats to Jon and to our runners up as well.  I will say every year as I do this process I find more and more amazing people, which makes this decision so much harder but also excites me that we’ve got talent and skill to keep moving this industry forward.

Elsewhere…

--  So the giant deal of Dow and Dupont hit this week and now we wait and see for the effect on our industry.  The big part for us, in my opinion, is Dow Corning goes from being a 50/50 deal between Dow and Corning to a part of this deal, and so what happens then to the culture of the current company.  As noted above, Dow Corning is a very active company in our world, and that changing would have a negative feel for sure.  So it’s a wait and see with regards to this, hopefully like CRL showed, you can be a part of a major deal and still be active out there.  Obviously the other thing to watch is the typical items in deals like this:   Service, support, and potential talent disruption-  does it get better, worse, stay the same?  We’ll see…

--  Another good list to review; this is the top 5 Real Estate markets to watch in 2015. Here goes:

5- Atlanta- I am surprised given the amount of inventory I always assumed was out there.  So evidently that must be getting snapped up and growth is on the horizon.

4- Seattle- Lot’s of industry and growth and powerful corps like Amazon and Microsoft I am assuming.

3- Charlotte- So evidently this area is really bouncing back strong after all of the bank mergers and issues of the recession.

2- Austin- May be “weird” but is obviously a red-hot area to be in

1- Dallas-Ft Worth- Well this area is rolling.  Cost of living index is still on low side, and it’s a business friendly region.  As we’ve seen in the glass industry with several players either opening and/or expanding there, it’s hot.

--  Normally this would be my video of the week, but it’s too good to have there.  A great parody of the Adele song “Hello” set to life as a salesperson.  So true in so many ways. 

--  Last this week… so this is the last post of 2015, unless of course something major happens.  It’s been a wild year overall and one that absolutely just flew by.  With my first post of 2016, I’ll look back at the year and the predictions I made for it.  That should be fun.  In the meantime, it is my sincere wish to all of you for the happiest of holiday seasons (Including the wrap up of Hanukah ending now) and a HEALTHY and prosperous new year!  See you on the other side.  Thanks for reading!!

LINKS of the WEEK

--  I guess this is a very popular idea… name a cockroach after an ex?

--  Seriously bad soccer sportsmanship.  Though I will say when my favorite team of all time (Anchor Bay HS Girls Soccer) lost a title game in PK’s I would’ve been all for them doing this to win!

--  The lead singer of Stone Temple Pilots Scott Weiland passed away this week- he battled some serious demons and his ex wife and family wrotean amazing piece asking not to glorify the tragedy

VIDEO of the WEEK

Looks like Thursday night I will be in a packed theater watching the latest Star Wars with my son.  While I want to see this- I did not want to be there opening night… I am not a crowds sort of guy any more… oh well, should be memorable!

Interior Glass, Rocky, LAX, 2016 and more

One of the areas of growth I have mentioned on occasion has been the interior space.  Part of that has been the expansion of decorative options but also the functionality of glass.  But there are more reasons that this trend is hot and in the most recent edition of Glass Magazine there’s an excellent article that spells it out very clearly.  It breaks down the four areas of demand driving this and it’s a must read if you are looking at that side of the business. 

Elsewhere…

--  I seriously can’t believe I have just one more blog post for 2015.  Where has this year gone? Remember next week’s post will unveil the industry MVP for this year…

--  For my friends in LA and connected to the happenings at LAX.  Any time frame for terminal 6 to be completed on its remodel?  What a disaster area that is and has been for a while.

--  I am huge “Rocky” fan so I went in with some bias, but I must tell you the movie “Creed” is absolutely fantastic.  Even if you are not a Rocky fan or a boxing fan, the story line and performances in this are incredible.  The fact there’s some talk about Oscar nominations for this film, shows you it’s way beyond the traditional Rocky fare.  I know there’s a ton of good movies coming out this month, but I’d add this to the list.

--  There’s been some nervousness with regards to the economy and some reports that 2016 may be much softer than many expect.  From the analysts I follow and trust, that is not what they are seeing.  The latest metrics show a lighter start in 16, with a robust and strong final 2/3rds.  Where the jury is suddenly out is 2017.  Initially the projections were good for that year as well, but some of that sentiment is changing within all models.  However everything is so far out and so much can change, that it’s too soon to tell what we will have.  Bottom line is we all still have to work hard and take advantage of what’s out there….  I will continue to monitor, follow and mention here as time goes on.

--  Is there a better young, awesome singer than Adele? 

--  How hard are the questions on your job interviewing process?  My guess is with how scarce labor is, the first question is “Do you have a pulse?” followed by “When can you start?” but in the world of Apple, it’s a whole different ballgame.  I ran into this link that listed the 10 toughest job interview questions from Apple and it’s surely off the charts. 

--  Last this week… one of our own in the industry needs our thoughts and prayers.  Dan Funyak of PPG (also known as the husband of PPG’s awesome Joanne Funyak) will be out for a bit as he starts treatment for prostate cancer.  It was caught early and it’s primed to be beaten.  So please keep Dan, Joanne and family in mind… and also per Dan (and many other experts) please keep this in mind:

 ----      Guys 40 and over, please take the time to get your yearly physical and Prostate screenings. This will give you the best chance to catch it early like Dan did

        ----      Women, please get your appropriate screenings and exams on a yearly basis. Give yourself the best chance if something is found.

LINKS of the WEEK

--  You know I probably would’ve tried this some day.  Glad I read this now.

--  A robbery that takes 5 hours and steals 300K worth of tires?  Wow.

--  Tough story here- a major college football player with mental difficulties… not surviving despite help from so many.

VIDEO of the WEEK

If you didn’t see it… the Hail Mary that won the Lions-Packers game.  For Lions fans it was a typical Lions like ending…  longest successful hail mary in NFL History and a great throw by Aaron Rodgers.  This is the reaction of some faithful Lion fans….