Monday, February 22, 2016

Wire Update and BEC Recap

Before I get into the BEC recap and rundown, one big follow up from last week.  I wrote on the wire glass situation in Canada and had a feeling that there had to be more to it.  And it turns out there is.  Thanks to Thom Zaremba, I was updated that the Canadian General Standards Board (CGSB) has already published for public comment a new, draft safety-glazing standard.  The website with the review can be found HERE and the public comment period ends next month- so obviously if you have an interest in this issue, taking some time to review and comment is a must. 

Elsewhere…

So BEC 2016 kicked and as always here are my highlights…. 

--  The opening reception from Viracon was jam packed, the room was a bit tough to work being a long rectangle, but still a nice event.

--  The State of the industry speech via Serge Martin of AGC had plenty of interesting takes, but a big part of his piece was collaboration with suppliers to make sure everyone can get supply.  That’s something I have hit on here many times.

--  The panel on oversize glass was very strong as was the presentation by architect Kai-uwe Bergmann.  I was also pleased with Dr. Tom Culp and Urmilla Sowell as they covered the crucial code and tech subjects.  Overall lots of insight and if you want to really get a fast flavor of it- go check out the twitter feed of @GlassMag- Katy Devlin was her usual off the charts self with amazing social coverage.

--  Of course no industry event would be complete without my usual “seen and met” part of the blog.  I usually only get to see people like this twice a year- BEC and GlassBuild America- and I love it.  (Though the people who see me… not so much! Ha Ha) So here goes…

--  Ended up on same plane out to Vegas with Chris “Megatron” Dolan of Guardian.  He’s still earning that nickname by doing it all.  And I’m glad I saw him on the plane, once the show started, didn’t get to see him the rest of the way.   I was very excited to see my old friend Shelly Farmer- she just landed a great gig with SC Railing.  That’s a good match of person and company for sure.  I was happy to meet Brian Filipiak of Alliance Glazing- nice guy, and his company has a great twitter feed.  While with Brian I ran into the Hollywood poster boy Viracon’s Cameron Scripture.  Such a good man, and still looks exactly the same as he did from when I met him probably 10 years ago. 

--  Catching up with Kelly Schuller of Viracon was awesome as well.  My trip was improved because I spent time with three different Steves… Martin (OCBE) LeBlanc (Contract Glaziers) and Cohen (PPG) excellent gentlemen all. 

--  I really love the younger folks that are becoming a presence at these events.  That is important for the industry.  So spending a few minutes with the sharp couple Lindsay and Dustin Price was super, as well as meeting Mike Macurak of DM Products.  In addition Tim Mackin from DM was there and he wins the award for best dressed on night 1. 

--  The classy industry folks were out in force as well with folks like Max Hals and Ian Patlin of Paragon, as well as Tom O’Malley from Clover Architectural, and James Wright from Glass Coatings & Concepts.  Talking with them is always uplifting.

--  Old friends are always great- I have not seen Bob Cummings of Hartung in years.  He’s another guy who refuses to age.  Same with Joe Carlos of Triview, Gus Trupiano, and my old Ohio U buddy Rodger Ruff of AGC.

--  Missed- Heard unfortunately that Ruby Singh of GlassFab had to cancel.  That was a bummer for me- extremely nice man.  I also was bummed I never ran into Felix Munson of Anchor Ventana.  Great person who I’ll have to catch up with soon.

--  Last- a congrats to Jon Kimberlain of Dow Corning- he did a great job with yet another conference and his care for the industry is true.

LINKS of the WEEK

TV Movie in the works for this one for sure!

This story is only one paragraph but absolutely hilarious.

As a father of a child with severe food allergies, this story infuriates me- and the comments, defending the writer are even worse.  She made a mistake, but shouldn’t be given a pat on the back. 

VIDEO of the WEEK

I posted this on twitter over the weekend.. Kobe Bryant dislocates a finger and the trainer takes care of it… quick….



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