Saturday, July 08, 2017

Ready for GBA and look back at GPD

We are now just 9 weeks from GlassBuild America 2017 and the show is really shaping up very nicely.   The amount of people I am hearing from with regards to attending is really exciting.  There is no question that more and more in our industry are realizing that they HAVE TO COME to events like this to be able to gain knowledge and networking.  If you have not registered or booked your hotel yet, do it now. Atlanta, September 12-14.  And if you have any questions on what you may find when attending the show, feel free to drop me a line.

Elsewhere…

Last week Glass Processing Days in Finland wrapped up (Katy Devlin provided fantastic coverage on Glass Magazine twitter feed) and I wanted to catch up with Chris Fronsoe of ICD High Performance Coatings who had the extreme honor of presenting during the conference.  Below is my quick Q&A with him.

What did you speak about at GPD?
    A current challenge happening to spandrel glass is occurrences of thermal stress breakage that can be costly and potentially dangerous. Silicone opacifiers were examined as a solution to prevent strength reduction in HT glass, therefore reducing the risk of instances of thermal stress breakage.

How do you think it was received?  Any reaction from the audience?
     Our group’s topic was well received by world-class glass fabricators and industry experts. Scientific data, in addition to a demonstration video showing silicone opacifiers having no weakening effect on the glass – in some instances greatly improving glass breakage resistance – was powerful and thought provoking. Many conversations post-presentation revealed genuine surprise and awe.

What was it like to speak at an event like this?
    Speaking at an event like Glass Performance Days is truly a privilege. Gathered in one place are the top industry experts, architects, designers, suppliers, etc. Each has come to see the latest and greatest innovations, and address and solve the top concerns in the industry. Presenting a solution to a global problem in front of an audience of brilliant, open-minded, forward-thinkers is a remarkable experience I will never forget.

Any other insights you picked up while there?
    I picked up so many ideas that the applications where I can apply my company’s technologies to are hard to number. In one presentation, given by Daniel Vos of Heintges, NYC, the need for precise harmonizing colors for spandrel glass was highly evident. Daniel showed photos of large architectural mock-ups where the spandrel glass color was just slightly off, resulting in a clear visual difference between the reflections of vision and spandrel glass. To Daniel, and many others, color always matters.

Thank you Chris- I look forward to hearing this presentation when you give it in the US sometime in the future.

A couple of quick tidbits to end this post…

--  If you do e-mail blasts to folks in Canada- you need to read this and prepare accordingly!

--  Congrats to Bill Daubmann and family on a very cool recent honor.  D3 Glass was selected to be on GrowFL’s 2017 “50 Companies To Watch” list.  It is believed that the Daubmann’s are the first family to have two businesses selected for this honor with their MY Shower Door operation being highlighted in 2013 join this latest recognition.

LINKS of the WEEK

Those alerts that come blaring on your phone can be loud but they sure are needed… still some don’t see it…


Interesting story…I do love when nasty customers are put in their place but there is also karma too- be careful dancing on someone too much. 

VIDEO of the WEEK

The next season of “Last Chance U” gets released on Netflix July 21.  Pretty interesting mini series on junior college football at a Mississippi powerhouse. 


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