Finishing Strong

Well here we are, another month down as we steam towards the end (thankfully) of 2020.  And also with the end of the month comes the end of the awesome GlassBuild Connect event.  It has been a heck of a run… and this week it finishes strong with some amazing panels including the following:

“What’s Trending in Manufacturing” – This may be one of the greatest panels of all time with the best of the best from the Glass Fabrication machinery & software world.

“Women in Construction” – Some serious talent on board here talking about where we were with women in our field and where we are going.

“Glass Can’t Do That- Can’t it?”  and “There’s a Glass for That” - You know me- I love glass so these sessions are my world.  Both sessions take deep dives into the next generation of products from differing perspectives.  

I know the days are flying by but these are incredible top level sessions, so go to GlassBuild.com and if you are one of the few in our industry who haven’t registered yet, go ahead and do so- and then join in!

 

Elsewhere…

 

--  Also on GlassBuild- There are also contests going on including an iPad one from Vitro Architectural Glass and an Apple Watch from Amesbury Truth.  So it’s all out there for you at GlassBuild.com – education, exhibits, information, products and more!

 

--  Last week I made the call here on what I expected on the Architectural Billings Index release.  It was a 50/50 result for me- yes amazingly I got something right… and I got the “better” news right too.  I said last week that I expected the main number to basically stay the same and it did.  The score of 40 was exactly the same as last month.  Where I was wrong (happily) that I predicted the new contract score would go down and dip into the 30’s.  It went UP to 46. So that was surely a positive.  This was really fascinating to me because this surely bucked some of the current metrics.  No doubt though I’ll take it- but I am expecting this to go down next month.  And once again I’ll be thrilled to be wrong.  

 

--  Congrats to the great people at Giroux Glass on their honor of being named ENR’s California Specialty Contractor of the Year.  This is a huge deal and great for the Giroux team and our industry.  Whenever our trade gets recognized it’s awesome- and in this case it is also well deserved!

 

--  Interesting read here… the “Tiny Home” trend is dying off.  I never figured it out in the first place but there was a call for it and I know a lot of glass folks (especially specialty players) had involvement in it. 

 

--  Good news.  Gilbane Building Company monthly sends out a notice of Material availability for all building products. The fascinating note this month was the only product that was marked as “Stable” in each of the three categories of price, inventory, and delivery was GLASS! Every other product had volatility except us… Love it.  

 

--  I have hit a few times on how important communication is as we work through the various potential economic issues in our world.  A big one to keep in mind is your website.  Make sure that it is up to speed, updated and fresh.  How you communicate online is absolutely crucial during normal times, but even more important now and going forward.  So just a friendly nudge that you want to pay attention to this aspect of your business.

 

--  Last this week sad news from our industry.  Dale McAtamney long time player in the Southeast Michigan glass and glazing trade passed away.  Dale was a fantastic man, classy and smart.  I got to know him first when he owned Armor Glass and I was a young guy trying to figure out how work in this glass world.  Dale always treated me better than I probably deserved and was a huge help for me as I navigated the world of contract glazing in Detroit.  After I moved on into different positions and out of the day to day in Michigan, we still kept in touch, and Dale would on occasion reach out to check in.  I always appreciated that and cherished catching up with him.  Huge loss for our industry, world and of course his family and friends- all of whom are in my thoughts and prayers. 

 

LINKS of the WEEK

 

--  You may have seen this on the news- horrendous publicity stunt that may have hurt a horse beyond saving.  Idiotic.

 

--  Keeping an animal theme- crazy story of a Bear and Alpaca

 

--  This is too funny- old technology (an old TV that I think all of us had this model back in the day) ruining the internet every time it was turned on!

 

PROJECT of the WEEK

So I saw this one thanks to my friend and big time sales consultant Sam Benowitz liking it.  This is a project in Winnipeg by the great people at Glass 8 Inc.  I had met a few of their folks in my past and was always impressed but this is the first time seeing some of their work online.  This is the Richardson Innovation Centre and a beauty!  Nice world Glass8 team!  Keep it up!

Huge Retirement

The big news from the industry this week was the announced planned retirement of Apogee CEO Joe Puishys.  I have been a huge fan of Joe’s from the first time I heard him speak at BEC and believe he is an excellent leader and representative of our industry.  So the fact he is retiring (scheduled for February 2021) will surely leave a mark.  I liked that Joe “got it” with regards to the way the industry worked and what it needed to be, and we need more people of his mindset- not less.  Obviously, I am always happy for those lucky enough to retire, but I am surely bummed that he’s stepping away.  As for his replacement, that has not been announced yet, but those are some serious shoes to fill.  I am excited and curious to see who comes away in that role though and hope they stand up for our world and support events like BEC like Joe did.  In any case we’ll be surely watching this one closely, and happy trails Joe!

 

Elsewhere…

 

--  What a week at GlassBuild Connect. So many good things went on… a few highlights from me:

 

--  The NACC session with Jeff Dalaba and Ben Beeler on quality management was incredible.  One solid hour of reasons WHY you want your glazing operation to be a part of a system like NACC and the difference it could make.  Especially with tougher times possibly ahead, any mistake could be a killer.  Get ahead of it now.

 

--  The Veka Town Hall and Plant Tour was as great as I hoped and expected.  The tour was fun and interesting, and the Town Hall featured such a wide range of questions, it really did not matter that I wasn’t a core customer for them.  They handled things like work from home, the economy etc. Enjoyable, interesting session.

 

--  By the way these are available ON DEMAND at the GlassBuild.com site- so sometime before the month ends, get there check them out and also all of the products and exhibitors.

 

--  Thanks to the Scavenger Hunt Contest sponsors from this week- C.R. Laurence, Armor Guard, Lite Sentry, and Amesbury Truth- Appreciate you all stepping up and supporting this event.  So many have been “all in” with GlassBuild and that is beyond wonderful and appreciated.

 

--  This week again a lot of “must see” but big key is Thursday my guy Chris Phillips will go Live with his Shower Door installation tips and tricks.  So that is one to absolutely block out on your schedule.

 

Go to GlassBuild.com to see the schedule and check it all out!

 

--  While we all wait for the other economic shoe to fall, the recent numbers coming out continue  to be positive.  The latest Dodge Momentum Index was up and non-residential starts were up 16%.  That is all stuff in the positive column.  Later this week the next Architectural Billings Index is due out and I am expecting it to either stay at 40 (where it’s been for 2 straight months) or drop a bit.  I also think design contracts will drop into the 30’s from 44 in the last report.  As always, I hope I am wrong and will gladly eat the crow if so!

 

--  Last this week… so I watched a little football this past weekend and I am amazed at how dominant the commercials are from the insurance side of the world.  Geico, Progressive, Liberty, and State Farm are in almost every commercial block.  And to their credit their creative is pretty good too.  So what’s your favorite?  I’m going with Flo from Progressive and all the spots they do… but this is a close battle overall… on social media I’ll set up a poll on this…

 

LINKS of the WEEK

 

--  Our products are protective in so many ways- like being used to fend off knife wielding crooks

 

--  And our products are in video games and when things go wrong I guess we have virtual glaziers/window jobbers now?

 

--  Wrong sign in a city in Florida.  My gosh.  And I know this spot too…

 

PROJECT of the WEEK

 

This is Bobby Summers Arena in Fate, Texas… It is a good, sharp, solid job glazed by Ennis Glass.  I had the honor of working with the co-owner of Ennis, Michael Vasquez in a past life and he is a tremendous guy loaded with talent.  So when I saw this project come across my feed- I had to jump in and give props.  Plus Michael is that very rare Steeler fan down in the heart of Texas- so I admire him for that because that can’t be easy either!  Anyway, nice work Michael and Ennis team- keep it up!  (and feel free to post on the LinkedIn post of this who the glass and metal came from!)

Time to Act

As those of you who read me consistently know, I try and keep everyone up to date on the latest in many areas, trends, codes, products etc.  I also always point to the economic forecasts and they have really taken on a larger role since we are now working through a truly unique time.  This past week at GlassBuild Connect, Connor Lokar from ITR Economics delivered an incredible performance- more than 75 minutes of detailed intel and dives in the economic landscape.  There are quite a few takeaways but the one big one for me is that we will have an economic valley to traverse coming soon.  Some of us have hit that valley already (but not many), others mostly have not.   For all of us though I think the thing to focus on is “how are we going to deal with it?”  How are we going to pivot and/or diversify our offering, our staffing, our approaches etc.  The key now is we have visibility and that being “reactive” makes no sense- time be proactive and prepare fully.  So are you doing that?  If not, you should be.  One piece of good news?  11 of 12 leading indicators are rising and rising nicely.  So there is some light coming…  If you missed this presentation, set your calendar for Sept 22^nd at 4PM and see the encore presentation and hear/see it all for yourself.  It is a must If you are in any leadership position.

 

Elsewhere…

 

--  Another incredible week at GlassBuild Connect.  Again thanks to all who are supporting the industry and event.  Still two more weeks and hundreds of products & exhibitors to see along with excellent educational sessions.

--  The daily Scavenger Hunt is a hoot.  Great prizes this past week from Soft Tech, Standard Bent, PRPRD (cool new company- check them out!) and Walker Glass.  Thank you all for stepping up!

--  A favorite for me during the week was a part of John Wheaton’s podcast that was also utilized during GlassBuild.  His guest Michael Kohler delivered this awesome line when asked on what we do and how it is special:

 

“We leave a defining face on the landscape of America.”

 

Yes we sure do Michael.  Glass and glazing IS that key more so than any other product.  That is just an awesome quote.

 

--  This week the session to catch is Tuesday at 1PM the Veka Plant Tour and Town Hall.  I love seeing new plants and learning about how companies do things.  I may not be heavily on the side of the business Veka is in, but it’s worth the time to get a flavor for the way they do things.

 

--  Last week I had an amazing picture from Eric Fortin of buildings in the sky.  Well it so happens that Dan Plotnick of Vitro happened to actually see those buildings in person and he shared these two shots with me including one from INSIDE one of the towers looking down from the 88^th floor.  Incredible stuff.  And I still wouldn’t want to glaze them!  Thank you Dan!

 

--  Kudos again to the Daubmann family with their continued run of good news, this time being named for the fifth time in six years on the Inc. 5000 list of the fastest growing and most successful independent businesses in the United States. My Shower Door keeps growing, hopefully Bill, Keith and the team remember us little people when they are on the Fortune 500 list!

--  This home.  My gosh.  Ok I gotta think someone reading this e-mail did the glass here… congrats to you… What a beautiful project!

--  Last this week… with the 9/11 anniversary passing it reminded me of the book “The Only Plane in the Sky” I had mentioned here a while back.  This book was an incredible piece of reading. (or listening as my friend Jeremy Hoy of Virginia Glass Products told me- he got it as an audiobook) Seriously if you want to read a story about that day from so many different angles there’s no better read out there.

 

LINKS of the WEEK

 

Interesting way to game a system, but now it can’t work with publicity on it.

 

How much do you think an unpaid water bill for 27 years would be?

 

I don’t think “hind leg impact” protective glass is out yet… may be after this!

 

PROJECT of the WEEK

 

You know me, I am very high on the bird friendly scene and approach and really like what GlasPro has going on… so when I saw this project on LinkedIn I knew I had to put it as my project of the week!  This is the Richmond Ferry Terminal for the San Francisco Bay Area Water Emergency Transportation Authority (WETA) and obviously the bird friendly glass is playing very crucial role.  Great design from Marcy Wong Donn Logan Architects and once again it is glass that shines.  Nice work GlasPro team!

Big Week Ahead

HUGE week ahead for our industry. There are two major, can’t miss presentations coming this Tuesday and Wednesday.  On Tuesday the most comprehensive and independent economic forecast focused on our industry happens.  Connor Lokar is a tremendous speaker with impressive credentials on the economic side of things.  He’ll provide the insight we all need to be able to plan for 2021 and beyond.  Connor presents his annual forecast at 1PM ET Tuesday.  Then Wednesday something very special.  Jorma Vitkala makes his final major industry event (GlassBuild truly fits that bill) presentation-  Global Glass Industry Trends at 1PM ET.  Jorma is an absolute legend in our world and his insights are always spot on and interesting.  If you want to know what’s now and what’s next- this is a session to get that intel at.  Plain and simple there is only one place to be online this coming week and that’s at GlassBuild Connect.

Just go to GlassBuild.com for it.  If you are already registered for the event, you are all set.  If not, go get registered now and use GBCEXC as the code for free admission to the Connor event.  Seriously folks this is a must….

 

Elsewhere…

 

GlassBuild Connect is off and running…. Some initial thoughts

--  On the site I am amazed at the amount of products to review- some great breakthroughs in every segment area.

--  Are you taking advantage of the contests?  Some very cool prizes are out there. Every weekday there’s a new contest posted on Twitter and Linkedin.  Join in and win! (This last week great stuff from PRL, DFI, and Glassopolis-thanks folks)

--  The presentation content has been great.  The one that stood out last week for me was ICD’s piece on the latest moves in the spandrel space.  Kate Stewart is a rock star in the making and massive kudos to the ultra sharp Casey Anderson for her build of a really strong presentation.  Impressive!

--  One to keep an eye on?  At the end of the month – session “There’s a Glass for That” featuring Kai-Uwe Bergmann of BIG, Robert Garlipp of Gensler, Sophie Pennetier of Enclos and Urmilla Sowell from the NGA.  That will be off the charts awesome.  Can’t wait.

--  Thank you again to everyone involved in this- GlassBuild is an industry tradition that had to pivot, so I truly appreciate everyone who’s stepped up and supported!

 

--  Thoughts out to everyone in the Lake Charles area that were in the path of Hurricane Laura.  John Wheaton had posted some video on Twitter of a blown out building that really hit home how much damage took place there.  Hope everyone there is hanging in there.

 

--  Got this great picture from Eric Fortin of Northwestern GlassFab (via Image of the Day App and Getty Images) of three buildings in the clouds.  

And Eric’s comment was along the lines of can you imagine being a glazier on one of these.  My answer is no way- absolutely amazing to look at but no way… Anyway this is a really stunning image that I appreciate Eric sharing with me!

--  Everyone loves these lists and the annual Top 300 Architectural Firms rundown is out.  For me no huge surprises as it seems like all of the main, tried and true players are where they are expected to be.  In any case check it out here

 

--  Congrats to Eastman for being named as “Best in State” employer in Tennessee. This poll was done by Forbes Magazine and done in an anonymous style and so it’s awesome to see a major player in our industry get such positive recognition!

 

--  Last this week… Football gets going this week… and even though I despise Roger Goodell, I still follow the NFL and have to make my fearless predictions.  Every year I think I pick the Carolina Panthers.  So why stop now- I like Teddy Bridgewater- I am going with Carolina over Baltimore in the Super Bowl. 

 

LINKS of the WEEK

 

An aggressive buffalo on the loose.  I guess if I was being fed for slaughter I’d be aggressive and running too!

 

This is a flat out “wow” moment- door camera catching a tire coming right for the house AND ringing the doorbell!  Must watch.

 

This is really rough and in normal times probably would be a huge story in the US, but these days its relegated to 3^rd spot in my blog. 

 

PROJECT of the WEEK

 

Plugging around LinkedIn as always and stopped on this beauty from the windy city.  This is the Rosalind Franklin University project glazed by Frontrunner Systems.  According to the post EFCO, Bonnell, Guardian Glass and Trulite were all involved.  Nice combo of big-time industry players.  Excellent work by all and another project our industry can be proud of!