One on One to end 2021

Well unless something crazy happens, this is my final blog for 2021 and I am thrilled I can end it with the dropping of my final podcast of season 1- a one on one with the ultimate leader in our industry Don Friese.  This was such an amazing experience and thrill to spend some time picking Mr. Friese’s brain and the knowledge and direction he delivered was fabulous.  There are statements in here that will be shown in sales meetings and posted in offices and warehouses all over. So please check it out on video HERE or audio HERE.  Thank you for supporting it all year and I am excited on what’s to come in year 2!

 

Elsewhere… 

 

--  We’ve lost some amazing and important people in our industry this year and unfortunately this past week 2 more left us.  Fred Jayson of Bendheim Glass passed away at the age of 100.  You may remember earlier this year on his birthday, the post about him working at 100 going viral…. That was an excellent portrait of a man who truly worked all the way to the end and was beloved by many.  My condolences to the Jayson family and the Bendheim team.

Also passing away this week was Gary Boyajian.  Gary was a major player in the Michigan glazier scene and easily one of the most likable and popular guys in the region.  Tremendous person and class act- he was involved in many of the great projects that spurred metro Detroit’s revival.  He also looked like the actor Sam Elliot and gave off that same cool cowboy vibe that Sam Elliot did in many of his movies and I loved it.   I learned a ton from Gary as I was cutting my teeth in the industry so this one really hits home hard.  My thoughts and prayers to Gary’s family and the Michigan glazing community.

 

--  The latest Architectural Billings Index was released this week and while still in a positive space is starting to lose steam.  The score of 51 is the lowest since it was under water in January and the new project inquiries were down as well.  This was pretty much to be expected and it’s still above water but the different pressures out there I think finally reached this index.  Good run ahead for us of because of the previous scores but now bears watching on what will happen to see the effects for late in 2022. 

 

--  Congrats to Miles Barr of Ubiquitous Energy for being named to the 2021 Environment + Energy Leader 100 List, an annual recognition of environment and energy ‘doers’ who break trail in creating new solutions, programs, platforms, best practices and products to help their companies – or other companies – achieve greater success.  As readers of this blog know I love what Ubiquitous has going on and again pumped to see our industry get national recognition.  Keep up the great work folks.

 

--  And on the note of great work, Viracon announced this week new positions for two excellent guys in seriously challenging positions.  Seth Madole will now take on the role of Director of Supply Chain and Customer Experience and Brian Savage will be Supply Chain Manager.  Both are super people, experienced and caring and will do great in these spots- especially because they both are top notch communicators and more than ever in those positions the messaging has to be on target.  Congrats to both on the great news.

 

--  Last this week… my blog and pod schedule for upcoming weeks.  We’ll be dark here until the week of January 2^nd.  Unless of course something crazy happens like my brother cobbling a couple of billion together to buy Oldcastle.  Don’t count out Stevie P there.  Once the new year hits, we’ll have a catch up blog out of the gate, then week of 1/9 will be a review of the 2021 predictions and the week of 1/16 will be the 2022 predictions and the first episode of season 2 of the From the Fabricator podcast.  So good stuff coming up.  Until then here’s wishing all of you out there a happy holiday season and a HEALTHY 2022!  Thank you again for all the support and I look forward to seeing as many of you in person in the new year as possible!

 

LINKS of the WEEK

Long read but worth it into Operation WhistlePig.  Wild stuff!

 

I mean this story is pure bananas right?

 

I have this ongoing fear that when I get back from a trip my parking lot is gone too… and here it’s happening in Nashville.

 

PROJECT of the WEEK

The final Project of the Week honor goes to the fabulous Alan Kinder at Guardian Glass.  I have always liked Alan’s online approach and coming down the stretch in 2021 he did not disappoint.  He started to post stunning job after stunning job on LinkedIn and that absolutely had me going crazy.  The one I picked out from Alan was the Iptay Office in Clemson, SC. The glass looks tremendous and design was a revelation.  Kudos to Jumper Carter Sease Architects on that and excellent install by Cartner Glass Systems.  Oldcastle BuildingEnvelope did the glass fabrication from the obviously Guardian Glass. Given that Clemson had a rough year (for them) on the football field, winning this project of the week has to be the high point for them in 2021!  Congrats Alan and everyone else involved on a job well done!

 

2021 MVP and OBE

Big week, and unusually long post here.  Normally I use my last blog of the calendar year to announce my MVP but this year I have something special for next week, so at the end of this post will be the MVP, runners up, and details.  But before I get into it, obviously the news that Oldcastle BuildingEnvelope may be sold rocked our world this week.  Obviously when a company that size makes news that big, it can shake things up and this sure did.  My take is that this leak was no accident, the news was dropped out there for a reason, this isn’t 2007 anymore (when I broke the story of Oldcastle buying Vistawall) and people are great at keeping things silent, unless they don’t want to do so. There’s not a lot of people who can step up and spend billions for a company, and in our industry there’s probably only two true candidates, one of which I just don’t see happening and the other would be the ultimate ending of years long rumors of their desire to be a force in North America.  After that its more conglomerates or private equity.  My feeling is you either see this deal completed quickly and the news leak was meant to tighten it up, or we won’t see movement for a while and news was meant to spur some action.  So my ears are to the ground and we’ll see what happens next but no doubt this spiced up a very mellow year end news cycle.

 

Elsewhere…

--  Quick reminder if you missed my podcast from last week- please check it out.  The reactions to all three guests have been great and I’ve enjoyed the feedback.  Thank you again for the support!

Video

Audio

 

--  Ok now on to my annual Most Valuable Person in the industry awards…. For those new to this blog…. Each year as the calendar wraps up, I announce the winner and runners up of my industry MVP award.  This recognition is something I created back in 2013 to show my appreciation for those folks and companies who are always pushing for the best in our industry.  What I am looking at is people and companies that are active in the industry at the trade and technical levels.  Folks that are always promoting glass and glazing and are constantly hustling to push the greatness of what we do to the forefront.

 

As a look back, here are the wonderful and talented people who have been recognized previously in this program and pretty much all of them are still very active in advancing the glass world. 

 

NOTE- I like spreading the recognition so I won’t be repeating anyone yet- though many of these runners up are easily MVP caliber every year.  

 

2013

Tracy Rogers- Winner

Runners up:

Tom Culp

Mark Silverberg

Ed Zaucha

Mic Patterson

Oliver Stepe

Dr. Helen Sanders

Scott Thomsen

 

2014

CR Laurence- Winner

Runners up:

John Wheaton

Rick Wright

Tom O’Malley

Bernard Lax

 

2015

Jon Kimberlain- Winner

Runners up:

Garret Henson

Walker Glass

Dip Tech

Kris Vockler

 

2016

Chuck Knickerbocker- Winner

Runners Up:

Mike Albert- S Albert Glass

Thom Zaremba / Urmilla Jokhu-Sowell

SAPA

 

2017

Joe Erb- Winner

Runners Up:

GCI- Podcast

Darijo Babic

Cathie Saroka

Walker Glass

 

2018

Nathalie Thibault – Winner

Runners Up:

Felix Munson

Jeff Haber

Glenn Miner/Rob Struble  

Greg Oehlers

 

2019

Bill Sullivan- Winner

Runners Up:

Courtney Little

Scott Rowe / Rowe Fenestration.  

Syndi Sim

Dustin Anderson

 

2020

Tim Kelley- Winner

Runners Up:

Casey Anderson

Sam Hill

Bill & Keith Daubmann

 

Now on to 2021… and this was an insanely challenging year because I think I met and really learned from more people this year than normal thanks to my podcast and from having amazing friends like Andrew Haring who always introduces me to the best of the best. 

 

2021 Runners Up

Combination of Dr. Kayla Natividad and Kyle Sword- NSG Pilkington- I really loved the way these two people burst onto my radar this year and their dedication to education and industry support was incredible.  They both brought great energy as well which I totally love.  Seriously talented duo that were involved at the trade level but active wherever they could be with speaking roles and other appearances. (Like they had Hollywood booking agents, especially Kyle- seemed like he was on every energy related panel going-which is a good thing)  The best interests of our industry as a whole were an obvious priority whenever they did speak and that was huge for me.  Also super nice folks too who really get the vibe of this industry.

 

Adrian Lowenstein, Skyline Windows-I also only met Adrian this year and he’s been a force- and I believe 2021 is just scratching the surface of what he’s going to do to support our industry and efforts.  His lessons on LinkedIn are now stuff of legends (I learn every single time) and the positive exposure he’s brought to our space has been fantastic and appreciated. Whenever you can get all parties of the chain commenting in the same thread on the best approach to a curtain wall (or some other relevant subject) it’s a win.   Great guy, but he’s so popular now that I think I have to go through his secretary’s assistant to say hi or to reach him.  LOL.  Just joking, very happy to make this connection and love what Adrian did in our space in 2021!

 

Tom Jackson- Steel Encounters- Just had him on my podcast and if you listen/watch you’ll know why he’s on this list.  Tremendous man and asset to our industry and the work he he was a part of to get the Utah Glass Association up and going was awesome.  He has shared so many great lessons and tactics that others probably would not (out of fear of competition) but Tom put the good of the overall industry first and that earns him this spot.  Plus the work his company does is awesome and deserves recognition too, makes our industry shine!  Also like the others listed on this page, incredibly nice guy too.  

 

And now to our WINNER of the 2021 Glass Industry MVP Award…. Or I should say WINNERS as for the first time it’s a duo taking home the top honor here.  Congratulations to Matt Kamper of Alliance Glazing and Steve Dean of Permasteelisa!

So why Matt and Steve? 

These two guys have dedicated so much of their free time to the betterment of the industry in their leadership of the NGA’s installing committee that it’s really blown me away. And they do it with so much in mind- including beyond what happens with the glazier.  They see the entire picture and they have been active in trying to get everyone to widen that scope as well.  They are dedicated to the betterment of what we do and how we do it. They work in tandem to bring great insight to the committee then beyond.  The care and passion they both bring is impressive.  To me their personalities and approaches are different, but they mesh well together and at the end of the day get the important work of that committee done.  I have been involved as they work to make the meetings and conferences as valuable as possible for the attendees- that’s a hard task with so many divergent interests but these two have gotten it done.  Also side note- if they were a wrestling tag team, their manager bringing them to the ring would be NGA’s Jenni Chase- she’s surely a big part of being able to get the vision these two talents bring out into the masses.  GREAT WORK and CONGRATS to Matt and Steve- you guys are deserving winners of this award!

 

So there you have it… 2021’s awards are in the book….Congrats to everyone here and also those who were noted in the past who keep rocking every single day- it is appreciated! Next week I’ll end 2021’s run with a special start to the blog and some news and views catch up…. 

 

LINKS of the WEEK

When a neat idea maybe goes a bit too far? 

 

Bizarre “jumping from plane” story

 

Man invades professional womens soccer game- player takes him out (as she should, since no one else seemed motivated to do so) and she gets penalized?  What?

 

PROJECT of the WEEK… 

but on the older side…. So this is not like the typical projects I post that are either recently done or almost completed.  No this one is probably 10 years old BUT there’s no way I can do a “Project of the Week” and pass on something this awesome.  

When I saw it on LinkedIn thanks to the Eastman Architectural Advanced Interlayers feed I knew I had to post no matter when this job was done.  This is the Miami Airport project and massive kudos to Eastman along with the great Joe Green and team at GlasPro on the laminating.  No doubt the vision from architect PhenomenArts, Inc. deserves kudos and also a hat tip to Novum Structures LLC on the engineering.  Every week I feel like I show a project that delivers the message “glass and glazing are the best” and this one fits the bill perfectly.  SUPER work everyone!

Projects, Culture, Shower Doors, Gear and More

I’m happy to announce the latest edition of the From the Fabricator podcast is now LIVE!  Yes I missed dropping one in November as for the first time since I started this I had guests ghost me.  Really bizarre experience.  Anyway, that’s behind me and now we move to this episode which was pretty darn cool.  Kicking it off with Tom Jackson of Steel Encounters.  The person that he is and work that he and his team does is simply amazing + a nice dive into a culture there that works very well too.  Then to Chris Phillips of Showcase Shower Door.  Chris went into the shower world and has been oh so strong and also developed several cool inventions (which we show) that can help the installer out.  Last but not least my good friend Rich Porayko of Construction Creative and SandandSoda.com jumps on to talk marketing and his new venture that has some great benefits to many in our industry.  Thank you for checking it out!

To watch the YouTube version and see the amazing Steel Encounters project, and some helpful inventions in the shower enclosure space- CLICK HERE.  To listen to it either find on Apple or Spotify or CLICK HERE.

Later this month I will have a special edition of the podcast- one guest- one of the most important people this industry has ever seen and the insight he shares is incredible- so stay tuned for that!

Elsewhere…

 

--  Tough one.  I was very sad to hear the news on the passing of Leo Karas of Karas and Karas Glass Company.  Leo was a tremendous leader in our industry and events like the BEC would not exist without Leo. (Seriously he was one of the key people that started it)  I got to know Leo a little bit when I first started in the industry and he truly was larger than life.  Class person who always kept the best interests of the industry as a whole in mind.  Our industry and world were made so much better by Leo and I’m honored to say I knew him and glad his influence led to his son Joey continuing the amazing path he developed.

My sincerest thoughts and condolences to Joey and the entire Karas family, friends, and co-workers. 

 

--  I’ve never been bashful about my respect and appreciation for the Rowe family and Rowe Fenestration but I don’t think I’ve mentioned Chris Rowe until now… he was featured in an excellent Q&A that focused on communication and especially when everyone is remote.  GREAT work by Chris here- super lessons to take hold of and makes our industry look strong. 

 

--  And while I am on the path of raving about folks- the continually impressive Matt Verderamo of Alliance Exterior Construction has taken his great LinkedIn series “Talking Shop” and now went full blogger too.  Here’s the site and sign up to get these excellent pieces direct to your e-mail.  Keep up the good work Matt!

 

--  Congrats to Daniel Sutton at Vitro on his new position as Product Manager for Value Added products.  Good guy and great role in pushing products that will make a big difference in our universe. Daniel’s background in the sustainability world will pay off here to really show what our industry is doing works and I am excited to watch this effort going forward!

 

--  Two NGA notes of importance.  First Thursday 12/9 the legend Julie Schimmelpenningh of Eastman will lead a “ThirstyThursday” webinar with a focus on the latest in the laminated glass world.  Given how big laminated is now and still growing, getting insight from Julie is a huge benefit to take on.  Learn more and REGISTER HERE.  It’s free.  Also from NGA… IF you are MEMBER (and if you’re not, you should and this alone should push you there) there’s a special MEMBER ONLY webinar on 12/14 featuring Connor Lokar of ITR Economics.  This is big because it’s a chance to get the latest intel on the 2022 forecast from the best in the biz.  And anyone who’s seen Connor in action knows the value he provides is immense.  So if you’re a member register now and if you’re not- JOIN the NGA and then get on this webinar.

 

--  Last this week… book recommendation that connects to a big thing weighing on all of us these days. The supply chain.  It’s “Arriving Today: From Factory to Front Door -- Why Everything Has Changed About How and What We Buy” by Christopher Mims. Our world has changed and Mims was there for it all including cargo ship sailors stuck at sea for months after COVID broke and really the entire story of the supply chain from the very start to the ultimate finish.  A more compelling read than you would think- but given our current world- this one really hit nicely.  

 

LINKS of the WEEK

Not a good look for Army

 

This is a tough and sad read.  Losing crucial people here.

 

Every time I read one of these “Neighbors from Hell” stories it bums me out but also makes me thankful I‘ve been very lucky to never have this happen….

PROJECT of the WEEK

Stunning one this week.  This is from Archon Fenestration Technologies and I really think it may be one of the nicest projects of the year.  This is Kreg Tool HQ in Iowa.  According to Archon Fen-Tech’s LinkedIn post it was fabbed and installed by Architectural Wall Systems using Tubelite on the aluminum.  Neumann Monson Architects deserve serious props for this design too.  Nothing is better than our products when utilized like this!  Congrats to all involved!

Confidence Builder into 2022

And down the stretch we come… one month left in 2021 and it feels in many ways like its flown by but in others not so much.  Heck I feel like GlassBuild was a lifetime ago!  Anyway, time to keep plugging along and finish this year strong!  Speaking of strong, despite the challenges we are all facing on the business settings, the economic indexes continue to do very well.  The last Architectural Billings Index was released while this blog was on holiday and it is still thriving in positive territory.  This month the main score clocked in at 54.3 which is still well above break-even but down from last month’s stunning 56.6.  The regional story was interesting with the Midwest flying in with a score in the 60’s (61.9) while the northeast did hit a speedbump and came in with a 48.6.  What does this mean?  Things are still flowing at that design level and this gives us some confidence into 2023.  One interesting takeaway from this month’s report was that Architects are expecting some M&A action in their world.  I think this is absolutely going to happen and will be watching on who ends up matching together. 

 

Elsewhere….

 

--  Also coming in December, my annual Industry Most Valuable Person award.  Tremendous candidates again this year and looking forward to hashing all of that out here.  Stay tuned!

 

--  The latest supply chain update from Gilbane had a change in it as it relates to our industry.  For the first time since I have been tracking it, in the category of “Deliveries” we are listed as “Delayed.”  In previous reports we were one of the few trades that did not have that designation, but here we are now.  We know what we are up against and we all continue to battle, and obviously our adventures are now even known outside of our world.   Keep proactively communicating folks- that is the best way to stay on top of it all.

 

--  Normally I’d put a story like this in my “links of the week” but this one really deserves more focus.  A young lady stepping up to the construction world plate and goes above and beyond any obstacle she has!  Love it! A hat tip to the great Melanie Dettmer for pointing this story to me!

 

--  If you watch the show “Succession” it is surely an interesting ride in the world of the family business and riches.  A few weeks ago though they shot on location at a house that sold for 52 million that had some awesome glass work in it.  Check it out here- but if you’re not caught up on the show this season, it may contain a spoiler or two.  By the way I’ll say the house was worth 52 mil because of the glass!

 

--  Last this week- during the holiday I ended up down the rabbit hole of checking out some industry websites.  So I decided to rank my 5 favorite “under the radar” websites in our industry.  These are companies that aren’t always in the news or active on social but they put together some quality looks and represent our world well. NOTE- I rated on looks and layout only, not technical content (thought it may be fine)  So here goes…

#5- Aurora Glazing- At first this site didn’t catch me but then I scrolled and it brought me into it big time. It surely didn’t hurt having some super high-end names on those projects too.

#4 Heuring Glass- Maybe it helps that I love San Diego?  But this site just rocked me, great pictures and so much happening in a good way.

#3 Christopher Glass- Another one using good color schemes and this one brought the neat hook of celebrating its 40^thyear in business.  Good hook and nice work.

#2 Glass Flooring Systems- This site had a pretty traditional format but I think the photography is what hooked me in- love seeing glass used these ways and also color scheme worked.

#1- Minneapolis Glass- The site layout was different than I have seen typically, and it really hooked me.  Color scheme worked too.  And the use of 3 word headlines (not sure if that was intended or not) was pretty brilliant.  

 

Congrats to all of the folks who worked on these sites above- your efforts paid off in something special! Obviously, we have tons and tons of sites, so I’m always on the lookout on who’s doing well- feel free to ping me with your favorites!  

 

LINKS of the WEEK

I love dogs, I love stories with a good news twist on a dog and this one has it!

 

Inside the world of Obituaries.  Knew many were pre-written but stunned on how many

 

Longer read but pure banana land sort of stuff here.  Hacking a homecoming contest

 

PROJECT of the WEEK

From the always fabulous Mike Rubner and his LinkedIn feed.  Accura Systems Inc with this awesome UTSW project in Dallas.  Unitized Curtain Wall and looking great.  Plus I love the partners involved here.  Tristar Glass, Oak Cliff Mirror & Glass (Shout out to the great Sam Hill!) Bonnell Aluminum, and EYP with the design.  Beautiful stuff and congrats to all involved in an awesome project!

 

 

 

 

 

New Company, New Battles, and Lots of Kudos

So I take a week off of blogging and tons of news happens… so let’s get to it!  The biggest was the acquisition of Global Security Glazing and Dlubak Specialty Glass by Isoclima.  This is massive news because it brings one of the best glass players in the world in Isoclima into the United States.  Having their expertise matched with the talented and hungry folks at Global and Dlubak really works well for our space and I am excited for all involved.  It is refreshing to see a global player who has not yet made a major mark in North America jump in with both feet and I think it just strengthens our industry as whole.  Congrats to all involved and I look forward to seeing how this plays out!

 

Elsewhere…

 

--  The “battle for the wall” is really playing out in real time with the proposed design of a dorm at the University of California at Santa Barbara.  If you have not followed it, the story is wild- a major dorm with basically no windows.  The story background is HERE.  The great Andrew Haring went to work on it HERE, the always brilliant Dr. Kayla Natividad had excellent comments HERE,  and an interesting interview with the man behind the design HERE.  Obviously, I think there’s a TON wrong with the design and there needs to be some serious intervention and education happening here.  

 

Some congrats to go around… 

 

--  To Quaker Window on a great new commercial website.  You can find that HERE and once again Josh Wignall just showing his brilliance on the big stage.

 

--  To Ubiquitous Energy on the launching of their new blog HERE.  Well done by Allison Moghaddasi and the team there- I like the start and look forward to more!

 

--  And they can shoot for being as good as Rick Alexander at Tom Brown Inc.  Rick never ever disappoints and this latest one on Silicone Alternatives is huge because being in a supply chain crisis, the more you know about options the better. 

 

--  To my old pal Kirk Johnson on his new position as Chief Operating Officer at Pulp Studios.  Kirk doesn’t read this blog, but I don’t hold it against him.  Could be the reason why he’s so successful.  LOL.  Anyway I love seeing my former co-workers do awesome work and Kirk has always been one of the best.  

 

--  Last on the congrats to Viracon for getting a huge honor in the 2021 President’s “E” Award for Exports from the U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo.  The President’s “E” Award is the highest recognition any U.S. entity can receive for making a significant contribution to the expansion of U.S. exports. Absolutely awesome and I think it’s all because Cameron Scripture speaks like 5 languages so he’s obviously the one selling all over right?   

 

CONGRATS to all!

 

--  On my last blog I teased an upcoming podcast- it did not come together but do not fret I do still have things lined up for a few special editions to end the year and I have already lined up some amazing guests for the new year. So many amazing people in our industry and I want to shine the light on as many as I can. HOWEVER I was honored to be a guest on a podcast!  The great Jim Evans of Bid Clips had me on his outstanding “Today in Trades” podcast and it was a great experience and Jim brought out some really strong talking points.  Check it out!

Listen on Spotify
Listen on Apple Podcasts

Watch on YouTube

 

--  Time for another list… you know how much I love them.  Where are the worlds most “tranquil” cities?  How many have you been to?  My thoughts below.

 

1.     Bergen, Norway

2.     Perth, Australia

3.     Reykjavik, Iceland

4.     Helsinki, Finland

5.     Wellington, New Zealand

6.     Zurich, Switzerland

7.     Brisbane, Australia

8.     Melbourne, Australia

9.     Stockholm, Sweden

10.  Auckland, New Zealand

11.  Oslo, Norway

12.  Sydney, Australia

13.  Copenhagen, Denmark

14.  Tel Aviv, Israel

15.  Christchurch, New Zealand

16.  Toronto, Canada

17.  San Jose, Costa Rica

18.  Dallas, USA

19.  Houston, USA

20.  Washington, D.C., USA

 

OK someone tell me how DC is tranquil?  Also, shouldn’t the traffic is Toronto alone disqualify that area- and I LOVE Toronto and Canada in general.  Same thing for Houston and Dallas- the traffic and roads are killers.  I guess I have a different feel for tranquil than the author here.  

 

--  Last this week… Thanksgiving in the US is approaching, and this will be the last blog post before that hits… yes I know odd to take off yet another week- but that’s the way the schedule bounced.  Those of you who know me know this is my all time favorite holiday… so I am beyond excited.  And I want to wish everyone out there a hearty and wonderful holiday and my sincere THANKS for your support.  It means a ton!  See you again after Turkey Day!

 

LINKS of the WEEK

--  Gator on the course!  I’d let him take the golf ball every time…

 

--  Love the brilliance that kids can bring

 

--  Unreal on this one- wasn’t it just like last year that safety trumped school?

 

PROJECT of the WEEK

So this one I saw on LinkedIn and loved it but way short on info… MG McGrath posted it and all they said was “Installing floor to ceiling glass on a medical project in Virginia” – so if anyone at MG McGrath is reading this OR you supplied material on it- would you mind adding some color in the comments (On the LinkedIn post of this blog would be great)  Regardless it’s a project that’s looking good and showing off the greatness of glass!!