Back at the BEC

It’s big week in our industry with BEC and GPAD FINALLY here.  By the time some of you read this most of the events will be done.  I am just so happy it is here- it’s been a long time since the last time we held this event live in March of 2020.  Great to get everyone back together!  Next week in this space I’ll break it all down, the sessions, the people, the vibe and more.  And if you’re at BEC/GPAD- please say hi- I always love getting to network!

 

Elsewhere…

 

--  The Architectural Billings Index shocked me and came in positive yet again.  I know I am not alone as a few analysts I follow felt the same way thinking this would be the month we’d have a dip.  But it held up again!  The worry though is focused on lagging numbers in the Northeast and West.  Those areas have posted some “meh” numbers and this month they turned to ugly.  So that is what we are watching… and as always as an industry we stay focused and resilient no matter what.

 

--  I missed this- Katy Devlin broke down key forecast indicators she’s tracking.  Quick important read on metrics we need to keep on top of.

 

--  At BEC I am hoping I see James Hatch from Kovach as he is a TV Star!  He and Kovach were featured in an incredible morning show report in the local Phoenix TV market.  HERE it is.  Really showed off how great their operation is and make us all look good!  Congrats to James and Kovach on the pub!! 

 

--  Also good to see the gang from United Architectural Metals stepping up and go after the future potential leaders in our industry.  Tom Nesbitt, Bob Cummings and the team there are stepping up to grow what we all do, and it started with 44 students in their operations recently.  Love the approach and fully expected by great class people like Tom, Bob and the team at UAM.

 

--  I have mentioned before but once again they came through again.  I’m talking about Vitro and their Education Center.  It really is an amazing site and the way Rob Struble and company deliver it is so perfect.  This week the wind and snow load subject came in and immediately caught my eye.  Good stuff gang!

 

--  Last this week… we are coming up on Baseball season starting and even though I don’t follow like I used to- I need to still make my predictions here.  People depend on this sort of info from me right????  So I’m going with the White Sox to win it all over the Dodgers…. Sorry to my friends in Chicago- my picks are only good for post season (not in magazine predictions with Katy) football!  

 

LINKS of the WEEK

 

--  These guys just wanted to join the Florida Gators swim team!

 

No rush to fill in a supply chain issue- why?

 

Not for me and doesn’t look safe but I guess it could work to get around?

 

PROJECT of the WEEK

I thought this was appropriate for this week.  A Nashville project done by a company that is always invested into BEC.  This is from Zach Foland of Pioneer Cladding and Glazing Systems.  What an absolute stunner!  Hoping that I see it up close and personal when I am in town.  Great job by Zach and the team at Pioneer and kudos to whomever the glass fabricator was as well! Love it!

 

 

 

Exciting Stretch Ahead

We are about to enter a cool little stretch of industry events and I am excited because this may be the first real “normal” stretch we’ve had in 2 years.  Next week the movers and shakers of the glazing and fabrication world will descend on Nashville, Tennessee for the BEC and GPAD events.  The back-to-back sessions are slated to draw some incredible crowds and the networking and education will be at its absolute best.  Can’t wait!  I’ll have more about both of these from the scene next week and then of course the week after, my rundown of who’s who at the event.  Then in early April, Glass Expo Northeast takes place and the great Andrew Haring will be holding court there bringing the gospel of the glass world’s leading education process- MyGlassClass to the region.  Later in the month, I am absolutely blown away to be speaking at Top Glass in suburban Toronto.  I have been a fan of this event for years (Glass Canada Magazine does a tremendous job), and to be able to attend AND speak is just awesome.  I love the glass community throughout Canada, and to be at a big-time event like that will memorable.  And last but not least, early May has me back in my favorite state… the great state of Texas, at their bi-annual Texas Glass Conference.  This event put on by the incredible people of the Texas Glass Association never fails. I love being a part of it, and this year aside from the education and networking, they’re having a special guest speaker in Kris Paronto.  Kris is known for his amazing heroism in the siege of the US Embassy in Libya in 2012.  If you’ve seen the movie “13 Hours” that it.  So get ready for some quality “normal” along with learning and networking as we push ahead!  And if you are in any of these regions, get to these events- they’ll be worth your time!

Elsewhere…

 

--  Next Architectural Billings Index drops this week.  I keep predicting it to be negative (and obviously hoping it’s not) but I do think this one will be below the magic number of 50.  Too many trends working in the wrong direction have caught up- but that metric has been pretty resilient, so we will see and I’ll have it for you here next week. 

 

--  A few weeks ago, I wrote here about the inflation aspect of things and how packaging was off for me, that I could tell less was in some of the products I commonly buy.  Well, I wasn’t crazy, Quartz magazine dug into and had some interesting takeaways… check it out… “Shrinkflation” is the term I guess. 

 

--  I love Orlando, and I am in and out of there quite a bit.  They have a new terminal being built and it will be completed soon (glass and metal on it?  No idea- speak up folks) Anyway I ran into this article on the new tech aspects of the terminal.  It looks intense BUT could there be a WORSE place to try super high-tech things on travelers than Orlando?  90% of the travelers there are families who are already stressed and not travel savvy.  Something tells me that this terminal for all of its bells and whistles is going to have some serious growing pains.

 

--  Jim Evans of BidClips won the internet last week with this absolutely hilarious bit on calling on customers in our current age.  I am an unabashed fan of Jim and his company and this messaging really was super.  

 

--  Just a random question- is there any product segment hotter right now than Bird Friendly?  I know laminated glass overall is hit, but to me it feels like Bird Friendly is just on a rocket ship right now.  Really amazing growth there and good on our industry to be really open and positive about it all. 

 

--  Last this week… A few new TV choices for you… 2 documentaries and one cheesy series.  First the Docs… Dream/Killer was about a young man wrongly jailed and spent 10 years in prison while his Dad and others fought to get him out.  The guy just appeared on this season of the Amazing Race too.  Was well done.  On Netflix.  Also on Netflix, “Downfall” which is the backstory on Boeing and the 737 Max tragedies.  This one will get your fired up and shows where cutting corners can have serious consequences.  The series is “Winning Time” on HBO and it’s about the 80’s LA Lakers.  It’s very cheesy but well done and if you are at all a sports fan, you should like it.  The only thing missing so far is super Laker fan Joe Carlos making a cameo.  I expect that soon!  

 

LINKS of the WEEK

Fascinating story on a Chick-fil-A that is too busy.  I mean I have experienced it but they’re the most efficient operators around and if anyone will figure it out- its them

 

Stealing Gas. Just a matter of time before this started to happen.  And will get worse!

 

I’ve gotten into the wrong Uber twice.  Including one that WASN’T an Uber (ouch- in the early days of Uber) but this was the AirBNB version of that….

 

PROJECT of the WEEK

To California, and Architectural Glass & Aluminum (AGA) and this project at UC San Diego.  This is Franklin Antonio Hall and its almost complete and its pretty awesome to look at.  Great work by AGA and all of their partners (no glass or metal folks were listed- come on, gotta give those guys the love!)  including the design team of Perkins & Will.  Congrats to AGA on this project and way to make our world look great to students at UCSD!

 

The Pains of Labor

In all of the scary things happening right now, the one that brings the most worry but probably gets the least overall attention is our shortage on the workforce.  Maybe the lack of overall concern is because it’s been a problem for a while but we really need to ram up our efforts to address it.   Why am I bringing it up again?   Recently the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) put out a notice that we are short 650,000 construction workers.  650 THOUSAND. Here are the details. Ouch.    That number is insane.  It really is time for us to start going harder into the secondary schools (the gang from MyShowerDoor and D3 were early into this process) and also being aggressive in promoting how cool our industry is. (I think folks like Matt Verderamo at Alliance Exterior Construction get it)  Little things like in your job ads show the beauty of the work, the difference that glass and glazing make, and why this is a trade that truly can stand out vs. all others.  Time to think outside the box too- they’ll be discussions on this at BEC, but we’re gonna need more creativity to get past what is coming our way.  We are battling so many things, but if we don’t have folks to make and install the material- nothing else matters.  

Elsewhere…

 

--  We just wrapped Women in Construction week and I was really impressed with all of the action and focus online for it.  We really are blessed with a ton of talent in this industry and I loved learning more about some of the women that are making a huge difference in our space.  The National Glass Association on LinkedIn had smart and quick Q&A’s with some awesome influencers so if you don’t follow the NGA on LinkedIn- go there now, follow, and catch up on the details.  Andrew Haring though took the prize (as he always does) with this ultra-cool story about the strong women at Rountree Glass.  Check it out…. 

 

--  If you missed my podcast when it dropped last week please catch it now.  I appreciate the feedback that comes in to- like this week noting Matt Price’s cool voice, Julie Schimmelpenningh’s cool past (which thankfully did not pay) and Ron Crowls’ very cool choices for favorite athletes. All of that plus really great insight and lessons.  Thanks again for checking it out and supporting!

 

VIDEO

AUDIO

 

--  Congrats to DFI and Q Railing on a smart collaboration.  DFI will supply their coating on the Q Railing systems- nice connection between some very cool people on both sides.  Congrats on the arrangement!

--  Latest Dodge Momentum Index was up in February which I think we could all feel and appreciate.  The key now is seeing how that trend continues given some of the outside pressures with supply chain and of course the Ukraine situation.  Obviously as I noted above our labor deal is perilous.  But inflation and war are obvious massive concerns as we move forward. 

 

--  I was really pumped to see the list of some of the folks attending GPAD.  A mix of strong established fabricators and then some really smart up and coming ones. Neat to see people that want to really better themselves stepping up.  That will be strong event and I am excited to experience the sessions and learn from some of the best in the world.  Time is running out but if you are a fabricator- I’d get on board HERE 

 

--  Sad to see the passing of Gyo Obata the original “O” in the legendary HOK architectural firm.  The effect that Gyo had on design in our country was unbelievable and his accomplishments will be appreciated til the end of time.  This was a nice look back and tribute to a tremendous person and leader. 

 

--  Last this week I mentioned on my podcast that the TV show “Reacher” on Amazon was a fun one to watch- a real good “treadmill” show that is a lot of good action and detail that makes you not realize you’re exercising.  Check it out and a thank you to Jen Friess of Guardian Glass for the heads up on it- and obviously Jen has the juice since Reacher was the #1 streamed show in the US last week…. (or that many people caught my mention on the podcast…hmmmm)

 

LINKS of the WEEK

A nasty invasion of spiders are coming?  Nope for me!

 

The internet can be great for people to waste time.  This is an example

Cougar right outside your doorwall?  Yeah if I lived there I’d have serious hard core protective glazing in that spot!

 

PROJECT of the WEEK

Pennsylvania is the place and thanks to a post from Glass Enterprises for pointing out this beauty. One Montgomery Plaza is the project and it turned out great.  According to the Glass Enterprises LinkedIn post, GEI fabricated with National Glass & Metal doing the install.  This was a 2-year renovation/retrofit project and those are never easy but looks like these folks knocked it out of the park!  Fantastic!  Congrats to Josh Burg and his team at Glass Enterprises and Joe Clabbers and the gang at National Glass & Metal on an awesome effort that makes our industry look spectacular. 

Well that was a BIG week

That was a busy week eh?  Not every day the week starts with a 3.4 billion dollar deal and it will be very interesting to see how things progress there.  I’ll dig in more on that in a second but first, I have something waaaaay more valuable than that deal… Episode 3 of the 2^nd season of the From the Fabricator podcast is out and I have 3 billion dollar guests….  So this month very lucky to get 3 people who have blazed some serious trails in our world.  Kicking off with Matt Price of MPS and Armor-Guard- this is a guy is pure hustle and grit and coming with important products for our space.  Then on to the legend Julie Schimmelpenningh and she does not disappoint- her takes on the market, growth of laminated and what’s ahead are only a small part of a really fun conversation.  Last this month, Ron Crowl of FeneTech joins me and we get the low down on his path, Klay Thompson, GPAD and more.  Neat range of folks all doing very good and very important work in our industry!

To watch CLICK HERE

To listen CLICK HERE or find it on whatever podcast app you like- Apple, Spotify etc.

 

Elsewhere…

 

--  Ok so the deal I was alluding to above was Oldcastle being sold for 3.4 billion and by now everyone has all of the details and info and I am sure more to come with the crack team at Glass Magazine working on it all.  Backing up a bit- I knew the due diligence was in full gear but I thought we were maybe a couple weeks away from this being done.  So I was a bit surprised when I got the heads up in the middle of the night Sunday into Monday that this was done.  Lots of tires were kicked here and I think a lot of people who had no idea what a curtain wall or tempered glass is learned about our world. Now with the deal final, as I always say in these spots, my hope is the new owners embrace the industry and keep up or even grow what the previous owners did.  So that is a big one for me.  Obviously, the thing everyone asks is “what’s going to happen, will this be carved up, what changes are planned?” and my answer is right now is it will be business as usual.  There are great people at OBE who will integrate with the new owners and for now things will run as expected and then we’ll see where the next moves fall.  But I’d be stunned if anything “big” happens for a while.  So this is a sit back and monitor sort of thing and now with a few other companies for sale, is it possible that those who lost out on OBE will be buyers there?  Stay tuned…

 

--  Congrats to the team at Billco for adding the 1^st ever Glass Industry MVP, Tracy Rogers to their ranks.  Great addition to the team- Tracy is a strong performer, smart as heck and will bring a ton of value to the team.  Pumped that this could mean we’ll see Tracy (along with the great Jay Campbell) at events like BEC, GPAD and GlassBuild too because he knows the value is so crucial (and can’t miss) and now I’ll get to chat with him there.  Congrats to all involved!

 

--  Speaking of events- your friendly reminder to get signed up for BEC (HERE) and GPAD (HERE) and you may even get invited to a party or 3.  Heck I even got a dinner invite and was invited to 2 offsite receptions despite the fact that those who know me know I am as anti-social as they come- but for BEC and GPAD I actually go out… may not stay out- but I actually go… so come on- be there!

 

--  Missed this but saw that the days of any sort of Blackberry phone are now done.  Between no more software support and now the demise of 3G, the beloved Blackberry- if you still have one- is going to be obsolete.  I loved my Blackberry.  Never thought I’d use anything else.  Wild the way the world changed on them.  An amazing book was written about what happened to Blackberry- it’s a few years old now but an awesome read nonetheless.  “Losing the Signal” by 

Jacquie McNish & Sean Silcoff well worth it if you like rise and fall business stories…

 

--  Last this week… inflation.  Pure misery. Has anyone else noted that not only does most food items cost more but they are coming in smaller quantities or packaging not coming close to containing the normal or advertised amount.  This whole stretch we are in is a mess and I don’t see it getting better.  Just a tough one all around.  And I didn't even mention gas prices....

 

LINKS of the WEEK

Pretty dire stuff for Northern California predicted… wow.  

 

This will end up going big time.  Though will be interesting to see what Disney does.

 

Surely a security issue at this jail.

 

PROJECT of the WEEK

From the LinkedIn feed of Denise Baker at Spring Glass… this one will be a showstopper when done!  Looking good already.  Ft Bend High School.  Hurricane Impact glass- no mention of fabricator or primary- but glass looks awesome and of course the install is strong!  Congrats to Denise and team on an "in the works" beauty here!