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!