Big Notes from the Road

I have been on the road now for 2 solid weeks and it’s been great to see people in their natural habitats again and really get out and learn.  The feedback was pretty interesting overall and I wanted to share some quick takeaways.  On the contract glazing side, there is some concern with how Q4 is playing out.  There is surely a softness in many books for that time period and it’s an uncomfortable feeling.  But as always, our industry is pretty resilient and will fight through.  I also heard a ton of reactions from the news out of the NGA Glass Conference.  The aftermath of the new ASTM standard led the way(I mentioned how big this was last week) but the other items covered like changes in SGCC and IGCC, and Katy Devlin’s market look had people buzzing big time.  There was some serious FOMO after this event as so much happened there that I think that people are realizing you can’t miss important industry events.  Last on the trend side, the world of laminated glass is obviously on fire.  There was more talk on that entire area from machinery to products (and usage of lami in previously unused places like showers) than I have heard in a long time. 

Also from my travels, I’ll have a special podcast from one of my stops launching next week, it is a format I have never done before and may do it again someday.  I think the insights I gained will be very beneficial to the industry and loved getting to know some seriously cool people. 

 

Elsewhere…

 

--  I had a short layover at O’Hare in Chicago.  I usually will do anything to avoid that airport, but this time it couldn’t be helped.  And I will go on record here and say it is easily the worst airport in the US.  The signage is horrendous and the lack of bathrooms is pretty frightening.  Plus they have grown so much that they just will pop a gate in anywhere there’s extra space. It truly is a bizarre flying experience there.  So Newark, which used to hold the title for me of worst US airport- you are off the hook.

 

--  The latest Glass Magazine is out and time to review here… it is the annual MUST HAVE “Source Book” edition of the magazine so it’s a great resource to have as you work your way through various levels of the supply chain.  This issue is also obviously loaded with advertising and so picking the “ad of the month” was a challenge.  Maybe it is because green is my favorite color but the Lattuada North America ad really caught me.  Loved the look and layout and it was powerful.  That is your winner for the month- kudos to the team there for an excellent effort!  

 

--  Congrats to Sid Miller and the team at Miller Glass for celebrating their 28^th year in business!  Miller Glass is one of those companies that is well known and seriously respected in our space and I hope they keep on rolling for a long time ahead!  

 

--  Last this week…Here are the top 10 metropolitan areas for construction and multifamily starts

City	% change	Total value
New York City area	Up 20%	$15.3 billion
Dallas	Up 72%	$8.1 billion
Washington, D.C., area	Up 35%	$5.5 billion
Miami	Up 31%	$4.5 billion
Austin, Texas	Up 70%	$4.3 billion
Phoenix	Up 53%	$4.2 billion
Atlanta	Up 68%	$4.2 billion
Seattle	Down 10%	$3.5 billion
Los Angeles	Down 14%	$3.4 billion
Philadelphia	Down 3%	$3.2 billion

 

Did any of these surprise you?  Dallas being up so big is interesting because I know that there was some worry there that things were leveling off but I think we all know never to mess with Texas right?  Atlanta rolling was a surprise for me and I really thought Nashville and Orlando would be on this list.  In any case let’s use this as fuel to keep plugging along out there!

 

LINKS of the WEEK

Not something you see everyday- a cat stuck in a vending machine

 

Who does this first?  Andrew Haring or Keith Daubmann?  Both would be perfect for it too!

 

The scams out there keep getting better and better and worse and worse for our world. 

 

PROJECT of the WEEK

This one via Greg Buczko of Global Security Glazing and Isoclima Specialty Glass.  Obviously post NGA Glass Conference there was a renewed focus on the security space in schools and this was one project that utilized that sort of product.  And the school design and the way the picture lays out were fantastic.  Great work from Greg and team along with Arrow Glass Company out of Urbana, IL as the installer and Graham & Hyde Architects with the amazing design. The products used were from Vitro with Solarban 60 IGU’s featuring the CHILDGARD product from Global as well as 3/8” monolithic CHILDGARD.  Congrats to all involved!

Absorbing an Adventurous Week

I feel like this blog is like the old episodes of Sesame Street that were brought to you by a letter… so this week, it’s brought to you by the letter A.  (As a bunch of subjects I have started with that letter so may well be creative…)

 

--  A for Architectural Billings Index.  Well, it shocked the world again this month and stayed positive and barely a blip under last month.  Am I good with the positivity?  Absolutely.  Am I leery of the results?  No doubt.  Something feels off.  There were down numbers, specifically, the northeast went underwater for the first time in a few months, so I guess that feels like reality. Still I will wonder in a year+ what it will look like market-wise for us.  If things are going great then these guys were right…and as I always say, I’ll gladly eat crow. Note that construction starts in June did slow somewhat- so that may be affecting my feelings here. 

 

--  A for Active in the Active Shooter profile news that the NGA broke this week.  The ASTM standard in that space is HUGE!  For too many years the lack of a clear and logical standard really made things muddy. This is a great step in the right direction.  Huge kudos to the legendary Julie Schimmelpenningh of Eastman for doing her thing here to get this over the finish line!

 

--  A for the awesome Andrew Haring who was on the Glazing Guru podcast last week.  Check it out here- was a good interview and the guru John Spelman did a nice job drawing some answers out of the king of all Glass Nerds.  Good listen overall! 

 

--  A is for AIA and their awards for small projects are out. Some interesting designs, and kudos to those who used glass more prominently. (Like Jessie’s House in Austin)  A lot of this is not my taste but thought it was a cool one to check out.

-- And A is the beginning letter for a word I never heard of... see my last nugget for that one.

 

Elsewhere…

 

--  This “sign battle” went viral but I first saw from my pal Kevin Grammens of Target Mentality (best mental health and business coach around) and I loved the marketing aspect but also the way these folks figured out how to playfully work with each other for the greater good.  Tremendous back and forth.

 

--  This may not be relevant to the folks in the commercial business but some big moves on the residential side with the latest update to Energy Star and the potential now that thin triples and VIG are big time in play.  I am happy for folks like Mike Rapp of PDS IG Equipment and Michael Spellman of VIG Technologies as those guys have worked hard to develop products to fit these needs and they had waddle through a ton of choppy waters to get to this point. 

 

--  This is intriguing.  Evidently, a Tesla exec is under fire for purchasing a special type of “hard-to-get” glass for Elon Musk for his personal use.  The story does not say the special type of glass- but did note it was purchased because of supply chain issues.  See the richest man in the world even struggles with glass too.  

 

--  Now that an awesome Glass Conference has been put to bed it’s full speed ahead to GlassBuild in October.  I am so pumped for it- lots of new things happening, some fresh education approaches and old favorites like Connor Lokar talking economy and given our world right now, just attending to see and hear what Connor says is worth it.  Registration is open now, and don’t dawdle on the hotel room either. Get it all done now at GlassBuild.com

 

--  Last this week… Wordle folks… the word on Thursday was APHID.  I swear I never have seen that word, used that word, nada.  I am sure ultra-brains like Dr. Kayla Natividad and Tom O’Malley got it in 2 tries but I have to say in the long time I have been playing this game this is the first word where I was like “this is a word?”  I did get lucky and get it- only because I had 4 letters and played every combo just seeing if it would accept it.  When it did on APHID I was stunned.

 

LINKS of the WEEK

The luck of having your boat sunk by a Walrus?

 

I have a few buddies who are UPS Drivers and they hustle big time, so seeing one collapse in the heat I can see… glad he’s ok!

 

Fun Squirrel story

 

PROJECT of the WEEK

Beautiful project this week from the Pacific Northwest! The fine folks from Herzog Glass glazed this building using product from Garibaldi Glass.  Stunner really.  Mithun Architects on the pretty much perfect design.  Big time kudos to everyone involved in this one and again as I always preach- it is amazing glass projects like this that make our industry look good!  

Congrats to everyone involved here! 

Questions Abound

While the big news has dominated our landscape over the last few weeks or so, there’s been a lot of other nuggets and news I wanted to get to… so here goes….

 

--  The latest Dodge Momentum Index was up again.  It is now at its highest point in 14 years. While that is exciting it is also a bit of a mirage.  There are still some dry pockets out there now and in various backlogs so it once again has me questioning these indexes.  I’ll take the positivity- you know me, I live for it, but the reality is surely singing a slightly different tune.

 

--  By the way, the next Architectural Billings Index is this coming Wednesday.  No way it’s above water.  No way.  But we will see….

 

--  The latest Gilbane supply report was released and I laughed out loud (Or LOL in text form) when I saw they noted pricing in the glass industry as “Stabilizing” – yeah I think we are all doing a great job of rolling with haymakers being thrown at us, but “stabilizing” is not the feel I have.  Obviously, the report probably covers the time before the latest round of increases hit.  In the other 2 tracked categories, we are noted as “contracting” on inventories and “delayed” on shipping which I think is accurate. The only building trade that doesn’t have those two classifications is “Plumbing” where on inventory – they are stable.  So obviously the whole chain continues to challenge. 

 

--  If you missed my most recent podcast, please check it out.  Two tremendous guys from leading companies in our world.  Ben Jayson from Bendheim and Will Pounds from TSI Corporations.  Really impressive folks who will be around our space for a long time to come and that gives me great hope for the future of our industry!

VIDEO 

AUDIO (Also on Apple, Spotify, Google etc..)

 

--  Congrats to Jeremy Hoy on his new position at Hartung Glass.  Jeremy is a fantastic talent and just a very good dude.  Great hire by the Hartung team and this match will be a nice one.  Hopefully Jeremy will still be attending the various shows and events, as his positive presence is always welcomed!

 

--  Also congrats to the fine folks at Country Glass in Texas.  They just marked their 38^th year in business!  Congrats to the great Brian Risinger, Joe Lambertson and the team there.  They do things the right way and I really appreciate how they are always there to support the greater good of our industry.  Also the best-looking swag in the business…

 

--  Sad news from my backyard in Michigan.  Ed Hickey, a major presence in this market, most recently with his sons at Peterson Glass has passed away.  Another market legend moves on and this one gets me as I was a huge fan of Ed, and his sons have always been great friends and supporters of mine.  He built a strong and respected company that will carry on his legacy for years to come.  My condolences to the Hickey family and all of Ed’s friends and industry mates.

 

--  Last this week… two items on the lighter side… if you were a music fan in the 90’s – you know Nirvana and the story of Kurt Cobain their lead singer.  I was turned on to a documentary on his death and it opened my eyes on if he died the way we were all told.  The doc was a bit uneven but still worth the watch if you were a fan- it’s called “Soaked in Bleach” and it’s on Amazon.

 

Also on Amazon a new series called “The Terminal List” and that is a VERY intense watch.  Only a few episodes in but there was a classic mention of a new building having “eco friendly windows” and I laughed because of how generic.  Evidently Tom Donovan of Thompson IG (who I believe wrote “Ozark”) did not write this…. But hey glass/window mentions?  I am all for it.  Also bird-friendly windows were needed in this one but that would screw up a storyline I guess….

 

LINKS of the WEEK

I knew about the “treehouse” trend- but this offshoot of that I had not seen.  Wild!

 

This would scar me for life.  An iguana found in the same toilet.  Not once or twice, but three times!

 

How to prepare for a Nuclear Attack was a public service announcement put out by NYC.  No words for this one. 

 

PROJECT of the WEEK

I am fascinated by the Carvana “Car Vending Machine” structures that you see more and more of. Recently I saw a post on LinkedIn from Bob Lentz of Above All Storefronts showing the install of an IG going into one of those setups.  Thought it was very cool.  Love the look so I wanted to share… Bob if this one is done or you have more info on who else was involved share away- in the meantime congrats to all involved in it.  These designs really do show the value of great glass and glazing!

 

 

 

 

Power Players

New podcast is now posted with 2 tremendous guys from fantastic companies.  First up is Ben Jayson of Bendheim.  That is a legendary brand and Ben is one very sharp individual.  Good dive into his past, his thoughts on the space, and some of the very smart things Bendheim does.  Then I chop it up with Will Pounds of TSI Corporations.  Will was impressive and I loved hearing about the lessons from the past that Will and the team learned and how they put it to work going forward.  Plus neat look at some hot new products he likes and he stuns me with his favorite food. All of that and more.  Check it out, the insight shared by these two was something to savor. I appreciate the listens and watches!

VIDEO 

AUDIO (and on Apple, Spotify etc.)

 

This month’s podcast was brought to you by GlassBuild America, which just opened registration.  The show this year returns to Vegas in October and it’s looking like a masterpiece.  A few new wrinkles have been added and the show floor is really coming together nicely.  Plus more than ever an event like the Glazing Executives Forum is crucial given the challenges in our space.  Get registered today and get that hotel room too!  GlassBuild.com 

 

Elsewhere…

 

--  Congrats to Tim Thomas on his recent promotion to President at Erie Architectural Products.  Tremendous news for a truly great person.  I have always been a huge fan of Tim’s and also his brother Brian. (I think Brian is easily one of the 5 best company leaders in our industry right now atop of Super Sky) So this brotherly love thing got me thinking… are the Thomas siblings the best sibling group in our industry?  Some serious competition there with the awesome Aragon brothers of Aragon Construction, the superstar Stathopoulos brothers at Ajay Glass, the brilliant brother/sister team at Goldray in Mike Saroka and Laura Little, and I always get confused on the Habers at W&W if there are brothers there or are they all cousins, but that is an immensely talented crew too.  Who am I missing???  And shame my brother Steve can’t count on my sister (because she left the industry) or me to live up to his visionary skillset!  

 

--  Also congrats to K-Space Associates and Darryl Barlett on their 30^th anniversary in business.  I met Darryl at GPAD and it was cool to get to know him and learn about their product line and approach.  Good guy, good stuff and congrats on the anniversary!

 

--  We are a week away from the NGA Glass Conference: Chicago and I was impressed with the companies attending. Was a serious “who’s who” of the fabricating/manufacturing side of our world and good to see so many companies focused on the technical side of our world.  Urmilla Sowell and team do an awesome job in representing us and also making sure we are doing things the right way. There are always holes out there (a big one is some unsavory approaches to school protective glass with lots of create-it-yourself testing standards) but the NGA team surely does the best it can to make sure things get done the right way.

 

--  Those of you who know me know I do not care for the AIA Expo.  They don’t care for their exhibitors and it’s a shame when so many other shows do but can’t get some of the same buy in.  Anyway I had to laugh when I saw AIA chose San Francisco for its event in 2023.  That may be one of the worst possible locations in our world right now.  Good luck to them on that one and good luck to anyone who is going to exhibit there.

 

--  Last this week… the final 6 episodes of Better Call Saul start this week… unreal show and cannot wait to see how this one ends.  If they pull it off as perfectly as they did Breaking Bad (same writers etc.) then that will be awesome. 

 

LINKS of the WEEK

--  This is an issue out there and also one of more and more people who won’t learn how to swim.

 

--  What a cool mistake- getting a few moments with the Stanley Cup

 

--  An absolutely bizarre hobby

 

PROJECT of the WEEK

This week from the LinkedIn feed of Alex Gonzalez… this fabulous job in Lake Nona, FL fabricated by South East Glass and installed by Pro Glass Installers.  Tavistock Town Center is the project name listed.  Good looking project in a very hot and upcoming area in central Florida.  Nice work to all that took part in it!