Pod, BEC, Bubba and More

The latest From the Fabricator podcast is now up!  This month we kick it off with the awesome Katy Devlin of Glass Magazine and NGA.  Katy is so smart and so cool, and her insights are spot on.  Was fun to chop it up.  Then on to 3 people really working hard to help their region.  Kristie Rehberger of A Glasco, Nathan Seaman of Architectural Grilles and Sunshades and Adam Posik of Pacific Coast Glazing join me to talk about the formation of the California Glass Association.  What the process and plans are and why it’s important to the industry in California.  Volunteering like that is a huge thing, all working for the good of the market/industry which I appreciate.  We end this month with a check in from Nick St. Denis of KMR-Key Media & Research and we jump into what his expert eye sees in the upcoming forecast and much more.  Great mix of people and insights and grateful to have them on the podcast! Thank you in advance for checking it out!

VIDEO

AUDIO (also available on Apple, Spotify and more!) 

Elsewhere…

 

--  BEC is coming up on a month away!  My gosh time is flying.  So first things first, get registered now since early bird pricing is ending soon.  Next, I am so excited that we are celebrating the 25^th edition of this event and bringing back the past chairs to help with the program and those chairs will be awarding some very cool prizes to lucky audience members.  Last, the final agenda is coming soon, but I can tell you now the committee and the team at NGA has been blessed with some awesome people committing to present.  You’ll see those names and subjects soon.  So don’t delay- register today!

 

--  MASSIVE congrats an old friend and co-worker, Tim Moore of WA Wilson for being awarded the annual C. Gregory Carney Award for Volunteer of the Year in the industry.  This is highest award that the National Glass Association gives, and Tim is seriously deserving.  My visionary brother Steve, had the brains to hire Tim many years ago and he knew that in the right setting Tim would be crucially important to the success of our company and the industry.  Tim has absolutely done that again and again and we should all be grateful. I am that is for sure.  So, I am thrilled Tim (also known as “Bubba” to many) got this honor and it was an honor as well to be able to work and learn from Tim over the years!

 

--  Virginia Glass Products and Virginia Mirror made quite a bit of news this past week.  First the great James Wright continued to build a strong staff with the hiring of Jessica Brooks.  That looks to be a great match on both sides.  Then at the end of the week news broke that Virginia had connected with Gemini Investors in a strategic acquisition.  So some new blood now in the space and it’ll be interesting since Virginia, at 110 years old has a very storied and special culture and they also have a sterling reputation.  Hopefully the new influence will just maximize what made Virginia strong and also not walk away from the industry support.  I say that every time a new player comes in- supporting the industry and being active is a must!  Congrats to all involved.

 

--  The latest forecasts are out, and they went as expected.  The Architectural Billings Index (ABI) was down again and the Dodge Momentum Index still up.  So the trend of a solid 2023 and slower 2024 still tracks.  The nice thing about the ABI was that new project inquiries continue to be positive- so that is a plus.  For more forecast insight though make sure you listen to the podcast linked above as Nick does take some good dives into the data and delivers solid intel!

 

--  Last this week… Builders Online had a story on the 10 most interesting housing markets for 2023.  You know I love these things and this was great read.  Check it out HERE.  But you know I have to comment on the markets they called out so here goes…

- Atlanta, GA- Surprising. 

- Austin, TX- Not at all surprising- bonkers there right now

- Baltimore, MD- Shocking- must be everyone wanting live near Matt Verderamo

- Cincinnati, OH- I can see this one for sure.

- Houston, TX- A bit of a baffler for me given so many other Texas locations, but I do love the great state of Texas.

- Louisville, KY- A hidden gem for sure

- Miami, FL- Interesting yes.  Would I live there or could afford to live there?  Nope.

- Richmond, VA – Been a few times- interesting to see them on the “interesting” list

- San Diego, CA- Same answer as Miami except my end answer would be YES YES YES

- Tampa, FL- Better than Miami, Florida is a great state, and I like Tampa, but I am loyal to the Space Coast, so I’d rather be over there.

 

LINKS of the WEEK

- Yikes, United Airlines CEO says things could get worse for fliers?  

 

- Classic office lunch being stolen story with a great suspect!

 

- If we didn’t have 5 dogs already, I’d probably adopt this one. Even with his ankle biting!  I really struggle every time I see a dog up for adoption.

 

PROJECT of the WEEK

We go to Lex Vegas, properly known as Lexington, Kentucky for this week’s spotlight and an awesome job done by Anderson Aluminum.  Anderson is a tremendous company with great leadership, so no surprise they’d be doing a beauty like this.  According to the LinkedIn post, this is a renovation to the legendary Rupp Arena (was there once, and one of the loudest crowds I’ve ever heard)

This project features Anderson Aluminum’s unitized curtainwall, which slopes sideways and cantilevers outward over the pedestrian walkway below. The curtainwall infill was a mix of high-performance glass with a digital print and glazed-in aluminum composite panels with units ranging upwards of 12’ wide by 16’ tall. Congrats to the Anderson team and anyone else involved in this stunner of a project! (please share the glass mfg/fab etc!)

Predictions for 2023

Last week was easy.  Reviewing predictions is a walk in the park compared to making them.  But here we are, and this is what you expect from me, so the crystal ball is shined up and ready to go.  My money back guaranteed predictions for our space in the year ahead.

 

Imports are back-  Covid was the obvious disruptor and then the supply chain nightmares followed so the folks that were importing were held back.  Now as we head into 2023 that approach is cleared and starting to pop.  Obviously importing is a touchy subject but my prediction here is that more and more folks will be active in bringing in things they can’t get on-shore… so whichever side you are on in this deal, prepare accordingly!

 

Residential players to push into commercial- This is big, both employees (workforce, project managers etc.) and companies that were focused on residential are going to switch sides and come to the commercial realm.  Residential operators will start to poke around and look to find a hole that they can jump in on the commercial side to keep things rolling.  So for some reading this blog you now have foreign competition AND residential competition now added to your mix.  Sorry. 

 

VIG- Yeah I am biased.  I admit it.  But this product is going to hit the ground running hard in 2023.  Energy demands need it, and the product is out there with some great people involved like Michael Spellman, many at Vitro Architectural Glass, and Dave Cooper to name a few.  With some codes already changed and others expected to be, VIG is going to dip the toe in and before too long the entire foot then legs will be in the water.  Exciting for our industry too! 

 

More consolidation- I actually thought a year or two ago we would see break-ups, but it’s never happened, and we are still getting interested parties in our space looking to gobble.  So look for more companies to be bought up and combined/consolidated into bigger players.  Sometimes this works and sometimes it does not, but this is a trend that will pick up even more steam in 23.

 

Unitized /Modular- More on both.  Our labor issues are severe and while neither makes a huge help in labor, they can make a dent and also have some controllability play.  We’ve seen unitized continue to grow and that will not slow up, but now seeing more modular come into play could integrate even more of what we manufacture and install.  So be aware!

 

Bonus- The SHOWS KEEP GROWING- 2022 was a great bounce back for our industry events and 2023 will just expand that.  BEC looks to be amazing (NOTE NOTE NOTE- Tuesday,  Day 2 of BEC, a session on ways to add labor, address mentorship gaps, recruitment and more is scheduled- do not make plans to leave until AFTER THAT SESSION!) and events like Top Glass Canada and TEXpo should be great again. And wow, GlassBuild has a tough act to follow but the energy there in 2022 WILL transfer on to 2023.  So mark your schedules and be there!

 

So there ya go… we’ll see what happens and what does not- no matter what we’ve got the year in front of us so let’s get at it!

 

Elsewhere…

 

--  One of my all-time favorites is Rick Alexander the brilliant National Sales Manager of Tom Brown Inc.  Rick dropped a blog this week on his company celebrating 40 years in the tape conversion business and the background he covered was a great read.  Check it out HERE and congrats to everyone at Tom Brown on this anniversary and the continuation of being in business overall since 1936!

 

--  A big Guardian Glass deal made the news recently with the acquisition of Vortex Glass in Florida. Smart move by Guardian Glass to build into the laminated side because folks Laminated glass is very popular and growing.  This was an under the radar deal that makes me think more may be coming.  Nice combo of companies and congrats to all involved. 

 

--  Also congrats to the tremendous Josh Burg and his team at Glass Enterprises on the launch of their new website.  Really well done, easy to get around and smart in the way they broke down each area of the business they served.  Only thing missing were the beauty shots of Josh and his team from the last site- maybe those will be coming soon!  Seriously though rebuilding a site is a battle and kudos to GEI for crushing it!

 

--  Last this week… airport rankings.  I have gone back and forth with the Hawaiian legend Lyle Shimazu on this for years, with him saying Portland is so much better than I think it is.  Anyway, the latest formal rankings came out at the end of the year and some surprises…

For large airports your top 5 were San Fran, Atlanta, Minneapolis, Detroit and Phoenix.  I love seeing Detroit on there because it IS a great airport.  I have no issues with the list, though Minneapolis can be like running a marathon depending on where you land.  Worst bigs were O’Hare, Miami, Ft Lauderdale, JFK and Newark.   Also I am good with those- all absolute nightmares in so many ways. Now on to medium sized the top 5 were Sacramento, San Diego, San Jose, San Antonio, and PORTLAND. Lyle obviously got to the voters and man I love the people in San Antonio but I don’t think your airport is top 5.  San Diego is awesome.    Worst medium were Dallas Love (no!) Austin (yes, an absolute nightmare) Cleveland and Washington Reagan. Maybe I missed something, but I like Love Field in Dallas.  Anyway there ya go.. these were from the Wall Street Journal and their experts and I just love sharing.  

 

LINKS of the WEEK

 

I did the Disney Cruise and loved it but I know many who do other Cruises and the attraction is the food- well on some lines that’s changing… look out! 

Amazon dumping its “Smile” program that benefitted charities.  It didn’t donate a lot but every bit helps and this sucks.

 

Us glass people get blamed for a lot- but we’ve never pulled something as bad as this.  Lights stuck on at school for over a year!  Issues with turning them off!

 

PROJECT of the WEEK

Dynamic duo this week in this section… the always awesome Beth Hockett and incredible company Bendheim get the spotlight.  This was on Beth’s LinkedIn feed, and it is sharp!  Beth said it best in her post so best to just print verbatim:

18' tall continuous Bendheim Channel Glass. Double glazed with translucent insulation at designated areas to meet Pitkin County's thermal performance requirements. Pinnacle Glass did a great job on the install bringing Charles Cunniffe Architects vision to life.

 

Kudos to everyone on this stunner! (Though those handrails could've/should've been glass too? But that's my bias!)

Reviewing '22

Predictions can be tough but each year I do them and each year I follow up to see how I fared.  So, before we dig into 2023, time to take a look back at my thoughts on 2022.

Here are last year's calls and whether I won, lost, or tied.

Yes- Interior Growth this year- I believe this was a win though it depends on your area of the country.  Interiors grew- no doubt, but that return to office was not nationwide and remodels still were a bit slower.  I’ll say this is a tie.

More 8mm- This one did not grow as much as I thought and so I’ll sadly take an “L” here but I think the trend remains and 8mm in the commercial setting is here to stay. 

Rough waters for some- While we had some choppy waters there wasn’t enough to take people under- which is great news overall and I’ll be happy to accept a bad call on this one.  Still we are not out of the woods on worry, but for 2022, it did not happen, thankfully.

Code Crunch- Did not see the code crunch but is that because of people like the NGA Superhero team led by Urmilla Sowell?  And the codes we did see were smart positive ones too.  I think there was a push but we have gotten so much better at understanding and adapting it did not make us crazy like efforts in the past. 

More than 1 big deal is coming- And I got this one right… a few big deals this past year and I think the aftershocks from those deals affect our space this year.  And not every aftershock is a bad one either- more investments, more focus, diversification etc. could all be in the offing thanks to new owners and fresh perspectives.  

Next week, the fearless prognostications for 2023!

 

Elsewhere…

 

--  A reminder if you missed the opening podcast to 2023, I’ll link it again below.  This one turned out to be very popular on the audio download side, guessing folks like exercising to the soothing inspirational words of Tom O’Malley eh?  Anyway, aside from Tom joining me and diving deep into the industry, I was also honored to have Arty Feles, President of CR Laurence on.  He was amazing in laying down all the good CRL has happening now.  And last but certainly not least, Sam Olson oof J&A Glass held court and his industry path has had people talking.  Good stuff!  Thanks to those who have listened/watched and if you want to catch it- the VIDEO version is here and AUDIO here- along with audio being on Apple, Spotify and wherever you get your podcasts from!

 

--  Big news from recent glass industry MVP runner up Chris Phillips.  It came out at the start of the year that Chris has joined forces with Brandon Nicastro and Chance Forman at GCS Glass & Mirror.  GCS is an awesome organization and what Brandon and Chance have done there is incredibly impressive.  Now looping in Chris and his location in California (the 5^th for GCS) is another tremendous move.  Chris is a great person, and I am happy for him and thrilled about this combo- congrats guys!

 

--  Also some big personnel moves and kudos needed.  Two of the most talented women to run through our space have taken new major roles.  Leigh Anne Mays was a superstar at Guardian Glass and after being at Masonite, she’s returned to our side of the industry with the exciting new Naverra glass fab facility in Connecticut.  A great fit bringing Leigh Anne’s experience to match the product and performance of Naverra.  Nice.  And former podcast guest Kelly Whittingham has signed on with Ubiquitous Energy.  Huge get there by Ubiquitous as Kelly is spectacular and big time respected in the marketplace.  A fresh disruptive product being pushed by someone with Kelly’s skills is a win.  Congrats to all!

 

--  And I assume you may see these folks and many many more at BEC this March!  And now is the time to register as the doors are open and the link is online and ready for you.  BEC is celebrating its 25^th Anniversary and there’s a lot of interesting stuff planned that go beyond this being an incredible learning and networking event.  So, get your trip locked in now and register HERE!  If you are unfamiliar with BEC, feel free to ping me and I’ll give you the details. 

 

--  At the start of the NFL season, I picked the Ravens to beat the Packers in the Super Bowl.  Well the Packers are out and the Ravens without Lamar Jackson are not winning it.  So I get a do-over right?  LOL.  I’m going Kansas City over Philadelphia.  But I do think every Hollywood writer wants a Buffalo Bills win just because of the story that would be.  We’ll see!

 

--  Last this week… the terrific Bill Sullivan of Brin Glass (a past glass industry MVP by the way) had a great tweet with some harrowing video of folks delivering some big glass.  Yikes.  Check it out HERE to see it… 

 

LINKS of the WEEK

I am really into learning about AI and in some cases what it can replace and what it cannot.

 

From the “love to see it / karma” files

 

Another bizarre legal case for the ages!

 

PROJECT of the WEEK

Quick note- on my project of the week from the end of the year, I missed a credit for AZA US on the glass and building envelope.  Tremendous work- to see it CLICK HERE

 

On to this week- Virginia Glass Products had this one posted and it was a project in progress in Glen Allen, VA with American Door & Glass Inc.  13/16” laminated for a canopy and looking fabulous all the way around. Kudos to my good pal James Wright and the team there for the great work they are doing and props to American Door & Glass on a successful install!  Looking good everyone. 

New Year, New Pod and Lots of News

Happy New Year!  We are off and running into 2023!  Kicking it off in style with a great new podcast featuring three very interesting people all doing good things in our space. First up massive heavy hitter in our world in Arty Feles, President of CR Laurence.  CRL is one of the most important companies in our space and a leader through and through and spending time with Arty gave me (and you when you listen) great perspective on their approaches and bright future.  Then on to the tremendous Tom O’Malley of Clover Architectural Products.  Tom’s company is making moves, so we find out about that and also his ways of doing things which has obviously been very successful.  I end this month with Sam Olson of J &A Glass in Minnesota. Younger and energetic guy and the sort of future force we’ll be hearing a lot more from in our industry.  So please get the year off right and check it out!!

Video

Audio – And audio always available on Apple, Spotify, Google and more!

 

--  At the end of 2022 our industry wrapped up the International Year of Glass in style with an amazing session at the United Nations in New York City.  Glass Magazine had an excellent rundown of it HERE but I also wanted to point out how amazingly cool it was for two of our own that had major roles during the event.  First Urmilla Sowell appearing at the UN and having an impact is something that just makes me beam with joy.  Urmilla worked hard to make this all happen but from a personal level, coming from her youth in Guyana and now speaking at the UN?  That is absolutely awesome.  She said to me that “Island girls don’t speak at the UN” Well this one did!  Way to go Urmilla!   Also in that same category, Katy Devlin, one of the most talented humans I have ever known, moderating a crucial panel there and also landing memorable quote after memorable quote is incredible.  Katy showed the world her skillset and made our space and industry proud. Congrats to both Urmilla and Katy and props to EVERYONE who took a part in the IYOG effort of 2022.  Now though we don’t stop… Glass and Glazing Advocacy Days return this spring, so let’s keep banging the drum for our product of choice!

 

--  The Architectural Glass and Metal Certification Council (AGMCC) announced six new members of its board before the end of the year and it was a nice mix of talent. One of my all-time favorites made the cut too in Kyle Sharp of Sharp Glass in San Antonio.  Kyle is brilliant person who really “gets” what our industry can be and I think he’ll do a great job here.  AGMCC oversees the extremely important North American Contractor Certification (NACC) and Architectural Glass and Metal Technician (AGMT) programs.  These programs are making a difference in the way we are viewed from the outside and improving our quality and approaches.  Jeff Dalaba, Ben Beeler and team have done a fantastic job leading this and this board and Kyle will continue that effort.

 

--  The last Architectural Billings Index for 2022 was down again... so we now know that the trend line is here and the predictions from people like Connor Lokar are looking true. 2023 will be solid, 2024 looks dicey. Now the question is how long will this negative trend go?  Some analysts are saying 8 months, others more.  For me, I tend to be more negative, so I am in the one-year camp. Now this doesn’t mean business just goes away, it just means it’s going to get slower, which means if you haven’t been diversifying your approach, communicating up and down the chains, and working to make your business the best it can be, time is running out.  So hop to it…. 

 

--  Big time kudos to Kevin Roth of Privacy Glass Solutions and the team at Vitro along with Michael Spellman of VIG Technologies.  These folks won acclaim in the year end Building Design + Construction Awards. Kevin and his folks in Florida are building an absolute monster there with some excellent specialty products. Meanwhile Vitro was sharp and on the spot by working with Michael on the VIG Vacu-Max product that is a gamechanger in that space. With a showstopping product and the flow of the future pushing towards higher performance, this award is just the start of the recognition coming to Vitro.  Congrats to all on the awards!!

 

--  Also kudos to Viracon and Halio after picking up some serious “best in show” recognition at the gigantic Consumer Electronics Show last week.  Not often does a glass related party appear on that stage, but to come away with people raving and winning awards?  That’s massive.  Great for them, their product and our industry.  Awesome news for sure!

 

--  Bummer on this one. Chuck Knickerbocker of Allegion, a great guy, past industry MVP, and really one of the main tech figures in our space ended his blogging career at the end of 2022.  Chuck was doing his Field Notes blog since 2009 and it was always a must read.  Chuck was able to deftly mix technical terms into great prose, and always gave you a takeaway or three to work with.  Chuck is just stopping his blog though, he’s still working and will be out and about, but his online messaging will be missed!

 

--  Last this week… what to look for in the next blogs from me.  Next week, my review of the 2022 predictions I made a year ago.  How did I do? We’ll find out. Then in the following week, my fearless predictions for 2023.  Plus, more news to catch up on (including a certain recent MVP runner up with news) and more! 

 

LINKS of the WEEK

A few bears using a doggy door to try and enter a home in British Columbia.  I wonder if it was Rich Porayko’s place?

And another Bear story- this one swiping Chick-fil-A… good taste that Bear

 

This a bonkers story about Pulte homes, twitter, and bots- why is this flying under the radar???

 

PROJECT of the WEEK

The rock star Melanie Dettmer of NGA gets the kudos to start the year as the project of the week is one that she saw while on vacation, noted, and then did the research and shared to the world.  It is also a very moving and emotional piece which is important too.  This is the New England Holocaust Memorial and it is obviously very special.  Here’s the link to Mel’s LinkedIn post which provides all the right sentiment and detail! Congrats to all that worked on this and thank you Mel for sharing!