New Pod- Catch Up and Grow

The newest episode of the From the Fabricator Podcast is now out and we go to coast to coast with great guests yet again. I am so fortunate to be able to talk to this sort of talent!   Kicking it off by catching up with Chris Hanstad and Barry Sutherland of FHC- Frameless Hardware Company.  They were on my 2^nd ever episode way back in February of 2021 and needless to say a lot has changed.  Great to get the updates (including a massive expansion) and those guys and the entire FHC team is rocking right now.  Then on to Amber Deimler of MyGlassTruck for a conversation that was very enlightening on a lot of angles including culture, R&D, new products, EV and much more.  Plus the MyGlassTruck booth at GlassBuild will have a different look and a lot of cool things to see/experience.  Truly enjoyed both interviews! Please give it a listen or watch!

 

Thanks for checking my podcasts- I appreciate the support as always!!

VIDEO 

AUDIO (also on Apple, Spotify, Google and more) 

 

Elsewhere…

 

--  OK folks.  Let’s get real here for a moment.  We are month out from GlassBuild.  Time to make sure you are registered and have your hotel room.  I have been checking with some of my friends in the industry and more than a few came back with “oh yes, gotta take care of that” sort of answer.  Do it now. Get it set before you forget or before the hotel you want is booked.  GlassBuild.com for it all.  And as for the show- 475+ exhibits now… and so much cool educational content I can’t wait! Next week I’m going to talk about a couple of those sessions that can’t be missed….

 

--  In my last post I noted the new Architectural Billings Index would be released and I predicted it would be down and that actually happened.  The index limped in with a 48.1 score (50 is the break-even mark) so we’re underwater officially and it feels like we may be there for a bit.  Experts are calling it a “modest softening” and that is what it is for now, but the focus is what will the continuing trend be.  Design inquiries stayed above water nicely even ticking up a bit from last month, but the interest rate issue is real, and we continue to have to be focused on a tougher market ahead.  

 

--  More food for thought?  The Jones Lang Lasalle (JLL) mid-year update had a lot of data points to absorb as well. It too is showing some slower conditions among other items.  Lots to take in overall.  Check out some of the more pertinent details HERE.

 

--  Before you know it the next edition of GPAD (Glass Processing and Automation Days) will be here (March, Nashville) and one of the stars of the last event just got some good news.  Kyle Lindersmith of Burkle North America was named Vice President of the 3P Division there.  Very cool for Kyle and nice move by Burkle.  Now the pressure will be on Kyle to repeat his incredible performance at the next GPAD!  Congrats!

 

--  Last this week… Sad news.  Two big losses of major pillars of the past in our industry with the passing of Donn Harter and Rich Walker. Donn Harter was a hugely important figure out west, started the original California Glass Association and was instrumental in so many codes and actions in our space.  Truly impactful in many ways.  Rich Walker was the past President of AAMA (forerunner to what is now FGIA) and was a major part in raising the educational options in our industry and representing the Fenestration world at the highest levels.  AAMA grew by leaps and bounds under Rich as well which was a challenge given some of the economics during his tenure.  Both men were great leaders and will be missed.  My thoughts and condolences to the family and friends of both gentlemen. 

 

LINKS of the WEEK

Look out – a Gator or worse can use your Doggie Door!

 

Who knew we had Flamingos in my neck of the woods?

 

This emotional support animal that is just so wrong and ridiculous.

 

PROJECT of the WEEK

I can’t wait to see this one when it is finished!  This is 1000 SOCIAL (Raleigh, NC)  and I saw it on the great feed from Building Envelope Erections Services, INC- aka BEES.  Great looking building and the glazing is looking sharp.  Some high-powered partners were mentioned on the post including Kawneer, Viracon, and W&W Glass.  Great work everyone!! 

Review, Awards, Indexes and More

Kicking it off this week a review of the latest Glass Magazine. Really strong edition led by the ultra-prestigious Glass Magazine Awards.  Congrats to all the winners there and note at GlassBuild they’ll honored in person. VERY COOL!  Elsewhere in this issue there were good articles on innovation by Jim Nixon of Quanex and a cool deep dive into printing on glass by Adam Mitchell of AGNORA. Plus the technical resource on mirrors is a must if you are in that business.  Good stuff all around and kudos to all involved!

 

As always, I do my “ad of the month” and because this issue featured the Awards and is heavily read, it attracted a lot of advertisers and that makes my job of picking a winner that much harder.  But I do what I have to do!  So this month the winner is Lattuada North America. I am partial to the use of the color green so that helped… but seriously I loved the mix of creative and standard with the pictures of the machinery and the overall color scheme popped.  Good text to image ratio too… so congrats to the team there for a job well done!

 

Elsewhere….

 

--  I am really getting excited for GlassBuild and I think I’m not alone.  I am seeing more action online about it (and not just from the NGA team but exhibitors are really stepping up) and hearing about more meetings and gatherings on-site.  Plus my legendary brother is planning on attending, so that alone makes me think we’re getting a heck of a crowd.  Can’t wait.  If you haven’t registered yet, do so now.  Also do the hotel immediately as well as I am told they are filling fast.  All can be done at GlassBuild.com 

 

--  Not a great recent Dodge Momentum Index.  That softer market that I have mentioned here a few times is starting to spread and now showing up in reports like this one.  The bright side is the areas that pulled the index lower- schools and healthcare- are not expected to be downer segments going forward so this could be more on the fluke side than we think.  Still we know that we were in for some challenges and they are here.  Next up, the Architectural Billings Index this Wednesday.  Last month dead flat… I’ll be absolutely stunned if it’s a plus score.  We’ll see and report back on my next post. 

 

--  So the next version of the Apple iPhone was announced and the biggest thing to me is the change from a “Lightning” connector to a USB-C.  I’m pretty bummed on the change as I have tons of the current connectors and have backups everywhere etc.  Plus I am old fashioned (and old) so I like wired headphones for hands free talking and now that becomes a change too.  But I know everything evolves and now the whole world will be on the same charging platform so in the long run this probably will be good.  Just sucks for now... at least in my opinion/life.

 

--  Nice to see another past podcast guest get some positive pub!  This being the very talented and cool Asta Fivgas of Reflection Window and Wall.  She’s now Director of Preconstruction there and I am sure that rocket ship will continue to fly.  Congrats Asta and Reflection on the move and if you missed my talk with Asta- you can catch it either HERE on video or via Apple, Spotify etc by searching “From the Fabricator” and look for the May 2023 edition. 

 

--  One of the overall “best” people in our industry is Kyle Sword of NSG Pilkington.  Just a class act all the way around, all the time.  And with that in mind it should not surprise you that he just completed a very unique experience for charity.  Kyle was a part of a team that rappelled down the 16 story Libbey Building in Toledo.  It was done as an event that raised money for the Victory Center, non profit Cancer Wellness Center.  Kyle and company raised more than 4k from individual donors and a stunner 200K overall.  Absolutely awesome.  Now rumors are that Kyle did it all without safety clips, going one handed on just a single rope popping quickly down the building like Spiderman. Incredible!  Way to go Kyle and everyone else that was involved in this super event!

 

--  Last this week… no post for me next week, need to recharge the blog brain as we get to the crucial GlassBuild stretch!  But when I return to this space week of October 1^st, it’ll be with a brand-new podcast with some serious industry heavyweights.  If any breaking news happens (you never know, there’s several big companies for sale right now, a deal could close) I’ll pop on to cover that on LinkedIn. Until then, stay well everyone!

 

LINKS of the WEEK

Hadn’t seen this story of rescue in Turkey- guy is super lucky!

 

Here we go again with “Extreme Home Makeover” -here’s hoping they don’t overbuild like they did previously (and leave the “lucky” family in a rough spot)

 

McDonalds getting rid of self-serve drink machines… interesting play that I think targets the people that sit at McDonalds for hours on end… 

 

PROJECT of the WEEK

This is an older one, but I love it and it deserves project of the week status… also it features material from the always splendid Tom O’Malley of Clover Architectural Products (aka the most popular guy in the industry), as well as Glass and Metalcraft and Guardian Glass.  Tremendous looking project in downtown Detroit glazed by Modern Mirror.  Really well done by everyone involved!! Congrats!

Be on Guard & Stay Informed

One of the most talked about parts of my post from last week was the video I posted from CNBC talking about banks being winners/losers during the growing volatility out there.  So this week when I saw this blurb on the excellent newsletter “The Scroll” I knew I had to share:

 

If real estate investors can’t pay the banks back—partially due to higher interest rates—the banks stop making real estate loans, which drives the price of real estate down, which makes it harder for investors to pay them back. This “doom spiral” will likely be put to the test over the next year, especially as $900 billion in loans will need to be paid off or refinanced by the end of 2024.

Scott Rechler, chief executive of real-estate investor RXR, told the WSJ that the situation is “creat[ing] a backup that will eventually overflow on the commercial real-estate markets and on the banking system.” And Blockworks macro researcher Jack Farley tweeted on Saturday, “I have it on good authority that 84% of office CMBS [commercial mortgage-backed securities] were not paid off in August.” 

 

Obviously, there’s an ominous tone there and for many in our industry not a surprise.  In some segments and regions, it’s starting to squeeze.  These comments surely add some insight to it all.  MORE than ever- insight is power- so you need to be at GlassBuild to hear what Connor Lokar has to say about this all and how it will affect our world.  The adventures continue…

 

Elsewhere…

 

--  In case you missed it… and not many of you did with some of the highest audio download numbers to date, (THANK YOU!) the latest From the Fabricator podcast dropped last week and featured 3 great guys bringing a variety of perspectives.  Hear from Joe Erb of Quanex, Nico Sanchez of Solite Systems and Charles Lubecke of Q-railing…

VIDEO

AUDIO – and also on Apple, Spotify, Google or wherever you get your podcasts

Meanwhile I’ve got the next edition lined up and I am bursting at the seams on it- unreal lineup- can’t wait!

 

--  Kudos to the awesome duo of Katy Devlin and Sara Neiswanger on the latest 2 episodes of Glass Cast.  They broke down the incredible presentations by Matt Kamper of Woodbridge Glass and David Ferret of Bagatelos Architectural Glass Systems and delivered a perfect length podcast on both.  Nothing better than lessons learned and these podcasts delivered the goods! 

#4 Video  Matt Kamper

#5 Video  David Ferret

Audio on Spotify and Apple- just search GlassCast (all one word)

 

-- A big congrats to the monster rep firm Seawall Architectural Products led by the dynamic duo of Kristen and Tony Kasprzak. They announced an expansion with the addition of Danielle Smith as Customer Experience Manager.  A great hire and shrewd move by the Seawall team.  Tony and Kristen just always keep that progress rolling!

 

--  Also speaking of strong companies making major positive moves- we can add Giroux Glass to that theme with the recent hiring of Jeff Heymann. This is huge news as Jeff is one of the most respected figures in our world (and a mission of mine to meet one of these days) and he’ll mesh nicely with the incredible group that Nataline Lomedico has built at Giroux.  Tremendous news here for sure. 

 

--  Last this week… a glass in TV/movie reference…. I am watching the mini-series “Special Ops-Lioness” on Paramount+.  It’s been solid though pretty formulaic (written by Taylor Sheridan of Yellowstone fame, he just cranks shows out) and they had a character bust through a tempered door lite with perfection and the tempered looked good too.  So unlike some other shows where the glass defied reality, this scene was legit.  

 

LINKS of the WEEK

The “Gator” trend has now hit Kentucky

 

Absolutely unreal here.  The pressure to turn planes and keep things running leads to awful scenarios like this- Air Canada should step up and do right by these folks.

 

This must be a super chill yoga class…

 

PROJECT of the WEEK

Some of my favorite people of all time take the spotlight this week… Aragon Construction with the 101 South Marengo retrofit.  This was a stone cube with no windows and Aragon and an amazing team of collaborators rejuvenated it into a stunner that features our main products at their finest!  Great case study on it HERE (a riveting read really) and KUDOS to Matt and Joey Aragon and the entire awesome team at Aragon for absolutely crushing this one!  

Podcast Trio of Justice

The latest edition of the From the Fabricator podcast is now up and we’ve got three folks coming from three different directions.  Good stuff on all- I start off with the industry stalwart Joe Erb of Quanex.  Joe is truly an “industry guy” and has so many good takes on our world, including what’s happening at Quanex, and more.  Then I go on an initial voyage with Nico Sanchez of Solite Systems.  I knew nothing on Nico and very little on Solite Systems, so this was a great chance to learn.  Nico is an interesting guy with a product that is special to our space.  Plus he joins Carl Christ of DFI and Katy Devlin of NGA in the "actual" rock star category.  In any case I think Solite Systems will be one to keep an eye on going forward.  Last I welcomed Charles Lubecke of Q-railing.  Charles has had a fascinating path to our world and has made some great impressions along the way.  Good to hear about Q’s progress too as that railing space is a strong one for glass and Q railing is all in there.  Each guy also did super with the “fun” question too- lots of food for thought there!  Thank you for checking it out as always!

VIDEO

AUDIO – and also on Apple, Spotify, Google or wherever you get your podcasts

Elsewhere…

 

--  Our world got some nice mainstream coverage this week with Kyle Sword of NSG Pilkington doing his best Brad Pitt imitation gracing the cover of a story in the Toledo Blade.  Kyle was featured in a piece about a tech hub coming to Toledo that would be a massive plus for the region.  No doubt his passion can sell this thing and help our industry shine!  Here’s the story!  Nice work Kyle!

 

--  Personnel moves… Good to see the ultra-talented Steven Acker take a role at Everest USA.  They are a strong window/curtain wall player in Europe making inroads in North America.  Obviously having someone like Steven on board will be a huge help.  Congrats my friend!  

Also recently I noted that the team at Super Sky added the top-notch rep team at PGP to their roster… well Brian Thomas there is on a roll because he did it again by adding industry vets Angus MacMillan and Allen Davidson and their firms to the organization.  I know both guys though I go further back with Angus and know he’s one of the best around.  Always love it when good people connect and match up with good organizations!

 

--  Speaking of good people, one is Joe Staffileno and he was nice enough to share with me this video of a major developer talking on CNBC about that tricky office market.  Pretty interesting take here on who the winners and losers may be as we continue to evolve the way the post covid office works.   

 

--  I’ve also talked on here about the team from Acelab, and I got an update on them this week.  They have made significant inroads adding a few massive players to the platform all the while reaching more and more architects.  If you haven’t been on the site in a while check it out, really gaining in all the right areas and a great look for our industry as we try to impress upon the design community.

 

--  Last this week… what everyone is waiting for… my Super Bowl pick!  Now my pre-season picks have not gone well (Thanks Baltimore) but my picks when the playoffs start have been on fire.  So now I have to channel that same energy into this pick and get it right.  I am going with an all “Quarterback” from Netflix final- Kansas City vs Minnesota.  Mahomes vs. Cousins.  (If you haven’t watched that show but remotely like football, you’ll love this series).  And I’m going with KC repeating.  Now that’s my head decision… Super Bowl I want to see?  Jets vs Lions.  Two fanbases that have been tortured.  The hype on this one would be off the charts- as would be ticket prices.  

 

LINKS of the WEEK

You always see the video of people walking into a glass door… this is a bit of a twist on that!

 

Another week, another Gator story…

 

You gotta see it to believe it!  A bull in a car- something tells me Andrew Haring will be bringing this guy to the GlassBuild Rodeo! 

 

PROJECT of the WEEK

SMU has been in the news this week for moving conferences (to the ACC) and they also have my project of the week honor!  This is Barr-McMillion Natatorium from the great team at B&B Glass in Dallas.  Just a sharp and clean project overall and love the overall team that collaborated on this.  Aside from B&B, aluminum was from Tubelite, primary glass from Vitro, fabricated glass from Tristar, and kudos to Dow for the sealant.  Good stuff by all and congrats on this one!