Massive industry news to start the post. Steve Weidner, President and Head of Architectural Glass at Pilkington NSG here in the US, announced his retirement. Steve has been at this for more than 45 years and, quite frankly, still brings the same energy and zest now as he was when I first met him 30 years ago. Obviously, I am thrilled for Steve, but I will miss him a great deal. He has been incredibly influential and important in our space, though he was and is always quick to defer credit to others. Steve is a great leader, extremely smart, and always thinking 2 or 3 steps ahead, and losing that in our industry will hurt. But I also know Steve has prepared the succession plan so things will continue in the proper form and fashion in Toledo at HQ and throughout the Pilkington NSG territories. One fun story- there’s the celebrity game of “6 Degrees of Kevin Bacon,” in which you can pretty much name an actor/actress, and somehow they’re connected to Kevin Bacon. For me, it’s been 6 degrees of Steve Weidner. No one I know runs into more interesting people, be it celebrities, athletes, models, scholars, etc., than Steve. I’ll miss hearing about that from him! Congrats again, Steve!
Elsewhere…
-- Texas. It honestly never fails. The opportunity to chat and present to any of the groups in Texas is an honor, and this time out, it was no different. The NTGA, or TGA-North Texas, is a super group of smart, genuine folks who care about our industry. Thank you to the board there for the opportunity to present. Even though I am the one speaking, I do pick up a lot along the way and the one HUGE thing that stuck out to me this time was that this group features unbelievably talented women. I seriously think Texas may be the epicenter of the most gifted women in our space. It's an incredible group, from Kristina Buckett of Dallas Flat Glass to Valerie Nagy of Hartung Glass to Suzanne Wilson of GlassFab and more. Like I always love getting to see Amber Jones of PGP. That group at PGP is always first class and Amber represents best always. Raven Haverda and Amanda Lucas of Precision Glass Industries are laser-focused and flat out impressive. Michelle Ordonez of Quality Power Coating is super cool, and she always makes sure the trains are running on time. Plus, usually Rachel Tilbrook attends, and Crystal Petersen had to miss- so it’s a wealth of greatness in that state! I know I’m leaving many out (blame my travel brain) but trust me when I say this group is extraordinary and Texas sets the example for Women in Construction and our industry.
-- All in all, there were so many great people I got to run into. James LaRocca of Gibraltar Glass is not only the current president of NTGA, but he’s got his company on the move. It's really positive stuff there. Also positive- always- are Brian Risinger and Joe Lamberston of Country Glass. There’s immense faith there and I am grateful to be friends with them. When I get to come to Dallas it’s always nice to see Sam and Chris Hill of Oak Cliff- and this year I got the bonus visit with the legend Greg Oehlers. I got to see the classy Fulgencio Rey, now of Trulite (an incredible hire there) and that did not disappoint. He crammed me into the insane schedule that any person just starting a new gig has. Michael DeFrank is just a flat-out good guy, and it was neat to see old friend Kevin Carter of Blue Star for the first time in a while.
Thank you, NTGA, for the hospitality, and I hope I can do it again in the future!
-- While in Texas, I did get to see former co-worker and a big key to the past Perilstein/PDC days- Bob Cummings who is now at Hartung. We’ve known each other a long time and Bob keeps looking younger and stronger. He’s in a good spot and doing great things- happy for him.
-- And before I leave the Texas beat- Congrats to Abdeali Karimjee of Precision Glass Industries on the debut of their new 2nd location. I was able to see the new campus in Conroe, Texas a few weeks ago and it is jaw dropping. Abdeali continues to do things the right way and as an industry guy I respect and appreciate that.
-- Time for a review of the latest issue of Glass Magazine. This is the March 2025 issue and there are several articles well worth your time. It’s no secret that I am a huge fan of 3rd party certification for glaziers, and the article on that was powerful, with several excellent examples of why it is working as intended. A piece on Women in the glass industry hit home for me- even before my trip to Texas really showed off the power and growth there. I loved the “reintroduction” to Norah Dick as she takes over as editor. That is one supremely talented person who will continue her great work in this new role! See the issue online: https://www.glassmagazine.com/current-issue
-- Ad of the month… I swear it gets harder and harder to pick as so many people keep raising their games. This may be considered a “homer” pick, but the spotlight for this issue goes to the joint NGA/Architectural Record ad with the headline “A world without glass? – We think not.” That was the first thing that caught me, and the building used in the picture surely helped hammer the point home. Good stuff here- it’s much needed education for the architectural community and we have to keep pushing about the greatness of what we do!
-- Last this week… I was honored to be a guest on Tom Caldicott’s excellent Façade Focus podcast. If you don’t know or follow/are connected to Tom, you should make that happen. He’s the founder of Unity Search and has been placing serious talent at some of best players in our space. As for this podcast… Tom does a great job of managing the conversation and probing deeper for answers, so he had me on my toes some. I do think you will enjoy it. Get all the details on the podcast at the link below and you can find it on all of the typical platforms by searching “Façade Focus” – A huge thanks to Tom for what he’s doing here to raise awareness and educate and again thank you for having me. Later this summer I’ll flip the script and have Tom on my pod!
LINKS of the WEEK
Not all revolving doors are built the same- this one is now in the crosshairs
https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-hotel-guest-died-revolving-214146838.html
Stupid kids doing stupid things.
Odd and brutal beat for a home on the market…
PROJECT of the WEEK
Spotlight this week stays in the great state of Texas and is pointed to Texstar Glazing. Nice one here for the ASU Aviation Facility in San Angelo, TX. What drew me to it is I liked the aesthetic and it was good to see industry powerhouses Tristar and Kawneer as a part of the collaboration. Kudos to Danielle Whatley and team on a job well done! Keep up the great work!!