Following Up & Catching Up

A few weeks ago, I posted a blurb about an article in the Wall Street Journal about bullet-resistant glass, the confusion in the marketplaces, and misuses of the product and segment.

It was a powerful piece and very eye-opening; hopefully, schools and institutions will pay closer attention to what they’re doing with the glass/doors/windows.  One comment under my post caught my eye and may have been missed because of my brother’s immense popularity, but his retirement announcement dominated that section.  The comment was this one from Chris McGrory of McGrory Glass, and I think he brought the A game here:

“In terms of the WSJ article, they had good intentions but the article lacked pointed statements. The fact is there are characters who have promoted what film can do in a scrupulous fashion. The bottom line is the glass needs to be tested and pass that test by a recognized National Testing Lab. Trick phrases include : “tested according to” ; “observed by” or “modified testing performed”. I could go on and on but there is simply too much at stake for the industry to turn a blind eye to the people who cut corners or try to sell by sensualizing a product that has not passed any national test.”

Thank you, Chris.  This sort of thing will be covered at the NGA Glass Conference: Carlsbad at the start of February. Plus legislation, codes, and support will get time too.  Huge all of it. I am looking forward to seeing what comes of it and will report back here.

Elsewhere…

-- I teased it last week with Aragon Construction in my Project of the Week- so here goes!  CONGRATS to Joey Aragon for being named to NGA’s Board of Directors!  Joey is a tremendous guy, and his knowledge and drive will add a ton to an already stacked board.  Very cool!

-- The 2024 rundown of my podcast stats and info really blew me away.  Thank you again to all who listened and downloaded throughout the year.  This cast keeps growing like crazy.  Overall, the listens/downloads were up 50% from 2023!  Awesome. The number of pitches I’m getting from non-traditional industry outlets to appear on the show has been comical (and humbling really).

Anyway, on to the stats!

Cities with most listens/downloads:

1.     Tampa/St Pete- Stunned.  I don’t think I even had a guest from that area that could drive it. 

2.     LA- Every year SoCal represents!

3.     Minneapolis- Same thing here- Minnesota Nice comes through again.

4.     Frankfurt, Germany- ummmmm.  I legitimately have no idea about this one. Seriously, it doesn’t add up.  But hey, if people are there listening, I’ll take it.

5.     Dallas/Ft Worth- I love the support! Can’t wait to speak at the TGA-North Texas meeting on 2/19 in Dallas.

Overall, 29 countries listened!

Top Episodes of the year were:

1.     Neil Chrisman III (Picura) & Chris Incorvaia (Edge Facades) and Tom Donovan (Thompson Innovative Glass) – I’ll admit I was surprised here- but all 3 are good, active people in our space and Tom’s connections in Hollywood and New Guinea obviously came through.

2.     Jason Isackson (Sentinel) Michael & Carolyn Spellman (IGE)- The hockey jersey curiosity (Jason) was helpful as is folks always want to hear from the Spellmans.

3.     Aaron Pine (Specifier Extraordinaire) and  Christina Elia & Brad Leamon (The Shower Guy/Shower Door Pros)- Getting that spec insight was great, and the good stuff Christina and Brad continue to do obviously attracted folks.

4.     Tom O'Malley (Clover) & Kevin Mayer (PurOptima) + Travis Nevins & Matt Fox (IUPAT)- Tom is the nicest guy in our industry- so his following is huge.  Kevin is whip smart.  And the dynamic duo on Travis and Matt were just taking off then- now those two are everywhere and doing great & important things.

5.     Kyle Sharp (Sharp Glass) and Chris Giovannielli (Kawneer)- I knew Texas would represent with Kyle and Chris was brilliant- the word of mouth here probably spurred this one higher.

But in reality, there wasn’t a huge gap between the rankings of 1 to 17. The audience is pretty consistent, and great. THANK YOU!!!

-- If you don’t know yet- if you are a member of the National Glass Association (and if not let me know because we need to get you there) you get access to MyGlassClass for free!  To help you understand that incredible value, there’s a webinar on 1/30 to go over it all. There are a lot of new things happening now and in the future, so make time for this webinar to learn more.  We must keep growing and educating- this is a major step towards that!

https://members.glass.org/cvweb/cgi-bin/eventsdll.dll/EventInfo?sessionaltcd=TT25-01-30

-- Thrilled to see a good guy get a bump up the ladder.  David Nelson from CRL was promoted to Director of Operations, East Coast recently and I was pumped to see it.  David has always been a great person and has treated me extremely well over the years.  Always grateful for his smiling face at whatever event we run into each other at.  Congrats David and CRL on a great move!

-- Last this week… The fires in Southern California continue.  So heartbreaking.  I did hear of one glass company that was affected by it all.  Rafael Calvo and his company Tico Tech- a high-end shower door player lost everything in the fire, and they have a GoFundMe going.  You can see that HERE and support if you can.  I have a feeling we’re going to hear of others, sadly.  Thank you to the always incredible Dan Pompeo (Architectural Glazing Solutions) along with Vic Purunjian (Glasswerks) for the heads up on this.  Here’s hoping for the best for Rafael and family.

LINKS of the WEEK

Winning the world Scrabble title in Spanish.  When you don’t speak Spanish.  Wild.

https://apnews.com/article/spanish-scrabble-world-champion-nigel-richards-zealand-9743b41cf1bbe1628adec1f59121aa50

I don’t play the lottery, but this is a cool and wild way to win!

https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2024/12/31/lotto-Missouri-Lottery-clerks-choice/2781735678488/

Where does lost luggage unclaimed go?  Interesting.  Also, on those rare times I check luggage I always use “Air Tags” and highly recommend them!

https://nypost.com/2024/12/31/lifestyle/if-your-lost-luggage-is-never-returned-it-could-find-new-life-and-owners-at-this-massive-warehouse

PROJECT of the WEEK

Every December, Alan Kinder of Guardian Glass does a countdown of his favorite buildings of the year on LinkedIn. (25 days of buildings leading into the holiday)  It is an awesome thing to see work from all over the continent.  One of those jumped out for me, and it’s the Project of the Week!  This is the Simon Fraser University Student Union in Burnaby, Canada. Featuring 2 Guardian coatings, this building is really a jaw-dropper. The glass looks spectacular.  Kudos to Perkins&Will on the design.  And big props to the gang at Garibaldi Glass for the fabrication.  Projects like this can be very rough to produce, but Garibaldi aced it like always.  Well done!  Congrats to all who worked on this one, and massive kudos to Alan for his shares that help elevate our space!

2025 Predictions

We’re now a few weeks into the new year, and the time has come to make my fearless industry predictions for 2025.  Not everyone will like these, but they are what they are, right?  Here we go.

Advocacy going further- Our industry has the best advocacy people around in Urmilla Sowell and the Tech Superheroes at NGA.  And this coming year, we’ll see more and more of that.  School security leads the way but also pushes on higher performing daily products and the constant protection of the wall and our spot in it. With a new administration in DC and changes to the various agencies, it will be a crucial year for any effort to advance our industry and I believe you will see some major steps put in place to make that happen.  Whether that’s a push deeper into codes or something along the lines of a congressional act put in motion I am not sure, but my view is that this year things will take yet another positive step forward for us.

Ride the Rail- There’s hot products and then there’s the Railing business for glass- which has absolutely gone crazy in the last year plus.  To me the moment was when the incredible Shelly Farmer left the Railing side, it opened up a massive vacuum and everyone saw the opportunity to fill that gaping hole of business she left.   Product advancements hit the streets and companies expanded into it or strengthened their lines.  And I have a feeling a major player in our space is going to jump in this year and disrupt it even more.  Railings are great for us- value added product and now with many needing Bird Friendly (another hot product) that’s the sort of stuff that is good for the bottom line.

Don’t give up on New Tech- It was a bad year in 2024 for some companies that were once among the leaders in the emerging tech side.  However, I am looking at 2025 as a comeback of sorts for a few companies that have been diligently working in the shadows some. Names like Andluca Technologies and Alpha Solar Tech could be household words this year and I am rooting for them and all the other folks trying to get a foothold in the market. Learn from those previous misadventures that went out and move forward for the good of our world!

Alive to 25, in the Mix to 26- So for many, the rallying call was “Stay alive til 2025,” and now we are here.  Unfortunately, in many markets, things are still on the soft side, and as I have noted a few times, the forecast is looking like summer for a breakthrough to better times.  So now it’s “Be in the mix, til ‘26” for those battling some of the blues.  And if you are in that boat, doing things like attending BEC (more on that below) and hearing the keynotes from Jeff Haber of W&W and Alan Kinder and Suresh Devisetti of Guardian Glass is a must.  Information and knowledge are power in a tough market- as is the networking that could surely help a ton.  So in the mix for 2026 it is, but here’s to a quicker return to the plus side in ’25.

Also, as I mentioned last week, I expected more automation and robotics, but it didn't happen in '24. Part of that was lead times, so my thought is that you will see more in 25.

Elsewhere…

-- ICYMI- the first From the Fabricator podcast of 2025 was released last week, and I am absolutely thrilled with the reaction and feedback.  I knew Marc Deschamps of Walker would rate well- he’s universally popular in our world and people love to hear what he has to say.  I wasn’t sure how Scott Lowe of the Beck Group would be welcomed because he’s not from our space, but needless to say the numbers spoke volumes- people wanted to hear his perspectives.  Lots of feedback on his glass thoughts and the approach of an architect.  It opened some eyes.  So good stuff and thrilled that this one went over so well.  If you haven’t checked it out yet you can do so at the below options.  Thank you for the support!

VIDEO

AUDIO (or search “From the Fabricator” where you get your podcasts) 

This episode was sponsored by FHC.  Thank you to them for the support! 

Next podcast is scheduled for 2/2 and it will have more insight you can use in planning your year to come along with more building envelope insights.

-- Since this is “From the Fabricator,” it is only right that I make sure that all fabricators know Glass Magazine’s Top Fabricator issue and its recent call for entries. If you have not responded to the requests- y, you still can by 1/21 HERE. Make sure your company gets the recognition it deserves and is placed in the most prestigious listing of fabricators in our industry.

-- I mentioned above about BEC- and this is a reminder to get registered.  The Early Bird pricing ends 1/22.  TAKE ADVANTAGE of it. BEC is back in its original Vegas home and is set to once again be a memorable and crucial event.  More of the subject matter being covered will be released this week, but I can assure you its worth attending for the keynotes and networking alone.  If you’ve never attended and are curious about it- hit me up.  Other wise- go HERE and register now!

-- Last this week, the fine folks from NAGMA- National Architectural Glass and Metal Association is kicking their monthly webinar series off on 1/23.  The speaker is Chris Scheiblein of the IUPAT and he’ll be covering the extremely important “Helping Hand Program” that they have to support folks that are dealing with a whole range of challenges from substance abuse to mental health.  Those who know me, know that I believe wholeheartedly in education and support in these areas, and I salute Chris and the IUPAT for their efforts and thrilled NAGMA is bringing the webinar out to start the year.  Sign up for it now at: https://www.nagmassociation.org/webinars/

LINKS of the WEEK

Tremendous story of a UFC Fighter- deaf since birth, regaining hearing thanks to new aids.  Wow.

https://sports.yahoo.com/deaf-ufc-legend-matt-hamill-is-hearing-for-the-first-time-in-a-remarkable-miracle-im-in-a-dream-150004448.html

Wild footage of a windstorm in Alaska

https://www.kbtx.com/2025/01/13/roof-flies-off-crashes-into-neighbors-home-amid-intense-wind-gusts/

Massive issues with new home.  The lack of due diligence and an intense home inspection are always a recipe for disaster, but these seems even worse.

https://moneywise.com/real-estate/new-build-problems-plague-homeowner

PROJECT of the WEEK

Drew Forester of Aragon Construction is one of the coolest cats our industry has- so when I saw this building come across the internets- I had to grab for the Project of the Week!  Because I love Drew’s style- I am copying his post below so you can get full effect!

Morning greetings from this historic (Blue, Green, Red Whale/Dinosaur/Monster). PDC is not only unique in its architectural prowess but is also a serious nod to us glass nerds for being one of the last standing “zipper-gasket” glazing systems in LA. From what I found, I could have some specifics wrong so feel free to educate me if otherwise. Glazing Vendor: Viracon Glazing System: lock-strip gasket glazing Product: Monolithic - Spandrel Architect: Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects

Congrats to Drew and all the folks mentioned above and Aragon also made other good news this week, but I am saving that nugget for my next post!!

Birds, Design Build, & More

Before I start, my thoughts and prayers are out to everyone affected by the fires in LA and Southern California. This is truly a surreal situation, and it will surely take time and a village to recover from. I hope everyone in our world is hanging in and okay.

The first episode of 2025 for the “From the Fabricator” podcast is now live!  This time out we kick it off with Marc Deschamps of Walker Glass. We spend a good amount of time in the bird-friendly glass realm, and Marc’s insights are always spot on.  Then, Scott Lowe of The Beck Group joined me.  Scott is the C.R.O. there, and Beck is a 112-year-old award-winning architecture and building company. (They’ve designed and built some incredible projects)  So that was fun to hear from someone from the design and contracting stage.  Plus, Scott likes glass!  Obviously, he has great taste.  Thank you for checking it out.

VIDEO

AUDIO (or search “From the Fabricator” where you get your podcasts) 

This episode was sponsored by FHC.  Thank you to them for the support!

 Elsewhere…

-- Each year, I spend the second post reviewing my predictions from the previous year. So, looking back, how did I do?

Rates Cuts late in the year & choppy waters- Unfortunately nailed that one. Not much more to say other than hopefully this year gets moving quicker than the experts say (mid-year)

Potential company losses due to the slowing economy—Luckily, the industry's resilience kept this number relatively low. The lesson, though, is still to be strategic and diverse with plenty of communication, and many companies did just that to keep rolling.

Security Glass with a twist- I said we’d see more security glass but companies would innovate with fresh approaches and many did just that.  A few off the top of my head: Global/Isoclima introduced two new BR options at GlassBuild, Ballistic Glass and Armor Solutions hit the ground running with a new All Glass Entrance, Thompson Innovative Glass expanded its Defender line and hired the brilliant James Wright to focus on it, and Trulite came through with a new door and entrance system.  I am sure there were others, but the point is- this was a good sector for innovation and positive moves.

Training and Certification—I thought this space would “explode” in 2024, and thanks to a lot of collaboration, AGMT did. (with partners like NGA, IUPAT, FHC etc) NACC continued adding, but the need now is to see more of it in the specs, and I think 2025 should bring it. I did note that programs like MyGlassClass would make a difference, and not only did it do so, but it’s now free to NGA members. Huge.

Culture and Tech helping the labor pool- I thought we’d see more moves to automation and robotics and that went wrong for me- but I also think leadtimes to get these sort of machines and operations played into it.  So maybe I was a year early? In any case, if you are not looking at automating etc., you are missing out.

Next week I’ll make my fearless prognostications for 2025!

-- I'm not sure if this is just me, but last month, my LinkedIn feed was a mess.  I am getting served up really old posts, as in 2 and 3-week-old ones.  I did flip the option from “Top” to “Recent” and even in the recent feed I am getting this mix of old along with a lot of irrelevant stuff.  Anyone else having those issues?  Did I miss a LinkedIn algorithm change?

-- Last week, I had the WSJ story on the “Bullet Proof” world and that had a lot of reaction, so I had to laugh when I was watching the new season of “Lioness” on Paramount+ and when an Army vehicle got into an ambush, the main character screams to the driver “This better have ‘bullet proof’ glass!” So yes, we really need to educate Hollywood too, right?  Great show by the way despite that script miss.

-- Last this week… Back in September, I made my annual NFL predictions, and I picked KC over Dallas to win it all.  Boy, did I put the hex on the Cowboys!  Sorry Dallas friends!   So, like always I take another look when the playoffs begin, and I am going to continue to roll with the Chiefs.  They’re the champs until someone can step up and beat them, I’ll go with them. From the NFC, my heart is with the Lions, but I am afraid all the injuries there will haunt them, so I am going Eagles. Should be a fun playoff run!!  Good luck to your favorite teams!

LINKS of the WEEK

Running a marathon on EVERY SINGLE DAY of 2024.  Wow.

https://www.npr.org/2025/01/05/nx-s1-5249090/ultramarathon-every-day-belgian-hilde-dosogne

The Cyber Truck explosion still has twists and turns including ones that make no sense/irrelevant.

https://apnews.com/article/tesla-cybertruck-explosion-trump-hotel-las-vegas-248b41d87287170aa7b68d27581fdb4d

I had no idea there was a Folsom State Prison Museum.  And now it looks like its gone.  It’s a tough sled for non-profits out there.

https://folsomtimes.com/folsom-prison-museum-suddenly-closes-its-doors/

PROJECT of the WEEK

I got this one via Karolina Styk of Press Glass. This is 66 Galen, and it’s a jaw-dropper. Guardian Glass was the manufacturer, and Sunrise Erectors installed it based on a stunning design from Elkus Manfredi. Great work, folks. To read more about this beauty, click the link below. Congrats!

https://publuu.com/flip-book/643920/1602458