Thoughtful and Impressive

The new episode of the From the Fabricator podcast is now live and ready for you to listen to (or, for a few of you, watch). This time around, I have 2 people I don’t know very well, so it was a lot of fun to get to know these guys. First up was Hugo Ramirez of Adler Window. I stumbled onto Hugo via his incredible LinkedIn feed and immediately knew I wanted him on the pod.  And he did not disappoint!  Very thoughtful guy who has had a pretty amazing career and now is in the thick of it all in New York.  We covered a ton of items, including the cost of “waiting,” IIBEC, NY LL 97, and learning how to ski under serious pressure. Good stuff!  Then I got with Mike O’Neal of Chesapeake Glazing.  I have only met Mike once- and it was a super quick hello at BEC.  So this was a great opportunity to learn more.  Mike falls into the American Dream category- working his way up from the very bottom and entry into the glass world, all the way to President of an extremely impressive organization.  It was a great talk on recruiting, mental health, hot products, and more. Just a super cool guy for sure.  Truly, it’s fun to bring voices into our space that aren’t heard as much as others!

Thank you for checking it out!

VIDEO

AUDIO

Sincere thanks to FHC-Frameless Hardware Company for supporting this episode!

Elsewhere…

While we’re on podcast duty, I was lucky enough to be asked to appear on the “Inside the Spec” podcast hosted by the wildly talented duo of Vardan Mehta (Acelab) and Megan Kacvinsky (Point to Point). They are great interviewers and pulled things from me I did not expect to cover- specifically diving into manufacturing and the keys to doing it all well. Check it out and add it to your podcast rotation- they’ve had a pretty cool range of guests on!

-- Everyone is probably tired of forecasts and economic news- especially since it changes so quickly in some areas.  FMI put out a teaser for its upcoming Q4 release with the latest numbers from the Nonresidential Construction Index (NRCI) and the Civil Construction Index (CICI).  Unfortunately, both weren’t great.  The NRCI dropped to 51.7, down from 55.1, but it's still flat with break-even, which is kind of a win.  The CICI dropped to 49.4, its lowest reading since Q3 of 2022. Not much you can say or really spin. And I’m not touching the latest Dodge news.  Just a brutal landscape out there- but I’ll continue to search for the silver lining.

-- A couple of leftover GlassBuild notes.  First, it was a huge honor to host the Family Business session and to award David, Richard, and Steven Balik of GGI for their incredible longevity in the business.  They have done it right and continue to do it right.  Overall, I was pretty excited to see so many in the audience, and to hear their stories and their desire to keep going and evolving in our currently crazy space.  All refreshing!

-- Also, last week, I had my post-show rundown, and I missed mentioning a ton of people.  I am sorry.  I will right one wrong, though, here- a thanks to Branden Anderson and Jennifer Figueroa of BizDog.  These folks came into our industry a few years ago with a service that many did not know existed, and they committed themselves to supporting our world. Tons of non-industry people come in, try for a bit, and then disappear.  These folks did not.  They have become part of our industry fabric.  And you know me with branding and swag- great logo and gear- so that too makes our connection with them all the better! (Also, I had written this BEFORE Branden posted about the show and my setup at the floor entrance, which was a hoot!)

-- Last this week… I mention this at the end of the latest podcast when I talk about shows to watch, but I wanted to throw it out here.  Netflix.  “Death of a Pastor's Wife” – it is one of the most bonkers mini-series I’ve ever watched.  Just so much head shaking material over three episodes I think I needed a chiropractor to fix my neck.  LOL.  Just wild.

LINKS of the WEEK

Going 72 in a 25… to get to McDonald’s for breakfast… wow. https://wjla.com/news/local/man-blames-mcdonalds-breakfast-for-speeding-nearly-50-mph-over-limit-in-manassas

Huge Muppet question that may even stump renowned Muppet Expert, Zach Perilstein.  What animal is Gonzo? https://www.popsci.com/science/what-is-gonzo-muppet/

How about an “inconvenience store” instead of what you’re used to…. https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2026/09/22/Inconvenience-store-seattle-art-exhibit/1271790098025/

PROJECT of the WEEK

This week, a post from John Deeken caught my eye. (And yes, I think the pic was taken from a car, but it still works!) John is with IUPAT Glaziers Local 513 in St. Louis, and he and the folks there post some cool stuff.  This is the Chesterfield Medical Building. This project featured a horizontally wind-loaded curtain wall that was structurally glazed, along with a custom head and sill shoe to support the interior glass wall manufactured by Foreman Fabricators in St. Louis. Great-looking project!  The training and support from John and his local are great for our space. Keep up the good work, John!

GlassBuild For the Win

At this GlassBuild, the biggest question was – “how are YOU doing?” and not in the personal sense, but business-wise.  Everyone wanted a gauge on how things are in different markets and segments.  The common answer?  It was along the lines of “we’re hanging in there and fighting the battles” sort of thing.  GlassBuild 2026 was a huge help in giving everyone additional visibility into business planning.  Whether it was the always incredible Connor Lokar on the economic landscape or the multiple education sessions at the Main Stage built for business insights.   Good stuff.  So, as I have been known to preach- keep at it, work your business, know costs, and keep an eye on diversity of offerings.  Eventually, the arrows will all be pointing up.  Or this could be my delusions, writing this after 3 very busy and long days on the show floor!!

And now on to that… my annual- who I saw and what I experienced at GlassBuild.  And as always, buckle in; this is a long one with a ton of name drops. 

I’ll get this out of the gate quickly- one of my absolute thrills is meeting new people in our space, and for whatever reason this year had more of that than normal. Before the show opened, I met three fine folks from Glasshape.  Troy Hale, Vanessa Violante, and Mitch Curran were at their first-ever GlassBuild, and hopefully it all went well.  Given they were there with the always incredible Shelly Farmer, I’m assuming the experience was great! Very cool to meet Stephane Denis of Synergx, thanks to old pal Terry Gibney being there. Enjoyed meeting Sean Capshaw of Walsh Facades; he was lucky enough to be hanging with the always excellent Erica Couch of Tristar Glass. As a glass geek, I was very excited to meet the great Lisa Heschong! She’s so brilliant and has done a ton for our space.  I got to meet the video star Jim Young of Moffat Glass.  If you don’t follow him on LinkedIn, you should. Tony Torreano of Dow said he had met me previously, but my mushy brain didn’t remember, so it was nice to reacquaint.  Obviously, inside the Dow booth, seeing the Kentucky legend Jon Kimberlain was simply off the charts.  I have seen Mark Melious of Precision Glass online; great to put a face to a name. And the bonus of also meeting Lulu Montes.  Had a quick hello with Bill Lambert, as well as Stephen Mullins (he’s trending upward) and Roy San Diego (along with the super Diana San Diego). I was grateful that Calvin Craig of Cici & Nomo pulled me out of the aisle to say hello, and it was awesome to get to chat with him and get pictures, along with Lana Gardner of Dakota Automation- she’s new to the space, but I think she's going to fit in nicely.

On the flip side, I missed seeing a bunch of folks like the Beards (Tyler and Brandon), Ty Clem (again), Pat Pennington, and Ryan Shoemaker. And there are certainly others in this category, and I am sorry I missed you.

For the first time in a while, I got to see the whole Viracon crowd.  Garret Henson, Seth Madole, Brian Savage, and Cameron Scripture.  Plus, I met Chris Ede, who happens to be their new President, and he was extremely impressive, and I think he enjoyed me picking on our shared rival, Ohio State.  Also in the Apogee crowd, the Apogee Architectural Metals team had a booth for the first time in a long while. Fantastic group of people there, and I got to say hi to my Diet Dr. Pepper pal Sara Barchak.  Another group was the trio of Kendal Rowe, Lindsay Parker, and Scott Rowe.  Three people who just radiate coolness.  Love it.  Gatsby Glass had quite a few people there, and I got time with Jeff Dowd, which I always value, and I also met Kelly Hoven and Jessica Ruenz.

It was neat to put faces to the names of Katie and Sean Roudabush of Sero Glass, and Karolina Styk from Press Glass, since this was the first time outside of a podcast Zoom that I could meet her.  Same with Ivan Samalot from Andluca. Excellent people all.

Lots of folks from the past were there; Joe Marini was on hand, and it was fun telling the stories of Joe training me way back in 1991.  The “Mayor of Glasstown,” Jon Johnson, is simply one of the best men around.  The great Jeff Ziesche of JAZ Sales was on fire throughout the floor, so I only got a little time. The Pompeo’s were on site though, I missed seeing Dan. And speaking of missing- I did not have a chance to see Bob Cummings.  He announced his retirement at the start of the show. Bob will go down as one of the greatest to ever do it in our industry.  His sales skills are unmatched, and he’s also as nice and classy as they come.  Our industry will miss having Bob with us- and I hope he can have as many good times as possible in his next phase of life.

More marvelous people seen and visited included: Drew Forester, Pat O’Connor, Mike Ondrus (who doesn’t age) the GCC 3 of Randy Reynolds, Sean Weir, and Matt Hannah.  Also, Oliver Reed, Chris Fronsoe, Evan Afenir, Kim Dodge, Dave Miller, and the Industry Front Man Carl Christ.  I count myself as super fortunate that those fine folks gave me a bit of their time.  Plus, the PA contingent that featured the always brilliant and stylish Emily Yukish of Specified Systems as well as Cory Brown and Ryan Cully of United Plate Glass-UPG. I actually went the wrong way down an escalator (and almost pulled whatever muscles I have) to catch them and say hello.

I think the best pre-show promo, by far, came from Learn Glazing’s Alex Buechel-it was a “where’s waldo” sort of play and very well done.  As was the Elvis get-up he had on in their booth.  I thought for a moment I would not see Danielle Whatley and Emma McLemore other than a very quick hello at registration. Lucky for me, I saw them on Day 3. They truly are wonderful people. 

On the “booth” beat-  kudos to my guy Rob Botman from Glassopolis for a very unique booth listing first names of some of the 25,000 customers they’ve served.  I was thrilled a “Max” made the board. I was pumped to get a few minutes with Ricardo Maiz of Vitro at his stand, and I did make the big GardnerWalker debut party but was late and missed the ribbon cutting; that was a bummer.  At the Wood’s Pwr Group booth, it was super nice to have a personal product tour from Barry Wood.  He showed me several new innovations led by the Pwr Lift 1600, which changes the game in the glass manipulator space.  Excited for him and the team.

Guess who was the very first attendee in line for the floor on Day 1?  The Comeback Kid- Billy Britt of Britt-Tilson Glass.  The world is right when he’s walking our floor!  And that world would not be the same without the tremendous duo of Andrew Haring and Kevin Hardman.  I had them on a pod promoting GlassBuild, and they came, saw, and conquered all. Both of those guys treat me better than I deserve- I’m a fan.

Painfully missed?  The Rockstar Melanie Dettmer wasn’t there in person, but she was in spirit and on certain pairs of socks!  Also bummed no Scott Goodman there- he’s always that happy show presence. 

OK, almost done.  Two more items.  First, a sincere thank you to the team at the National Glass Association.  They once again just get it done, and this year there were more moving parts and pieces than ever. The warrior that is Molly Grenn delivers year after year; she’s the engine that runs this thing. I am honored to be on her side.  And on NGA, I have to stress that it is a privilege to represent this group and our industry.  You all know how much I love it.

And speaking of love- my brother, Stevie P, made his return to GlassBuild.  He’s been retired for 7 years now, but you’d never know it by the throngs of people he met and talked to.  Could he be like those professional boxers and come out of retirement???  In any case, it was pretty awesome.  I am honored to be his brother. 

So there ya go…. And I am so sorry if I missed noting you.  I sincerely cherish every moment I have with our industry folks!

No links or project this week because of this length!  It’ll return next week with a new podcast episode too!

It's Time!

We’ve made it to GlassBuild Week!  The industry will descend on Las Vegas later this week for THE trade show of the year.  I am excited to see everyone, meet new folks, learn new things, and just be a part of the great glazing community for a few days.  Please, if you see me, stop by and say hi.  I am confident this week will help propel us further, overcome some frustrating obstacles (IYKYK), and keep rolling into 2027.  Safe & easy travels to all- and when you get there, have a good time and be careful out there too.  Next week I’ll have the annual massive GlassBuild recap here on who I saw, what I learned, and what is next!

Elsewhere…

-- Not the best of weeks for the construction space, eh?  Rising costs (aluminum, more volatile than ever) followed by the necessary rate hike.  Sad that the rate hike was needed- given it wasn’t that long ago we were on the cusp of a rate cut! That rate cut was meant to spur building; now the first thing that came out after the rate hike was the cooling of potential construction work.  Never a dull or easy moment in our world.  Regardless, we soldier on.  And I am very curious to see what Connor Lokar, economist extraordinaire, says during his keynote this week. 

-- ICYMI- the most current podcast is up, and the reaction has all been focused on the tone.  I’m getting feedback about the fun personalities of Urmilla Sowell of NGA and Bruce Murray of Steel Encounters.  Everyone knew these two were whip smart, but I am guessing being extra cool is something that caught people’s attention this time.  In any case- if you haven’t listened yet- give it a shot.  I think you’ll enjoy.  The next pod drops October 4th, featuring a leading commercial glazier and a star in the window and door installation area.  I haven't had much conversation with either of them, so it’ll be great to get to know them and have them share with the industry.

For Urmilla & Bruce:

VIDEO

AUDIO

Thank you to FHC-Frameless Hardware Company for their support of this podcast!

-- News also this week is that a growing construction segment is Malls.  Yes, Malls.  Mall values jumped 13% in a year, more than doubling commercial-property price gains. I thought Malls were all closing, but evidently that’s not the case.  I’m surprised, but happy to know this, and if this truly is a rebounding trend, that is wonderful for those who fabricate and install heavy glass.  Back in the day, mall work was a huge piece.  Wouldn’t that be nice to see it return- even in a smaller way.

-- Last this week… I’ve talked at the end of my podcast about the Amazon show “Reacher”- it’s fun and empty-calorie viewing, and it’s really a great treadmill show.  However, they pulled an absolute blunder with a scene featuring a skylight.  The skylight was ANNEALED.  Single lite.  I don’t want to spoil it if you haven’t watched yet- but needless to say- the Skylight scene was super wrong in the real world.  It was done to help the plot, so I get it, but still disappointing.   I can only imagine a guy like Brian Thomas of Super Sky, who is the world’s leading authority on that product, watching the scene and jumping out of his skin.  Hollywood really needs to hire one of us… but all these shows force you to suspend belief, so I guess that goes for proper glass and glazing too.

LINKS of the WEEK

I find this to be a fascinating way to recycle solar panels and glass. https://energiesmedia.com/melbourne-solar-glass-sand-concrete-tunnel-trial/

105-14 a final score in… Football? https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/football/texas-high-school-football-game-ends-in-score-that-looks-like-a-typo/ar-AA2c4Lly

A condo built for a tall guy https://www.stltoday.com/life-entertainment/local/home-gardening/article_a262fb87-5039-4604-af92-33ec9140bdae.html

PROJECT of the WEEK

If you know me, you know I am a massive fan of Matt and Joey Aragon and the team at Aragon Construction.  Super nice and classy people who do great work and represent our industry very well, whether at the NGA level or anywhere else possible.  So, when I saw this job, I had to make it a spotlight project!

This is the USC Keck Pasadena Medical Office Building, and it’s beautiful.  They have a great write-up with more detail HERE, so check it out.  For me, I loved the veritable all-star team of suppliers on it.  The interior featured PurOptima, which is fast becoming the leading player in that space. (Even though this wasn’t a Tom O’Malley- PurOptima job) along with Kawneer, Okalux, Vitro, Vitrum, TGP, and Pulp Studio.  I know plenty at each of these places, and they all deliver at the highest level.  And I’m sure my old pal, Kirk Johnson of Pulp, was mighty thrilled to be involved here. Anyway, this is a winner all the way around, and kudos to everyone involved.  And to Joey, Matt, and the Aragon team- congrats on an epic job!  Keep up the good work!