Podcast on Both Coasts

New podcast is up and a truly dynamic duo- one from the east coast and one from the west. Kicking things off is Ashley Klein of AK Glazing.  She is dominating in South Florida and her drive and focus are something to behold.  Some fun insight provided and I think she’s really doing it all the right way. Then to the west and Evan Afenir of Double Play Glass.  Sharp young man with some great takes and the right understanding of how to handle this market and continue to evolve.  Best thing for me is these two people are young and hungry and are the future of our space and that is absolutely awesome!

Thanks for watching/listening and I truly appreciate the growth of my audience.  The audio portion numbers are astounding and I am grateful to all!

VIDEO

AUDIO and search for "From the Fabricator" on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to your podcasts.

Elsewhere…

 

--  Sometimes I see certain trends on LinkedIn that really make me sit up and pay attention.  One trend is the training and development that Fulgencio Rey IV has been pushing at Oldcastle BuildingEnvelope.  I love seeing the posts and the approaches and they are all about continuous improvement and I’ve always loved that angle.  So kudos Fulgencio and team on doing the right thing for the operation AND folks in it.

 

--   Congrats to the best dressed (overall category, slightly ahead of Dapper Dan Reinhart of Salem) person in our world.  Danik Dancause of Walker Glass is celebrating his 21^st anniversary at Walker and in our industry!  Danik is ALWAYS a breath of energy and fresh air and just a fabulous person.  I have enjoyed getting to know him over these years and his impact has been huge.  So congrats on year #21 my friend and I look forward to many more from you!

 

--  List time.. what are the fastest growing cities in the US?  You may be surprised- I was!

10- Reno, Nevada- Really surprised- did not think Reno was a grower.

9- Ogden, Utah- Lots of Utah on here

8- Logan, Utah- Yup more Utah

7- Austin, Texas- It’s not Tesla attracting it, it’s the Munson family and Anchor-Ventana!

6- Destin, Florida- Guess it’s more than a vacation spot now?

5- St. George, Utah- Steel Encounters knows what it’s doing! (All over Utah)

4- Bend, Oregon- Another surprise

3- Coeur D’Alene, Idaho and #2 Boise, Idaho- back-to-back Idaho- last week they were in project spotlight- now this- that state is on fire!

And #1 growth is… Provo, Utah… Wow that is something- the state of Utah surely in growth mode!

 

By the way who’s not growing?  Bottom 5 are:

5-  Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania- Once upon a time we had a huge customer in this city- but for the life of me I can’t remember it- may some PDC alumni will remember. Sad to see this at bottom of the list.

4- Lawton, Oklahoma- I thought Oklahoma was in growth mode

3- Lima, Ohio- This was always small to me but obviously not growing either

2- Shreveport, Louisiana- Stunning.  I know my pals at Tomakk led by the very cool Clay Hargett are doing fine

And the slowest growing city- Decatur, Illinois.  Maybe the town should throw money at Tom O’Malley to have him move his empire from Chicago south to Decatur? 

See it all with more details HERE

 

--  Last this week… I have not seen Oppenheimer yet but will do so eventually but I did see had an industry connection with the box office hit.  The emerging transparent photovoltaic company UbiQD welcomed the acclaimed director of Oppenheimer, Christopher Nolan to their facility when it was being filmed nearby and some of their folks were extras in the movie.  Super cool stuff and something the team will always remember! See a picture of the visit from the UbiQB twitter feed!

 

LINKS of the WEEK

Had no idea my windshield wipers could help me parallel park

 

I’d trade Detroit’s big tire for the big peanut in Georgia

 

Don’t mess with folks in Florida is the vibe to this story!

 

PROJECT of the WEEK

W&W is always involved in some of the coolest and most intense projects around.  But when I saw this one on their feed I knew I had to post.  This is Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education, and Innovation designed by Studio Gang.  Just so cool looking the glazing just works perfectly.  Kudos to Jeff Haber, Chris Lalonde and everyone involved in this awesome project.  For more check out the profile HERE from Architects Newspaper.  Good stuff!

Forecast Focus

Big week in the forecasting side of things with the latest Architectural Billings Index (ABI) and the release of the mid-year AIA Consensus Forecast.  First on the ABI, things held in the positive territory, barely, but still, we’ll take it vs. it being negative.  Good news also in that design contracts ticked up and design inquiries held strong.  So we have some decent metrics in front of us there.  As for the consensus, every year AIA puts out two reports- one at the start of the year and one in middle that updates several forecasts from a range of organizations.  The midyear report showed a strong 2023 in total and a 2024 that hangs in there- basically flat from the growth gained this year.  The good news is points to the lodging side of things (something that has been hit here before) as well as public safety, health, and schools.  Bad news? The office scene.  You know it’s been a subject here leading off my blog the last few weeks and the crystal ball is still looking a bit ugly on that space. I remain hopeful though that the office side will battle forward and the key there is the renovation and retrofit aspect.  Bottom line is right now things are at least hanging in there. (Some locales in North America are seeing some lighter action at the moment, from all indications that’s temporary)  We’ve been tracking 2024 being slower than 2023, and featuring a soft spot hitting 2Q, but possibly it ends up a bit better than expected.  We’ll keep on it and advise…but you all know what to do, be prepared, be diverse, and communicate up and down the chain. 

 

Elsewhere….

 

--  This week the NGA Glass Conference in Tacoma takes place and some serious work will get done on the biggest subjects in our industry.  One big one will be Bird Friendly as pretty much all of the leaders in that area will be in the room and with constant movement on ordinances and codes it will be good to get up to date.  Follow Glass Magazine on Twitter or the National Glass Association on LinkedIn to stay up to speed! 

 

--  And yes… GlassBuild America registration is now open! Go to GlassBuild.com and get signed up now and you may as well grab your hotel room before they fill up.  The show this year is really looking strong- show floor is packed with both recognizable companies and new companies, all of which are bringing the latest and greatest to our space.  Why delay? Go  get your plans made for the fall!  October 31-November 2^nd in Atlanta!

 

--  Massive kudos to the team at Frameless Hardware Company (FHC) for their support of MyGlassClass and glass education via the NGA.  It is an awesome way to support our industry and having this top-notch training, available at your fingertips, 24/7/365 is extremely important.  

 

--  The latest episode of Glass Cast is up with a look back at Joey Aragon from Aragon Construction talking about how his company established a mentorship program.  It is a good quick hit with nice details provided.  Joey and the team at Aragon are incredible, so this is worth the listen.  Plus Katy Devlin and Sara Neiswanger do a nice job laying it all out.  Catch the video HERE and Audio HERE or by searching Glass Cast on Apple or Spotify.

 

Last this week… I was extremely honored to be awarded the Glazier Nation “Advocate of the Year” award for 2023.  I truly appreciate the recognition and my drive will always be focused on doing everything I can for this industry.  Thank you Glazier Nation for this honor!  Also as a part of it, I was interviewed by John Spelman for the Glazier Nation podcast and it was a good time to talk about a range of issues that affect our world and was cool to learn about John (his long connections to our industry etc.) – Please feel free to check it out if you get a moment.
YouTube
Spotify
Podbean

 

LINKS of the WEEK

Great work by this police officer!

 

Housing market is tough but is it THIS tough?

 

I’ve watched so much on this Tupac (a subject Zach Perilstein and I have followed this intensely and Zach is not only a Disney influencer but somehow is deep on knowledge on the Tupac and Biggie mysteries) case and things are breaking again?!?!?

 

PROJECT of the WEEK

This may be the first project from Idaho to get the “project of the week” spotlight and I like it a ton.  This is from Brian Stephens of LTS, and the Viracon glass supplied on here was fantastic!

D & A Glass Company was the glazier and a job truly well done!! 

The Office= Part 2

Last week I talked about the glimmering hope on the return to office area and the positivity there and I noted I’d have more on that this week.  For that it was an article in Wall Street Journal that talked about the effect that the lack of return to office is having on so many people- including our space.  The article gave some good data on the trends and forecasting via Dodge which gave some upbeat answers to this on-going issue. Still the bottom line remains, getting people in any form or fashion back into an office mode is important for the economy and our industry.  More hybrid maybe?  And then as it comes to the office space, comfort and security are paramount and again that is where we come in.  We provide the products that allow the natural light, and we have the best options by far for security.  And each and every day we are seeing new and better security/protective options hit the marketplace-including for the office.  Bottom line this continues to be an area we have to stay on top of and push what we do ahead of other trades.  Especially if the pie is getting smaller, it’s imperative people know that the glass and metal space has the solutions for a very productive and successful office setting. 

 

Elsewhere…

 

--  Interesting report from the Dodge Momentum Index for June.  Institutional lagged badly, while hotels and lodging kicked in and had a good month.  Remember that was an area you’ve read here and heard on my podcast that was going to do well and it has continued to be the case.  The overall index was down because of the institutional struggles but the commercial side alone was up 3%- so we’ll take it.  Lots of volatility out there folks and no end in sight for that.  On that note the next Architectural Billings Index is released this coming Wednesday with deeper reporting scheduled- so next week we’ll cover that here and try to make sense of it all.

 

--  Also this week- registration opens for GlassBuild America.  If you are interested in getting the amazing tour of Mercedes Benz Stadium, the best way to get a shot at being on that event is register for the show sooner than later.  Go to GlassBuild.com and more info coming.  Show this year is in Atlanta in late October.  SEE YOU THERE!

 

--  Some good company news.. one of the stars of the past GPAD Conference was Kyle Lindersmith with his Burkle Laminating line and he hit the news this week with a successful install at Viwinco.  Love seeing new tech matched up with great organizations and this surely fits the bill.

 

--  Also the gang at NVOY Fire Rated Systems with some big news in the fire rated space.  They’ve got the strong product lines from Polflam and Aliplast to be able to manufacture and supply fire resistive glazing.  Exciting stuff for sure and my old pal Art Huard is once again on fire (no pun intended) with this product line. 

 

--  Congrats to Dave Maikowski on his new gig with 3E Nano out of Toronto.  3E Nano focuses on commercializing high-performance and optically effective nano-thin Solar Control coatings for use in innovative, lightweight, and low-cost fenestration applications. This has serious disruptive potential and not many people out there are better than David to deliver this to the market.  Excited to see more and super happy for my friend rocking with this very important and cool gig!

 

--  Last this week… so with the writers and actors now on strike in Hollywood, looks like we could get a serious slowdown on new shows/movies.  We’ll see- it obviously depends on how long it lasts.  Note that soap operas are not affected so everyone on General Hospital can continue to get selective amnesia.   Anyway, one recommendation on something to watch.  If you are a music fan the John Waite (mostly known for the tune “Missing You”) documentary on Amazon was really good.  Tortured and complex guy and it really shows the dirty underbelly of the old music world. Good watch.  Note if Hollywood doesn’t work it all out soon, we can all watch Andrew Haring jobsite TikToks…(which are very very good by the way)

 

LINKS of the WEEK

Incredibly cool! 

 

Be careful when texting- especially contractual stuff.  It may stand up!

 

Tough one- a dream home in both the right and wrong place

 

PROJECT of the WEEK

Innovation Glass is in the spotlight this week with the Amazon Campus in Virginia. According to their LinkedIn post it features a 42’ VS1 facade that encloses a meeting hall. Dual laminated IGUs supported by rectangular jumbo VS1 mullions, and toggle fittings used, creating a flush exterior. Beautiful.  Architect was ZGF Architects and Installed by Harmon.  Nice work folks!!

Are We Getting Back to the Office?

Back at it after the holiday… and what else also may be back?  People coming into the office!  Yes, you have heard it before, more than a few false starts in the last 18 months, but recently Kastle Systems (a major player in the swipe card area and they track the office data closely) reported that offices in New York City crossed the 50% occupancy threshold last week for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic.  Obviously long way to go but it is a step forward.  I’ll have more on this next week as a few more stories are breaking on this, but the reason why I find this important is as an industry we have been counting on more office renewal and in the future continued office build outs.  The slow return had hampered that and really was taking a toll in major cities like NYC.  So baby steps (big time, still a long journey) but we’ll take it as a win. 

 

Elsewhere…

 

--  I mention often when I see great collaborations in process and another one was formed recently with Super Sky Products bringing on PGP in Texas as their reps there.  That is a powerhouse match, and I am pumped for all parties involved.  Obviously, I am huge Brian Thomas / Super Sky fan and love the connection with Kyle Jones and the great team at PGP.  Good stuff for sure and kudos to all!

 

--  Was awesome to see Joel Berman get some recognition recently.  Joel received a Lifetime Achievement Award in Manufacturing from Interior Design Magazine. That was super cool and well-deserved.  Joel single handedly has changed (and will continue to change) the landscape with creative usages of glass.  Love that he got some props for his efforts!

 

--  Happy anniversary to the tremendous team at Country Glass!  The folks there are celebrating their 39^th year in business.  I have written before how impressed I always am by Brian Risinger, Joe Lambertson and the team there, so knocking down another milestone is just another solid day at the office for them.  Happy Anniversary team and I look forward to many more for you folks! 

 

--  Are things changing on the construction site for you?  Specifically, are your folks going to helmets vs. hardhats?   Construct Dive had an interesting read on the move to helmets from hardhats and I am curious if we as an industry have followed that yet?  Let me know… Here’s the article and if you are wearing a helmet now the awesome Glass Beast stickers from MyGlassClass.com and the OG Glass Nerd Andrew Haring still work well!! 

 

--  Got this link from the splendid Dr. Kayla Natividad of Pilkington and yet it is another reason to not be a fan of Kayne West.  Evidently “Ye” does not like glass.  At all.  To the point that he did not put in windows in one of his schools because he hates glass. Here’s the article with more details but hey this could be good for our industry- since Kanye hates it, it sure makes it more likable for the rest of us.  In all seriousness- just a bizarre take!  I am hearing this story may be fake but sure tracks given the person involved. 

 

--  Last this week… Chuck Knickerbocker was nice enough to forward me this read about a big-time frequent flier.  I thought I flew a lot but this guy takes the cake… and then some.  And kudos to him for taking advantage of his moves too. Good read!

 

LINKS of the WEEK

Swimming in Florida can be perilous.  

 

The flying car- it is real!

 

This sucks- being stuck upside down on a broken roller coaster.  Similar thing happened  to me- was stuck on a coaster that was stopped and a massive rain storm hit- and I got drenched and there is nothing you can do… and I would take that over being stuck upside down though!

 

PROJECT of the WEEK

Came across this one from Erik Kern of Industrial Louvers.  From a looks standpoint, this is awesome in my opinion.  The project is Duluth East High School and according to Eric’s post the design represents the beautiful images of Lake Superior with sweeping blue waves of colored glass against the brown/red rocks of the shoreline.  Perfect. Kudos to ARI Architectural Resources Inc.for the design, Superior Glass on the glazing and of course Industrial Louvers on the Sunshades.  Plus I am assuming from the post Tubelite and Linetec had a part too.  Congrats to all on a job well done!

Pod, Birds, Deals, and Great ABI too!

The latest From the Fabricator podcast is now live and I’m thrilled about how it turned out.  Three unique and cool people joined me, and we covered a ton of items.  Leading off was Sophia Panova of SO-ZHA Architects.  Very talented person who “gets it” and I enjoyed her perspective throughout.  She is on her way to being a force in that community.   Then to Mark Rabinowitz of Paul Rabinowitz Glass and we covered the great work he and his team does, challenges in our space, and what’s ahead.  Last it was fun to catch up with Bill Wilson of Specified Systems.  Bill has done an amazing job building his company and setting it up for great success going forward, plus the recognition he and his company shared on some folks was very cool.  So all in all this was a fun one and it was 3 people in one form or fashion who bet on themselves to take their places in our industry/world and do better by it.  This is a perfect episode to catch during the upcoming holiday too!  Thank you for listening/watching!

VIDEO

AUDIO (and search from From the Fabricator on Apple, Spotify, Google etc.)

Elsewhere…

 

--  I was honored to be invited on an online plant tour of Orion Laser Tech on Belgium via their partners here in the US, IGE Glass Technologies.  Orion is making a bird friendly laser engraver for glass, and it was stunning to see it in action and learn more about it.  Really remarkable technology and important in a space that keeps growing.  Thank you, Michael Spellman, for the invite and opportunity to watch, and once again Michael is on the front end of a break-through technology!  (I am told that they’ll be more of these online tours coming, so if you are interested in bird friendly fabrication- you’ll want to get with IGE to check it out!)

 

--  I was telling a future podcast guest this week that we are in the middle of “selling season” in our industry and within 24 hours deals by OBE and Assa Abloy went down.  With some of the uncertainty of 2024, many owners are thinking NOW is the time to get out, so I am expecting more deals to come. As for the OBE-Syracuse deal- really made sense for both sides.  Nice move for OBE to jump into that territory and a good exit for the folks from Syracuse post the very sad passing of Joe Gudenburr.

 

--  Last week I said I was dreading the ABI, expected misery and then jokingly said it’ll probably be up since I was so negative… and sure enough it WAS UP.  Actually a shockingly good month for the index as all metrics bounced back nicely. So overall a positive.  The negatives were the West and Northwest sectors being soft, so not everyone is/was celebrating.  Some of the comments from the report did point to while things seemingly stabilized, it is “harder” to get the work including the challenges on banking/financing and of course the people issue. Even in the design community labor is a challenge.  Bottom line?  I’ll take this bounce back and let’s keep it going!

 

--  Another TV show- more use of glass that is topical.  This time it was “Class of 09” on Hulu.  So far not a bad show, not great (only halfway through- so staying hopeful) but glass had some big roles.  Early on bird friendly made an appearance when a poor bird died after striking the glass (and that played a role in the story) and then later we had some very high-quality bullet resistant in play.  I joked last year that Tom Donovan of Thompson IG wrote an episode of Ozark that had thermochromic glass and now I am sure he wrote on this episode since he’s heavy into both bird and BR products.  Really need to get Tom to get my podcast playing in the background in the next thing he writes!  Anyway, I will say it was nice to see the BR be real and effective and show bird friendly glass would make a difference!

 

--  Last this week…. No blog next week as I am taking it off as a part of the Independence Day holiday in the US.  Obviously if big news breaks I’ll get it out there but otherwise please enjoy the 4^th  of July, stay safe, and get ready to finish the 2^nd half of the year strong.  And one note- if you are shooting off fireworks please think of your neighbors- try and do it early and get em overwith quick.  Thank you.  

 

LINKS of the WEEK

I had never heard of “Zillow Gone Wild” and I guess I should’ve.  Crazy.

 

As you all know I’m a dog guy, and this is a tough one

 

Wrong reaction to this viral photo- yes it’s “cute” but it’s also crazy dangerous too. People really shouldn’t be trying to get candid poses here.

 

PROJECT of the WEEK

Brett Trainor of Ecker Window Corp posted this awesome one and I immediately saved it for a future project of the week.  The job according to the post is 14 @ Irving (124 E. 14th St NY NY) and it showcases a custom unitized curtain wall with fins & mega size panels.  Very good-looking project! Congrats Brett and Ecker team on this one!

In the Movies

I did not plan to start this week off with a rundown of the animated movie Elemental, but after seeing it and its connection to the glass industry I had no choice.  So this is a movie via Pixar and Disney and those of you who follow closely know my son Zach is heavily connected in that world with his Boardwalk Times website (the ultimate destination for the Disney fan) so I joined him in seeing this one when hit theaters this week.  I did not know what to expect and overall the movie was well done- really was a Hallmark level “Rom Com” so that worked but the use of glass was the kicker here. YEs our beloved product played a pretty major role.  The movie is about Fire and Water and those elements interacting and growing to get along.  Early on we see the Fire lead character break a glass display case and then with her fire hands create a brand-new piece of Bent Glass to replace it.  (Bent so good that I think my pal Tony Kasprzak sold it since he’s a big-time bent glass rep and also a Disney guy).  So at that point I’m thinking cool- neat to see.  Well as the movie continues, there’s a situation that the Fire character created a glass wall to save a community from flooding.  When it was done, one of the characters exclaimed “She did it.  It’s TEMPERED GLASS” and when that was said I yelped.  Loudly and embarrassingly.  I mean I don’t think I ever heard the words “Tempered Glass” and in a positive manner in a movie setting before, so I was out of my seat with it.  I’m thinking- this is what the NGA preaches- Glass REALLY can save the world.  (Which it can, and we all know that).  Anyway, the movie continued and SPOILER ALERT (skip to next paragraph if you plan on seeing it) the glass ended up breaking and it was not truly tempered.  While still happy we got a plug, I was bummed that the glass broke and know for sure the SGCC would not be happy with the mis-labeling.  LOL.  No doubt I’ll take the excitement of the glass coming through and hopefully someday Disney will ask me (or probably my son) what sort of glass would truly be best to stave a flood off.  (Surely 2022 Glass Magazine Award Winner FENEX would be raising their hands?  Right Juan Posada and Brian Johnson?)  Yep, so there ya go- and by the way I think I am banned from that theater too for being too excited.  

 

Elsewhere…

 

--  A special summer series of podcasts made their debut this week.  GlassCast from the NGA dropped episode one and it’s a perfect quick bite of insight and info.  The great duo of Katy Devlin and Sara Neiswanger hosted this episode that led into a monologue from Jeff Haber of W&W Glass via this past springs BEC.  The subject was ESOP’s and Jeff’s insight was spellbinding and this quick pod covered it nicely.  There are handful of episodes coming and I think it’s a nice series for the quiet summer news season.  Check it out and big kudos to Katy, Sara and Melissa Fischer the editing wizard at NGA for a job well done!

VIDEO

AUDIO   - and on Apple and Spotify- search GlassCast

 

--  Speaking of podcasts- the next From the Fabricator podcast drops next week and I am pumped.  Unless something crazy happens I have 2 awesome glaziers and an impressive Architect lined up.   Stat wise I continue to be amazed.  The video stats are meh- this is just not a format that lends to video, especially long form.  But audio, my numbers are mind blowing.  They keep growing each show and more and people are finding older episodes and listening.  It’s incredibly cool and I thank everyone who checks it out.  If you have not heard any, search “From the Fabricator” where you listen to your podcasts.  By the way, geographically the update is thanks to Eliot Benor of Building Envelope Testing, New York surged into the lead of the city that listens the most to the podcast.  And we’ve seen nice runs from Philly, Seattle, Atlanta, and Chicago joining Houston, San Antonio and LA as popular areas for listening.  Absolutely awesome.

 

--  Thank you to Scott Goodman, my good friend and superstar sales hustler from CRL for the heads up on the CRL releasing a new reference guide at AIA.  I missed this and it is super resource and good to have handy!

 

--  Kudos to Vitro Architectural Glass for their latest EPD effort.  Check out the story from Glass Magazine as it explains it very well, but this was an excellent step forward in an area that WILL continue to grow and be a very important part of the commercial glass project realm.  Get familiar with the EPD angle folks and good on Vitro for their latest breakthrough!

 

--  Last this week.  I’ll be watching this Wednesday for the newest Architectural Billings Index.  So much has eroded on the banking side and more and more investors have grown skittish that I am curious to see if that feel has hit this index harder.  Good news is when I feel negative the index usually goes the other way.  So we will see…

 

LINKS of the WEEK

A vulture makes its way into a house and kudos for the homeowners for battling to get it out!

 

When too much bling stops your car from starting

 

Possibly a case for the Door DOORK Benji Bolick?  I’m so far behind he’s probably had this one.

 

PROJECT of the WEEK

Back to the pacific Northwest (where the NGA Glass Conference will be soon- Tacoma- sign up today!) for this awesome one from Goldfinch Brothers. From their post on LinkedIn- this is the Costco HQ (wonder if the glaziers got any tasty food samples when done) and it is sharp one.  Unitized glazing with Schuco, glass from Vitro and congrats to MG2 Design for the awesome look. This one is fabulous!  Kudos to all!

Trouble Ahead?

The Wall Street Journal had a sobering report on the commercial building space and that the boom that fueled a ton of its growth is now coming to a very bumpy landing.  Basically these landlords were dealing in “interest only” loans and kicking the can down the road.  Now because of the myriad of issues in the finance space, this bill has come VERY due and it’s left two options for those affected- sell or default.  And selling is not exactly appetizing or easy.  The entire article is HERE but my point in bringing this up is in every presentation I give I talk about the volatility of the banks and financial markets and this article gives the background on why.  There is no doubt that the area where we like to do so much work- in the commercial building- is probably not the healthiest going.  By the way the dollar amount of commercial mortgages in this mess is almost 1.5 trillion.  That is “trillion” with a T.  Wow.  Never a dull moment eh?

 

Elsewhere…

 

--  More evidence of that challenge in the commercial space? The latest Dodge Momentum Index was battered and the blame fell on the commercial structures along with the hotel side.  Now I have been bullish on the recreation (lodging) area and I am not alone (past podcast guest Nick St. Denis noted that too) so I think that will find its footing but the concern elsewhere is real and should continue to impress on upon you to be diverse in your approaches. 

 

--  OK on to some better news…  from all indications attendance at the AIA show this past week was positive.  I know that the NGA’s annual Blueprint for Collaboration event was a huge hit and I heard from others that traffic was solid.  Shows are most decidedly “back” which has me absolutely geeked out for GlassBuild this fall.  Nothing better than getting everyone together and pulling our industry forward with the best exhibits, education, and networking!

 

--  Before GlassBuild though we do have the NGA Glass Conference: Tacoma and one of the lead subjects is Bird Friendly Glazing.  The NGA Super Hero tech team will be running down the latest there which has a few interesting twists and turns still to play.  So don’t get left behind on the latest.  Learn more and register today HERE.

 

--  Three big anniversaries in our space…  First to Brian and Gloria Hale and their company, Hale Glass, hitting the 45 year mark!  That is awesome.  Brian and Gloria are great people and huge supporters and ambassadors to the industry.  Also Brian has one of the best senses of humor in our space which is always appreciated.  Great company and thrilled that they are rolling along.  Next is Kenpat marking 20 years, which I saw online thanks to my good pal Frank D’Aprile.  Kenpat started as framing, acoustical and drywall and now has grown dramatically and has their very competent fingers into a bunch of items.  Congrats to everyone there!  And last but certainly not least, SPIL Software celebrated its 14^th year in business.  Lakshman “Lax” Kalupathirana is one of the nicest people around and he and his team have built an incredible fabricated glass software platform being utilized worldwide.  They represent our space well and I love that they continue to innovate and evolve to help companies become more efficient.  Congrats to Lax and team! 

 

--  Last this week… two items from the airport in Houston.  First, I am on a streak of always always always picking the wrong lane in TSA Security (and super markets, toll booths etc.) It is incredible the run I am on, no matter what lane I choose, it inevitably goes a lot slower than the others. So if you are with me at any lane choosing scenario, pick the opposite. Second, kudos to the Houston Bush Airport.  Have not been there in years and it’s a solid place led by the fact that it easily has the best food options of any airport going right now.  They have a Blaze Pizza (which is amazingly clutch) along with Chick-fil-A, Jack in the Box, Wich Wich, and many (healthier) others.  Just a huge range of options that work.  Note I may be jaded because a few of the recent airports I have been in and out of have really been weak food option wise… so this was nice!

 

LINKS of the WEEK

Hopefully the driver is ok- this one is a wild piece of video of a car launching after running straight into the ramp of a parked tow truck.  

 

Good to see better use of the old “6 car garage” – yes a 6 car garage now tiny homes…

 

Apple with a big update on “auto correct” but won’t help my issue where it often auto corrects the word “said” to “Saud” because I used to work with a fine gentleman named John Saud and he’s in my contacts….

 

PROJECT of the WEEK

A favorite company of mine is TSI Corporations and they get the spotlight.  I had their excellent Will Pounds on the pod last year (LINK) and I am a big fan of Thomas Cornellier there though I rarely get to talk with him. (Some day I’ll get more than 30 seconds but for now I know he’s swamped).  I think this may be the 2^nd or 3^rdtime I’ve had TSI in this spot, which is rare since I like to spread it around, but sometimes I can’t help it.  Anyway, this is Signal House and it is a beaut.  My gosh.  Gensler with the design and according to the TSI post they worked with the folks at Erie Architectural on this one- so kudos to all.  This is one fantastic looking building!

 

Houston Rocks

The great state of Texas never disappoints and that was the case again this past week when I had the honor of speaking at the Houston Area Glass Association (HAGA) luncheon.  Just a tremendous group of people that are so engaged in our space and future.  Among the highlights for me was HAGA awarding four scholarships to college and trade school applicants.  I love that this organization (and I know others do as well) is doing this and hopefully it can keep growing and help us eventually attract those folks back into our world.  Obviously, the people there were a highlight for me, starting with one of my all-time favorites Jacque Freeman of Binswanger Glass.  She continues to just dominate out there and that is incredibly cool for me to see.  The board of HAGA is a great group and it was nice for me to get to meet and chat with the current president Landon Lovette of Door Control Services.  I enjoyed getting to meet a bunch of new people too. RJ Hernandez of Absolute Glass not only had some great insight on our market and the adventures currently, but his company logo and shirt won the day.  Kenoel “KB” Burleson and Charlotte Davis of Oldcastle BuildingEnvelope were also new people for me to meet and both were super impressive.  Mario Lopez of MI Glass has a heck of a back story and he and his companies are crushing it.  Also doing well and nice to finally meet in person was John Dockery of Dockery Fabrication.  We were supposed to meet a long time ago and whatever craziness at the time hit and postponed it.  Was great to finally make that connection here.  YKK AP was well represented, and it was super to chat/meet Julie Freund and Heath Brown from there.  I am sure that is why that brand is so well respected in the area there. And when it comes to respect, big time tap to Terri Gilmore of A3 Glass- everywhere she goes I know the respect and appreciation follows.

Plus seeing folks I have known for years like Dustin and Lindsay Price of Texas Glazing Solutions (they were not wearing the lone star shoes though), Wade Arnold of Quickserv (an amazing presenter in his own right- I think he’s going on an arena tour soon with his presentation) Mike DeBotte of Smartlift (who gave me a great tutorial on the amazing machine he had on site) was a great extra plus.  Thanks also to Dorothy Gurka of HAGA for her hospitality and to Kyle Sharp of Sharp Glass and the Texas Glass Association for driving 3 hours to see the presentation- hopefully it was worth it for him! (And I know not as fun as shooting up stuff with Andrew Haring but hopefully close!)

 

Elsewhere….

 

--  In case you missed it, my latest podcast is up and it is getting incredible feedback.  Guests were Anas Al Kassas of INOVUES, Eliot Benor of Building Envelope Testing, and the duo of Tyler Faulk and Brandon Bellegarde of The Drafting Marketplace. Majority of the feedback has been along the lines of “did not know that” in the sort of knowledge nuggets these folks dropped. Thank you for checking it out!

VIDEO

AUDIO – And also on Apple, Spotify, Google and more!

 

-- The best thing going on Facebook is the Shower Door Professionals group but for many the angle of Facebook was a non-starter.  So good news, the great Chris Phillips has brought a version to LinkedIn.  So if you are involved anywhere in the shower door chain- this forum is for you.  It’ll probably take a minute to replicate the success of the FB version but I have no doubts it will.  Check it out and join HERE.

 

--  Good to see the YKK/cove.tool mash up.  Two forward thinking companies and the combo makes sense.  cove.tool has been sending me e-mails for a while and each one takes a dive into how they are helping note energy and carbon performance on a project.  Glass Magazine has more details as this connection gets officially announced this week.  No doubt more and more focus is coming to this space in the future.

 

Last week… Those who know me know I love the Buc-ee’s chain.  And this article breaks it all down on why.  A must stop whenever you can…

 

LINKS of the WEEK

Great story and visual about a pilot locked out of his plane but it makes no sense to me.  Obviously there were people on the plane- including other pilots and crew?

 

Some freaky stuff there Georgia (meaning folks living there- not anyone named Georgia)

 

I am hugely pro-robot for our plants and jobsites.  But in the home?  Nope. (Note I am anti tech at home- I just bought a washer that has all dials on it- no keyboards or apparent electronics etc.) 

 

PROJECT of the WEEK

Cliff Wright over at Layne Glass posted this one and I just love the way glass and sunshades came out.  This is a just a solid, smart building that the gang at Layne just pounded out without issue. No word on who did the glass, metal, or sunshades thought but congrats to all involved!

Latest Podcast Episode and More (Really Creative Title- LOL)

The latest From the Fabricator podcast is out and I gotta say it is a very powerful episode.  The insights shared this month are top notch- especially from a technical side of things and there were lots of lessons learned. Leading off is Anas Al Kassas of INOVUES.  Interesting guy with a company positioned to do some amazing things in the growing retrofit space.  Then on to Eliot Benor of Building Envelope Testing.  I had heard of him but this was the first time talking to him and his path to the current was cool but what he’s doing now and how he’s doing it all is simply awesome.  Not to mention being in the front row of some massive code changes.  Last, I end with the dynamic duo of Brandon Bellegarde and Tyler Faulk of The Drafting Marketplace.  These guys are amazing-  they have built an absolute must-use platform for glaziers AND they broke some news on what’s next for them too. Great people, great conversations- I am just so honored to get to chat every month with folks like this.  Thank you for checking it and supporting it all! 

VIDEO

AUDIO – And also on Apple, Spotify, Google and more!

 

Elsewhere….

 

--  Some sad personal/industry news to pass on.  Billy Perilstein, best known for his leadership in our industry for many years (H Perilstein Glass and Wm Perilstein Glass as key ones) passed away last week.  To anyone that knew Billy they came away with the same opinion- a true class act and gentleman.  Billy was friendly and caring and no matter what was happening had a super positive attitude.  He seriously was one of the nicest people around.  Billy stayed active in the industry up until a few years ago (he worked from 1943 to 2017!!) and was always there to provide the great knowledge he had from his incredible time in the industry.  Billy was a cousin of mine- part of the amazing 3^rd Perilstein generation that helped build so much of the industry, hitting stride in the 40’s/50’s and growing from there. (There are some major fabricators to this day that have roots back to that group) Billy will truly be missed and our world is a lesser place without him.

 

--  The next NGA Glass Conference is coming soon- July (yes that will be here before you know it) in Tacoma, Washington.  Aside from the deep and crucial technical aspect of the conference, some planning has been happening to add even more value to it.  Case in point?  A tour of TGP- Technical Glass Products.  I have been there once, and it was awesome to see.  That alone is worth going to the conference… very classy of Devin Bowman and company to welcome the conference in and support it.  Learn more and get registered today. 

 

--  A happy anniversary to the team at Premier Glass Products.  20 years in business for PGP!  That is a huge and very cool milestone. Congrats to Kyle Jones and team on it and all the success they have had and will continue to have.  Kyle has built a powerhouse there and one that comes with serious respect and makes our industry look good. Congrats Kyle and team and I look forward to many more years of your tremendous accomplishments out there!  And note- Bob Larson- one of the coolest cats in our space is on that team- and seeing Bob winning is a very cool thing for me. 

 

--  The latest Architectural Billings Index came out this past week and back to the negative the main number went… Last month was flukey- but there is no fluke in that the design contract and new inquiry numbers are really scuffling these days and that is where I am more concerned. We need those numbers to hang in there more and when they bobbing along the break-even line that is cause for concern.  Regardless we can’t control it. We can control continuing to hustle, keep our houses in order, and looking to evolve where we can keep rolling.

 

--  Last this week… Memorial Day in the United States is for remembering those who died in service for our country.  I am extremely grateful for those that fought and earlier this year I watched the old mini-series “Band of Brothers” on HBO and that truly sent home the message of the absolutely selfless sacrifice that so many have given.  So during this holiday week, give some thought to those who have served and passed and what they did to preserve our way of life.  

 

LINKS of the WEEK

Us Road Warriors have been seeing this but to those who don’t travel- look out- it’s really a tough one these days with costs and comfort.

 

I swear every week there’s a Gator/Floriida/right at the door story.  And I click them all!  ( I just don’t want to see them)

This garage has to be a tough one to get into- maybe they have a Jetsons style car!

 

PROJECT of the WEEK

Saw this one on the feed of Stephen Rosner of Custom Metalcrafters.  This is 450 11th Ave. Marriot Tribute Hotel and just the start (though I am sure by now more work has been done) and looking great.  This one will be a major showcase when completed for sure and I look forward to seeing it.  Congrats Stephen and team and keep up the good work!!  (And post some new pictures when you have them!)

What's Next?

Kawneer is one of those legacy brands in our space so when their parent company was sold recently it did send some waves through the industry.  There had been a ton of talk of Kawneer itself being sold (last year) but that got pulled back.  So though what happens next?   With Kawneer in a new setting could that mean another sale/spin-off effort is coming or do the new owners go for critical mass and start adding on. That is the nagging question for the future.  For the present the question is “what changes?” – does anything happen there that changes the approach that Kawneer takes?  Time will tell but Kawneer is loaded with some of the best talent in our space- my guy Henry Taylor is incredible as are folks like Sneh Kumar, Chris Giovannielli and many more.  So hopefully the new owners will support the good and be active in supporting and promoting our space. We shall see as a truly a new era is upon us.

 

Elsewhere…

 

--  The FIT show is happening this week in the UK and our guy- The GlassNerd, NGA’s Andrew Haring will be there.  I can’t wait for the content coming back from him and also whatever he is able to learn and share so we can keep advancing our industry!

 

--  I am very excited to soon be back in the great state of Texas with a presentation at the Houston Area Glass Association monthly luncheon.  That all happens on June 1, and if you are in the area, please join us.  I’ll be talking about forecasts and trends and I look forward to chopping it up with everyone there!!

 

--  Big congrats to the brilliant Jennifer Lang and the team at Minneapolis Glass.  If you caught my podcast with Jennifer back in November of last year, she gave the scoop that they were moving into new HQ and in the last few weeks, ground was broken on the new facility.  Very exciting to see this awesome company move forward!  Congrats! 

 

--  And one more set of props… The California Glass Association continues to make some positive in-roads.  They had an event this past week with the super folks at Frameless Hardware Company (FHC) and from what I was told the energy was off the charts.   So happy for Kristie Rehberger, Nathan Seaman, and Adam Posik for taking yet another great step in building this organization out and of course many thanks to the fine folks at FHC for hosting! 

 

--  I have been super late on this one… the return to our side of the industry by Jay Phillips.  I actually got a heads up right when Jay started (before the PR’s came out) and normally I jump on it and put out on here but this one got lost in shuffle.  Jay is back, now as CRO at Luxwall- a very interesting company that will be very disruptive (in a positive way) in our space. (Add them in the mix for legit players in the VIG space)  Jay is held in high regard by many and I have been a fan of his for years- he did great work with the BEC division and support of the industry- which I assume will pick back up again now that he’s back.  Congrats to Jay and welcome home!

 

--  Last this week… I did see the BlackBerry movie and I thought it was very well done and interesting.  It did veer from the book more than I like and it did leave out two HUGE moments in the whole Blackberry vs iPhone moment that were gamechangers.  But I guess I can’t get it all… still this was a good flick and one that made you remember those pre-phone/android days and how connected you were (at least I was) to the Blackberry.  And I was a BBOB guy- “BlackBerry on Belt” and that familiar buzz that happened when e-mails or texts came through were ingrained in my muscle memory so deeply that it took a while from when I switched to an iPhone for them to go away!

 

LINKS of the WEEK

A beer powered motorcycle!

 

A slingshot to the rescue

 

A wild story about parents changing the birthday of their kid- to avoid the holidays

 

PROJECT of the WEEK

Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center (ARTIC) gets the spotlight.  This is the project that the always excellent Matt Kamper of Woodbridge Glass talked about at BEC and had the audience on the edge of their seats.  It is so amazing, and the backstory was so cool and intense.  Here’s a link to the write up on it. Check it out and kudos to Matt and the entire team at Woodbridge for pulling this one off!!