The Kids Are Alright

One of the coolest things at GlassBuild this year was something not many may have realized.  On Day 3, more than 200 students from local schools were brought onto the show floor to learn about and experience our space.  They visited several booths, went through the skills competition area, and heard from leaders in our space about how this industry can be great for them.  The Las Vegas Sun newspaper sent an award-winning reporter (Hillary Davis) to witness it all, and she filed THIS excellent report.  Check it out, and kudos to everyone who took part in the “See Yourself in Glass” day at GlassBuild.  Hopefully we’ll get a bunch of those students in our world.  In the meantime, we must keep at it!  Our trade is better than all, and you can see the work you’ve done when the project is finished.  Not many electricians (the popular trade career for the young) can say that. 

Elsewhere…

ICYMI, my latest podcast episode is up, and it’s burning up the internet lines.  Funny is that I never knew Hugo Ramirez (I ended up seeing a post of his on LinkedIn and followed him), and I only knew Mike O’Neal a tiny bit.  After this pod dropped, I heard from so many people things like, “I love Hugo, brilliant guy” and “Mike is the greatest- can’t believe you didn’t know him,” and now I am wondering why I was so late to this party!  Anyway, I’m now in their fan clubs like so many of you.  Fun pod to do- great thoughts shared. Please check it out!

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

Next week- new episode with a massive leader in our space and a glazing company that is absolutely crushing it out there.

-- Congrats to Travis Nevins on his new gig. He is now the Director at the Finishing Solutions Network.  It is a network of high-end subcontractors, and he’ll connect them with owners, end-users, developers, and GCs.  Wonderful and exciting move by Travis.  He noted he’ll still be active on LinkedIn, and I’d assume he will be in Glass Magazine too.  His insights have been pretty significant over the past few years, and I’m glad they won’t be going away.  Extremely talented guy- so I am happy to see that rewarded.  Congrats!

-- FYI: The AGMCC Annual Meeting is coming up November 10-12 in Chicago. All members of the design, construction, and glazing community are welcome to attend. Hear the latest news about certifications, network, collaborate, and discuss the future of our industry.  It will be my first, and I am excited to learn and network.  More info is HERE.

-- The latest Architectural Billings Index was released when we were all at GlassBuild, and I completely missed it.  It was same ole, same ole there.  Pretty much on the same path as the last few months- so I guess the positive is it’s not getting worse?   Not much more needs to be said.

-- BUT... how about this... according to the Business Roundtable Outlook, CEO confidence continues to be positive.  It has been up for five straight quarters, and its index is well above historical averages, at its highest level since the 2nd Quarter of 2022.  We all see it.  Work is sitting there.  Just needs to get broken loose. Otherwise, what in the world would these guys be confident about?

-- Last this week… a staple of this blog.  The yearly JD Power Airport Rankings.  My guy Lyle Shimazu is waiting by his computer to see if his beloved Portland airport has made the cut.

So here goes… JD Power breaks airports down into 3 categories, Mega, Large, and Medium, and the overall customer satisfaction rating gives them the ranks.  Let’s though look at the Top 10 of each.

Mega

10- Orlando

9- Boston-Logan

8- JFK- the work W&W did there helped this ranking, I’m sure.

7-Miami

6-San Francisco

5-Las Vegas

4-LaGuardia

3- Phoenix

2- DETROIT- Should be #1 but I am biased

1-Minneapolis-St. Paul- Obviously the Viracon guys stuffed the ballot box. LOL

 Large

10-John Wayne- Orange County, CA- Too low!  Great airport- really, though, I thought it’s more medium than large.

9-Southwest Florida

8-Salt Lake City

7-New Orleans

6-Nashville

5-Raleigh-Durham

4-Kansas City

3- Dallas-Love Field

2- Portland- Ok- Lyle- #2… lucky

1-Tampa

Medium

10-Jacksonville

9-Albuquerque

8-Pittsburgh- I wonder if this is old one or new build.  The new one- done with so many industry stars like Vitro, United Architectural Metals, DM Products, Clover Architectural, Spectrum Metal Finishing, and more is incredible.

7-Cincinnati

6-Palm Beach

5-Hollywood-Burbank

4-Milwaukee

3-Indianapolis

2-Ontario, CA

1-Charleston, SC!  Wow, Charleston keeps getting praise in every area.

So there ya go- always good for debate. Though on some, I gotta wonder where that satisfaction comes from, and I can’t believe great airports like San Diego didn't crack the top 10, but at least it beat Austin. (When Austin gets expanded, it’ll be better, but for now- it may be one of the worst) See the entire study HERE.

LINKS of the WEEK

-- We have 4 dogs, and I guarantee you they all would act this way if an intruder entered. https://idahonews.com/news/offbeat/watch-golden-retriever-nash-offers-toys-tail-wags-to-intruder-instead-of-guarding-home-san-diego-california-stephanie-calderon-dante-rowley-instagram-homeless-viral-video

-- Very cool story of a Pelican being saved! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4xUGcMrylU

Get ready, friends in Nebraska—you’re getting a 1st-of-its-kind Mattel-inspired theme park https://corporate.mattel.com/news/mattel-unveils-first-mattel-wonder-indoor-waterpark-opening-in-bellevue-nebraska

PROJECT of the WEEK

Good one from Metro Glass & Metal LLC in Woburn, Mass.  This is 585 Kendall, and their main scope included installing the main curtain wall system, architectural panel work, storefront system, and impressive 50-foot-tall structural glass fins that now define the building’s striking entrance. Incredible.

This is a monster job, and it’s looking fabulous.  Congrats to the entire Metro team and all collaborators (suppliers weren’t listed in the post) who worked on this one!

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!

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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!