The big news of the week was all surrounding what is going on with JE Berkowitz and the CGH brand. JEB has suspended operations and Columbia in Texas is closing and that was tough news to take. Good companies that had some super people. Plus a brutal thing for me is the fact that Bob Cummings, CEO there, is one of the nicest and most sincere guys in our industry. I feel for him and know it’s got to be crushing him. So I obviously I feel bad for Bob and all others caught up in this. As for why this is all happening? I am sure more will come out but obviously the onset of the pandemic surely played a major role here and while we have been incredibly resilient as an industry, not everyone could make it through. Hopefully overall industry wise this is the last of the tough news vs. the start of it. And by the way the rumor mill is on fire with what may happen next with these locations, so buckle up….
Elsewhere….
-- The NGA Glass Conference is this week- Tuesday the 9th. The combo of the codes deep dive and the GSA piece are so strong and important and pricing so affordable if you haven’t signed up, you need to immediately. Also the list of those who are coming is online HERE and always good to see so many excellent interested people in our world. And yes, I know I am not on that particular list, I was actually late to sign up, but I will be there!
-- Major CONGRATULATIONS out to Mark Rabinowitz and the team at Paul Rabinowitz Glass as they are celebrating their 90th year in business this year!! Tremendous accomplishment! Great company and Mark is a class guy- congrats on this awesome achievement!
-- Cool video debut coming later this month on February 18th that has a focus on the important NACC Program process. Drexel University and the incredible Architectural Glass Institute developed a documentary to educate students about the influence of construction on the built environment and how the work done shapes communities. It features great glass and glazing companies doing what they do best! This event is open to the glass and glazing industry and you can reserve your spot by clicking HERE!
-- I talk on here all the time about innovation and technology and how we have it right in front of us. On that note I sat in on a software demo from SPIL out of Australia and was blown away at how advanced the glass fabrication & glazing software side has become. Really impressed by Lakshman Kalupathirana and his team. Overall for our world, the amount of visibility and efficiency available is now is astounding. Good stuff for our industry!
-- Patrick (PJ) Hillboldt was first to alert me to the wild design of the Amazon HQ proposed for Virginia. My goodness that is one interesting structure planned and I have to be honest I’m loving the glass. (Some of the rest of the design? Not so much) But if they keep the glass like proposed this is going to be something for our industry to be very proud of. If you haven’t seen it yet- check it out HERE
-- Once again this month when Gilbane listed the supply base and who’s doing what- glass was “steady” across the board. So again while other segments of the building product world are having some issues it looks good on how we are performing.
-- Want a tremendous business read? Then check this well done piece on a company who had Disney in their corner and tons of money coming in and completely blew it because basically they ignored the P&L? (Among many other reasons) A great deep dive into the rise and fall of Ample Hills Ice Cream.
-- Last this week… How about Atlanta? The home to GlassBuild this fall and now known as the one of the “greenest” cities in the United States! I am honestly stunned by that-but this article lays it all out and the A-T-L is doing it the right way when it comes to sustainability.
LINKS of the WEEK
I’ve purposely stayed away from a lot that goes with the pandemic, but this news on vaccine folks rooting for each other is good- we all need this.
Incredible rescue by some brave firefighters. Insane how this all happened though.
I’ve read a few books about the dark side of Football and it can really shake you. This latest stuff adds right to it.
PROJECT of the WEEK
We go to Toronto for this week’s project… from Quest Window Systems. I can honestly say I had never heard of these folks but they do post some beautiful work! Stunning and memorable- just a beautiful project! Congrats to everyone at Quest on this one. Not sure who supplied the glass- so if it was you, ping me so I can get you credit!
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