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!