Standing Out

You can chalk it up to the economy or you can chalk it up to the cyclical nature of the commercial construction industry, but either way you look at it, things are getting tough out there. Savvy contractors are paying attention to areas forecasted to stay comparatively strong, such as in healthcare and institutional building (for more on this, look for the January USGlass). The thing is, so are all their competitors.

Yes, as construction slows there’s no doubt that there are areas where competition will fierce for the jobs that do exist.

Back in November when I attended the Finishing Contractors Association’s Glazing Advisory Committee meeting, a number of glaziers there were talking about competition coming in from other trades. At the time, a number of glaziers had commented that they’d seen instances of ironworkers and metal panel installers are doing more railing installations because they may have a metal trim, or shower doors that perhaps have a shoe on the top and bottom, and that even unitized glazing was being installed by carpenters.

From another perspective, we had some activity on the message forum some time back about suppliers selling glass products direct to general contractors, who then contracted the glaziers simply for labor. Whether it’s rumor or not (and feel free to add your two cents to the forum or this post), glaziers now have the concern that they’ll be competing with their own suppliers to make a buck!

While talking to Steve Bouchard, president of Glass Distributors Inc. (GDI) in Bladensburg, Md., this morning, I asked him if this is something he’s run across.

“I have not noticed that part,” Steve told me, but then quickly added that it was another competitor entirely that his customers, typically smaller glaziers, were facing: the larger glazing firms bidding for their work.

Man, that is tough, I thought. But then a few hours later I spoke with Bill Rhodes, vice president of sales for GDI and while he wasn’t about to argue with Steve’s observation, he made the comment that sometimes, on the smaller jobs, “the company that has less overhead is able to maneuver more easily, more so than the large companies.”

Well that seemed reasonable, but Bill wasn’t about to let me off the phone without throwing out another challenge. Where before “there might have been five companies bidding [a project], there might be 12-14 now,” he said.

I heard the same sentiment echoed when I spoke with one of those “large glazing contractors” this afternoon. Michele Juba King with Juba Aluminum Products Co. Inc. in Concord, N.C., spared a few minutes to chat with me on this topic. As she pointed out, they’ve built a niche in custom, commercial work and with the frequency of spec changes the general contractor is hardly likely to go straight to the glass shop; they’re relying on the glazier’s expertise. But she did agree with Bill, “Instead of there being one or two contractors now you’re going to see three, four or five.”

Michele also told me that she’s found that a lot of building owners are looking to use local vendors or suppliers, which can be stifling for a glazing contractor used to covering an entire region.

In the end, everyone’s got competitors, and maybe there are more of them now, but being aware of where these new challenges are coming from can help you prepare to make your services stand out. So I’d like to hear what “new” competitors you’re preparing to face, in the hope that by sharing this information you’re not giving those competitors a leg up but instead learning what you can do to differentiate yourself. Or if you’ve seen instances of any of the above, please let me know.

Can’t wait to hear from you—drop me a line at mheadley@glass.com.