On the Road Again

Last Monday I was fortunate enough to take a little road trip, and as I love any opportunity to get away from my desk and out on the road—especially when there’s the potential of seeing some cool glass machinery in action—I was particularly excited about my trip to the Blairsville, Pa., headquarters of Dlubak Corp.

Frank Dlubak was a gracious host. We started out with a walk through the factory floor where I gawked at the massive thickness of the laminated lites on the floor and Frank pointed out the five autoclaves at that particular facility, the tempering line and an IG production line. Although I recognized a number of the names on the machinery on the floor, in the other cases Frank explained to me that when the need arises for a piece of equipment to do a specific task that doesn’t yet exist—he designs it.

The innovation is hardly limited to machinery design, I learned, or even the unique applications of the company’s bent glass and aluminum products, for which the company may be best known. Frank shared that he is in the process of starting up yet another company with a pretty “cool” take on glass—keep an eye on USGNN for more on that soon.

Though our conversation focused on the rather intense topic of security glazing, due to this focus in the April issue of USGlass and the focus on this topic that Dlubak Corp. has had for the past several years, the atmosphere during the interview was relaxed. As Frank pointed out, he has no office in any one building, as his works takes him always to the next project, so we gathered with CEO David Bazzano in a kitchen area upstairs in the facility (and yes indeed, sir, those tasty sprinkle-topped brownies helped me make the long drive home). During our wide-ranging discussions we were subject to welcome interruptions ranging from the curly-haired terrier Max who came in to greet me with a wagging tail to plant floor employees with whom Frank was eager to chat to the appearance of Frank’s son and VP of operations Damon and son-in-law and project manager Sunghoon Kim who joined in our talk. It’s those “slice of life” scenarios (as my high school creative writing teacher would have called them) that make these profiles so interesting; a chance to really see what it’s like on a given day at a given company.

Coincidentally, as the oldest of five kids, I was quite intrigued by the family aspect of the company; as it was pointed out during my visit I sat talking with two sets of brothers-in-law. Close as I am to my siblings, I feel as if the majority of projects on which we have collaborated have resulted in someone being grounded …

Frank pointed out one benefit to this arrangement as being how well “the kids talk to each other every day.” That ever-open line of communication has got to be a boon in business. I know as much as my sibs may drive me crazy, at the end of the day we’re always able to work out our differences. Obviously the same must be true of a number of you out there, as when working on our Big Book of Lists last month I received countless forms indicating some form of family ownership (something we’ll be working to recognize in future issues of USGlass).

And for more on what I learned in visiting Dlubak Corp., you’ll just have to look out for your next issue of USGlass.