Show Review Part I

First things first – thanks to everyone who stopped by the booth to hand me a bottle of hand sanitizer. Just to know you are all reading that closely had me smiling throughout the event - and I made it out of Atlanta unscathed so I suppose it helped!

Second, a huge thanks to everyone who, with a big grin, told our Newscast viewers “they are watching USGNN.” Readers/Viewers, next week’s Newscast will have lots of unseen show footage and a couple great surprises so you’re definitely going to want to tune in for that.

I had a lot of exhibitors asking for my take on the show and when I got their input, boy was there a range. In a few cases I heard “best show in years” and in many cases I heard “no one’s coming by.” We were happily in the middle. Every time I eventually made it back to the booth there seemed to be someone on my heels eager to talk and I was thrilled that so many people came to seek out us (and, more likely, extra copies of the magazine).

Speaking of which, I was so glad to see the folks at APG International coming by for extra copies of this September issue. We were honored to publish Ed Zaucha’s article, which I think is a big wake-up call to anyone who doesn’t have such a plan in place. If you haven't read it, I'd encourage you to seek out our digital edition pronto.

It was a pleasure to meet in person Eugene Negrin and Mike Kelley, both of whom I talked recently for our feature in the October USGlass on tips for purchasing new machinery and equipment during a down economy. That’s always one of the highlights of the show for me, to finally shake hands with those people who are so eager to help out with comments for and insight into our various articles. I got to meet a lot of new faces, which was great, and I look forward to working (and, in some cases, playing shuffleboard) with you all more extensively in the future. It also was very interesting to hear the thoughts of those long-time GBA veterans on the show, from our own sales rep Scott Rickles, who has been attending for a good 30 years; to Dan De Gorter who shared his thoughts on the transitions the event has taken for our preview; and Dennis Clark who offered his comments for us on video.

To the exhibitors I talked to who seemed so downtrodden about their chances in our Green Design Awards (you know who you are) ... you might be surprised ... To everyone who hasn’t voted yet, visit http://www.usglassmag.com/ to cast your votes this week!

I was glad I finally ran into Urmilla Sowell, Helen Sanders and Stanley Yee who have all be so active in GANA’s efforts to try and work with ASHRAE on its updates of 90.1. It’s a huge issue we all need to pay attention to, but they’ve done a great job in taking the lead on this. If you made it to the ASHRAE meeting that took place in Atlanta last week, I'd like to hear your thoughts on this issue.

To everyone I didn’t get to say hello to in person—please drop me a line with your thoughts on the show or anything you feel must be included in the show review. I tried my best to cover it all, but I think one of the results of a smaller show is that everyone had a little more time to talk.
Now this is part one of the show review ... for the in-depth review you'll have to keep checking back to USGNN and look for the November issue of USGlass.

Looking forward ...

Metalcon is set to kick-off tomorrow in Tampa, Fla. While I won’t be able to attend that event myself, I would like to you hear your thoughts on it.

Taking place later this week is another energy-focused event—the Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon. Let us know if your products will be featured in any of the energy-efficient test homes being built on the National Mall as I know last year we got a ton of news releases on this event.

Vitrum is coming up at the end of this month. Two years ago I provided some tips for first-time attendees to the Italian trade show of note. If you have any to add to the list I hope to update this blog as this event for glass fabricators gets underway.

A little further afield is Greenbuild, set for November 11-13 in Phoenix. I know YKK AP is saving its latest product launch for that up-and-coming show; let me know who else thinks that will be the glass industry’s big event for the year.