Back from AIA

I’m not quite over the jet lag yet, but with the May USGlass going to press and the June New Products Guide deadline just passed (yes, that’s right – but if you send in your products this week we may be able to squeeze them into this packed issue) leading to an avalanche of product releases, lounging at home wasn’t exactly an option. Yes, those West Coast shows sure can be tough for us East Coast dwellers. The American Institute of Architects Annual Convention may have been tough for a lot of exhibitors, though.

Max Perilstein touched on the show floor layout in his blog last week and I’m sure will have additional comments on the show later this week. For my part, the first day seemed to get off to a fairly slow start, but, in the South Hall at least, it remained steady even through the last minutes of the show on Saturday. While the refrain of “quality leads over quantity” quickly became tired, by the second day I found myself echoing it—not because traffic was so slow at our booth but because those architects who came by truly were excited to see the magazines we were offering. As one exhibitor I spoke with mentioned, “Probably everyone that has come by has a need where we can help them.” It just goes to show you that if you’re investing in the dollars to travel in this economic climate, you’re going to take it seriously.

But I didn’t spend nearly as much time in our booth as I did wandering the show floor (and with the many booths mismarked in the directory listing, wandering proved more helpful than setting out to track companies down). If you didn’t make it to the show, we tried to capture a sense of the goings-on via our video reports on USGNN.com, and a great many more product highlights will be featured in our full show review in the June USGlass. (If you did make it to the show, please share your observations by commenting here on this blog!)

You can see on our video post my interest in solar products was shared by a number of companies showcasing their photovoltaic products at the show. In addition to the video, you’ll want to check out our Solar Glazing website for other highlights in this arena.

My college art history courses flashed before my eyes when I stopped with my colleague Ellen Rogers at the NGI Designer Glass booth. Although I know Ellen will be writing plenty on the gorgeous decorative glass options showcased at the show I can’t help but to comment on the amazing clarity of the replica masterpieces captured within and in some cases upon the glass in that booth.

At the Dorma booth, Mari Ciastko was kind enough to give me a tour of some of the stylish new products I’d been reading about from the company. There was plenty there to impress, including the slim header of the automatic sliding door that is operated using the same magnetic technology as the “maglev” trains that float rapidly over the rails in Shanghai. According to Mari, the real “wow” factor for architects visiting the booth was the MOVEO glass operable room partitions that combine transparency with sound insulation.

Serious Materials had a serious presence at the show, and I was happy for the opportunity to talk with Sandra Vaughan and Judy DePuy in the marketing department about their upcoming projects. That’s a company that’s sure to have a lot on its plate in the months ahead as it amps up production at its new facilities that we’ve highlighted on USGNN.com. Although I got a kick out of the graphics in the booth of the Virginia Air and Space Museum in my hometown, talking with these ladies got me curious about the projects this company will be working on in the near future.

It also was a pleasure to meet up with Mark Kearns with Dlubak after visiting with him at my recent plant tour. Mark was spotlighting the company’s new Green Heat product among other things; you’ll be able to learn much more about what the company is working on these days in the June USGlass.

Obviously this list is far from complete, so for those obvious omissions - I'm blaming it on the jet lag. Please give me a hand by posting your impressions of the show here. And for those of you who didn't make it to San Francisco, there will be plenty more to learn about in our review within the June USGlass.

Retailers Find Ways to Stand Out

Following the response to our recent post on our USGNN newsletter “calling all glass and mirror retailers” I’ve been doing some pondering about retailers and competition. I started considering this with regard to another area with which I’m pretty familiar. Last year I began landscaping my new home and now with spring back I’ve already made three or four trips to Home Depot for bags of dirt. And when I’m making a trip for topsoil I’m usually sidetracked by brightly colored annuals as well.

However, the thing about going to the big box stores for plants is that you end up with the same stuff in your yard as all of your neighbors. And that’s fine, because it’s pretty stuff that you already know will grow well in your area. But on the way home from Home Depot I like to stop at a little garden nursery just down the street. It’s a little pricier, but has a wider variety of shrubs available. Of course, its advertising always states that the store has landscape experts on staff, even though the high school kids ringing up purchases have yet to be able to answer any of my questions. That disconnect between the advertising and reality always irks me a bit, so I tend to be a little more critical of those higher prices unless they have something I absolutely can’t get anywhere else.

Now my goal this summer is to make it back up to the traffic nightmare that is Fairfax County to the little nursery I’d once passed that had declared it had “150 Types of Herbs.” Despite the terrible location and lack of discernible parking spaces, that distinction piqued my interest. In this day and age where there’s even a vegetable garden at the White House due to the green and economic benefits of growing one’s own food, I’d bet this sign would appeal to other passersby as well.

The point is that all of these small retailers have a distinction that separates them from their competitors. For the big box store, it’s a supply of basic materials for a reasonable price. For the local nursery, it’s a wider selection of materials hand-picked to suit the region. For the third option, it’s a trendy selection of products that is likely to change depending on current demands.

For the store with the bad location, obviously that isn’t something that can be fixed, but they’ve offset it with unique roadside advertising designed to lure in traffic-weary travelers. I would guess that a rotating selection might lure those passersby back into the traffic trap to check out their new selection.

For that second nursery, the fact that their staff doesn’t support their advertising and that the customers’ expectations aren’t being met is a factor that could cause shoppers to turn elsewhere to have their needs met, despite the fact that they have a good selection of product available. But is the store manager aware of how damaging this disconnect is? Maybe, maybe not. I would expect that if customers brought this to the manager’s attention, some positive changes could be made that would in the long run improve sales. Is there a number where those advertised landscape experts can be reached? How about hour-long weekend tutorials where shoppers can learn tips for caring for roses or properly planting shrubs, and then have their questions answered?

Now on this note, in case you haven’t yet seen the USGNN blurb, in anticipation of its upcoming retail-focused July issue, USGlass magazine is looking for interested glass retailers to open their shop up to a review from our secret shoppers. If you’re interested in this opportunity, e-mail me at mheadley@glass.com by June 1 to put your name on our list. We’d like to show you how your customers really see your shop, and offer suggestions that could help boost your sales. Or if you’d like to share your tips for success with our other readers, I’d welcome those suggestions.

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.

Back to the Grindstone

The Glass Association of North America's (GANA) Glass Week and the BEC Conference were a great success from everything I saw and heard, and I think the GANA staff and conference speakers have had the well-deserved accolades piled on. For those of you who didn’t have the opportunity to make it yourselves, we tried our best to bring you a view of the conference highlights with our video footage, which you can find on our USGNN archive site, marked with a small red video camera icon.

The only thing I think hasn’t been covered, was the intense conversation on any given night at the ghostbar, located on the 55th story of the Palms, regarding whether that was in fact glass or a polycarbonate “window” set into the bar’s patio floor. Anyone want to claim this particular project and settle this question once and for all ..?

As I’m sure the 500+ attendees of last week’s conference will agree, great as the conference was, after a week out of the office the inbox was looking pretty scary upon my return. As I told someone this morning, it’s been very encouraging the tremendous response we received to this year’s Book of Lists, but after a week out of the office there was quite a lot of your forms to wade through. It’s a great problem to have, though, and my thanks to everyone who showed such interest in being a part of this annual feature.

With this massive project just about coming to a close, I’m starting to turn my attention to our April issue, with its focus on architects. For those of you who responded to our contract glazing survey last fall, I get the impression that just this mention of the architectural industry already has gotten a reaction from you. No offense meant to architects—we love ’em to death and wouldn’t have work without them—but admit it. Your life would be a lot easier if they knew a thing or two about glass, right?

Well here’s your chance to help. You can either post here or email me, as I'd like to hear the top three things you wish architects knew about glass or the glass industry. We’ll run your kind suggestions (or desperate pleas) in the April issue of USGlass, which also will feature a preview of the AIA Convention in San Francisco.

Video Highlights

I’m sure by now you’ve clicked onto the first of our new monthly online newscasts (and if you haven’t, be sure to check it out here). Thanks to those of you who offered your kind suggestions and comments. As I mentioned in my last post, everyone’s trying to stand out, and this regular video broadcast is just one more service we at USGNN/USGlass are offering to bring news to the industry. Of course, I can’t help but remark that it’s a service I’ve noticed a number of glass industry companies offering of late.

As I’m preparing for our March issue and its annual Big Book of Lists—which includes rankings of the industry’s top glazing contractors and suppliers in a number of categories—I’ve been drawn to a couple of websites to learn more about the companies that have been submitting forms for this issue. On a number of those sites I’ve stumbled upon video offerings that I thought worth sharing:

• Egan Co. provides an overview to its services, including curtainwall installation;
• Arizona Shower Door welcomes visitors to its website with a personable video about the company;
• DORMA Group North America goes a step further by providing video product introductions and installation tips; and
• Applied Materials may be a bit further afield, but the company offers an interesting video on processing glass for solar modules.

Obviously there’s a range of offerings here—from the technical to the overview—but it’s exciting to me to see how many companies are embracing this “different” way of making their company stand out. These are just a couple I’ve stumbled upon in the past couple of weeks—I’d love to hear about the decision that led to your video offerings and the learning curve you’ve faced in making that transition.

And as for the Big Book of Lists—if you haven’t received a form yet and you’re interested in being included, send me an email at mheadley@glass.com and I’ll get that over to you pronto.

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.

Singing the Blues in Chorus

In working on an industry forecast for our January issue, I expected the comments to be discouraging. This year, more than most, the predictions have come easily for the folks I’ve talked to—including manufacturers, fabricators and glazing contractors—and all are along the same lines. While many glazing contractors still have some commercial projects scheduled for early 2009, what happens after the first quarter is anybody’s guess, or so I’m told.

This afternoon I spoke with Vicki Holt, PPG’s senior vice president of glass and fiberglass, who was kind enough to take a few minutes out of her busy schedule to answer questions about what the glass manufacturer is preparing for in 2009. To some degree, they're waiting to see like everyone else.

“It’s just a very difficult time to have good visibility right now,” Vicki commented.

But Vicki’s first prediction matched up with other comments I’ve received, that “in the commercial construction space in North America we have not seen a significant downturn yet in 2009.” While a number of contractors are telling me about project cancellations, many are still working through backlog and are only beginning to look warily for the next job to bid.

However, Vicki added that Global Insights, the economic and financial analysis with which PPG works, “is forecasting as much as a 14-percent decline for commercial construction in 2009.”

So the forecasts are pretty comparable. But what about the solutions? It may seem like the time to hunker down and focus on core businesses, but what are the areas in which branching out could be profitable during a commercial construction downturn?

Vicki presented one that is no stranger to the pages of USGlass, noting that green building construction and investments in renewable energy are likely to provide opportunities for jobs in a number of areas, including the glass industry.

When I talked with Tom Niepokoj, vice president of sales of Harmon Inc., a few weeks ago following Greenbuild, he made what I thought was an interesting observation.

“There’s no question that the country would like to more proactively pursue the green building product lines; our question is, can we afford it?” Tom said. “We’re kind of wondering if that trend will get a little sidetracked by the economy and the cost of those green elements.”

What do you think? Will initial investments in higher-priced “green” products deter architects looking to keep budgets low? Or will the long-term payoff remain inviting?

And in what ways are you preparing for 2009? Share your forecasts by emailing me at mheadley@glass.com, and I’d be happy to include your thoughts in our January issue.