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.

Walking on Laminated Glass

Last week I took up an invitation to attend my first (and LMCI’s fourth) Finishing Industries Forum, which I found to be a really interesting experience. It certainly had a different feel to it, with the music pumping out of the speakers in the large conference room on that first day. For me the most interesting part of the meeting was sitting down in the first Glazing Advisory Committee held by the Finishing Contractors Association and hearing the glaziers openly discussing with one another the challenges that they faced. You can read all about this in my report for USGNN—so instead of reiterating on some of these interesting points I’m going to share with you what I did the day before this conference …

I’ve made it my goal this year to take some time to enjoy the travels that this job throws my way. So when I learned that I’d be spending nearly a week in Las Vegas for a few back-to-back-to-back conferences I simply shrugged and started googling. As much time as I spend at conventions in this city, it was a no-brainer that I’d spend my free day a little further afield. I’d never been to the Grand Canyon, just flown over it countless times, and that was immediately at the top of my list. While I learned later from my tour guide that the South Rim is the spot from which 90% of photos of the Grand Canyon are taken, it was the West Rim that drew me. And while I can attest now that this end of the canyon also has some spectacular views, I had one object in mind when I first set out: I wanted to see the Skywalk.

You wouldn’t be the first to call me a glass geek this week, so go right ahead. Because, yes, after several speechless minutes at the canyon’s edge, I did make my way up to the U-shaped glass bridge suspended 4,000 feet above the canyon floor. And yes, after slipping over my shoes the thin booties handed out at the gate (the walkway is constantly polished to allow for clear views) I may have knelt down to take a closer look at the laminated lite that makes up this unique glass floor. According to information from DuPont, the two-inch thick glass decking, approximately 10 feet wide and 70 feet deep, is made of a multilayer glass construction including three of that company’s SentryGlas structural interlayers and four layers of Saint-Gobain’s Diamant glass. That makes for one very thick and pretty impressive piece of glass.

While the faint-of-heart can avoid walking over the see-through portions of the bridge by sticking to the cement girders at the sides, I felt no worries when it came to wandering across the bridge with a clear view of the canyon floor below my feet. Truth be told, I felt a lot more secure on the thick laminated glass than I did when creeping up to the edge of the canyon itself—where were the structural engineers telling me that wouldn’t crumble?

For any of you out there interested in making the trip, there’s a lot more to see than this somewhat-work-related, although extremely neat, attraction. From Las Vegas, a drive to the West Rim takes you past Hoover Dam and through the Joshua Tree National Forest. There are several stops at the West Rim that allow you a variety of panoramic views, each more impressive than the last, and some opportunities for light hiking. In addition, there are opportunities to learn about the Hualapai Tribe, which owns the land.

Happy Halloween!

It seems true to me that a good job is as much about doing what you love as doing it with people you enjoy spending time with. Lucky for me, I work with a lot of terrific individuals (in this office but also the industry in general). Terrific individuals with good senses of humor—critical to any stressful job, I think.


















This hardly comes out any stronger than at the end of October, as our staff rushes to prepare to put on a major conference in the auto glass industry yet still finds time to let their creativity out in spooky (and sometimes just goofy) ways. The Key Communications Halloween Costumer Contest is an annual tradition, and one much anticipated here in the office. It takes the joy of “casual Friday” to a whole new level.

Not to mention, a couple of mini Snickers bars at 10 a.m. are the secret to my productivity, and Halloween provides a good excuse to bring out the sugar.

I was brainstorming with a friend in the industry yesterday about my costume idea(s) and he commented that his office doesn’t do anything quite as exciting at this time of year as we do. “Engineers just aren’t creative,” he sighed.

I could hardly suppress my grief at that thought. “Are you joking?” I asked. “Not creative? You have to be creative to come up with the wild things that we get to write about. Sure, maybe then you have to be a little rigid in your thinking to make it work—but where does that first idea come from? Or the inspiration to try this instead of that to improve a product’s performance?”

I know there is a great deal of creativity lurking out there in the glass industry. The innovative new products at glasstec, for example, had to start with an idea. Surely you engineers out there are taking that creativity and applying it to your own Halloween costumes … and you have the rigidity and follow-through to go all the way with your idea (unlike some of us artsy types—i.e., me—who spend weeks on grandiose ideas of costume genius before frantically hitting the thrift store the day before the contest to initiate the back-up plan).

So let’s see it. I’d love to post your costume photos on this blog on Monday, or any great ideas that you saw at your office party. And for anyone who manages to keep it industry-related, well, we may have to come up with a special prize for you.

Happy trick-or-treating everyone!

I Survived glasstec

Well folks, I would have loved to have blogged more before this. I had high hopes of blogging daily from the glasstec show floor, bringing the sights and sounds of glasstec to all of my friends in the States, and pointing to my fellow attendees the most trendy and exciting booths to visit. But you know what? The show is big.

No, I don’t think you understand. To tell you the truth, I don’t think there’s a word yet in existence that conveys the distances I walked over the past five days. BIG barely begins to describe it. Because the size of the halls—the nine halls, did we mention that this show covers nine big halls?—is only part of this equation. Each hall that you walk through is filled with the latest, the most exciting products you’ve seen and so for the first day you just walk around gawking at everything. And maybe for some attendees, those focused few, that’s not a problem because they have their list and they stick to it. But when your objective is to cover everything … I get dizzy just thinking about it.

(Keep in mind the above photo is just a part of just one hall.)

When speaking with another glasstec first-timer, Kearne Prendergast with Grenzebach Corp., I heard my sentiments echoed. When asked his impression of this show compared to those in the U.S., he laughed: “Bigger—and, a lot bigger.” That’s just the only way to describe it.

Knowing this, on day one I made a plan. I decided I’d start off on the furthest hall (thinking that as my feet began to hurt throughout the week I’d move closer to our booth in Hall 13) and start with a familiar face. And that provides me with an example.

As I entered Hall 17 I saw that the Lisec booth essentially was Hall 17. The booth was massive. In some ways I started to feel I’d lucked out: being responsible for covering machinery at the show, I’d hit two or three massive booths and have a hall covered. I wasn’t counting on the fact that each booth would be demonstrating a number of brand new lines—and anyone who has spoken with me at a trade show knows the machinery is my favorite part (it’s so much easier to understand when you can actually see it in action) so I could hardly resist walking every square inch of those massive booths.

But at the beginning of the show I commiserated with Bob Quast, president and chief executive officer of Lisec America Inc., who was another first-time glasstec attendee. When I asked what he thought about the show so far he mentioned that the previous night he and his colleagues had gone out to dinner and “must have had 20 of our customers from the United States come into that one restaurant.”

Yes, that’s another great thing about the BIG show. I ran into so many familiar faces that I hardly felt far from home and the number of North American accents I overheard lulled me into thinking I was ok without any knowledge of German. Which brings up what I hope is not a silly point. Throughout that first day, at least, I found myself drawn into a number of booths because I’d seen words in English over every inch of the booth, only to find that no one in the booth spoke more than a few halting words.

My German is limited to no more than a few words, so I greatly appreciated those individuals who took the time to find a way to translate (in one case, the word translate). But I was surprised at how English seems to be the language of product marketing even for those companies without English-speaking representatives at the show. Nearly every booth had a sign proclaiming in clear English their product’s capabilities, signs that lulled me into thinking I could launch into my rapid-fire spiel and be easily understood. Ha!

But as the days went on I learned to adapt, and to slow down not just my spiel but my whole way of covering the show. I marveled when at Vitrum last fall how many booths had full-blown meals in their booths and while at glasstec I think I finally understood that it’s because each visit is a drawn-out business deal. It’s not just that things move slower overseas; it’s that if you pop in for a booth visit, there’s the real possibility that you’ll be leaving an hour later with a purchase made. With that understood, I began to accept more offers of cappuccino (which I’m sure didn’t help me to slow down my spiel) and prepared to sit and wait at each booth until it was my turn for the focused attention of the booth representative.

So somehow, I made it through my first glasstec. The food was delicious, the people friendly, the fall weather just perfect … the examples of solar glass mind-blowing to someone learning as much as possible about the topic before the launch of a solar section … the machinery demonstrations fascinating … all in all, everything I’d hoped for and more.

Now, one last note; those of you who checked out our video coverage may be amused to hear some of our harebrained plans for a show video wrap-up. My personal favorite ended the report with my colleague Ellen Rogers clicking the heels of her red shoes on the gold carpet that wound through the solar exhibit, chanting “there’s no place like home.” But to tell you the truth, we have so much footage left to share that for us the show is far from over. Stay tuned to USGNN.com for more video from the trade show floor—and keep an eye out for the December USGlass for a peek at products and a full glasstec review.

Greetings and Guten Tag

What a fantastic day to be in Düsseldorf, Germany! The air was crisp but not too cool; large yellow leaves cover the sidewalks, lending a seasonal beauty to the city; and already I’ve seen familiar faces and made new friends.

Following an uneventful, if sleepless, flight, I arrived in Germany this morning, collected a stamp in my passport and was off to the hotel for a very few z’s. After a mere two hours of sleep I was ready to throw open the curtains and take a look at my view—and what else should I see but a crane atop a nearby building waiting to lift the last lites into place? It’s as if the city itself is preparing for glasstec, a feeling strengthened after passing numerous signs advertising the show on the short tram-ride to the halls. (At this point, let me extend my thanks to the guardian angel on the tram who appeared over my shoulder as my co-worker and I studied our city map and explained which stop was the best for us to take—every shortcut is needed, I’ve learned.)

Upon arriving at the hall, and eventually locating the booth (Hall 13, Stand C73 for those interested in visiting), our crew took part in the flurry of activity consuming the fairgrounds today—purchasing assorted odds and ends, making adjustments to the booth and getting the “lay of the land.” In some ways I’m less overwhelmed by the show than I’d imagined simply because I’ve already walked from the far-off hall 13 to the north entrance at hall 9 several times today, delivering copies of USGlass to the international press stand, among other things. But the mind-boggling displays I’ve already seen have left me eagerly anticipating tomorrow. And not just the fascinating new products and technologies at which I’ve had an early peek—the massive and creative booths themselves top anything I’ve seen before.

If you’re here in Germany this week, let me invite you to stop by the USGlass magazine booth, as I’d love to hear your varied perspectives on the show. And if you’re reading this from the comfort of home, wherever that might be, feel free to make suggestions of interviews or product news you’d like to know read about—or see—on USGNN.com.

glasstec ’08 Awaits

It’s almost here! I feel like a kid at Christmas-time as I wait impatiently for Sunday to come. My first glasstec trip is rapidly approaching and while my excitement has been somewhat dimmed by an extremely busy week of following up on information from last week’s GlassBuild show and putting the finishing touches on a jam-packed November issue of USGlass to boot, I am eager for next week nonetheless (and not just for the much-needed nap I anticipate on the flight over).

It’s been some time since Ellen Rogers wrote about her first time at glasstec and after re-reading it yet again I consider myself even more lucky in knowing that Ellen will be there to lend a hand as she covers it for our new Decorative Glass magazine, as will Charles Cumpston for the Architects’ Guide to Glass. (You better believe Deb will be there too, and you’ll be able to recognize our video producer Drew Vass by the equipment he’ll be carrying.)

But first thing’s first. As I pulled out the big suitcase from my closet last night, laid my passport on top and began to fret about how I’d squeeze my latest knitting project into my tiny carry-on, I felt the first stress about my upcoming trip. Now don’t get me wrong—the idea of spending five days walking across 725,000 square feet to talk with some of the 1,000 exhibitors at the show isn’t the least bit daunting to me (stop that laughing!), especially coming fresh off of covering the recent GlassBuild show (ok, I know it doesn’t compare). Nope, this early in the game, my biggest worry is just making my way to the fairgrounds in Düsseldorf: you know, trying to find the right mode of transportation to a destination I can’t pronounce, fighting jet lag while functioning in a fog of foreign conversation, yawning my way through a meal of food I’m just not used to … So I called in an expert in these matters to reassure me: my sister, Robyn, world traveler extraordinaire—and recent German major.

Me: What advice can you give to someone traveling around Düsseldorf for the first time?

Robyn: Take the U-bahn. Everybody takes the U-bahn. It’s just like in D.C. The thing is they’re absolutely punctual. If it says it’s leaving at 10:04, it’s leaving at 10:04.

Me: What are a few words you suggest travelers in Germany know?

Robyn:

How much? ......... Wie Viel?
Please.................... Bitte
Thank you ............ Danke
Train station ........ Bahnhof
Subway ................. U-bahn
Exit ........................ Ausgang
Glass ...................... Glas

Me: What's your favorite German food to order?

Robyn: The best food ever is stollen. The thing about this is you have to be there around Christmas time (it may be out this early). It’s amazing over there, fluffy, with powdered sugar on top. You can buy it at marketplaces and especially at the Christmas fairs. You have to try the original thing. The stollen is amazing.

If you’re looking for fast food, Döner. Basically it’s like McDonald’s in the sense that it just costs a couple Euros, it’s quick, but it’s so good. They serve pitas with lamb, kind of like a gyro.

Also, the salad over there isn’t just lettuce, but it is different than salad over here; it’s compartmentalized. It’s not everything thrown together—it has lettuce but everything else they put on is sectioned off.

Oh, and they don’t have fluffy bread like we have over here. It’s very hard, and that’s normal.

And the water—they’re going to give you carbonated. If you want tap water, you have to ask.

The other thing I wanted to add is they eat a lot of beets (Me: yuuuck). Yeah, beets and potatoes, stuff like that. They're really good.

Me: What’s the name of that chocolate bar Mom has insisted I have to bring her as a souvenir?

Robyn: Milka bar. It’s got a picture of a cow on it. Cappuccino, remember.

Me: Thanks for your time (or something to that effect …).

P.S. For anybody who is curious (I was), the glasstec catalog is an inch and a half thick. But I’m not worried about the show. Much.