The Glass Conference

I’ve noted this previously but here goes again; there’s a ton of content out there right now and it’s a challenge to determine what is worthy and what is not. One event that is absolutely worth it―even more than ever this year―is the Glass Conference coming in July. This is a conference that I was not always able to get to in person but always enjoyed. This year it had to go virtual, and I am blown away by the level of information lined up for it. There is insight on design, manufacturing, jobsites, products and more. It’s an incredible agenda. I’m pretty pumped about it. The schedule can be found here and I think it’s going to be an excellent opportunity to learn and grow. Register now, and let’s make it a great one.

Elsewhere…

• I was on the latest ITR economic outlook webinar (and a note ITR will have an analyst on the Glass Conference as well) and it was an interesting roller coaster ride of detail and information. Some of the highlights were that this situation we are in, as we know, has no historical benchmark. And seeing it in graphs really sent this point home for me. When you say “uncharted” this is it; trying to use the past as a guide is not really at play.
  
  So, what is at work is that we’ve got a solid backlog on the commercial side that is going to carry some weight through 2020, but 2021 is looking very murky. We know that plenty of projects are on the shelf right now; we don’t know how many are just delayed versus outright canceled. That detail will start to become clearer by third quarter and then more accurate reporting will happen. Bottom line, though, is now is the time to keep on top of everything and also time to keep laser focused on how you are operating and diversifying for the future. 
• Speaking of forecasts, the 2020 hurricane season forecast is out and it looks like there are some potential adventures ahead. Obviously, hurricane season is always stressful but my goodness this year could add a crazy layer to it. Hopefully Mother Nature will take it easy on us.
• Missed commenting on this, but was great to see Jeremy Hoy land at Virginia Glass Products. Jeremy is a major talent and a part of what I would say the next generation of big-time players in our industry. Only thing he doesn’t do is read my blog, so I’ll have to work on him there. Congrats to him and the folks at Virginia. Good combo.
• The AIA Committee on the Environment had their top 10 projects of the year released this past week, and while some of these are not my taste, a couple jumped out. All are good for the world though, and worth taking a look. Congrats to any glass and glazing folks who had work on one of these!
• Are you ready for Augmented Reality (AR) Glasses? Well supposedly Apple is close―I assume these would be the next more intense generation beyond “Google Glass” that were out a few years ago. If I had to guess, I would say Thomas Lee of Lee & Cates and Flat Glass Distributors probably has a new pair of these Apple AR Glasses already since he’s always ahead of the tech―so maybe he’ll share if they are good or not!
• Last this week; no blog post from me next week. I am going to take a few mental health days at the end of this week and into start of next. I am going to actually attempt to go totally offline. Seriously. That means no streaming TV either―going dark, got a few books to finish and want to avoid all social media especially. We’ll see how long that lasts but the effort will be there. I’ll be back in this space week of June 14! Stay well everyone!

Read on for links of the week...