BEC Presents Maps State of the Industry, and Beyond
One of the only things in 2020 that didn’t suck was BEC. In fact, even with the tornado and virus, BEC 2020 in Nashville was outstanding on every level. Everything that has happened since has largely been outside our control; however, the NGA continues to do an amazing job anticipating, adapting, and leading the glass industry through the biggest crisis in our lifetimes.
This trend continues with the introduction of BEC Presents. In a nod to the TED Talks-style of the NGA’s Express Learning at GlassBuild America, BEC Presents is a series of five short videos covering many of the topics that keep decision-makers awake at night.
There is something reassuringly familiar about seeing Matt Kamper that calms and assures you that everything is going to be okay. Matt is worth watching BEC Presents on his own.
State of the Industry: Glass, Metal & Contract Glazing
If you do nothing else today, spend 15 minutes with three titans of the industry for the State of the Industry: Glass, Metal & Contract Glazing. Heavy hitters Troy Johnson, Tim Kelley and Oliver Stepe share their insight with Katy Devlin about the economy, construction, challenges and trends.
“Construction downturns are not new,” says Troy Johnson, president of Harmon Inc. “We understand how they work and we expect them. They normally last about 8 quarters before they bounce back.” According to Johnson, the office sector is going to change. Listen to his thoughts on purchasing a building by catalog.
Oliver Stepe, president of YKK AP America Inc. questioned how long the increasing divide between Wall Street and Main Street can sustain itself, and shared his concern on the national debt and a potentially overheated stock market.
“It was incredible at BEC in Nashville last year,” says Tim Kelley of Tristar Glass Inc. “We were all on the top of the world. Two weeks after that we were all trying to figure out how were going to manage our businesses for the year.” A year later and Kelley wonders about the future of office space alongside an industry with eyes wide open.
2021 and the Construction Industry After COVID-19
Who are you and what have you done with Max Perilstein? Watching Max run to the top of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium will be the highlight of your week. Super cool. Best B-reel of the series. Perilstein hosted the feature 2021 and the Construction Industry After COVID-19 with Brian Carroll, managing partner and attorney at Sanderford & Carroll, P.C.
Do you know what “The Man in the Middle” attack is? Carroll shares excellent legal information that every employer and employee should be aware of and touches on issues such as Remote Work Guidance and Cyber Security. Carroll tells viewers that we don’t have a lot of guidance on a vaccination policy yet because the government hasn’t announced anything.
“A lot of my clients are strongly encouraging all of their employees to get vaccinated,” says Carroll. “It’s not at a point where companies are mandating employees bring in a vaccination card. I can’t get the vaccination. It’s simply not available to me yet. This is going to be true for a lot of our workforces.” Carroll stresses that the industry needs to think ahead and be proactive.
Changes in Commercial Real Estate and its Effect on the Glazing Industry
If you’re in the office building market, you’re worried about the vacancy rate and should not miss glass nerd-mountain man Andrew Haring covering Changes in Commercial Real Estate and its Effect on the Glazing Industry with Randal Froebelius of Equity ICI Real Estate Services Inc. Froebelius says that innovation to prevent the spread of COVID is not over. “There are huge opportunities. People are expecting that touch-free environment.” Think touchless door operators and bio-resistant surfaces.
Decoded: Innovation Using Key Glazing Codes & Contract Glazing
Hosted by Karen Wegert, NGA glazing codes and standards experts Nick Resetar, Thom Zaremba, Tom Culp and Urmilla Sowell tackle bird-friendly glazing, fire-rated glazing, remodeling projects, energy code updates and oversize glass in Decoded: Innovation Using Key Glazing Codes & Contract Glazing. It’s not much of a surprise that Nick Resetar mentioned Canada is more out front that the United States is with the national standard on Bird Friendly Glazing. Canada loves birds.
Thirsty Thursday: Understanding the Tech Tables
In Thirsty Thursday: Understanding the Tech Tables, Melissa Szotkowski, Structural Glass Systems for Manager Oldcastle BuildingEnvelope, covers the NGA documents that address the use of interior glass. Szotkowski says these documents will be important to all of those involved with the reconfiguration of interior spaces for the post-COVID workplace.
There is no doubt that the industry is ready to get back to normal, in person and back to the Glazing Executives Forum at GlassBuild 2021 in Atlanta and BEC 2022 in Nashville where the biggest decision about shots will be tequila or Jägermeister not Pfizer versus AstraZeneca.
