Big and Important Deals
What a week in our world. Two massive partnerships were announced that could really push emerging technology to new levels. Very exciting stuff for our industry for sure.
Vitro and VIG Technologies
First up was the Vitro-VIG Technologies announcement. Once again Michael Spellman is trailblazing his way through our world. Michael is the lead behind VIG Technologies and his tVIG product is a showstopper; now working with the massive Vitro machine, this is poised to do very positive things in the glass and glazing world. Kudos to Martin Bracamonte, Nathan McKenna and the entire Vitro team for seeing this.
Ubiquitous Energy and Antamex
Then there was Ubiquitous Energy and Antamex with their news. I have been a fan of Ubiquitous for a while, had the excellent David Maikowski on my podcast, and just love this technology. Now with this hook up with a major force like Antamex (who is in smart growth mode, obviously) this product also will be a substantial disruptor in our space.
I love both of these products because of the energy performances and overall sustainable advantages that will be gained. We take a ton of heat that glass doesn’t perform well―now you have options that perform like a wall or generate renewable energy from sunlight without giving up the natural light. Someone asked me are these partnerships the hot new trend and I would say yes, if you are not aligning yourself with great technology, you will miss out. Big and important moves in our world and congrats to all involved!
Elsewhere…
Architectural Billings Index
The Architectural Billings Index did not falter in June; the performance was super at 57.1 and the new project inquiry number was an absolutely crazy, 71.8, which is a record by far.
Keep in mind numbers in these indexes are always in the 50’s, and we’re crushing those over the last few months. This bodes great for 2022 and into early 2023 and also shows a resilience against worry on supply chain and COVID.
And also interesting was that even architects are noting they are having labor issues too. That is something we are all in the same boat on. Overall, I love this positivity. The worries that I mentioned last week (labor, supply, virus) will hang over us and we need to keep fighting through it but as for the future indexes, that is looking pretty good…
Accommodations for GlassBuild America
GlassBuild. Big advice here is get your accommodations done now. The blocks are filling up, so book now to get the hotel you want. Some people like staying close to the show, others like staying up in the main downtown area, so lock that in before it is too late.
Merecedes-Benz Stadium Tour
Speaking also of GlassBuild, the fantastic opportunity to tour Mercedes Benz Stadium is back. Those who did the tour in 2019 won’t forget it- a tremendous experience and now thanks to the great folks at Oldcastle BuildlingEnvelope, CR Laurence and Clover Architectural Products, the tour is back! How do you get on it? Register for GlassBuild now. A drawing will take place soon…. The tour is scheduled for first thing in the AM on 9/14 before day 2 of GlassBuild begins. If you are a sports fan you will want to be on this tour for sure…
Cleveland Baseball
And sports-wise the Cleveland Indians announced they are changing their name to the Cleveland Guardians. Obviously, a certain glass company is probably thrilled by that, but the name just doesn’t work for a sports team to me… (When I see “Guardians” I think glass or galaxy). For me, I liked the name Cleveland Spiders―was a cool throwback to an original team name. I’d be curious what Ron Crowl of FeneTech thinks as he may be the biggest Cleveland sports fan I know.
Thoughts and Prayers for Joe Silva
Last this week… thoughts and prayers to Joe Silva and his family. Joe’s wife Marianne suffered a brain aneurism last week and is hospitalized in New Jersey. Joe (Glazier Nation vice president) is a relative newcomer to our industry but he’s an amazing guy―I have really enjoyed getting to know him and he’s all class. In this time of need, Joe and Marianne need all the positive push they can get.
