The Great State of Texas
TGA Glass Conference delivers education and insights
The Texas Glass Association Glass Conference really delivered this past week, once again showing that people want and need these onsite events to help to grow themselves and their businesses.
The TGA is such a first-class organization, and kudos to the fabulous Kyle Sharp of Sharp Glass for his leadership and approach to this event. The Glass Conference is a perfect opposite year compliment to the bi-annual TEXpo event, and this year the content really was top notch. Great breakout sessions and a couple of truly memorable and insight-heavy main room presentations.
- The “Supply Chain” panel did not disappoint at all. What a wonderful job by Seth Madole (Viracon), Chris Giovannielli (Kawneer) Mike Walters (GE Silicones) and Kyle Jones (PGP) in tackling so many of the biggest topics in our industry and doing it in a perfect conversational style. It was like the four of them were catching up on things and the rest of us got to listen in. Really well done.
- The closing keynote by Kris “Tonto” Paronto ended with a rousing standing ovation which was more than deserving. A story of sincere perseverance delivered in a genuine way. Absolutely awesome. In addition, Kris did have a great line on training: “Train to the highest level,” meaning the further you train someone, the more that they can handle. That stuck with me, and it is something that is a best practice. (With MyGlassClass and other options, there are plenty of ways to push that training envelope)
- For me it was honor to present and meet a ton of new people, and also feel the energy of the room and region.
The great state of Texas always brings it, and I am grateful for every visit. Thank you to the TGA for having me in yet again!
Elsewhere…
Catching Up with Friends at TGA
A few other wrap up thoughts on the TGA; it was absolutely amazing to see a ton of Binswanger Glass folks in the crowd and catch up with some old friends too. Major kudos to Jennifer Brereton there for rallying the team and supporting this event, plus it is never a bad thing to chat with the great Jacque Freeman either. Wins all around there.
I really enjoyed getting to spend quality time with Nathan Seaman of Architectural Grills and Sunshades- cool cat there. And speaking of cool, I think Brian Risinger and Joe Lambertson of Country Glass have that aspect cornered—they are cool and just tremendous people. My old pal David Shaw is looking amazing, down 70 pounds from last year. Way to go my friend! I cherish every chance I get with Sam Hill of Oak Cliff Mirror and Glass, Sam is just a super human being.
Last on this, being able to visit with Felix Munson and the entire team from Anchor Ventana was awesome. Have not seen these folks in a while, and they are pure class always.
SolarCoaster and the Rise of Transparent PV
I want to give this a spot here so kudos to the amazing Dr. Kayla Natividad of NSG Pilkington for the term she has coined “SolarCoaster” because that is just a brilliant way to talk about the epic rise of Transparent PV and other solar related glazing products. The SolarCoaster is a happy thrill ride that is starting get a nice line waiting for it. This week in Texas, my presentation noted the new PV revolution and reaction was of some serious anticipation of what is to come. This is surely an area to keep tabs on! And as for Kayla, I think “SolarCoaster” now enters the lexicon of great industry terms right after Andrew Haring’s “GlassNerd.”
Privacy Glass Solutions and Hurricane-Rated Blinds Between Glass Window
Was cool to see good news from old pal Kevin Roth at Privacy Glass Solutions in Florida. Kevin and team have a pretty smart new product now available with the only hurricane rated blinds between glass window in the marketplace. With the push in Florida for more impact glazing (wonderful news in itself) this sort of specialty window is an excellent play. Nice work Kevin and team!
From the Fabricator Podcast
Reminder on my most recent podcast; if you missed it, I had John Wheaton of Wheaton-Sprague on as well as Jill Read of Binswanger Glass. Plus, Andrew Haring jumped on too with some insight. Fun conversations with truly terrific people. Thanks for checking it out.
Or find it wherever you get your podcasts (Apple, Spotify, etc.)
ENR’s Top 500 Design Firms
Last this week, ENR’s annual list of the Top 500 Design Firms is out and the news is good overall with firms making more money. Obviously, it will be interesting to see how the volatility of 2022 plays out here but at least for 2021, many of these folks are living right. The breakdown of who does what and how was an interesting read too. Check it out here….
