Power Players

A new podcast is now posted with two tremendous guys from fantastic companies. First up is Ben Jayson of Bendheim, which is a legendary brand and Ben is one very sharp individual. We take a good dive into his past, his thoughts on the space, and some of the very smart things Bendheim does.  

Then I chop it up with Will Pounds of TSI Corporations. Will was impressive and I loved hearing about the lessons from the past that Will and the team learned and how they put it to work going forward. Plus, a neat look at some hot new products he likes and he stuns me with his favorite food. All of that and more. Check it out, the insight shared by these two was something to savor. I appreciate the listens and watches!

Watch here. Listen here (as well as on Apple and Spotify).

This month’s podcast was brought to you by GlassBuild America, which just opened registration. The show this year returns to Vegas in October and it’s looking like a masterpiece. A few new wrinkles have been added and the show floor is really coming together nicely. Plus, more than ever an event like the Glazing Executives Forum is crucial given the challenges in our space. Get registered today and get that hotel room too: GlassBuildAmerica.com.

Elsewhere...

Erie Architectural Products Promotes Tim Thomas to President

Congrats to Tim Thomas on his recent promotion to President at Erie Architectural Products. Tremendous news for a truly great person.

I have always been a huge fan of Tim and his brother Brian. I think Brian is easily one of the five best company leaders in our industry right now atop of Super Sky, so this brotherly love thing got me thinking: Are the Thomas siblings the best sibling group in our industry? Some serious competition there with the awesome Aragon brothers of Aragon Construction, the superstar Stathopoulos brothers at Ajay Glass, the brilliant brother/sister team at Goldray in Mike Saroka and Laura Little, and I always get confused on the Habers at W&W if there are brothers there or are they all cousins, but that is an immensely talented crew too.  

Who am I missing? And shame my brother Steve can’t count on my sister, because she left the industry, or me to live up to his visionary skillset!  

K-Space Associates celebrates 30 years

Also congrats to K-Space Associates and Darryl Barlett on their 30th anniversary in business. I met Darryl at GPAD and it was cool to get to know him and learn about their product line and approach. Good guy, good stuff and congrats on the anniversary!

Glass Conference Coming Up Soon

We are a week away from the NGA Glass Conference: Chicago and I was impressed with the companies attending. Was a serious “who’s who” of the fabricating/manufacturing side of our world and good to see so many companies focused on the technical side of our world.
Urmilla Sowell and team do an awesome job in representing us and also making sure we are doing things the right way. There are always holes out there; a big one is some unsavory approaches to school protective glass with lots of create-it-yourself testing standards, but the NGA team surely does the best it can to make sure things get done the right way.

Thoughts on AIA Expo

Those of you who know me know I do not care for the AIA Expo. They don’t care for their exhibitors and it’s a shame when so many other shows do but can’t get some of the same buy in.  

Anyway, I had to laugh when I saw AIA chose San Francisco for its event in 2023. That may be one of the worst possible locations in our world right now. Good luck to them on that one and good luck to anyone who is going to exhibit there.

Parting thoughts for the week

Last this week: The final six episodes of Better Call Saul start this week. Unreal show and cannot wait to see how this one ends. If they pull it off as perfectly as they did Breaking Bad (same writers etc.) then that will be awesome. 

Read on for links of the week...