Pod, Forecast, Advocacy and More
Advocacy Days and Industry News
The latest edition of the From the Fabricator podcast is up and it’s got three dynamic and strong players on it. This month I kick it off with Susan Stone from Ubiquitous Energy.
Susan was supposed to be on the opening session at BEC but had to cancel because of the insane weather her region was receiving at the time. So it was a good chance to visit with her since so many were looking forward to hearing from her at the show.
Then on to Trent Thiry of Global Security Glazing/Isoclima. He’s somewhat new to our space, but making inroads and I love his outlook and approach and his favorite food choice too.
Last this month was Brandon Nicastro of GCS Glass. Talent and success from the ground up and he does not stop grinding or running for that matter. With all three, great energy and insights so it was a super time overall. Thank you for checking it out! You can watch it here, or listen here, as well as on Apple, Spotify, Google etc.
Elsewhere…
Architectural Billings Index
The latest Architectural Billings Index was released, and we went back down, so the possibility of it making a quick return to the positive was dashed and now with the current banking unrest I can’t see next month getting into plus territory either. New inquiries did stay positive though, so that continues to provide hope that this will be a short-lived cycle.
Meanwhile there was good news from Dodge in that non-residential building starts were up last month. However, areas we expect to be strong, institutional and healthcare, struggled. We knew this was going to be bumpy and it is playing out as such.
Glass & Glazing Advocacy Days
This week features Glass & Glazing Advocacy Days in Washington DC. Kudos to my friends at the NGA and all of the member companies that sent representatives to this event to push and promote the important issues that we as an industry can positively disrupt. These days mean more than normal precisely because of the slowing markets. We need to be getting our materials in every possible scenario and if there’s an angle where legislation can assist, we need to be there.
Industry retirement
From my pal Frank D’Aprile of KENPAT, the news that Jim Jackson, Founder of Architectural Glass Services is retiring after an incredible 50-year career in contract glazing. Jim built an amazing legacy and has put our industry in a great light thanks to his care and focus. His efforts will surely be missed but obviously getting to go out on top and retire is huge, enjoy that next phase Jim and thank you Frank for the heads up!
Viracon product news
Last week my lead story on Viracon’s new IGU identification program had a ton of reaction, all positive. But as I noted this effort had been worked on previously and evidently both Interpane and View both offer it as well. So no matter what this is a good thing for the installer base, one less thing to chase down!
Business news
Have you read this story on the failed company Katerra and chasing back the bonus that they gave their ex CFO? The whole thing boggles my mind. The pay, the bonus, and then the termination timing. Very “Succession” like. (Which in a side note, the latest season of Succession is back!)
Good news
This is a good one to see, women have gained more jobs than men for four straight months, including in January's hiring surge, pushing them to hold more than 49.8% of all nonfarm jobs. No idea how this relates to the glass world, but I am hopeful that trend does hit us too.
Industry promotion
Was thrilled to see Brian Leizerowicz promoted to Vice President of Sales at Western Window Systems. Brian is one of the good guys in our world. Love seeing this move and Brian’s energy and drive will be good for Western and our industry as whole. Congrats!
Exciting stuff!
Last this week… kudos to friend Keith Daubmann of MyShowerDoor and D3 Glass for living out a dream that I think a few of sports fans may have. Throwing out the first pitch at his favorite major league baseball teams game. Keith threw a beauty before the Boston Red Sox took on the Minnesota Twins and the whole thing was awesome to see. Happy for and jealous of Keith!
But no way could I throw one nicely like Keith… I’d throw it into the 10th row. Several year's ago at BEC, we had Jim Abbott, the great ex-Yankee pitcher as our keynote. He called me on stage to “have a catch”. I was a wreck and my throwing motion was an ugly mess and I barely got the ball there. And that was only five feet away. At 60 feet? Yikes. Anyways, pumped for Keith and good to see him in the spotlight, he’s usually so shy, this could get him to break out of his shell. Ha ha ha. See it here via FaceBook.
