Almost There!

Next week! Yes, next week brings on the month of March and it finally brings on BEC and GPAD in Nashville. Obviously, I am very excited on both. The chance to connect with so many has me jumping out of my skin.

But also, I do think this year brings the best education aspects we’ve ever had. Two quick spotlights, one at each. At BEC, we’ve got a one-on-one conversation between the great Matt Aragon of Aragon Construction and Architect Keith Fine of the renowned SLAM Collaborative. This will surely provide insight into a world we always want to know more about. At GPAD, we get to see the truly larger than life Mike Synon of HHH/Salem talking potential tempered pitfalls and so much more. Mike always brings the straight talk and for the brilliant fabricators who made the call to attend GPAD, still time to join them, they’ll benefit. 

More info on BEC here, and GPAD here. Can’t wait to see you all there!

Elsewhere…

Bonus pod

In case you missed it, last week I had a bonus podcast with Matt Kamper of Woodbridge Glass and Kyle Lindersmith of Burkle.  Obviously, a lot of BEC/GPAD talk mixed in with other views you can use.  Thanks for taking a listen or watch!

Watch on YouTube, or listen here, as well as by searching From the Fabricator on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

Recent forecasts

Forecasts continue to be studied and parsed more than normal with some locales in North America experiencing softer conditions at the moment. The latest Dodge Momentum Index stayed flat in January and the year has started off down 1% on the commercial side of things.

Meanwhile, in the just released Architectural Billings Index, the main score of 46.2 was better than last month, but still off from the score of 50 that shows break even. However, once again new project inquiries stayed strong and that gives optimism that things will hang in there for a while. The problem is commitment, people are trying to push forward, but is the money/funding there to make it happen? We’ll stay on that.

In the meantime, the survey also noted more firms are investing in marketing. Which made me laugh, as once upon a time a great man I worked for told me, “Marketing? Who the hell needs marketing.” Anyway, as you all know I am a big believer in marketing, so anytime people want to push it, I’m all in. 

Industry loss

We lost another absolute titan in our industry with the passing of Stanley Albert of S Albert Glass. Glass Magazine did a great job with this tribute; it helped me get to learn about a true leader and man that I never got to meet. Even though I never knew Stanley, I had obviously heard of him and had and have massive respect for S Albert Glass. I am an unabashed fan of his son Michael, who has been extremely dedicated to the industry and also is a good man. I am glad that Michael and his son Steven continue to build on the legacy of Stanley, that always gives me hope for all. My thoughts and condolences to Michael and Steven and the entire Albert family and team at S. Albert Glass. 

Some industry news

Very good to see the gang at Thompson Innovative Glass making positive news with their recertification of ISO-9001. Why does this matter? Because we’re seeing more and more specs coming down demanding that the glass fabricator meet this standard. We’re always being pressed to perform better and prove it and Tom Donovan & Company are stepping up. Congrats to them and keep it going. 

Also good to see old friend Andrew Kennedy get a new start with the launch of Dv8 Glazing. Andrew had a pretty adventurous previous run, and I am glad he has shown the resilience needed to get back at it and go hard with this new company. Congrats my friend!

FGIA Award

Last this week… saw Josh Wignall of Quaker Window picked up an honor at the recent FGIA Conference. Good to see an awesome person get some positive pub! Plus, now Josh passes Caitlin Clark of Iowa basketball fame as the most decorated and successful current Hawkeye out there! Josh has done in his career what Caitlin is doing to college hoops right now… very cool!