The Future + Free Education + More

I'm back at it, and I’ve got a new episode of the “From the Fabricator” podcast for you to take in. This time out, I start with Scott Smith of LTS. He's a fascinating guy, and he had excellent thoughts on products past and present (and future), along with so many other takes that made that segment fly by. Impressive guy with a great organization. Thanks to Tim Boswell for making the recommendation to have Scott on! 

Then I was joined by Conley Oster and Gary Chen of Raise Robotics. These two are flat-out brilliant, and the robot they have developed for the installation side of the business is an absolute game changer. Conley also asked for input/participation from glaziers, so if you’re interested, please hit him up or contact me, and I’ll get you connected. Bottom line is these guys are doing something huge to help and change our world! Thanks for checking it all out! 

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

Elsewhere…

MyGlassClass

Huge news this past week with the NGA announcing that MyGlassClass.com classes will now be free for members. That is awesome. Training is crucial, and NGA has developed and continues to develop world-class resources. So, if you are a member- take advantage, and if you are not, you need to get on board and join now!

Glass Conference

Also, from the NGA side of things… NGA Glass Conference: Carlsbad registration is now open. Urmilla Sowell and team always put together amazing events, and this of course will be more of the same. It is the setting where technical guidelines get done, and the table gets set for issues that affect our space on a daily basis. By attending, you get a voice in the process, and that is pretty valuable. Learn more and register now.

Kayla Natividad on LinkedIn

My admiration for the great Dr. Kayla Natividad of NSG Pilkington knows no bounds, and this past week, she did it again with a fantastic post from a viral video that showed a football fan accidentally breaking the glass in a handrail. Kayla serves these sorts of things up all the time, and the community jumps in with great insight and opinion. Check it out!

Also, I saw the movie “Wicked,” I now await Kayla’s report on that. Lots of glass comes into play and especially some serious need for unique “bird?” friendly. If/when you see it, you’ll get a laugh out of the “bird” comment and probably note some problematic code issues too… LOL.

Latest econ reports

On my podcast noted above, Conley said that post-election things seem to perk up in the marketplace, and now the latest two econ reports backed that up, even though I think both of their appeals were probably more due to interest rate adjustments than being after the election (because of timing) but still I’ll take it. The Architectural Billings Index was up into + territory for the first time in forever, and architects surveyed felt confident about 2025. Nice. 

The Dodge Momentum Index was also up 4%, led by a nice run in our non-residential space. So, all nice to see, but I have heard from a few that would like to see things happen quicker to them in real life vs the indexes. Hopefully this keeps things moving that way!

Top 10 retail chains

Last this month… do you know what the Top 10 retail chains are in America right now? I have to admit I was surprised...and you know me I love lists...so let’s take a look.

10- Home Depot

9- Target

8- Aldi- Really surprising!! Never thought they were that big.

7- Kroger

6- Chik Fil A- Had it three times last week by accident, really, so that ranking may be because of me

5- HEB Grocery- The only one on this list I have never been in.

4- Costco- I am more of BJ’s guy regarding these sorts of warehouse stores.

3- Starbucks- Despite all you may read on them “struggling” they’re still a powerhouse

2- Publix- Love this chain- my kids are convinced that I will work at one if I ever retire from the glass business.

And #1- as you may have guessed… Walmart. And Walmart is down in sales the last two years but still pretty dominant.