Learning Curve

Environmental impact. That term and all that goes with it will be growing eventually in North America. It is a slow process and I will be the first to admit my personal struggles with understanding it all. So, I saw three things this week that gave me additional hope. First, from the manufacturer side, the team at Eastman had a release featuring “Life cycle assessment (LCA) of architectural Eastman Saflex and Vanceva PVB interlayers”, focused on four new product additions: Saflex Clear, Saflex Acoustic, Saflex Solar and Vanceva. This is a huge step for laminated glass and our overall world. This was done in a style that was easier to grasp and obviously big for the massive, continued growth of laminated glass. Something tells me the legend Julie Schimmelpenningh was at the front of this effort. Kudos to all there!

Then I saw good info from NVOY Fire Rated Glass Systems and their partners POLFLAM with the latest EPD’s which I found very thorough and well done. The Fire Resistive space always has a lot going on and obviously it’s an enormous safety play too- so grasping this addition sustainability side is helpful. Good to see from those teams.

And last but certainly never least! Props to the great Dr. Kayla Natividad of NSG Pilkington! Kayla is always doing things to make the data and terminology make sense. This past week while at the FGIA Conference in Canada, she did it again by putting this effort into the format of the popular NYT game “Connections” where you match 4 items that go together in a grid of 16. This game isn’t on the level of Wordle popularity but growing; so brilliant by Kayla for riding that wave, putting a glass industry spin on it to help people learn. As noted, there is a long way to go, but with efforts like these above, we’re getting closer.

Elsewhere…

California Glass Association meeting

California dreamin'! I am absolutely stoked and honored to be invited to attend and speak at the July 18th meeting of the California Glass Association, which will be held at Hale Glass. Can’t wait! The CGA is a group that I am super proud of, the folks there worked hard to get this off the ground, and I love that they are rolling along now. I’m so excited to be able to see everyone in person and learn a bit as well. So if you are within driving distance (and come on, Southern Cal, so easy to drive around, right? Everything's so close… LOL), I would love to see you there. More info is HERE!

Transparent photovoltaic windows

Big news from NEXT Energy on a sizing breakthrough for transparent photovoltaics. As many of you know, I have been very bullish on this area and strongly believe this is a category that will grow. Some excellent players are gearing up, too. In this case, NEXT delivered a glass wall comprised of 27 inches by 35 inches transparent photovoltaic windows to the Gensler headquarters in Los Angeles, CA. Looks good! See more HERE, and congrats to all involved!

Industry anniversary

Congrats to the team at SPIL Software on the celebration of year #15 in business! They continue to adapt and evolve their offerings on the glass fabrication space, and I’ve always liked what Lakshman ”Lax” Kalupathirana has done, and he’s always been extremely genuine and classy to me. So, congrats Lax and team, on year #15, and best wishes for many, many more.

Controversial Apple ad

Last this week, a bit old, but there was an interesting marketing controversy over an Apple ad for their new iPad release. It was an ad that showed a ton of different arts, music, sights, etc., crushed and smashed, and then when done, it was made into an iPad. The goal obviously was to show that anything you could create the “old fashioned” way was now at your fingertips inside the iPad. Well, that did not go over well. For many, it was taken as a sign that great creations were going to be replaced by machines. I didn’t see it that way the first time through, but I could see their point once watching again. Apple pulled the ad which shocked many since that brand has been known to go against the grain and stick to it. Old-time observers say Steve Jobs would’ve never pulled it, and that is probably true. Though in the continuing outsized legend of Steve Jobs, who knows? Anyway, if you haven’t seen it, check it out HERE, and feel free to weigh in with any thoughts in the comments.