This Week- Germany

Next show up! Time for the adventure that is glasstec in Dusseldorf, Germany. It kicks off Tuesday and runs through Friday with show hours of 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Those are some serious show hours folks. If you have never been or never heard of this event, it is held every other year and takes up 9 trade show halls. It is not only flat glass and various components (hardware, software etc.) but also other materials related to glass making and other end products made of glass like bottles. 

So, it’s a wide ranging and very interesting show that I usually pull a good handful of tidbits from. So I will share those in a week. Also, I am writing and posting this before I fly there and I am trying out Condor Airlines. My family thinks I am nuts and my Delta Sky Mile account thinks I am an idiot, but I researched this airline, got a great deal for an amazing seat, and decided to take a shot.  If anything, it could be excellent blog fodder right?  Anyway, if you are attending the show I will be posted up most of the time in Hall 10, Booth H64, so please swing on by and say hello.

Elsewhere…

The latest pod

In case you missed it… and I am thinking not many of you did based on some wild download numbers, (THANK YOU!) the latest From the Fabricator Podcast is up. Fun and wide-ranging talks with good folks. Key takeaways? Those who watched the video think that I interviewed Ted Lasso and not Jason Isackson. There is a resemblance there! Regardless Jason “believes” (Lasso reference) in his product! On the second half, Michael and Carolyn Spellman shared a ton of insight but Michaels reply to my question about how he deals with our industry not advancing enough or being slow to automate had everyone rolling. Thank you to Jason, Michael, and Carolyn and all of you who listened/watched already.

Here are the links in case you haven’t yet.

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

NGA Board Members

Every year the National Glass Association rotates Board Members off and on at GlassBuild and this year was no different. Leaving the board were Kyle Sword and Brian Hale, with Vipul Bhagat and Mark Seeton coming on. First for the guys leaving- two absolutely awesome supporters of everything we do and the epitome of class. Kyle and Brian are simply tremendous humans and they surely helped NGA to be better and I know they’ll continue to always do right by our industry at NSG Pilkington and Hale Glass respectively. 

Meanwhile, it’s nice to add talent like Vipul and Mark. Vipul, I have admired from afar for a while, (his company Skyline is a monster) and I got to spend a bit of time with him at GlassBuild and had a great conversation after. His enthusiasm is contagious and he’s going to do great things on this board. Mark’s experience in our space and his network will only help NGA, he’s seen so much, knows how the world works and will surely bring some big hitters (like he’s had to handle at Vitro for years) under the NGA tent. Very exciting to add these two to an already power packed group of people! Love it.

VIG case study

VIG is on a roll and it seriously is only going to keep getting better. This week Guardian Glass put out a great case study on a VIG project that did extremely well. Good read. Exciting stuff for sure. Also interesting and a product that can incorporate VIG is HempGlas. Matt Price is a big force behind this, and it made a splash at the Zak World of Facades show. There’s going to be much more on this but it’s a product line that will surely disrupt frames, panels and more. Congrats Guardian and Matt!

Stone Cold Jeff Haber

Last this week… at GlassBuild the annual Glass Magazine Awards were presented, and I am so bummed that I didn’t try to crash this picture of the ultra-talented Chris Lalonde along with Jeff Haber of W&W. I missed shot there. Dang. Stone Cold Jeff Haber for the win yet again folks.  LOL.