BEC Conference Coming Up Quickly

We are getting close to BEC time! Obviously, I am very excited because I love seeing everyone and I love to learn. This year, once again, the programming team of volunteers and NGA staff are delivering top-notch stuff. I’ve already talked about the morning keynotes and how fantastic they will be (Jeff Haber, Alan Kinder, Suresh Devisetti), and those two sessions alone are worth attending. But then you add in sessions like the safety approach with Jeff Wolfla, the “2nd Chance” employee hiring, and FMI’s economic trend report, and you can’t go wrong. See the entire agenda, it is stacked! In addition, did you see the list of companies attending? Tremendous ones, indeed. So, if you are on the fence, jump off and join us. And if you’re not attending, I am bummed to hear it, and we’ll miss you. 

Register and see the company list.

Elsewhere…

Latest DMI

The latest Dodge Momentum Index was released, and it was pretty positive. A stark difference from the recent Architectural Billings Index. The key takeaways listed also packed a punch:

• Commercial planning increased by 4.2%, led by gains in data centers, office buildings, and warehouses.
• Institutional planning grew by 8.7%, supported by education and hospital projects.
• The DMI is up 26% year-over-year, with commercial planning up 37% and institutional planning up 9%.

This really makes you feel good with regards to the forecast…at least for now and until the next various report comes out.

Backlogs growing

Also, backlogs are growing again. Construction backlog increased to 8.4 months in January, reversing December’s slight decline, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors survey conducted from Jan. 21 to Feb. 3. The metric tracks the volume of work in builders’ pipelines. The Western region posted the largest backlog growth, both on a monthly and year-over-year basis, while the South maintained the longest backlog at 9.5 months, despite seeing the steepest decline over the past year. Contractor confidence remained strong, with sales and profit margin expectations rising, though staffing level expectations fell, according to ABC.

Texas Glass Association event

I’ll be at the Texas Glass Association- North Texas luncheon this week. I am excited to leave frigid, snowy Detroit for the balmy warmth of Dallas, Texas. (Wait, am I seeing news about record low temps in Dallas this week? Come on!) 

Upcoming webinars

A heads up: Two important webinars are coming up.

• On Feb. 19- The American Subcontractors Association is doing a Webinar for NGA members only on Immigration Workforce Enforcement and changes to expect, etc. Big for many in our industry.
• On Feb. 26- The National Architectural Glass & Metal Association (NAGMA) is hosting a webinar on the IRS and implications to the contractor. You surely want to stay compliant, right?

Protesting 

I shared on my LinkedIn feed already mid-week but wanted to get it out here as well. More than 700 architects and AEC industry professionals are protesting a call for papers that glorify violence against Israel in a prominent architecture journal. Go here to read more and get access to the letter and the opportunity to join in. Thank you for the consideration, and sincere appreciation to Elliot Glassman of CannonDesign for taking the lead on this.

Personnel news

Saw online this week that one of our space's most talented and accomplished folks is now a free agent. Jeff Heymann noted on his LinkedIn that he’s now on to the next opportunity. Wherever he lands will surely benefit from his skills and network! Good guy too.

NEXT Energy breakthrough

Kudos to NEXT Energy on their latest breakthrough. They announced that their upgraded production line was able to produce 40 inch by 60 inch laminated transparent power-generating windows using its unique NEXT OPV coating and manufacturing process. These 40 inch by 60 inch units are the largest transparent OPV windows produced anywhere in the world. Keep the technology breakthroughs coming, our industry needs it. Congrats to Jonathan Hafemann and team.

Best Super Bowl commercials

Last this week… Best Super Bowl commercials. Once again, it's still a struggle for most, but I think they were overall better this year than the last few. The ones that stood out for me?

• Uber Eats mixing football and food, really creative and fun.
• LL Cool J’s classic song “Mama Said Knock You Out” in a commercial on “knocking out” cancer. Absolutely yes! Let’s go! (Side note. In 1990/91, I used that song in a football highlight video for the TV station I was working at during that time pre-glass business, and the management hated it, it was too edgy.)
• The musical artist Seal as an actual seal for Mountain Dew. Love that he could be fun like that
• Rocket Mortgage singing “Country Roads.” So cool and I believe they did it to gain favor with West Virginia’s favorite son, Joe Staffileno.
• And the Stella commercial with David Beckham and Matt Damon was fun.

Any you all liked?  Feel free to add in the comments!