Longtime glass industry career veteran and technical leader Cliff Monroe passed away Nov. 22 in Apollo Beach, Florida. Monroe, who most recently worked as president and CEO of GlasFab Architectural Consulting LLC, started in the industry in 1970. During his five decades in glass, he held a range of technical and operations leadership roles at several leading glass companies, and was an engaged technical volunteer at industry associations, including the Glass Association of North America, which merged with the National Glass Association in 2018.
Monroe began his glass career at Guardian Industries Corp., now Guardian Glass. He worked at Guardian for 24 years in a range of positions, including hot end supervisor, tempering glass supervisor, quality assurance manager and plant manager.
After Guardian, Monroe moved briefly to Milgard Windows and Doors and then to Commercial Insulating Glass Co. In 2000, he joined glass fabricator Arch Aluminum & Glass Co., where he stayed for 12 years, taking on leadership positions in quality assurance.
Monroe joined Trulite Glass & Aluminum Solutions in 2010, where he provided product quality assurance management, operations and technical support oversight to facilities in the United States and Canada. In 2012, he moved to Oldcastle BuildingEnvelope to offer operations and technical support. He also assisted in the implementation and start-up of a corporate preventative maintenance program.
In 2016, Monroe left OBE to launch GlasFab Architectural Consulting, where he continued to provide operational and technical support for companies across the industry.
Monroe’s industry volunteer activities span at least two decades. He was heavily involved at GANA, serving as Tempering Division Chair and board member from 2006-2010, and as Chair of the Tempering Division Educational Subcommittee in 2010. Monroe contributed to the initial publication and 2019 update of the Engineering Standards Manual. He also chaired the Heat Soaking glass technical paper task group, a resource that was published in 2018.
In addition to his leadership at GANA, he was also an active member in ASTM, the Safety Glazing Certification Council and the Insulating Glass Certification Council.