CGH Pauses Operations at J.E. Berkowitz, Plans to Close Columbia Commercial Building Products
Solar Seal remains open, but officials warn of potential closure
Glass Magazine has confirmed that Consolidated Glass Holdings Inc. paused operations and furloughed employees this week at Pedricktown, New Jersey-based J.E. Berkowitz. The fabricator has 200 employees. CGH also plans to close Columbia Commercial Building Products, a glass and glazing fabricator in Rockwall, Texas, with about 60 employees.
In its first official statement about the news, released Feb. 5, company leadership said the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic led to the current stoppage at J.E. Berkowitz. “The delays that initially came with the onset of COVID-19 took a significant toll,” CGH officials said. “Furthermore, disruptions to the workforce as a result of the pandemic were substantial, leading CGH to decide to suspend manufacturing operations at JEB.”
In Texas, “Columbia Commercial Building Products is winding down operations primarily due to the lease at its Rockwall, Texas, facility,” officials said. “With a lease terminating and the cost of moving high-end glass fabrication equipment looming, CGH decided it was prudent to complete its remaining pipeline and subsequently liquidate the operation unless a buyer can be found. CCBP has performed well through these challenging times, and unfortunately the increase in fixed lease expenses and the potential cost of moving the equipment and operation is too much to bear for the organization as a whole.”
J.E. Berkowitz and Columbia Commercial Building Products are part of CGH’s architectural division, which also includes Solar Seal, an architectural glass fabricator based in South Easton, Massachusetts, with 125 employees. While Solar Seal is currently operating, the company filed for the WARN Act, which provides a 60-day notice to employees of a potential plant closing.
“Solar Seal is currently open and operating,” said CGH officials in the statement. “However, a notice of the plant closure was sent to employees based on the current situation. We are hopeful that conditions will improve and that we will be able to revise our outlook and continue operations at Solar Seal.”
CGH also operates a security division, SSI, which includes Dlubak Specialty Glass and Global Security Glazing, both of which remain “open and operating at full strength,” according to company officials. “Both operations successfully weathered the challenge of 2020, in fact growing their sales from 2019, and are positioned extremely well for 2021 and beyond. SSI expects no disruption in their processes and are very excited about the year ahead. The security division will continue to operate independently of the architectural side of the business as it relates to vendors and customers,” according to the company.
Glass Magazine has received reports that CGH is seeking a buyer for J.E. Berkowitz, though company officials have not confirmed that the fabricator is for sale. However, officials did note in the statement that “CGH and SSI are working with a team of outside advisors to explore strategic alternatives, including the sale of CGH’s architectural businesses and/or SSI’s security businesses.”
Read the full statement from CGH.
J.E. Berkowitz has been a glass industry fixture on the East Coast for decades. The 101-year-old company, which was started by Jacob E. Berkowitz in 1920, grew over three generations of the Berkowitz family before its sale to CGH in 2016. J.E. Berkowitz has a 253,000-square-foot manufacturing facility on 23 acres in Pedricktown. Its glass fabrication capabilities include insulating glass, heat-treated glass, silk-screened and spandrel glass, laminated glass, all-glass doors and entrances, and point-supported glass systems and canopies.
Solar Seal is another longtime glass fabricator on the East Coast, with more than 50 years of operations in the industry. The company is a custom fabricator of architectural glass products with capabilities that include cutting, tempering, laminating and insulating. It provides just-in-time cutting services and delivery to regional customers. Solar Seal is also a wholesale distributor of flat glass, mirrors and shower doors.
Columbia Commercial Building Products has been a supplier of glass and glazing products for new and replacement construction in Texas since its founding in 1992. The company’s range of glass and glazing products includes architectural aluminum systems, security glazing, and tempered and insulating glass.
CGH has become one of the largest glass suppliers in North American following numerous industry acquisitions during the previous decade. Columbia Commercial Building Products and Solar Seal were two of the first firms acquired by the company in 2012. J.E. Berkowitz was acquired by CGH in November 2016.
The recent announcements out of CGH come less than a year after the company changed ownership. In June 2020, CGH and its affiliates were acquired by new owners, including the CGH senior management team, and a minority investment made by Czech Asset Management, L.P. and its affiliates. Previously, CGH had been the investment arm of Grey Mountain Partners, a private equity firm.
