From the fabricator: Negative takes the lead

So, last week I ran a piece on the positive news from the AIA but was really surprised by the industry reaction that leaned almost completely negative. I figured at least some folks would buy in and look to this report as a positive, but that did not happen. I think the overall state of our industry (challenging years, deflating pricing, rising costs, etc.) coupled with so many previously wrong reports/projections has hardened a lot of people. But with the NASDAQ finishing the week with an 11-year high and the NYSE hitting its best totals since 2008, you would hope we are headed in the right direction. Regardless, it looks like it will take a lot more than that to get the optimism rolling.

Elsewhere…

• There was good news last week when AGC announced the reopening of the production line at their Church Hill plant. That line shut down in 2008, so it is very exciting to see it get back up and running.
• The sequel to the wildly popular “Day of Glass” from Corning is out. I saw it first via tweet by the great Greg Carney. Pretty interesting piece yet again, and like the first one, I expect it to go viral. By the way, when you watch it, if you’re not freaked out by the 3D brain scan part, I’ll be surprised.
• You know how I love lists. This one, I don’t love so much. The Top Ten miserable cities in America. The full story can be found here, but I still have to list the “top” ten.

10. Warren, Michigan
9. Rockford, IL
8. Toledo, OH
7. Ft. Lauderdale, FL
6. Chicago  (Really? That is a stunner)
5. Sacramento, CA
4. West Palm Beach, FL
3. Flint, MI
2. Detroit, MI (OK we get it, people hate Michigan)
1. Miami, FL (Wow)

Again you have to read the article on why, but this one is a head scratcher. My good friend Manny is a huge Miami guy; I can’t wait to hear what he thinks of this list.

• Great hire last week in South Florida by Superior Window with the addition of Frank D’Aprile as their new sales manager. Frank is a good man and has a ton of solid experience. Team him up with the folks already in place at Superior, and it looks like a window version of the Miami Heat. Congrats.
• Congrats to Marg Webb and the folks at IGMA for what sounded like a very successful meeting (vacuum insulating glass sounding very interesting!) and their new revamped website, which is excellent.
• Last this week: those of you who follow me on Twitter or are connected to me on LinkedIn might have seen my notes on this item. I had a 6:40 AM flight, and after we took off, the guy next to me started to pound beers. By mid-flight he had depleted the plane's stock of Heineken and moved to Corona, then threw a Bloody Mary in for good measure. It was simply amazing. I’m blown away by the whole event. Obviously, I am not a drinker but I just can’t get my head around drinking that much, that early. So a few folks said maybe it was fear of flying. My initial thought was he had to be in our industry and would fall in that group mentioned above that is pessimistic. In any case, it surely made the flight go fast, and when we landed, he bounced off the plane no worse for wear. If I drank that much, they would’ve had to take me out on a stretcher!

Read on for links and clip of the week...

The author is founder of Sole Source Consultants, a consulting firm for the building products industry that specializes in marketing, branding, communication strategy and overall reputation management, as well as website and social media, and codes and specifications. E-mail him at MaxP@SoleSourceConsultants.com.

The opinions expressed here are those of the individual author and do not necessarily reflect those of the National Glass Association, Glass Magazine editors, or other glassblog contributors.