Never in my wildest....

You know the term “Never in my wildest dreams?” Well, I can tell you I have always wanted to use it in the right context. You know, like “Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d get locked in the M&M factory!” or “Never in my wildest dreams did I think Denzel Washington would want ME in his next movie!". But amazingly, that appropriate phrase now has usage in my life: “Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d be doing ‘all this’ again one year later.”

“All this,” in case you have been living under a rock or working for the DOE (same thing), is the news that my current company is being sold after being forced into bankruptcy. No way could I have imagined this happening again, and surely not so soon either. In any case, it has been a mind-bending experience, the same as the past event but yet different in many ways. While the process and some of the names and figures are the same, the overall action and path were markedly opposite. Still, that said, it is, what it is, and I am living in the glass industry's cruel version of Groundhog Day.

So here we are again, with so many of the same emotions percolating about, but still the most important angle is “hope.” I am truly hopeful and actually confident that this will work out for the company, our suppliers, customers, and most importantly all of the folks employed here. We have to stay positive and put our faith in the leadership in the U.S. that was incredibly deft enough to create viable contingency plans in case the legal matters we got sucked into went south.

So, never in my wildest dreams did I ever see myself writing a post like this again, and so help me, I don’t plan on doing it a third time, that’s for sure. I’m rolling forward and I hope that we can get a chance to finish what we started and continue to work hard for this industry.

Elsewhere…

• It’s kind of hard to hit other subjects when you have such a heavy angle hanging out there, but it is “business as usual” and I’ll keep going at it.
• Saddened by the passing of John McGrory this past week. He and his family built a great company and my condolences to the family on this very sad loss for them and our industry.
• An awesome post HERE by incredible Glass Pundit herself, Kris Vockler. Worth a read, for sure, as some incredible food for thought on display.
• Am I the only one who reads the story about Quanex and their changes at the Engineered Products Group and wonder what happens to some of the other key people from Edgetech?
• I mentioned the DOE earlier, and last week they announced $113 million in funding for solar growth in the U.S. I really have concerns on that as I have not trusted their track record on who they have given money to and how they have given it in the past. $113 million could help many good growth companies- in a few different energy related industry segments. Let’s hope this doesn’t get squandered. Plus, the other thought is with the debt so high, this money better be well spent; otherwise the hole goes deeper.
• There was a comment on my blog from the esteemed Henry Taylor of Kawneer. He is also currently the head of the GANA BEC. One thing I failed to mention in all of my pieces is that Henry didn’t exactly pick the perfect time to take the reins of that group. The economy fell apart, and spending on things like BEC shrank. Henry has done a tremendous job in driving the bus, and he is supremely talented and important to the future of our world. And there’s no doubt, he realizes what the holes are and what needs to be filled. I should’ve been clearer; absolutely no disrespect intended.
• Last this week… I picked the Red Sox to win the American League and I think they’ve won once since… my gosh I have the touch don’t I? I guess that’s why one of my co-workers now calls me “The Flying Dutchman.”

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

Max Perilstein is chief marketing officer for Vitro Architectural Products, Memphis. Write him at mperilstein@vitro.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.