kdevlin's blog

Architects and designers continue to push the envelope of glass and glazing, using more of it, in more innovative and exciting applications, and sometimes in the most unexpected ways. We've featured some of these amazing, out-of-the-ordinary projects in Glass Magazine.

There was the United Oil #3 gas station in Gardena, Calif., that featured an all-glass storefront and entrance, in addition to a curved channel glass-clad tower, leading to the station's car wash.

And, there was the new sales office for Lazzara Yachts—the only floating glass project I have written about during my time at Glass Magazine.

We're looking to feature a selection of this type of out-of-the-ordinary glass projects in an upcoming issue of Glass Magazine. If you recently completed a project that features glass in an unconventional manner, let us know. Email me at kdevlin@glass.org with details and photos of the project. 

Devlin is senior editor for Glass Magazine. Write her at kdevlin@glass.org.

Two weeks ago, I attended the 2013 Building Envelope Contractors Conference in Las Vegas, and was struck by the renewed confidence many attendees expressed. I have covered the annual BEC Conference, hosted by the Glass Association of North America, since the pre-recession boom years when attendance neared 700. The downturn saw turnout dwindle to about a third of that during the toughest years, as industry companies struggled to keep doors open (with several notable companies succumbing to that struggle). The mood at those meetings was a mix of trepidation and tenacity. Trepidation gradually turned into anticipation and cautious optimism as some geographic regions started seeing the light at the end of tunnel. And finally, this year, almost everyone I spoke with said business was officially on an upturn (albeit a gradual upturn).

However, the glass industry that is emerging from the downturn is a new industry. While glaziers and suppliers worked to keep afloat, codes and standards became more stringent, building trends changed, the design and construction process evolved, and overseas competitors entered the market in even greater force.  

“In the past five years, our business has changed dramatically,” said John Rovi, business development manager for Sapa Extrusions. Rovi attributed the changes in the industry to the proliferation of the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program, and the development and adoption of Building Information Modeling. “The way buildings are designed has changed. The players who are involved in the design process, and when they get involved in the process has changed,” Rovi said. “We are moving toward value-added, rather than lowest bid.”

Scott Thomsen, president of the Global Flat Glass Group for Guardian Industries, spoke at length about the changes to the industry, and the new challenges facing businesses, during his keynote presentation, the “Battle for the Wall.”  Thomsen offered some interesting data points demonstrating the scope of the downturn. According to Thomsen, the dollar value of commercial building went from $600 million per year to $250 million per year in just 5 years. Looking at the domestic glass industry, “there were 42 float lines running in North America in 2007. Today there are 30,” he said.  

A major theme of Thomsen’s talk was the toughening code and standard arena, and the potential threat of the push for stringency on the industry. This message was echoed by Tom Culp, president of Birch Point Consulting. Energy codes have increased in stringency by 30 percent in recent years, and another 5-to-7 percent increase is coming, Culp said. While the glass industry successfully fought to avoid a 25 percent reduction in the amount of glass permissible in the envelope of commercial buildings in the 2010 ASHRAE 90.1 standard, glass is under attack again in the 2013 ASHRAE 189.1 green code, Culp said. “We need to be concerned about this. … We need your help,” Culp told attendees. “We need individual companies to get behind this." (For background on the code and standard updates, you can look to this November 2012 feature from the magazine).

One new addition to the codes will likely be envelope commissioning, and contract glaziers, in particular, need to be prepared. “This will mean closer attention to details at the glazing/air barrier; a focus on quality control,” Culp said.

"It doesn't matter if you like [the code changes]. They are coming. Take it as an opportunity,” Culp said.

The last five years have also seen an increase in overseas competition. An influx of low-cost aluminum imports from China led to a recent institution of countervailing duties on Chinese aluminum products, including curtain wall. Read Glass Magazine coverage of the overall anti-dumping duties for aluminum, and the Department of Commerce’s decision to include curtain wall products within the scope of the duties.

David Spooner, an international trade lawyer from Squire Sanders Public Advocacy LLC, discussed the new tariffs on Chinese curtain wall during the meeting. Ports are currently collecting tariffs of 171 percent on imports of curtain-wall units from China, he said; however, the scope of tariff is unclear as to whether it covers similar products such as storefront and window wall. Spooner provided a word of warning to glaziers to “be careful of transshipment, mislabeling and undervaluation of imports.”

"If you hear of fraud or circumvention, you can report it to Customs,” Spooner said. U.S. Customs and Border Protection has established an on-line system for individuals to report illegal import and export activity.

Despite the new challenges and the changing marketplace, attendees at the conference expressed optimism and excitement about the industry as it emerges from the downturn.

Devlin is senior editor for Glass Magazine. Write her at kdevlin@glass.org.

While the Capitol escaped unscathed from last week’s highly anticipated ‘Snowquester’, the federal government could not manage to avoid the budget sequester—the implementation of governmental budget cuts that went into effect March 1. Of the sequester’s $85 billion in automatic spending cuts, an estimated $4 billion come from reductions in construction spending, according to a March 3 Engineering News-Record report.  

Some in the construction industry fear the sequester’s sharp and widespread cuts could injure the building sector’s still-slow recovery. “Industry firms will feel the pain, but not all at once,” ENR reported. 

The Associated General Contractors of America released a 24-page sequestration report in February, providing a closer look at the construction segments that would feel the budget reductions the most. While several government construction arenas are exempt— the Highway Trust Fund, the Airport Improvement Program, Department of Veterans Affairs accounts, and General Services Administration accounts—the impact of the cuts on other parts of governmental construction spending could be severe, and could cause a ripple effect of slowed spending throughout the economy, according to the report. The sequestration cuts to construction for this fiscal year “could put some 114,000 jobs, $13.6 billion in GDP and $4.4 billion in personal income at risk,” according to the report.

Rich Walker, president and CEO of the American Architectural Manufacturers Association, adds, "Sequestration will only serve to weaken the economy further, and have negative repercussions for our industry, which has been slowly gaining ground since the recession. Government overspending is more than a scraped knee or elbow. It’s a serious injury that we all suffer from, and we cannot continue to cover it with a flimsy Band-Aid that falls off after a few weeks." Read a blog from Walker about the sequester and government spending.

Government construction types likely to be hit with cuts include military facilities, U.S. embassies and infrastructure at the local level, according to the AGC report.

“If you work closely with government projects, you may see some effect on your business,” says Howard Holesapple, VP of Sales for Consolidated Glass Corp. However, “we have to remember that [the cuts] are a fraction of the overall amount of government spending. … The budget this year is actually more than last year,” he says.

Despite the narrow scope of cuts to construction by project type, Holesapple adds that the overall sequester could cause uneasiness among consumers and building owners. “When people start talking about governmental cuts, people get scared and stop buying and building,” he says.

How do you expect the sequester to affect your company, the industry at large and the overall economy? Are you changing any 2013 business plans because of the sequester? Leave a comment below, or email me at kdevlin@glass.org.

Devlin is senior editor for Glass Magazine. Write her at kdevlin@glass.org.

Vacuum insulated glass (VIG) has been tapped by the Department of Energy and other organizations as an emerging, highly efficient window technology to watch. And with the potential for R-values of R-10 or higher, according to several VIG manufacturers, that's no surprise.

Driven by the continual push for higher window performance, VIG seems to be gaining traction and attention in the United States. The DOE pointed to VIG as one of several highly insulating window technologies to watch during its Windows Technology Roadmap session during the Window and Door Manufacturers Association Technical Conference in June 2012. The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory is working to develop low-cost, durable and highly insulating VIG. And the technology has been on the agenda of the Emerging Technologies & Innovation Committee at the Insulating Glass Manufacturers Alliance—the IGMA committee is in the process of developing a VIG educational white paper for the window industry, as well as architects and others in the building community.

Despite the recent interest, VIG is far from a new technology. In fact, the first mention of a type of vacuum glazing was found in patent literature from 1913, according to Nippon Sheet Glass. And NSG actually began commercial production of its vacuum glazing product, Spacia, in 1996.

Vacuum glazing has been used in residential and commercial applications throughout Asia for almost two decades. "It's a fact of life there," said Chris Barry, the former director of technical services, building products, Pilkington North America, during the IGMA Annual Meeting two weeks ago in New Orleans.

Despite the proliferation of VIG overseas, the technology has lagged domestically. Currently, there are no commercial VIG lines in the United States. That isn't to say U.S. companies aren't investing in VIG R&D. Guardian Industries has been developing a VIG product for a number of years—in fact, the company showed a prototype during the 2009 AIA Expo. And, EverSealed Windows is hoping to enter the market in the next several years with a flexible edge-sealed VIG design.

But, according to several representatives at the recent IGMA meeting, VIG continues to face notable challenges to entry into the U.S. market. The high cost of VIG, technical hurdles, and a potential lack of education and familiarity with the product within the building industry all hinder domestic VIG use, they say. "People around the world see potential with this product. Hopefully [manufacturers] will come up with solutions that can be cost-effective in the U.S.," said Bob Spindler, Vice President Technical Services at Cardinal Glass Industries, during the IGMA meeting. 

Devlin is senior editor for Glass Magazine. Write her at kdevlin@glass.org.

I stumbled across a fascinating TED Talk by Behrokh Khoshnevis, professor at the University of Southern California. Khoshnevis, speaking in April 2012 at TEDx Medellín, discussed a possible future technology for the construction industry—one that uses large 3D printers to actually construct buildings, layer by layer.

The process, called Contour Crafting, has already been pegged to construct simpler structures (including lunar structures for NASA), and is capable of building homes, and eventually, larger buildings such as schools and hospitals, Khoshnevis said. The robot printer layers the walls, and can complete tasks such as painting walls and tiles, constructing plumbing systems, and completing the building wiring.

The technology, still in its very early stages, isn't near installing glass or curtain wall. However, I have to wonder if future developments could have a major impact on the industry, if building progresses in this direction. Could contract glaziers be out of a job?

Khoshnevis addressed the employment impact in his talk. "This is, of course, a serious issue. What is going to happen to the current construction workers? Construction is a major employer of the workforce," he said. "But this is not a new question. When the steam engine was invented, people asked what would happen to carriage drivers. And at the beginning of the last century, over 60 percent of Americans were farmers. Today, less than 1.5 percent are farmers. ... When there is a technology that makes sense, we have to use it."

The technology does face some hurdles before it can progress, he said. "We need to address the social impacts, in addition to the regulatory impacts, such as building inspection and permits. This needs to be addressed and taken care of before any construction technology becomes commonplace," he said.

While Contour Crafting may still be a futuristic construction technology, this talk reminded me of the ways 3D printing is already affecting our industry. Just last year, Mic Patterson at Enclos Corp. showed what his company is doing with rapid prototyping/3D printing.

Devlin is senior editor for Glass Magazine. Write her at kdevlin@glass.org.

Last week, LaCantina Doors celebrated the grand opening of its sleek and open showroom, and expansive lean manufacturing plant. The company grew out of its previous 20,000-square-foot facility in Vista, Calif. Its new 67,000-square-foot location in Oceanside, Calif., features a stunning, modern showroom, spacious upstairs offices and a large warehouse space that the company is quickly filling with new machinery and equipment for its expanding product line.

The company, a manufacturer of large sliding and folding door systems, serves the residential market in addition to the commercial market, which "is growing every day," according to Lee Maughan, general manager. "This is an adaptable product, and it is what people want for applications such as retail and restaurants. The doors provide that desired openness."

The showroom echoes that openness, Maughan said. Additionally, "our main business is in southern California. The showroom is designed to give [visitors] a feel for the various products as they would appear in a real-life application," he said.

The showroom space is reminiscent of a renovated warehouse loft, with the black-painted duct work and air vents visible overhead, and sunlight peeking through wooden wall dividers that separate the various door products. "We plan on engaging with the architectural community, through the showroom," Maughan said. "We want to get people in the showroom to see the products and possibilities for themselves." The showroom even features a room-length wooden table, intended to be used as a sit-down meeting area for designers who visit.

The thoughtful design and arrangement of the showroom carries over into the manufacturing facility as well. The new facility is "great for lean manufacturing," Maughan described. The company, with 55 employees, manufactures door products in-house, including building the hardware and installing the glass products. "The products go out glazed and hardwared. The doors just have to be joined in the field," he said.

"We have a full-time maintenance employee for our CNC equipment, and an active [research and development] department," Maughan said. The company has engineered and built some of its own machines, and has invested in new machines, including an Emmegi cutting machine for its double door production.

During the grand opening event, LaCantina invited area architects, dealers, customers and other project partners to tour the new showroom and manufacturing facility.

Devlin is senior editor for Glass Magazine. Write her at kdevlin@glass.org.

The glass industry has a people problem. Or, more accurately, a lack of qualified people problem.

I was shocked to read a statistic that said the contract glazing industry will have 33,400 job openings between 2010 and 2020, which is "80 percent of the total number of glaziers employed in 2010," according to a report from 24/7 Wall St. (Thanks to Max Perilstein for leading his blog two weeks ago with this news). And it's not just contract glaziers that need people.

"We struggle with finding the right talent that is interested in getting into glazing," said Scott Clymire, vice president, United Architectural Metals, during the State of the Industry panel at the Glazing Executives Forum last week in Las Vegas. With design-assist becoming more common, UAM is seeking architects and engineers that want to get involved on the manufacturing side of the building trade, he said.

As the glass and glazing trade becomes increasingly more sophisticated, education and training on all levels at a company are critical. "Our employees are assets, and the investment in people is important," said Garret Henson, vice president of sales for Viracon, who also spoke during the GEF panel.

New employees coming into the industry will expect these training opportunities, added panelist Oliver Stepe, senior vice president of sales & marketing for YKK AP America. "More and more, we are hiring new people from outside of the industry, and they're asking us, 'what are you doing to train?'" YKK developed several training programs that it utilizes when necessary, including a basic product training, one week manufacturing training, a quick start program to prepare new employees for customer service within 90 days, and career development training.

"One of the best things you can do is to use an employee to train other people," Stepe says. "It doesn't have to be the most seasoned person. It's a good motivational technique. Send employees to conferences and symposiums, and when they come back, have them speak to the team about it."

In addition to recruiting and training, companies also need to be planning for the departure of their seasoned workforce. "Succession planning is critically important," Henson said.

Companies are faced with a three-tiered personnel challenge: to recruit talented young people, train them, and poise them and others at the company to become the future leaders of the company and the industry. And, according to economist Jeff Dietrich, the time to make those investments in people is now. "You should be hiring," said Dietrich, senior analyst for the Institute for Trend Research, at GEF. "You have a window where you can hire young and intelligent people and not pay them what they are worth for two or three years. Hire them and train them now." 

Devlin is senior editor for Glass Magazine. Write her at kdevlin@glass.org.

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of touring two glass industry plants in Minnesota: the Cardinal CG location in Northfield and the Erdman Automation facility in Princeton. The plants provide very different services to the industry: Cardinal offers coating, high-volume cutting and tempering services; and Erdman produces a variety of machines for window manufacturers and IG fabricators. However, they are similarly impressive in their skill, service level and ability to address the challenges of a still-lackluster economy through investment and diversification.

Vern Volkert, plant superintendent, served as tour guide for the Cardinal CG plant, held as part of the Window and Door Manufacturers Association Technical Conference, June 26-28, in Bloomington, Minn. (We couldn’t take photos during the tour, but Cardinal has a nice video of the plant on their web site—click “Cardinal Plant Tours” in the menu; the CG plant tour begins at 6:57.)

While the facility is not operating at full capacity—it employs between 150 and 160 at its max, and currently has about 90 to 100 workers—the company has taken strides to improve and update its equipment, and ready itself for an evolving industry. An impressive recent addition is the company’s new coater. After two years of preparation, Cardinal recently brought online a second coating machine that was designed specifically for the solar market, allowing it to diversify into a new business segment. As the company waits for solar to pick up, it is running residential products on the state-of-the-art line.

In an additional move to face economic challenges with innovation, Cardinal has started making its own equipment. The Northfield plant is already using some Cardinal washers.

North 90 miles, officials at the Erdman Automation facility are also relying on innovation and diversification to thrive and even grow in the current economy. The company, which primarily served the window and door market in 2006, is now serving the curtain wall, insulating glass and solar industries as well. Erdman is also expanding geographically. “In the early years, we were just in the United States,” says Jim Tibesar, sales manager. “Now we’re in Canada, South America, China and Europe. We recently started working with a customer in Barbados.” Tibesar led the tour, along with Paul VanKempen, general manager; Michael Schmidt, IG sales specialist; and Jessica Erdman, marketing manager.

The company has made investments in its own machinery, including the purchase of an advanced bridge mill machine. And, Erdman has made investments in its product line to serve advancements in the industry, such as its secondary sealant applicator for triple-glazed IGUs, and its machinery products for solar. Below is a video from Erdman demonstrating its Solar Frame Assembly Station.

Devlin is senior editor for Glass Magazine. Write her at kdevlin@glass.org.

If you think back really hard, you might recall something called a backlog. Remember that once seemingly ubiquitous term? There hasn't been much talk of backlogs recently. However, I recently took a trip down e-glass weekly memory lane and discovered an August 2006 article, Selectivity helps glaziers control backlogs. The lead reads:

"In the midst of a busy nonresidential construction season, many glazing contractors nationwide face growing backlogs that stretch personnel resources and force managers to more carefully consider what projects they accept."

It was a totally different world back then, when backlogs were a major consideration for glazing contractors. That world was turned upside down by a Great Recession that continues to shake up our industry in some major ways. However, the word "backlog" has returned, albeit tentatively, to the vocabulary of some attendees here at the Building Envelope Contractors Conference in Las Vegas.

"In 2012, we have begun to see backlog," said Gloria Hale, president of Hale Glass. "We have been estimating like crazy. ... There's pent-up demand that's becoming opportunity."

Courtney Little, president, Ace Glass Construction Corp., said his company also is building up a healthy backlog. "Things have started to turn around for us," he said.

However, recovery has not ramped up in full for the industry. "These are still tough times for people," Little said. "Our company has a backlog, but nationally, I think it will be 2013 before we see improvements."

Despite the caveats, and the knowledge that the industry is certainly not out of the woods yet, hearing "backlog" spoken again has been music to my ears this week. Let's hope it once again becomes a must-cover editorial topic for us. 

Devlin is senior editor for Glass Magazine. Write her at kdevlin@glass.org.

In the last several years, insulating glass certification has transformed from a voluntary program to a near mandatory process, making industry awareness even more crucial.

"With the [National Fenestration Rating Council] mandate for IG certification—in order for IG to be used in NFRC cert product, that IG must be in a certification program—certification has taken on a much more mandatory requirement that has increased the intensity of the issues and questions [from manufacturers]," says John Kent, administrative manager of the Insulating Glass Certification Council. "For the most part, manufacturers are being driven to take a much more serious approach to IG certification."

During the Insulating Glass Manufacturers Alliance Annual General Meeting last week in Tempe, Ariz., I spoke briefly with Kent about what manufacturers need to know when it comes to IG certification. Kent discussed how product modifications are handled, in addition to what's being done to streamline the certification process. Watch the interview below.

Devlin is senior editor for Glass Magazine. Write her at kdevlin@glass.org.