Meet the Expert: Jeff Spicer
Co-President and COO, IGE Glass Technologies Inc.
Years in Industry: 21+
Contact me: jspicer@igesolutions.com, info@igesolutions.com, 800/919-7181, 561/741-7300
My top areas of expertise
- Financially structured automation planning
- Long-term service partnerships
- Operational flow and accountability
Most surprising thing I’ve learned
I learned that this industry runs on trust, but trust must be backed by numbers. Relationships open doors, but financial discipline keeps them open. Customers want confidence not just in performance, but also in the return that their investment in IGE’s solutions will generate for them.
My definition of success
Early on, I measured success by the total number of sales and successful installations. While I still use these markers as factors in measuring success today, my definition of success has evolved to consider sustainable return. I define success now when a customer achieves their projected payback window, stabilizes labor, improves their uptime, and then returns to us for the next project; that is success.
How I stay ahead of the curve
By staying grounded in fundamentals. IGE partners with specialized global manufacturers in cutting, CNC processing, drilling and milling, tempering, intelligent storage, bird-friendly laser marking, digital glass printing, and emerging technologies. Innovation only matters if it improves measurable performance like uptime, labor stability, and ROI. We have always searched for the cutting edge technologies, and the only way to successfully bring them to market is to partner with the right manufacturers to support staying ahead of the curve.
What I’d change about how our industry operates
Increased attention to financial modeling in equipment selection. I believe that automation decisions should include ROI exercises such as energy analysis, uptime, and lifecycle planning.
What you might not know our company does
I think it speaks volumes that IGE Glass Technologies has been in existence for almost four decades, with our CEO and Founder, Michael Spellman, pioneering automation in this industry since 1978. We've always been on the forefront of introducing the greatest technology to the market, and we've been an integral part in advancing many of the major lines in the North American market.
Anything else to add?
I think an important topic that isn't often addressed in businesses is continuance, succession, and long term plans. After more than four decades of IGE providing solutions to the glass industry, its senior management and ownership has put together a succession plan that will allow IGE to carry on with our team, and continuously provide new technologies that solves fabricators problems.
