Well that was a Big week
That was a busy week, eh? Not every day the week starts with a $3.4 billion-dollar-deal and it will be very interesting to see how things progress there.
I’ll dig in more on that in a second but first, I have something waaaaay more valuable than that deal: episode three of the second season of the From the Fabricator podcast is out and I have $3 billion-dollar-guests; this month, very lucky to get three people who have blazed some serious trails in our world.
- Kicking off with Matt Price of MPS and Armor-Guard—this is a guy is pure hustle and grit and coming with important products for our space.
- Then on to the legend, Julie Schimmelpenningh and she does not disappoint—her takes on the market, growth of laminated and what’s ahead are only a small part of a really fun conversation.
- Last this month, Ron Crowl of FeneTech joins me and we get the low down on his path, Klay Thompson, GPAD and more.
Neat range of folks all doing very good and very important work in our industry!
Listen to the Audio (or find it on whatever podcast app you like)
Elsewhere…
Oldcastle BuildingEnvelope Acquired
The deal I was alluding to above was Oldcastle being sold for $3.4 billion, and by now everyone has all of the details and info and I am sure more to come with the crack team at Glass Magazine working on it all.
Backing up a bit—I knew the due diligence was in full gear, but I thought we were maybe a couple weeks away from this being done. So, I was a bit surprised when I got the heads up in the middle of the night Sunday into Monday that this was done.
Lots of tires were kicked here, and I think a lot of people who had no idea what a curtain wall or tempered glass is learned about our world. Now, with the deal final, as I always say in these spots my hope is the new owners embrace the industry and keep up or even grow what the previous owners did. That is a big one for me.
Obviously, the thing everyone asks is “what’s going to happen, will this be carved up, what changes are planned?” and my answer right now is it will be business as usual. There are great people at OBE who will integrate with the new owners and for now things will run as expected, and then we’ll see where the next moves fall. But I’d be stunned if anything “big” happens for a while. This is a sit back and monitor sort of thing, and now with a few other companies for sale, is it possible that those who lost out on OBE will be buyers there? Stay tuned…
Billco Welcomes Tracy Rogers
Congrats to the team at Billco for adding the first-ever Glass Industry MVP, Tracy Rogers, to their ranks. Great addition to the team—Tracy is a strong performer, smart as heck and will bring a ton of value to the team. Pumped that this could mean we’ll see Tracy (along with the great Jay Campbell) at events like BEC, GPAD and GlassBuild too, because he knows the value is so crucial (and can’t miss) and now I’ll get to chat with him there. Congrats to all involved!
BEC and GPAD Coming Up!
Speaking of events—your friendly reminder to get signed up for BEC and for GPAD and you may even get invited to a party or three. Heck, I even got a dinner invite and was invited to two offsite receptions despite the fact that those who know me know I am as anti-social as they come—but for BEC and GPAD I actually go out. May not stay out, but I actually go, so come on—be there!
Blackberry Officially Obsolete
Missed this, but saw that the days of any sort of Blackberry phone are now done. Between no more software support and now the demise of 3G, the beloved Blackberry—if you still have one—is going to be obsolete.
I loved my Blackberry. Never thought I’d use anything else. Wild the way the world changed on them. An amazing book was written about what happened to Blackberry—it’s a few years old now, but an awesome read nonetheless. “Losing the Signal” by Jacquie McNish & Sean Silcoff; well worth it if you like rise and fall business stories.
Inflation Continues
Last this week…inflation. Pure misery. Has anyone else noted that not only do most food items cost more, but they are coming in smaller quantities or packaging is not coming close to containing the normal or advertised amount. This whole stretch we are in is a mess, and I don’t see it getting better. Just a tough one all around. And I didn't even mention gas prices.
