Be There!

We are a few weeks away from BEC and the excitement is really ramping up. The registration for the event has been amazing and the agenda has come together nicely. Last week I hit on a few sessions and this week I want to do the same.  

Once again, the Tuesday schedule is looking strong and one of the big ones is a piece on the impact of quality systems. Folks, we don’t have time to do things twice, so getting organized and doing it right the first time is so crucial. One of the speakers lined up is the great Keith Boswell of SOM. If you have not heard him speak, it is a true pleasure and experience. The guy is amazing, and his passion and approach always deliver.  Another session that has me going is going to be led by my old pal Henry Taylor of Kawneer. Henry and a panel are going show pictures of jobsite issues and dive into them in a forensic manner. When adventures happen, we can learn from them right? This will be a super session to absorb.  

There is still time to join us and especially if you are glazier or glass shop doing commercial installs, missing this could be a huge mistake for you and your business, so don’t let that happen! Register at glass.org.

Elsewhere…

A loss in the industry

Sad news from our space as Ken Altman, a huge presence in the Pittsburgh glass and glazing scene passed away. Ken’s company worked on some of the most iconic projects in the greater Pittsburgh area and he was a force to be reckoned with. The growth of my family’s business was made possible by Ken and his support of us, though it didn’t come easy. He made you rightfully earn every single order. He was a very good man, and my thoughts and condolences go out to his family and friends. Lost another good one.

Women in Construction panel

Coming up in March at the Houston Area Glass Association, a big-time lunch meeting with a powerful Women in Construction Glass session.  The panel features five of the very talented women led by a major favorite of mine in Jacque Freeman of Binswanger Glass. She’ll moderate a panel featuring Denise Baker of Spring Glass, Malea Basile of JLM Wholesale, Teri Gilmore of A3 Glass and Lindsay Price of Texas Glazing Solutions. So if you are in the Houston area, check out the link at houstonglass.org and get there on March 2nd! 

Decline in cardboard boxes 

An area of worry on the overall economy came across my desk and it wasn’t that typical index or report. It was about production of cardboard boxes and the decline here surely is a red flag. Here’s the key details:

“Lingering concerns over a recession and rising interest rates are slowing consumer demand, so much so that dwindling purchases have led to the sharpest quarterly decline in the production of cardboard boxes since the 2009 Great Recession. A key barometer for how the economy at large is faring, cardboard box output offers insights into everything from grocery sales to online clothing orders and electronics, all of which appear to be experiencing a significant downswing. “Nearly 20% of the U.S. capacity to produce boxes was stagnant last quarter,” observes the logistics industry news outlet FreightWaves, a drop that comes on the heels of unprecedented growth for the box industry thanks in no small part to government stimulus checks. “A hangover after a years-long cardboard carnival would be in order, and this one looks nasty.”

Obviously, we run in a different world but when you see a report like this, that basically flies far under the radar, you get a bit queasy. At least I do.

 IGCC and SGCC

I mentioned quality above and it hit me that we don’t give enough credit to the folks at IGCC and SGCC for what they do to ensure our industry is doing things the right way with our safety glass and IG’s. Those third-party certs are what GC’s and Architects demand, and they demand it knowing if you’ve passed it, you are at least set-up to do things the right way. I’ve always been a fan of John Kent and the teams there and appreciate what they provide to our space. 

 Super Bowl Sunday

Last this week… excited for the Super Bowl commercials and next post I’ll tell you which one or ones hit it the best. The only bad part are marketers are starting to leak the commercials early and that takes some of the fun away, but regardless of that I am still excited to see what creativity is out there.

LINKS of the WEEK