A Bit of Positivity

I have been pretty salty lately regarding the economy, so I guess I need to set aside that negativity to note that the latest indexes did show some signs of life. The Dodge Momentum Index had a nice May, up 13% from April. However, we are still 6% behind last year and even the analyst is being smartly cautious:

“Construction starts rebounded across most sectors in May, bouncing back from a sluggish April,” says Sarah Martin, associate director of forecasting at Dodge Construction Network. “However, year-to-date figures remain below last year’s pace. Ongoing uncertainty around trade policy and the economic outlook is likely to keep construction activity in check in the months ahead.”

Meanwhile, the Architectural Billings Index remains underwater, but it showed a significantly better performance in May than in April. The index rose from 43.2 to 47.2. Ugly but not as ugly.  Inquiries and contracts also trended up. So, while it’s still not rosy, it is “maybe” showing signs of hope? I say “maybe” because the instability out there has not improved yet, and until it does, I think we’re still on the rocky road. 

Elsewhere…

Industry retirement

Another old friend and co-worker of mine announced his retirement this past week. The renowned mirror maestro Jim Ventre of Gardner Glass Products/Dreamwalls is calling it a career. Jim is a class act and has been a good friend for many years. One of the great parts about Jim that I will miss is seeing him at an industry event and always being greeted with a big, warm smile. Jim always stayed on the upbeat, no matter the situation. We, as an industry, will miss you, my friend.  Enjoy that next phase of life!

Glass Professional of the Year

Congrats to Wade Arnold of USBP/Quikserv, who was named Glass Professional of the Year by the Houston Area Glass Association. A much-deserved honor. Wade truly commits a tremendous amount of time and effort to the benefit of our space, and it’s great to see him recognized for it!

New CEO

If you read my Q&A with Mike Willard a few weeks ago, it was noted that Dapper Dan Reinhart would be the new CEO at Salem Fabrication Technologies. That news officially broke this week. Congrats Dan! I know he will do a super job as his care for the good of our industry is significant, and his talents to get things done are very strong. 

NGA poll

The NGA has a new poll out that could use your attention. It is related to the use of PCR and EPDs. Whether you know them or not, you can still take part here! Thank you!

Holidays this week

Big holidays this week… Canada Day and the 4th of July. Please, folks, go enjoy and take it easy! And if you’re doing the fireworks thing, please be safe and also think of the dogs and neighbors when you shoot them off. Have fun!

Summer Interview Series

Last this week…. The Summer Interview series rolls on with Josh Burg of Glass Enterprises. Josh was on my third podcast, and now he’s the third interview here, so that’s cool. Josh is incredibly talented and one of the best operators in the industry.  I’ve always been impressed with him and his approach; he gives it to you straight, fair, and always with class. Additionally, I wanted to catch up because he has made some huge moves since we last spoke.

Max: Thank you for doing this, Josh. The last time we spoke in a setting like this was in March 2021. You were my third podcast. I've done 60+ since! A lot has changed. Talk to me about these last four years. You've been a very, very busy guy.

Josh: Max. It's always great to talk to you. Thank you again for inviting me. I appreciate the hospitality. Yes, the last four years have been a little crazy. We emerged from Covid and trucked along and had had some positive things happen after. Once we got through that whole mess and we spoke, I would say the biggest highlight was the acquisition of our Connecticut plant. It just increased our capacity, but more so increased our capabilities into laminating, heat soaking, digital print, jumbo glass. That was just last year. So it was kind of a buildup from COVID to get to that point.

And it's been a journey to say the least. It's always another challenge while still trying to maintain what you do well. And then we get into the back end of 2023, 2024, where our industry really saw a decline in business and the market really shrunk, creates another challenging environment. So that's the challenge of last year and it's bleeding over into 25. I don't think anybody's really setting the world on fire, but with diligence and attention to detail, I think you have to just batten down the hatches and move forward. But to move forward, you have to understand your cost structure and pricing models.  I do not know where our industry went sideways, but, at the fabricator level, all I have seen is decreased pricing without regard to the impact of increased costs, overhead, and raw materials.  Our industry literally cannibalizes itself and I am not sure to what end. I truly believe, as fabricators, we have to make the most complex building material, that is all custom, has to be delivered just in-time, and with a static product that is not modifiable after fabrication.  How does our industry not see the proper value?  I would say, that is the largest challenge facing our industry, our inability to communicate and hold value in our products. 

Max: Back to Connecticut. That was a very bold move. I assume everything is rolling OK there?

Josh: Connecticut's rolling wonderfully. We have a great team up there, a new plant manager started about two months ago who's really transformed that place. It took a good six to eight months to get that thing square from where it was. When we got it, it kind of illustrated non glass people getting into the glass industry, not really having a firm grasp of what we do or how we do it or what's required from our customers. So that retooling took some time and the work that Connecticut does has longer cycles, you’re bidding today and hopefully being awarded and then glass gets released about nine months+ later. But at this point, Connecticut is clipping along really well. I've never seen higher quality equipment at a plant in terms of production monitoring, digital scanners, but it's fun, Connecticut's fun.   

Max: I have a curiosity question for you because you do so much. Glass Enterprises does the whole range of our industry, but two of the areas that I'm really interested in is what is the hotter segment right now? Bird friendly glass or school security glass? 

Josh: For us, it's definitely bird friendly. Bird friendly right now is kind of like the wild wild west. There's a good portion of my weeks or days that are occupied on education, on bird friendly to Architects & Glaziers. There are just so many options and the aesthetic appeal of each one is so different, and then there's a cost factor as well for each different product. So you have to balance all those variables when trying to help design a project with our customers, what their expectations are when it gets on the job, whether it's through sampling or I really recommend full mockups to see what bird friendly you selected and what it's going to look like on a building. But I would say definitely bird friendly, especially in our area with New York City having their building codes DC close by Boston, starting to incorporate it and then with all the colleges and universities. 

Max: How have the supply chain challenges with the various things going on in the universe affected you or has it not affected you at all? Any issues out there? 

Josh: We haven't seen any issues with supply chains. I mean, tariffs are having a slight impact. We've gotten a couple letters with some tariff surcharges that have come across, but for our 40-year history, we've always solely purchased from our domestic manufacturers and supply chains. So even during COVID, that was a huge win for us when the container prices went through the roof and shipping. We support the people in our backyard the way we hope our customers support us and reinvest in our local or regional economies. So supply chain in terms of access to material has been great. The volatility in pricing, which we're going through right now with this new price increase, that's a challenge. And it's more of a challenge on how different companies and different segments read the market, for example. Do I think that there's been an over commoditization of products in our space for just in time custom manufacturing, which would carry a lot of value? I think there has been, and I think the increase in costs is challenging when you have a ceiling on the market of what you can sell for, and that's dictated by supply and demand. It's economics 101, there's a lot of supply out there, and as I said, the demand just hasn't been what it needs to be to support that. So I would say the biggest challenge in supply chain is managing your costs versus revenue price. 

Max: Before I let you go, the biggest question, most important question I have to ask you is will the Eagles repeat this year? 

Josh: That's a loaded question. I think it's hard to repeat. I think so many things have to break their way. You have some of these generational teams across all sports, but you have to stay injury free. Your schedule's another variable in that. For the Eagles, I think they have a challenging schedule this year when you finish first in the division. So I'm going to say yes or else all of my local Philadelphia fans will want to crush me. But we're going to go with, yes, the Eagles are going to repeat. I'm going to go to Vegas, put five bucks on it, and there you go. We'll see what happens.