Coast to Coast

The latest edition of the “From the Fabricator” podcast is now live, and we go coast to coast with two tremendous guys. I start in Seattle with Joe Kaiser of Herzog Glass. Thoughtful and brilliant guy, and the chance to learn more about him and the world inside Herzog was fun. Plus more tidbits on glazing the Space Needle. 

Then to the East Coast in Pennsylvania with Michael Duncan of Viwinco Windows. I’m not super strong on that side of the industry, so it was an excellent opportunity to learn from a significant disruptor in that space. Michael also steps outside of the box and embraces technology and innovation, surely part of the reason for Vinwinco’s success. Good stuff from both men. I'm thrilled they gave me the time. So please check it out!  Thank you very much.

Watch on Youtube, listen here, or on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts!

Elsewhere…

Tour of NxLite facility

Recently, my good friend Andy Russo took on a new position at a company called NxLite. I knew just a tiny bit about that company, and Andy was gracious enough to invite me down for a tour of their plant, which was about an hour+ from my home in Michigan. This tour was certainly impressive, a very well-organized setup. NxLite is applying coatings to glass, polycarbs, and other hybrid substrates that can push our product lines into new frontiers and also make some product areas more effective and efficient. There is serious potential here and I am happy for Andy as this is perfect for him to push and grow. As an aside, I did see Andy and his cohort from NxLite, Lisa Green, at GlassBuild while they were stationed in the Quanex booth, and they were getting a lot of attention. Very cool. Congrats, Andy. Looking forward to seeing what’s next!  Also, in a cool moment when I saw Andy and Lisa, I saw the King of Continuous Improvement, Dave Alexander of Miter Brands. I have not seen him in a very long time, so that was a pleasant surprise.

NGA Glass Engineering Curriculum

I am behind on the news that the NGA announced a Glass Engineering Curriculum for university-level students. This is a significant and swift step to get our products in front of students who may not be aware that the glass industry is an option. Kudos to the NGA Advocacy & Tech team, led by the awesome Urmilla Sowell, for this effort!

Britt & Tilson

I’ve written a bit about Britt & Tilson and their battle following the catastrophic storm and flood last year in Asheville, North Carolina. They have done what many people thought was impossible, as they’ve worked their way back. They put together a quick video that gives you a feel for what they went through, but also a peek inside their hearts. Billy Britt and team are truly top-notch people, and I’m overjoyed that they are on the positive road back.

Dodge Momentum Index

Some Dodge news. The Dodge Momentum Index (DMI) fell 7% in October to 283.3. Despite the slowdown, planning activity remains significantly higher than it was at this time last year. So, we’ll take it. Recreation and public buildings were the leading positive movers. And as for the US Government shutdown (which is now over and hopefully won’t happen again at the end of January), it appears to have had only a minimal effect on the construction space. Hard to believe, but we'll take that too.

ConstructConnect outlook

ConstructConnect held its fall outlook, and there wasn't anything particularly newsworthy, except for a couple of notable items: one positive and one negative. Good: inquiries on the ABI are still positive. That vibes with the forecast of a better 2nd half of ’26. Bad: an update on the “stress index,” and with that, the number of abandoned projects has increased significantly in the last several months. These are jobs that are not on hold, but during pre-con, the decision is to scrap them. Not a great piece of data. And probably not a surprise either.

Supply chain

One to watch, if you saw Seth Madole of Viracon's tremendous presentation on the glass supply chain, it was mentioned about a tightening of supply. Well, a driver of that is solar, and First Solar has just announced a new plant in South Carolina, set to open late 2026. If the stars align and we get busy during the second half of 2026, we may experience a very tight time to obtain glass. More to follow on this one.

Thanksgiving next week

Last this week… No blog next week as we head into the best holiday of the year with the United States Thanksgiving! So, I’ll be back the week of 11/30 and that one plus two more posts and the blog year is done!  As always, I end each year with the annual Glass Industry MVP award. So stay tuned!  In any case, wishing you and yours a happy and festive Thanksgiving!!