First, we’ll start with sad news, the passing of Thad Max Ziegler. Thad Max was great man who I had to honor of meeting back in the 90’s when our respective companies almost became partners. He was an amazing person and leader who worked an astounding 73 years in this business. My sincerest condolences to the entire Ziegler family including his son Thad W. who truly carries on the class and professionalism that Thad Max and the generations before started.
Whether you love social media or not, platforms like Facebook, Instagram and others are definitely here to stay. It’s true these sites can be time-wasters, but they can also provide opportunities for reaching a broader audience and even gaining more customers.
Well, that was a heck of a week…what a show we had in Atlanta. The opportunity to be back in front of people face to face really was energizing for all that attended, and my expectation of a motivated audience came true.
Earlier this month, I hopped on a video call with Charles Alexander and Danik Dancause of Walker Glass to get their take on the current state of the industry and leading trends. Alexander, who is the company’s vice president of sales and marketing, and Dancause, marketing operations manager, discussed some of the top challenges facing Walker and the industry, including product sourcing, the labor shortage and effectively reaching architects working remotely. They also talked through new bird-friendly legislation and other industry top trends.
This week writing this mostly from the floor at GlassBuild as we’ve finally made it, we’ve finally gotten to the show! It’s been a heck of a run since the last GlassBuild in person in 2019, and so far, so good in getting to see people and build back those great personal connections that we all strive for.
We love to see new projects with glass walls, and old projects with new windows. But what about the pictures showing the project in its unfinished state? With just a few small editing tips, these installation pictures can be so much better.
While the attractive appearance of natural metal is always on point, it seems building owners and architects have an increased interest in specifying metallic tones. Many are selecting finishes that accentuate the metal framing of windows, skylights, curtain wall, storefronts and entrances.
I know in some pockets of our industry there’s stunningly no sight of a glass shortage, and all is well. In others, it’s a struggle. Well, folks, the bad news is I think things on the glass side are going to get even worse. So those of you not having issues, get ready, and those of you who are battling, buck up and be strong because capacity is being sucked away and if we heat up business-wise like we all expect in 2022, lead-times and glass availability are not going to be what you are used to, even in today’s challenges.
The latest Architectural Billings Index was strong yet again but did show some slippage from last month. Possibly some of the uneven aspects of our economy is starting to catch up? The score of 54.6, down from 57.1, is still excellent but does show there’s some leveling off and the new inquiries came down as well from its insane record high from last month. This index may be settling down, and as long as it stays in the positive, all good.
As the world becomes increasingly digital, we may be tempted to ask if there is still a place for analog systems and tools in our daily work routines. There are many areas where the question comes into play, but for now let’s focus on measuring and layout.