usglass - june 2008
TRANSCRIPT
®
MOST REQUESTED AND LARGEST CIRCULATION OF ANY ARCHITECTURAL GLASS MAGAZINE WWW.GLASS.COM®MOST REQUESTED AND LARGEST CIRCULATION OF ANY ARCHITECTURAL GLASS MAGAZINE WWW.GLASS.COM®
INSIDE: The 25th Annual New Products Guide
One-on-One with TedHathawayTalking Shop with the CEO of Oldcastle Glass
METAL & GLAZING
THE MAGAZINE OF INFLUENCE FOR GLASS INDUSTRY LEADERS VOLUME 43, ISSUE 6 JUNE 2008
METAL & GLAZING
Free Subscription Form on Page 28
THE MAGAZINE OF INFLUENCE FOR GLASS INDUSTRY LEADERS VOLUME 43, ISSUE 6 JUNE 2008
Also Inside:• Should Tempered
Glass be Heat Soaked?• The Glass Fabrication
and Glazing EducationalConference in Review
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USGlass, Metal and Glazing (ISSN 0041-7661), Reg. U.S. Patent Office is published 12 times per year by Key Communications, Inc., P.O. Box 569, Garrisonville, VA 22463; 540/720-5584; Fax 540/720-5687. Sub-scriptions: $80 per year. Advertising offices listed on page 6. Unsolicited manuscripts and other materials will not be returned unless accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope. All contents are ©2008by Key Communications, Inc. Neither publisher nor its representatives nor its subcontractors assume liability for errors in text, charts, advertisements, etc. and suggest appropriate companies be contacted beforespecification or use of products advertised or included in editorial materials. Views and opinions expressed by authors are not necessarily those of the publisher. For permission to reprint, contact editorial offices.Printed in the U.S. Periodicals postage paid at Stafford, VA, and additional post offices. Postmaster: send change of address to UUSGlass, P.O. Box 569, Garrisonville, VA 22463. ©2008 by Key Communications, Inc.All rights reserved. No reproduction permitted without expressed written permission. Send subscription inquiries to Key Communications Inc., P.O. Box 569, Garrisonville, VA 22463.
4 Only Online
18 News Now
20 Company News
26 Distribution & Production
28 Energy & Environment
30 Financial
32 Dear UUSG
34 Industry Outlook
82 Newsmakers
84 Reviews & Previews
85 Up & Coming
86 Supplier’s Guide
92 Classifieds
94 Advertising Index
8 Farnady Files
10 Online Bylines
12 GANA Perspectives
14 Guest Book
96 The Business
• • •o n t h e c o v e r
Ted Hathaway, CEO ofOldcastle Glass,spent some time withUSGlass recently.Turn to page 36 forour exclusive fullinterview.
departments
columns
36 Mr. Hathaway Speaks Read on for an exclusive one-on-oneinterview with Ted Hathaway, chiefexecutive officer of Oldcastle Glass.
44 After 25 Years, It’s Still All New From glass products and aluminum tocompleted doors and windows—and themachinery that puts it all together—manufacturers have been busy across theboard, and we have the news here aboutwhat’s now available.
66 Cracked Up An increasing number of temperingcompanies are adding heat-soaking totheir operations, though some are stillhesitant as to the necessity of the process.The test may or may not be right for yourbusiness; industry experts share theiropinions here.
74 From Silica to SidingThe Glass Association of North Americabrought a crowd to the Monte Carlo inLas Vegas to learn about a wide range oftopics during its combined GlassFabrication and Glazing EducationalConference.
100 Industrial Drive • Sedgwick, KS 67135 • Also located in Aragon,GA • fax 316.772.5852 • UnruhFab.com
A BIG DEAL - IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE.You asked for a rack system that takes up less floor space...And boy, oh boy did our R&D team deliver! Unruh proudly introducesour new Roll Out 4 Drawer System. This all steel constructed rackfeatures 4 roll out drawers with a 1500 pound capacity...and all witha footprint of 48 square feet (4’x 12’). It has 2 inch load shelves thatcan accommodate glass sheets up to 48”x 96”. And if 4 drawers aren’tquite enough we can build one to your specs...5, 6 or up to 40 rollout drawers. Made with the same quality construction and attentionto detail that Unruh racks have become famous for.It’s the perfect rack system when floorspace is at a premium. Not only is it atremendous space saver but fromnow until August 31st we’reoffering it at an introductoryprice of $3900.
THRU AUGUST 31, 2008
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Only on USGlassmag.com
www.usglassmag.com Reader Survey
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WeBlogsRead weekly updates via www.USGNN.com.
P a u l B i e b e r Online editor,www.usgnn.com
E l l e n R o g e r s Online editor,www.usgnn.com
M e g a n H e a d l e y Editor, USGlass Magazine
Thursday - From the Fabricator
Monday - Let's Be Clear
Tuesday - USGlass & Paul
Also be sure and visit our online discussionboards at www.usglassmag.com/phpBB2
where you can ask questions and share experiences about business and
life in the glass industry.
P e t e C h o j n a c k iPresident, FabTech LLC
D e b r a L e v y Publisher, USGlass Magazine
On Occasion - deBLOG
Wednesday -The Entrepreneur’s Corner
Friday -Off the Press, On My Mind
4 USGlass, Metal & Glazing | June 2008 www.usglassmag.com
M a x P e r i l s t e i n Vice president of marketing, Arch Aluminum & Glass
Features Exclusively Online• View the Glass Highlights of Vegas
In addition to informative seminars and excellent networkingopportunities, the Glass Fabrication and Glazing EducationalConference featured a riding and walking tour through the glasshighlights of Las Vegas. See some of those highlights for yourself byvisiting www.usglassmag.com and clicking on the GANA WalkingTour Slideshow.
• USGlass Archives: Temper TemperRead about heat-soak testing with the article on page 66. But formore about the many causes of glass breakage—and heat-soaktesting—revisit this article from the April 1998 issue of USGlass.
June SurveyNickel sulfide inclusions, which can re-sult from the float production process,are one cause of glass breakage. Glassfabricators can use heat-soak testing(HST) to check for the presence ofthese inclusions in their temperedglass. While more glass fabricators areusing this test method, not everyone isready to jump on board. Do you thinkHST is worth the additional expense?
❏ Yes, HST successfully limitsinstances of glass breakage intempered glass
❏ No, HST does not significantlylimit instances of glass breakage intempered glass
❏ No, HST is not a cost-effectivemeans of preventing instances ofglass breakage in tempered glass
❏ No, there is not enough demandfor glass breakage testing to warrantuse of HST
Go to usglassmag.com to vote.
May Survey ResultsWe Asked:Do you think an ASTM standardon impact resistance will help inpreventing these types ofaccidents?
You Answered:
I would like to get involved in creating an impact resistance standard for skylights
I would not support an impact resistance standard for skylights
I would support an impact resistance standard for plastic skylights
Support for All
Support forPlastic
Do Not Support
I would support an impact resistance standard for all skylights
52%
28%
20%
0.0%
Publisher Debra A. LevyExtension 111 • [email protected]
Editor Megan HeadleyExtension 114 • [email protected]
Managing Editor Shannon FletcherExtension 130 • [email protected]
Contributing Charles CumpstonEditors Extension 153 • [email protected]
Tara Taffera, vice presidentExtension 113 • [email protected]
Penny StaceyExtension 148 • [email protected]
Ellen RogersExtension 118 • [email protected]
Online Reporter Wendy JozwiakExtension 131 • [email protected]
Circulation Thomas CoryDirector [email protected]
Art Chris BunnDirectors Extension 132 • [email protected]
Dawn CampbellExtension 150 • [email protected]
Marci MalinowskiExtension 116 • [email protected]
Advertising Erin HarrisCoordinator Extension 119 • [email protected]
Exhibits Tina CzarManager Extension 115 • [email protected]
Marketing Holly Biller, vice presidentDirector Extension 123 • [email protected]
Marketing Patrick SmithManager Extension 133 • [email protected]
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Web Bryan HoveyDeveloper Extension 125 • [email protected]
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MEMBER,
6 USGlass, Metal & Glazing | June 2008
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theFarnadyFiles
Istarted my selling career as a youngkid and the first call I made (and stillremember to this day) was trying to
sell subscriptions for the afternoonpaper I was delivering. I knocked on adoor and an old lady answered. I askedher politely if she wanted to subscribeto the Examiner—and she promptlyunloaded on me. What the heck did Iknow about William Randolph Hearst,the publisher of the paper I was tryingto sell? I was 12 years old trying to sell asubscription and she held me responsi-ble for the paper’s trash journalismmade famous, now nearly 100 years ago.Welcome to “cold call” selling.
It didn’t get easier when someonesucked me into trying to sell the Ency-clopedia Britannica and the Great Booksof the Western World door-to-door. Thelower middle class neighborhoods ofWest Los Angeles did not provide a largemarket for the products. I did getconned into buying a set of the GreatBooks from my boss, which proves thathe was clearly a better peddler than Iwas. It took me decades to finally ridmyself of those unreadable, tiny-printvolumes, printed on the thinnest paperI’ve ever seen. I finally dumped them onan unsuspecting high school librarian;she probably forgot about the other sixsets she had back in the archives.
LEARNING A TRICK OR TWOThe introduction to selling in the
architectural market was anotherpiece of my education. Draw againstcommission is the way to make anoutside salesman work. You are free toplay golf every day of the week, but ifyou don’t sell anything you really don’tget paid. And, if there are no commis-sions to pay back the draw, you soon
return to the fast-food joint, behindthe counter.
The art of the peddler starts the sameplace where everything else begins: youget your butt out of bed every morningand go to work. If it was fun theywouldn’t call it work, right? Putting thetime in is a requirement closely fol-lowed by persistence.
The next requirement is a thick skin.I got mine when I first started dating—you need to have confidence to sellyourself, but still be prepared to take re-jection. Had I not been been able totake rejection every time a good-look-ing girl turned me down, I would nothave had the nerve to ask my wife outthe first time. By then I knew I couldsell because if she bought my story Icould sell snowballs to Eskimos.
If you can sell yourself to the oppositesex, even selling a bridge to architects iseasy. But, the failure to deal with rejec-tion can be very costly. I knew a “sales-man” who told me that once after losinga big sale he was so upset that he lost hislunch. Then while he spent the rest ofthe day in a bar feeling sorry for him-self, he lost three other sales.
CULTURE SHOCKI thought I was pretty well prepared
but I was still not quite ready for the cul-ture shock that was the glass industry. Ihad learned enough to know thatyour lifeline to your business wasproduct knowledge. When I startedin this business I didn’t have any. Ididn’t know obscure glass from acocktail glass and thought thatfloat was what was in the glass andnot how you made the glass. Tem-pering was a magical processwhereby some big pieces of glass
went in one end of the building and littlepieces came out the other.
My job was to tell our irate customerswhy their order didn’t get to them andwhen, if ever, it would get there. I was thefront man hired to take the heat. I guessthat’s selling too, but I didn’t figure thatout until much later. When I startedworking for a tempering plant, the guys Iwas working with knew little more than Idid. In retrospect, it was pretty scary con-sidering how many mouths I had to feed.I was the newest guy, the sales manager,and I thought it was great that I could atleast get out of the building. But unfortu-nately for a long time it was just to be outthere to face the music.
That was not only my introduction tothe business but a real test of my salestalents. I needed them: hard work, longhours, thick skin, persistence and theability to deal with rejection. Eventually,with the accumulation of productknowledge and tenacity, my customerswould learn that they could rely on me.They could trust the promises I madeto protect their prices and keep myplant responsible for meeting theschedules to which I had committed.You have reached the summit of thepeddlers’ art when people know you asa man who always keeps his word. Thatwas always my goal and has enabled meto live to tell this tale. ■
The Art of the PeddlerAnd the Long Road to Successful Selling
b y D e z F a r n a d y
D e z F a r n a d y serves asthe general manager ofRoyalite Manufacturing Inc., askylight manufacturer in SanCarlos, Calif. His columnappears monthly. Mr.
Farnady’s opinions are solely his own andnot necessarily those of this magazine.
8 USGlass, Metal & Glazing | June 2008 www.usglassmag.com
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OnlineBylines
Following my last column, youshould have several key points tohelp optimize your website for the
search engines. Now we’ll look at a topicoutside of your website, which can havea great impact on where your site ranksin the major engines: link development.
WHAT IS LINK DEVELOPMENT?Link development has often been
compared to a popularity contest. I canthink of nothing closer to the truth.
Think about high school. How wouldone become part of the popular crowd?Were they voted in by some elusive, se-cret society?
No … at least, I don’t think so. Usu-ally one became part of any crowd be-cause they knew someone in that crowdor because they were invited in.
Now think about the Internet. Theweb consists of billions of websites, alllinking to other sites, directories, hubs,etc. So how would a search engine de-cide which site in any one categoryshould rank higher than another?
One way is by scanning links to eachsite in an attempt to calculate a given site’spopularity. The more popular the site, themore people will likely want to see it;therefore, the engines rank them higher.
Now I’ll confuse the situation a bit.The number of links to a site is not typ-ically the deciding factor for popularity.
To take us back to high school for amoment; if a student had 200 friends,none of which were considered popular,then said student would not likely beconsidered part of the popular crowd.
However, if the student had only 10friends, but they were all part of thepopular crowd … you guessed it; they’dbe welcomed by collective association.
Now back to the Internet. Your site
may have 1,000 links pointing to it, butwhere do they come from? If each of thesites that link to yours is insignificanton their own, they will do little to boostthe search engine’s view of your site.
But if you have 10 or 20 optimizedlinks from large organizations, espe-cially government or educational sites(.gov or .edu), the search engine willpay much greater attention to your site.
HOW DO I GET LINKS?To get these links, you must start from
the beginning. This may mean buildingnumerous “insignificant” links early on,but this low-level popularity creates afoundation to build on.
Some direct link building activities areimportant. I recommend getting yoursite listed in as many industry-related di-rectories as possible, as well as numer-ous social networks and related on-linegroups. From there, building links is allabout creating a website with consider-able industry-focused content. As yoursite and its content grow, others willbegin to see the site as an authoritativeresource and potentially link to it.
Here are some steps to get started:• List your site with directories such as
Yahoo! and Dmoz;• Request links from local directories
and organizations;• Optimize links to your site (more on
this below);• Think education. The more
content the better; and• Organize content, and make in-
formation useful and easy to find.These steps will help get your site
going in the right direction, but aword of caution—if your links arenot optimized, all of your efforts inobtaining them will be wasted.
LINK OPTIMIZATIONSearch engines are fickle, but one
consistent rule is optimization. Justhaving links won’t do it; they must beoptimized to follow search engine bestpractices.
First, don’t send a link to your home-page unless absolutely necessary. A linkto an internal page has more relevanceto the subject and will “score” betterwith the search engines.
Next, ensure the link is relative to thecontent on the page you are sending itto. For instance, if you are linking to apage on “custom shower doors,” a goodlink might look like:
“Learn more about Custom ShowerDoors at XYZ Company.”
A bad link might look like:“Click Here for more information.” Finally, ensure that the title of the
linked page includes the same searchterm as the link itself.
If you’ve optimized the link, thesearch engine will see that it states aprimary search term (custom showerdoor). It will then scan the page thatthe link points to. If the page’s title andcontent are about custom showerdoors, you will have succeeded inbuilding a powerful relative link. If thelink points to a page about residentialwindows, the engine will discount thelink or disregard it entirely. ■
Becoming Part of the “In” CrowdImproving Online Visibility with Link Development
b y S c o t t O r t h
S c o t t O r t h is the directorof Internet marketing servicesat GTS in Portland, Ore. Hecan be reached [email protected]. Mr.Orth’s opinions are solely his
own and not necessarily those of thismagazine.
10 USGlass, Metal & Glazing | June 2008 www.usglassmag.com
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GANAPerspectives
T he online video boom began inearnest half a decade ago withthe explosive take-off of sites like
YouTube and Google Video, making un-knowing celebrities of the likes of the“Numa Numa Kid” and the “Star WarsKid.” Since the early days, many indus-tries have embraced online video as acredible new media to disseminate avariety of information, from news andhow-to features to entertainment forthe masses. One of the products of thismovement is the creation of a videoblog (vlog) or a video podcast.
GANA VENTURES OUT ONLINEGANA has been looking at a variety
of new media, including online video,for the past three years. After almost ayear of preparation for an online videoeffort, GANA staff went to theKitchen/Bath Industry Show and Con-ference (K/BIS) in Chicago in April toimplement a trial run, and the GANAVideo Podcast was officially born andis a tremendous success.
GANA’s Video Podcast focuses onglass and glazing issues and events ofinterest to the industry. The first showsfeatured booths from K/BIS, as well as alook at the Glass Experience, an inno-vative exhibit at Chicago’s Museum ofScience and Industry that illustrates themany ways glass has changed society.Recent podcasts have covered speakersfrom the GANA Glass Fabrication& Glazing Educational Conferencein Las Vegas and the AIA 2008 Na-tional Convention and Design Ex-position in Boston, as well asGANA’s efforts in the industry,other industry associations col-laborating with GANA and more.Each video can be streamed over
the Internet through any Flash-enabledbrowser, and viewers may also chooseto download the videos for future view-ing from a computer, a video-enablediPod or on a television with an AppleTV.
A typical episode of GANA’s VideoPodcast runs in length from six to fif-teen minutes so as to not draw an ex-cessive amount of precious time fromthose in the industry. In addition tothe podcast format, we have also of-fered a couple of presentations fromrecent GANA events as an added edu-cational value to viewers, such as Ed-getech IG product manager MikeBurk’s presentation from the 2008BEC Conference. Additionally, severalpresentations are being added toGANA’s Glasseducation.com website,which offers a wide array of educa-tional content for the glass, glazingand architectural communities, all atno charge.
In the near future, GANA will bebroadcasting video from the NeoConWorld’s Trade Fair in Chicago, Glass-Build America, the GANA Fall Confer-ence and other industry events. We arealso interested in hearing your thoughtson our Video Podcast. If you have anyshow ideas, please send an email [email protected]. We lookforward to hearing from you, and mak-ing the show even better. ■
See for YourselfOnline Resources for the Industry
b y B r i a n P i t m a n
B r i a n P i t m a n is thedirector of marketing andcommunications for the GlassAssociation of North America.Mr. Pitman’s opinions aresolely his own and not
necessarily those of this magazine.
12 USGlass, Metal & Glazing | June 2008 www.usglassmag.com
PYRAN® is everything you’ve been looking for in fire-rated glass. It’s fire-protective, impact-resistant and, aesthetically speaking, quite fetching. PYRAN® Crystal offers the highest standardof clarity, transmission and true color rendition. And PYRAN® Star is both beautiful andeconomical. If impact resistance is required, PYRAN® fire-rated glass-ceramics can be suppliedlaminated or with a surface-applied safety film. It comes in large sizes and is easily accessiblethrough distributors, fabricators and glaziers. For new construction or retrofit, spec the glasswith a loyal following among fire professionals – PYRAN®. For more information about PYRAN®
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GuestBook
In the March issue ofthis magazine (seeMarch 2008 USGlass,
page 6), publisher DebraLevy encouraged mem-bers of the glass industryto “re-evaluate their par-ticipation in the NationalFenestration Rating Coun-cil” (NFRC). She also as-serted that the NFRC boardof directors “continues to ig-nore the votes of the Councilregarding the Component Modeling Ap-proach (CMA).”
Not only are these statements egre-gious, they appear to be based on mis-conceptions and a lack of understandingof NFRC as an organization.
It’s widely known that NFRC is anot-for-profit, 501(c)(3) corporation.That means that it does not functionthe way a 501(c)(6) trade organizationwould, like the Glass Association ofNorth America or the American Ar-chitectural Manufacturers Associa-tion, and that NFRC is ultimatelyresponsible to the general public. It isthe board’s responsibility to set thestrategic direction of the organizationand to make sure NFRC is, in fact, ful-filling its mission.
NFRC operates as a consensus-basedorganization and all decisions are dis-cussed as they move through the com-mittees that drive the program.
Nearly six years ago, NFRC’s mem-bership recognized a growing demandto improve the process for obtainingindependent energy performance rat-ings of commercial glazing systems.The interest and requests for actioncame from both public members of theNFRC constituency, as well as industry
members from variousglass and commercial fen-estration companies.
Since then, NFRC hasbeen working diligently todevelop a certification andrating program that willprovide all stakeholderswith fair, accurate andcredible energy perform-ance ratings and will fitthe commercial glass
business model. During thattime, our members and participants havespent countless hours on conference callsand attended many meetings to work outthe specifics. We have welcomed and ac-tively solicited industry input.
Throughout the lengthy course ofCMA’s development, the NFRC board hascarefully and attentively listened to everysuggestion made concerning CMA. De-veloping a system that addresses theneeds of such a diverse group is complex,costly and time consuming, and in-evitably involves compromise. It is theboard’s job to make sure the program isdeveloped in accordance with NFRC’smission, to keep the big picture in mindand to maintain a long-term focus. Itmay mean that sometimes members willnot completely agree with the outcomeand there will be times when decisionsare not favorable to the goals of any oneperson, organization or segment ofthe industry. It does not mean,however, that NFRC is “flawed,” orthat the industry is being “ignored.”
Once development of CMA iscomplete, the benefits to all stake-holder groups will be realized:• The nonresidential glazing in-
dustry will be able to show vali-dated energy performance
ratings for its products, which willhelp them to show compliance withlocal and state energy codes.
• The CMA software will provide ar-chitects with a user-friendly tool toverify performance and give themassurance that bids and estimates aredone using a validating methodologyfor determining energy performance.
• HVAC engineers and energy consultantscan obtain uniform energy data fromWINDOW and THERM that is neededfor advanced building design software.
• International partners will be able toadopt harmonized software based onrecognized standards.
• The public at-large will benefit fromincreased use of higher performancefenestration systems that will in turnreduce energy use in the United States.Moving forward, NFRC hopes that in-
dustry participation increases. We alsohope that participants understand thateven in a consensus-driven, democraticprocess, some people don’t get their wayall the time. If participants ever feel thattheir voices are not being heard, theyshould contact NFRC’s board ombuds-man, Jim Krahn. His contact informa-tion is available at www.nfrc.org.
We encourage continued feedbackand invite anyone who has something tosay to join us at our next membershipmeeting in Chicago, July 28-31. ■
Component Modeling ApproachNFRC’s Consensus-Driven Program
b y J i m B e n n e y a n d J o e H a y d e n
J i m B e n n e y is the executive directorand J o e H a y d e n is chair of the boardof directors of the NFRC. Mr. Benney’sand Mr. Hayden’s opinions are solely theirown and not necessarily those of thismagazine.
14 USGlass, Metal & Glazing | June 2008 www.usglassmag.com
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New Names, New Focuses, New Products; All the Talk of the AIA Convention
There was speculation among ex-hibitors at the American Instituteof Architects (AIA) Convention,
held May 15-17 in Boston, that the stateof the residential building market, ris-ing gas prices and other factors limitedthe number of traffic on the show floor.On the other hand, several exhibitorsfound attendance to be substantive. PaulDaniels, vice president of sales for LosAngeles-based C.R. Laurence, said hehad seen a substantial number of archi-tects at the booth who do high-end res-idential work. “That must be the part ofthe market that is doing better,” he said.
Several companies had news to sharewith (potential) customers, rather thannew products.
For example, just prior to the showPilkington had announced a proposedinvestment of around $100 million toits float glass facility in Lathrop, Calif.The plant, which currently producesfloat glass products, will be upgradedto produce a wider product range, in-cluding on-line coated glazing.
“This is a nice marriage between howwe process the glass and how we manu-facture the glass,” commented RachelHepner, Pilkington marketing and com-munications manager, during the show.
Hepner also noted that the invest-ment will make the 46-year-old facility“greener” than it currently is.
If approved, site construction activi-ties will commence in the fall of 2008.
For those attendees who asked “what’snew?” at the ACH Glass Operations booth,the answer could easily have been:“what’s not?” Now known as Zeledyne(see May 2008 USGlass, page 16), thecompany is focusing on bringing closertogether its three brands—Versalux ar-chitectural glass, automotive glass asoriginal equipment for vehicles and Car-
lite, the automotive aftermarket glass.“There was a lot of autonomy,” com-
mented marketing manager CindyCoulter. Now, she says, the focus is on“one direction, one vision, one mission.”
Top among new products on the floorwas the offering of new building infor-mation modeling (BIM) services (formore on BIM, see the May 2008 USGlass,page 36). Several companies used thisopportunity to promote their BIM offer-ings. Norcross, Ga.-based Kawneer Co.Inc. was giving demonstrations of itsnew BIM program in its booth. KolbeWindow and Doors of Wausau, Wis., alsopromoted its 3D window models,launched to offer architects “more flexi-bility” in the tools they have available.
With regard to products, many ex-hibitors were tantalizing architectswith new decorative glass offerings.
Donald Press walked attendeesthrough a number of Schott’s new dec-orative options, including the com-pany’s Moodglass® decorative panels,which sandwich designer fabrics be-tween two lites of AMIRAN® anti-re-flective glass, and its ColorTherm™insulating glass units.
Viracon has increased the number ofstandard silkscreen patterns available,from 3 to 14.
“By offering them as standards, it of-fers [architects] design flexibility,” com-mented Viracon’s Rich Voelker.
The exhibitors at NGI Designer GlassInc. were showcasing custom servicesin coloring, acid etching, sandblastingand other decorative techniques. Theyhad found that architects were askingfor more than just their aesthetic prod-ucts, but also engineering services. Thecomplete package was an increasinglyimportant consideration, they noted.
Green, sustainability and energy were
certainly all big messages at the show. Oldcastle Glass had a noticeable take
on energy in its booth. The booth show-cased the many architectural uses of itsproducts, including an electric infor-mation strip powered by the company’sphotovoltaic panels.
Sustainability was very much on themind of Joe Erb, product manager, inthe combined Lauren Manufactur-ing/Edgetech I.G. booth. “We want tomove this green and sustainabilitymessage.”
Greg Header, president of Solar Inno-vations Inc., explained that he had comeprepared to address the green aspect ofthe company’s skylights, glass doors andsunrooms—but was only offering thatinformation upon request. Header ex-pressed concern about “over-marketing”the green message, adding that archi-tects and other customers are being in-undated with green information.
Certainly architects were surroundedby the green message, but it showed nosigns of slowing with this show.
Only time will tell if these trends re-main prominent during the 2009 AIAConvention, scheduled for April 30-May2 in San Francisco. ■
18 USGlass, Metal & Glazing | June 2008 www.usglassmag.com
While Zeledyne, formerly ACH, wasgetting out the word about its newname, company representativesstressed the Versalux brand wouldremain untouched.
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CompanyNews
Frank Lowe Rubber & Gasket Doubles Space with New Facility
Frank Lowe Rubber & Gasket Co.Inc. has relocated to its new60,000-square-foot facility in
Shirley, N.Y. “This project has been in the works
for over two years,” says Ira Warren,president. The company brokeground on the facility in August 2007(see October 2007 USGlass, page 18).Warren adds, “The new location of-fers Frank Lowe Rubber & Gasket Co.Inc. room to expand our operations,increase our efficiencies and furtherenhance our commitment to our customers.”
Along with this new space—the newfacility is nearly double the size of its cur-
rent location—the company is planningfor several upgrades.
“The new facility incorporates cap-ital investments ranging from a newadvanced business communicationsystem and IT upgrades to a new highspeed automated die cutting system,”says Randy Cohen, vice president ofsales and marketing.
In addition to the facility upgrades,there will be new additions to staff inthe near future.
While the company hasn’t changed itsweb address, it has made some additionalchanges there as well. The website,www.franklowe.com, has been re-launched. The new design is intended to
be more user-friendly. Among otherthings, custom drop-down menus pro-vide users with a clear view of the com-pany’s products, services and capabilities. ❙❙➤ www.franklowe.com
PPG AcquiresNanoProducts Corp.
Pittsburgh-based PPG Industries hasacquired the assets and intellectualproperty of NanoProducts Corp. inLongmont, Colo., a producer ofnanoproduct materials and a developerof nanoproduct technology.
The nanoparticle technology com-pany holds patents and operates pilotfacilities for the development and man-ufacture of unique nanoparticles.
“This acquisition significantlystrengthens PPG’s nanotechnology patentportfolio and positions us as a worldleader in nanoengineered materials,” saysJames A. Trainham, PPG vice president ofscience and technology. “With these newmaterials, PPG can offer its customers anddevelopment partners unique, high-valuesolutions. PPG will also license nanotech-nology solutions, particularly in areas out-side its existing businesses.”
PPG’s nanotechnology solutions in-clude a number of patented innova-tions such as thin-film, optically clear
continued on page 22
kudos
Lafayette Glass Co. Recognized as Small Business of the Month
Lafayette Glass Company in Lafayette, Ind., was recog-nized as a “Small Business of the Month” earlier thisyear by the Lafayette Chamber of Commerce. To qualify
for the recognition, businesses must be under current own-ership at least three years, employ 25 or fewer and be activein the Chamber and community. As president Dennis Clark re-vealed, Lafayette Glass had that criteria more than covered.
“We’ve been in business since 1946 and we’ve been amember of the Chamber of Commerce for at least 50 yearsthat I’m aware of,” Clark says. “We’re involved in the community; we support alot of youth organizations, baseball teams for boys, softball teams for girls, etc.”
Clark notes that this is the first time the company has been recognized bythe Chamber of Commerce for this award, but it is not the first honor the com-pany has received. In 2003 Clark was inducted into the Glass and Metal Hallof Fame™, and Lafayette Glass Co. made the UUSGlass Third Annual Best Com-panies to Work For list in 2002 (see August 2002 UUSGlass, page 40).
With regards to this recent award, Clark says, “I think that longevity in busi-ness certainly has a lot to do with it.”❙❙➤ www.lafayetteglass.com
20 USGlass, Metal & Glazing | June 2008 www.usglassmag.com
Frank Lowe Rubber & Gasket soonwill have room to expand in its newfacility in Shirley, N.Y.
Dennis Clark
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nanocomposites for scratch-and-marprotection as well as the reflection ofinfrared and ultraviolet light.
In addition, the company has volun-teered to participate in the basic programof the U.S. Environmental ProtectionAgency’s Nanoscale Materials Steward-ship Program. The voluntary programaims to gather scientific information tohelp it assess, and where appropriatemake decisions on, chemical nanoscalematerials in or slated for production.❙❙➤ www.ppg.com
anniversariesRex Glass and Mirror Co. Celebrates 50 Years
Rex Glass and Mirror Co. Inc., estab-lished in 1958, is celebrating 50 years ofserving the Greater Pittsburgh marketwith an array of glass products andservices. The company has held various
celebrations for employees and suppli-ers, including an anniversary galaaboard the Gateway Clipper in April.
“This [was] quite an event for us,” saysDavid Arnold, sales and marketing man-ager of the gala. “We have annual parties,but not anything to this extent. It’s just away of saying ‘thank you’ to everybody.”
With 50 years behind the third gen-eration family-owned company, con-tinual growth is on the horizon.
In 1996, the company expanded itsoperations with a new facility in Crafton,Pa. The original location in McMurray,Pa., still stands, and received an exten-sive renovation in 2000-2001. “We’relooking at some additional stores; wehave two right now,” Arnold says.
As a matter of fact, Rex Glass was rec-ognized in 2007 by the Inc. 5000 groupas one of America’s fastest growing com-panies. As Arnold notes, the company
has employees who have reached their20- and 25-year landmarks with thecompany, and new employees join thecompany continually. “We don’t have a lotof turnover but our growth has really
CompanyNewscontinued
22 USGlass, Metal & Glazing | June 2008 www.usglassmag.com
continued on page 24
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Rectenwald family members: (left toright) Bill Rectenwald, Sherry Phy,Don Rectenwald Sr., Sue Bott, ScottRectenwald, and Don Rectenwald Jr.aboard the Gateway Clipper.
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“Soft Tech developed a great system for us and we arevery pleased with it.
Our internal sales and customer service team use thesystem continuously and we are seeing significant reductionsin estimating time and improved accuracy on complex custombath enclosures. We have successfully deployed it to ourDealers and they too are very happy with it.
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Powerful Software for ShowerEnclosure Manufacturersand Their Dealers
CompanyNewscontinued
spurted in the last 20 years,” he says. In addition, in the last six months the
company was listed by the PittsburghPost-Gazette as one of the Top 50 BestPlaces to Work for companies under 50employees, making 50 the big numberfor this glass company. As Arnold says,
“A lot has happened this year.” Although its focus may be on em-
ployees during its semicentennial cele-brations, company president DonRectenwald Jr. says the company’s suc-cess is due to its customers.
“The foundation of our success is
building consumer confidence,” he says.“Dedicated customer service, coupledwith quality products is our formula.”❙❙➤ www.rexglass.com
associationsWGA Scholarship to beAwarded in Honor ofSound Glass Sales
In honor of Tacoma, Wash.-basedSound Glass Sales’ 25th anniversary,Owen Lubin, vice president of NationalGlass Industries, has donated $500 tothe Washington Glass Association(WGA) Scholarship Fund.
National Glass Industries, a fabrica-tor with facilities in Woodinville, Wash.,has been a vendor to Sound Glass formore than 20 years and, as Lubin notes,“I watched them grow from their orig-inal small shop. [Chief executive officerWarren Willougby] has just made somegreat decisions and now he’s listed inthe Big Book of Lists there as one of thetop glazing contractors in the country”(see March 2008 USGlass, page 36).Lubin adds, “It’s quite a celebration forSound Glass.”
Although Sound Glass did not haveplans to celebrate the occasion, Lubinsaid he was motivated to do somethingspecial for the company.
“They didn’t want anything for them-selves and I thought this would be a goodway to at least honor them and havesomeone benefit from it,” Lubin says.
Shortly after WGA’s announcementabout the scholarship in honor ofSound Glass, another $500 scholarshipwas gifted in honor of Sound Glass, thistime from an anonymous donor.❙❙➤ www.wg-a.org
Designed for the glass and construction industries, Artus U-shaped,structural shims provide accurate leveling and alignment, and comein three standard thicknesses, each with its own color for exact thickness identification: Blue-1/16”, Red-1/8”, Black-1/4”. Light inweight yet durably strong, they withstand tons of compressive force.
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24 USGlass, Metal & Glazing | June 2008 www.usglassmag.com
briefly ...
Insulpane of Connecticut in Ham-den, Conn., has achieved PPG certifi-cation for Solarban products. PPGCertified Fabricator Program(PPG/CFP) involves a select group ofglass fabricators who participate in arigorous training program on the pro-cessing of PPG’s glass products. ■
YKK AP America Nears Completion of $36 Million Expansion
Y KK AP America Inc. has added250,000 square feet to its facilityin Dublin, Ga., bringing its exist-
ing footprint on the site to just over onemillion square feet of manufacturingspace. The company has invested ap-proximately $36 million into Phase II ofits expansion (see May 2007 USGlass,page 22, for information on Phase I), andalready has set plans to invest an addi-tional $30-$40 million by 2010 for ini-tiatives to further increase capacity, aswell as to enhance quality, reduce energyconsumption and reduce emissions.
Many of the new machines pur-chased for the expansion went into pro-duction in mid-May. Among the newequipment brought into the plant arethree highlights, says Oliver Stepe, sen-ior vice president of YKK.
First is the addition of a second melt-
ing and casting machine. “We’re theonly ones in the USA that do it our-selves,” Stepe says. “We actually startwith the raw aluminum and we controlour own alloys.”
To keep in line with the company’sgoal of energy savings and reducedemissions, the new machine featuresregenerative burners that take exhaustgas and reuse it for the melting.
The company also has added a sec-ond high-performance fluorocarbonpaint line. The new computer-con-trolled line is a continuous flow, “three-coat one-bake” line. “It helps deliver ahigher consistency on the quality,”Stepe says.
In addition, a third extrusion presshas been added to increase efficiency.
With regard to efficiency, the com-pany is also aiming at increasing au-
tomation in its lines. Stepe explains thatthe facility recently has deployed an au-tomated custom door line. “We’re reallystarting to move on to a lot more au-tomation in aluminum door and win-dow production,” he says. “Where thesetypes of machines are really headed isintegrated and connected to the order-entry systems. What can be projected inthe future is that a customer can do anestimate, turn it into a quote onlinethemselves and that will eventually runright into the machinery itself.”
Despite the trend toward automation,the large amount of space that has beenadded to the facility begs the hiring ofadditional employees.
“It’s projected that this whole de-ployment could add up to 200 jobs by2010,” Stepe says.
With the expansion nearly complete,Stepe expects that the additional ca-pacity will help improve YKK’s abilityto offer aluminum products quickly.
“Our focus is just having the shortestlead-time and the best on-time deliv-ery,” he says. “The only way you’re goingto gain market share in a down marketis to be better than the next guy, sothat’s what we’re trying to do.” ❙❙➤ www.ykkap.com ■
Distribution&Production
26 USGlass, Metal & Glazing | June 2008 www.usglassmag.com
RFID Helps Viracon Monitor Orders
V iracon, headquartered in Owatonna, Minn., is installing radio frequencyidentification (RFID) solutions to track, monitor and manage all glasscarriers throughout its manufacturing facilities.
RFID products are able to locate and monitor assets and people over stan-dard Wi-Fi networks, to improve and automate business processes. Since im-plementing a pilot program of the asset-tracking solution late last year, thearchitectural glass fabricator has been able to reduce search time for glasscarriers, eliminate lost carriers and reduce manual tracking of expedited or-ders. Based on these results the company is now moving to a full installation.
Tags mounted on more than 5,000 glass carriers communicate over a Wi-Finetwork and relay status and location as the carriers transport glass betweencutting, tempering and lamination stations. Software maps and displays theirlocation and enables workers to search for specific customer orders and seewhere they are in the production process. The information is integrated into theinventory management system, keeping the location and status of glass car-riers up-to-date for inventory purposes. ❙❙➤ www.viracon.com
With Phase II of its expansioncomplete, YKK’s facility covers morethan one million square feet.
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Going for Green Does Make A Difference, New Studies Say
Two recently released studies, oneby the New Buildings Institute(NBI) and one by CoStar Group,
have validated what the green buildingcommunity has known all along: third-party-certified buildings outperformtheir conventional counterparts acrossa wide variety of metrics, including en-ergy savings, occupancy rates, saleprice and rental rates.
The NBI study indicates that newbuildings certified under the U.S. GreenBuilding Council’s (USGBC) LEED cer-tification system are, on average, per-forming 25-30 percent better than
non-LEED certified buildings in termsof energy use. The study also demon-strates that there is a correlation be-tween increasing levels of LEEDcertification and increased energy sav-ings. Gold and Platinum LEED certifiedbuildings have average energy savingsapproaching 50 percent. Buildings thathave earned the ENERGY STAR label usean average of almost 40-percent less en-ergy than average buildings, and emit35-percent less carbon. But beyond theobvious implications of reduced energyuse and reduced carbon emissions, theresults from both studies strengthen
the “business case” for green buildingsas financially sound investments.
The group analyzed more than 1,300LEED-certified and ENERGY STAR build-ings representing about 351 millionsquare feet in CoStar’s commercialproperty database of roughly 44 billionsquare feet, and assessed those build-ings against non-green properties withsimilar size, location, class, tenancy andyear-built characteristics to generatethe results. The NBI study was fundedby USGBC with support from the U.S.Environmental Protection Agency. ❙❙➤ www.usgbc.org ■
Energy&Environment
28 USGlass, Metal & Glazing | June 2008 www.usglassmag.com
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FinancialFlash
NASDAQ Celebrates 25 Years of APOG Listing
M inneapolis-based Apogee Enterprises Inc. chair-man and chief executive officer Russell Hufferpresided over the NASDAQ Stock Market opening
bell ceremony on May 7 to celebrate the company’s 25-yearlisting anniversary on NASDAQ and to recognize Apogee’stwo consecutive years of record earnings.
“It was exciting and fun,” Huffer says. “And to have the recog-nition for Apogee and its achievements was very special.”
As far as those “record earnings,” the company’s recentlyreleased fiscal 2008 full-year earnings showed a 13-percentincrease in revenues to $881.8 million. Earnings from its con-tinuing operations were $1.49 per share, up 33-percent from
a year ago, while net earn-ings were $1.67 per share,compared to $1.12 pershare last year.
For the fourth quarter offiscal year 2008 specifi-cally, the company’s rev-enues of $243.3 millionshowed a 18-percent in-crease from the prior-yearperiod. Net earnings, in-cluding discontinued op-
Architectural Glass Segment Information (Unaudited; dollar amounts in thousands)
13 Weeks 13 Weeks 52 Weeks 53 Weeks Ended 3/1/08 Ended 3/3/07 % Change Ended 3/1/08 Ended 3/3/07 % Change
Sales $223,374 $184,312 21 $798,819 $694,888 15Operating income (loss) 19,853 12,120 64 53,549 40,323 33
Consolidated Statement of Income (Unaudited; dollar amounts in thousands, except for per share amounts)
52 Weeks 53 Weeks 13 Weeks 13 Weeks Ended 3/1/08 Ended 3/3/07 % Change Ended 3/1/08 Ended 3/3/07 % Change
Net sales $881,809 $778,847 13 $243,276 $206,202 18Cost of goods sold 696,659 630,433 10 188,091 165,971 13Gross profit 185,150 148,414 25 55,185 40,231 37Selling, general and administrative expenses 118,691 100,689 18 32,735 26,676 23Operating income 66,459 47,725 39 22,450 13,555 66Interest income 972 1,024 -5 262 201 30Interest expense 2,485 2,652 -6 898 354 154Other income (expense), net 128 (22) N/M 47 (7) N/MEquity in (loss) income of affiliated companies (2,772) 2,724 N/M (281) 361 N/MEarnings from continuing operations before income taxes and other items below 62,302 48,799 28 21,580 13,756 57Income taxes 19,132 17,147 12 7,487 4,518 66Earnings from continuing operations 43,170 31,652 36 14,093 9,238 53Earnings from discontinued operations 5,381 1 N/M 292 437 -33Net earnings 48,551 31,653 53 14,385 9,675 49
30 USGlass, Metal & Glazing | June 2008 www.usglassmag.com
Apogee chief financial officerJim Porter (right) and director ofinvestor relations Mary AnnJackson joined CEO RussellHuffer (center) at the NASDAQopening bell ceremony on May 7.
Snapshot: Apogee Enterprises Inc.
erations, were $0.50 per share versus $0.34 per share in theprior-year period.
The architectural glass segment saw increases as well, forboth the quarter and the year (see chart on page 30). “As weenter fiscal 2009, we are positioned for continued stronggrowth for our architectural segment,” Huffer says. “Westarted the new year with our highest architectural backlogever: $510.9 million. We have strong visibility for fiscal 2009and into fiscal 2010 due to our backlog, project commit-ments, strong bidding activity and the construction levelsand green building trends in markets we serve.”
Approximately $368 million, or 72 percent, of that seg-ment’s backlog is to be delivered in fiscal 2009, and approx-imately $125 million, or 25 percent, in fiscal 2010.❙❙➤ www.apog.com ■
www.usglassmag.com June 2008 | USGlass, Metal & Glazing 31
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DearUSG
IGMA Director IssuesStatement about NFRCDear USGlass:
A number of industry representa-tives decided not to respond the Na-
tional FenestrationRating Council’s(NFRC) most re-cent round of bal-lots on theComponent Mod-eling Approach(CMA) program,letting NFRCknow that ourreason for notsubmitting bal-lots was NFRC’slack of respon-
siveness to the industry (see April 2008USGlass, page 16).
I, and others in the industry, havebeen trying to work with NFRC forsome time but have met with a lack ofsuccess in attempting to influenceNFRC’s CMA program to satisfactorilyaddress the needs and requirements ofthe commercial industry. While theNFRC membership has voted repeat-edly on the same issues supporting pro-posals from the organizationsrepresenting the commercial industry,it’s my opinion that the final resultshave not reflected the consensus ofNFRC’s total membership—specifi-cally the commercial side. Items such asspacer systems, development of addi-tional libraries and sub-assemblies,oversight of the manufacturer approvedcalculation entity (ACE) and lack ofstreamlining the process have all beenincorporated into the program and thesoftware under development againstthe wishes of many individuals in theindustry. One of the more contentiousitems is the development of framegrouping rules that have been returnedto the task group for re-development.
There were three negative ballots sub-mitted on the recent CMA product certi-
fication program (PCP) ballot. At thispast meeting, Gary Curtis, chair of theCMA ratings subcommittee cited this asa success for the program. However, in-dustry member Rich Biscoe of Architec-tural Testing Inc. corrected Gary, notingthat many of the members of the indus-try, including the trade associations,have publicly stated that they do not sup-port the system and have intentionallynot submitted ballots. I agree with opin-ions Rich expressed at the meeting: alack of negative ballots should not beconstrued as a measure of success.Rather, it is a measure of the lack of sup-port by the commercial industry for theprogram and a sad statement on theNFRC process. It appears that NFRC ispoised to finalize its CMA program byJanuary 2009 even without the supportof the industry. Whether the programwill be successful remains to be seen.What benefit will the program serve ifthe industry ignores it, just as they haveignored the present site-built program?
NFRC was created 17 years ago to ad-dress problems in reporting thermalperformance values most of which werelaid at the doorstep of seemingly “fraud-ulent” manufacturers. This underlyingtone of unjustified mistrust of manu-facturers continues today. All stakehold-ers that attend the NFRC meetings haveconflicts of interest; many times theseinterests are diametrically opposed. Theexistence of conflicts is not surprisingor even a “bad” thing. What is surpris-ing is that no one seems to think it im-portant enough to point out clearconflicts or question proposals that areof benefit only to the proponent. Polite-ness appears to take precedence overnaming conflicts when you see them. It’sinteresting and discouraging to me toattend an NFRC meeting as a represen-tative of manufacturers, yet feel mar-ginalized because we support acost-effective, streamlined program,while it appears to me that other stake-holder groups that financially benefit
from NFRC programs are heralded asdefenders of the “public good.”
It’s enough to make one want tostand up and say, “The emperor has noclothes.”
Margaret WebbIGMA Executive Director
In a Perfect WorldDear USGlass:
I would like to comment on “paywhen paid” (see February 2008 USGlass,page 60).
A subcontractor who agrees to this can-not possibly stay in business if he tells hissuppliers: “You get paid when I get paid.”Subcontractors rely on their suppliers andmust pay promptly after delivery of ma-terials or services. The alternative is thatthe suppliers will stop deliveries.
In business it must be the buyer’s re-sponsibility to pay for goods and serv-ices received. From time to time, I havewalked away from contractors insistingon the clause. Sometimes it was deleted.Sometimes I “buckled under.” It’s not aperfect world.
Regards, Helmut Guenschel
Helmut Guenschel Inc.Baltimore
Pointing Out More Options Dear USGlass:
Regarding Dez Farnady’s column inthe October 2007 edition of USGlass(see October 2007 USGlass, page 8), Iwould like to point out the availabilityof 10-mm “Sunergy” Green and Azuremanufactured by AGC Flat Glass Eu-rope. “Sunergy” is a pyrolitic low-re-flectance, low-E glass even better suitedto the application being discussed inMr. Farnady’s article—high light trans-mission with excellent shading andthermal properties.
Alan HunterExport Sales Manager, AGC Flat
Glass North AmericaGeneral Manager, AMA Glass Corp. ■
32 USGlass, Metal & Glazing | June 2008 www.usglassmag.com
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IndustryOutlook
Demand for refactory productsin the United States is ex-pected to accelerate through
2011 and reach $2.5 billion, accord-ing to a recent report from the Free-donia Group, a Cleveland-basedindustry market research firm.
Nonmetallic mineral markets, in-cluding glass and ceramic production,are expected to show the biggestgrowth. Refractories are used in glass-making operations, in furnaces thatperform annealing, melting and shap-ing processes.
According to the report, the use ofhigh-quality refractories has length-ened the life of glass furnaces and de-creased refractory consumption perunit of glass produced. Life spans of
glass furnaces have reached 15 yearsin some instances, although this candepend on the types of glass pro-duced in the furnace. To help increasefurnace life, a number of glass manu-facturers now undertake a “hot repair”of the furnace, whereby monolithicsare used to protect the bricks and sealcracks in between furnace rebuilds.While the report predicts that demand
for bricks and shapes is expected toadvance more rapidly than for mono-lithics among refractory forms—as pre-formed shapes are increasinglyutilized due to performance advan-tages such as reduced heat-up time—demand for monolithic bonding andother mortars is projected to grow atan above-average pace.❙❙➤ www.freedoniagroup.com
Steady Growth in Glass Manufacturing Refractories Predicted
34 USGlass, Metal & Glazing | June 2008 www.usglassmag.com
“Nonresidential constructionspending rose an impres-sive 1.3 percent in March
and 12 percent compared to March2007,” reports Ken Simonson, chiefeconomist for the Associated General
Contractors of America (AGC). Simon-son was commenting on the Marchconstruction spending figures re-leased by the Census Bureau on May1 (see chart below). “The housingslump buried this news by dragging
total spending down by 1.1 percent forthe month and 3.4 percent for theyear. Yet nearly every category of non-residential spending continued to ex-ceed year-ago levels.”
According to Simonson, “Estimatesfor nonresidential spending inJanuary and February were eachrevised up, suggesting that grossdomestic product (GDP) mayhave grown a little more in thefirst quarter than the Bureau ofEconomic Analysis (BEA) said …”BEA reported in May that real (netof inflation) GDP grew 0.6 per-cent, the same as in the fourthquarter of 2007.
Among the biggest challengenonresidential construction willface, Simonson says, is the con-tinuing rise in material costs, in-cluding costs of steel, aluminumand copper. ❙❙➤ www.agc.org ■
Item 1996 2001 2006 2011 2016
Glass RefractoryDemand (mil $) 130 136 133 140 145
$/ton 703 777 858 933 1,000
Glass Refractory Market
Source: The Freedonia Group, Inc.
Good News Buried in Construction Spending Report, AGC Says
Source: U.S. Census Bureau (Millions of dollars. )
Value of Construction Put in Place in the United States Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate
Type of Construction
Mar. 2008p
Feb. 2008r
Jan. 2008r
Mar. 2007
Percent change from Mar. 2007
Feb. 2008
Mar. 2007
Residential 451,424 473,328 472,686 562,214 -4.6 -19.7Nonresidential 672,106 663,188 659,681 601,433 1.3 11.8Lodging 36,161 34,399 32,780 25,907 5.1 39.6Office 70,795 69,833 69,545 61,934 1.4 14.3Commercial 84,806 85,656 84,329 83,984 -1.0 1.0Healthcare 47,084 46,356 45,422 44,279 1.6 6.3Educational 102,403 102,123 102,500 93,186 0.3 9.9Religious 6,495 6,707 6,974 7,637 -3.2 -15.0Manufacturing 46,140 45,539 45,634 35,288 1.3 30.8
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Flat Glass North America
In many ways, Ted Hathaway is larger than life. The 53-year-old chief executive officer (CEO) of OldcastleGlass® has a reputation for getting results, eliciting stellar business performance, and making impeccableacquisition choices—all combined with a great appreciation for the artistry of design. He also has a repu-
tation as a “behind-the-scenes” person, who has never sought nor accepted the media spotlight. Were that spotlight to shine on him, however, it would cast an impressive shadow. Hathaway holds a master’s
degree in business administration with honors from Columbia University’s Business School and a bachelor’sdegree in economics from Connecticut College. He started his career as a commercial banker with BankersTrust and later worked for a leverage buyout firm. In 1987, he joined Oldcastle Inc.® as its vice president of de-velopment. Within three years, he led the $100 million acquisition of HGP Industries and Oldcastle Glass wasborn. During the next ten years, he added more than 25 companies to the mix in an acquisition frenzy that leftOldcastle one of the top glass fabricators in the country. Oldcastle Glass currently has 75 locations in 26 U.S.states and four Canadian provinces. It employs nearly 7,000 people. Today, Hathaway serves as CEO of Old-
castle Glass, having been promoted from chief operating officer in 2000. In addition to his work, Hathaway participates in many philanthropic ventures. He is
a member of the board of trustees of New York’s Museum of Arts and Design, which sitsdiagonally across from the company’s Manhattan offices. The newlyredesigned and renovated structure, to which Oldcastle Glass donatedmore than $1 million in glass, is scheduled to re-open inSeptember. Hathaway visits New York often, but makes his homein Pacific Palisades, Calif., where he is raising his two children.
Oldcastle Glass is owned by Oldcastle Inc., the North Americanarm of the Dublin-based CRH plc, one of the world’s
largest building products and materials companies.Oldcastle Inc. operations include more than 1,700locations in 50 states and four Canadian
provinces. Originally a reluctant inter-view subject, Hathaway was graciouswhen we sat down in early March totalk about his career, the industry andthe rapid growth he has led.
—Debra Levy
Talking ShopWith Ted Hathaway, CEO of Oldcastle Glass
Ted Hathaway in his New York offices with a scale modelof the renovated New York Museum of Arts and Designconstructed entirely of LEGOs®.
Q: Let’s start at the beginning with yourname. Your actual given name is Edwin.And, unless I am missing something, Tedis not a normal derivative of Edwin. Isthere a story behind how that nicknamecame about?A: You would have to check with mymother. She has departed, though … Idon’t really know what the genesis ofthat was. It’s just a nickname.
Q: Then let’s talk about your youth. Iunderstand that you are Connecticut-born and bred. Where in Connecticut areyou from?A: I spent a fair bit of time in Westport,but was born in Waterbury. I spent myformative years in Watertown.
Q: And then you went to school here [inNew York City], correct?A: I went to undergraduate school inConnecticut, and then I went on to getmy MBA from Columbia Universityhere in New York.
Q: I understand that you went intobanking after that.A: Yes, I started out as a commerciallending officer for Bankers Trust Com-pany. I went through its credit-trainingprogram where they hired a group oftrainees and paid us full salaries to goback to school. So, we all spent a yeardown at One Bankers Trust Plaza, whichis now the Deutsche Bank Building thatwas damaged in the 9/11 attack.
Q: So Bankers Trust paid you to go backto school?A: Well, they brought in a group ofbusiness school professors to teach usbusiness and credit analysis. So, we allgot paid gargantuan salaries basicallyto study for a year. And then, when yougraduated from the program, you wereplaced within various departments ofthe bank. It was their effort to groomand train people.
Q: I don’t know of too many people whohave made a jump from banking back to
the private sector. That’s rather atypical.There must have been some impetus toincite you to move. Was there somethingthat told you banking was not for you?A: Well, I wanted an MBA; the bankprovided me with a leave of absence,provided me with benefit continuanceand allowed all my retirement plans tocontinue in full force. So I went back toColumbia. In the course of going therefor two years, I decided to explore otheraspects of finance. So I left BankersTrust and joined what was called, inthose days, a leverage buy-out firm.Today, they are referred to as private eq-uity firms. Then I spent a couple ofyears there doing deals.
Q: Were you there through the whole“Barbarians at the Gate” era?A: Yes, through that and Gibson Greet-ing and a number of other high-profiledeals, but we ourselves didn’t do thehigh-profile deals. We did the simplerdeals. That’s where I became intriguedwith the idea of doing acquisitions. I haddone a number of acquisitions and wassort of part of the senior team. Fromthere, I moved to the West Coast in 1986.
Q: What led you to make that move?A: Just a change. I wanted a change ofpace and wanted to try a different partof the country.
Q: You couldn’t get a much more differ-ent pace than going from New York toCalifornia. Did you have culture shockwhen you first got there?A: Well, I did, actually. A lot of my NewYork friends were concerned that Iwould stop reading books and …
Q: … go look at the water every day?A: There was a sense (there probablystill is somewhat) that people on theWest Coast are not as literate or as in-tellectually curious as they are in theEast. It’s not true, by the way. But whenI sent my friends a change of address, alot of them wrote back and told me tokeep reading books. But you know, if
you grow up on the East Coast and thenyou go to the West Coast, it’s a very dif-ferent environment. It’s a freer environ-ment and it is a more entrepreneurialenvironment in some respects. Nowa-days so many New Yorkers are there, it’sprobably the same environment.
So, I moved to the West Coast in 1986,and I actually worked for a New YorkStock Exchange company that was try-ing to diversify its product line. It’s acompany called Kerr Glass, probablybest known for its home canning prod-ucts. It actually had a dominant posi-tion in the market of glass containersused for food products.
Q: Did you work directly for Kerr?A: I went to work for the CEO and wasgiven the task of identifying diversifi-cation opportunities in packaging. Myfirst idea came about while I was walk-ing up and down the aisle of a nearbygrocery store looking for food productsthat were packaged in plastic. I cameacross Mott’s Applesauce, and I turnedthe package over and it said “RampartPackaging.” At that time, chemistry waschanging and you could package foodin what was called barrier plastics. Bar-rier plastics prevented oxygen from de-fusing through the plastic and causingbacteria to grow. This was a novel prod-uct. I mean, we are talking the 1980s.
So, I went and visited Rampart Pack-aging, which was based in Williamsburg,Va. We were able to make a connection.We had had a tremendous relationshipwith Kraft and a number of other foodcompanies, and now here was this smallfledgling company out of Williamsburg,Va., trying to make its way on its own. Wehad a very good initial meeting, andwhen I asked their CEO if we could pur-sue this, he paused and said, “Well, Ineed to talk to our parent company.” Isaid, “Well, I didn’t notice on the D&Bthat you had a parent company,” and hesaid, “Well, we do.” And I asked, “Whomight that be?” and he said, “it’s Shell Oil.”
continued on page 38
www.usglassmag.com June 2008 | USGlass, Metal & Glazing 37
38 USGlass, Metal & Glazing | June 2008 www.usglassmag.com
Q: Quite a surprise, I’m sure.A: So, we actually had some very high-level discussions with Shell Oil to see ifthere might be any opportunity to do ajoint venture. Those discussions didn’treally lead into anything, but after thatexperience I decided I needed to lookfor something more active. I moved onfrom Kerr to Oldcastle Inc.
Q: When was that?A: In October of 1987. I have been atOldcastle now for some 20 years.
Q: Oldcastle Glass originally was a looseconglomerate of HGP locations at thatpoint, wasn’t it?A: Actually Oldcastle Glass didn’t existin 1987. Oldcastle was then (and still is)a wholly owned subsidiary of CRH. Itwas very modest in its scale and scope.It was focused principally on what wewould call heavy-side construction ma-terials—aggregates and asphalt andconcrete products.
Q: So in what capacity did you go towork for Oldcastle Inc.?A: Doing acquisitions.
Q: Were you reporting to a managementteam here in the States, or were you re-porting straight to Dublin?A: I was working for the CEO of NorthAmerica, a gentleman named DonGodson. I suppose my first significantdeal was the acquisition of HGP Indus-tries, which we closed on April 4, 1990.Oldcastle Inc. became interested in theglass business because we had an op-portunity to buy a company up inEverett, Wash., called O&W Glass.
Q: Oh, sure, I remember them.A: O&W Glass was founded by JohnSchack. Schack had already sold Old-castle Inc. a number of precast busi-nesses. In fact, in the 1970s, he hadsold Oldcastle Inc. a company calledUtility Vault. And then, in the ’80s, hewas bored and he decided to start up aglass fabrication plant in Everett, Wash.After he got it up and running, andafter it was highly profitable, he con-tacted us.
He wanted to sell it to us. I was askedto go and evaluate the deal. I was in-trigued with the glass business. It’s a lit-tle more dynamic than the aggregatesbusiness just because it has morebreadth in terms of competitors.
Q: It definitely has more characters, Iwould imagine.A: It’s just different, not better, just dif-ferent. And so, after having consum-mated the O&W acquisition on behalfof Oldcastle, I was intrigued with theglass business and, through a networkof business brokers, we became awareof HGP Industries. That was the deal Iput my heart and soul into in 1989.
Q: When you are doing an acquisition,do you get totally focused and driven tothe point where you can’t focus on any-thing else until it’s done?A: I think you do get focused, yes. Youcan get preoccupied to a degree, be-cause it’s an opportunity to grow yourbusiness strategically and because notall acquisitions are the same. So whenyou find one you like, you want to con-summate it, you want to do every-thing you can, within reason, to makesure you are able to secure it andmake it a success.
Q: It must feel wonderful; it must feellike winning the World Series when youfinally close the deal.A: Actually, it feels terrible. No, it does-n’t feel terrible. Strike that. It’s easy toget the deal done; it’s a lot harder to in-tegrate it and to honor the promises youhave made to the board of directors interms of a return on investment.
Really, the hard work begins the daythat you close the deal when you actu-ally own it.
Q: So, it’s almost like the candidate whowins an election and turns to his staffand says “now what do we do?”A: In a positive way, yes. It’s not a drag.The real hard work is not necessarilygetting the deal done as much as it ismaking the deal a success.
Q: Are there a couple [of deals] that
have gotten away that you wish hadn’tover the years? Do you look back and say‘well gee, I wish we’d gotten that one?’A: Very few actually. And the few thathave gotten away, in hindsight, havebeen … I guess the phrase “whenIrish eyes are smiling” might be appli-cable. Sometimes it’s knowing whennot to do a deal even though it looksattractive, or even when it may have astrategic fit, that’s just as important asknowing when to do one. We have hadseveral deals that have gone all theway down to the eleventh hour, thatwere submitted to the board and ap-proved by the board but, in theeleventh hour, something came upthat gave us pause and we backedaway. In some instances, some of thesellers decided they didn’t want to sell.For a transaction to work, both par-ties have to want it to work. If some-body changes his mind, be it buyer orseller, there is no harm and no foul insaying “I changed my mind.”
Q: That’s interesting because I talked toa lot people in preparation for this inter-view and a common theme I heard overand over again was that “Ted will tellyou he doesn’t know glass.” But don’t youhave to know an awful lot about theglass business to pick off the companiesthat you have? I think it’s pretty commonknowledge in the industry that most peo-ple are extremely impressed with thequality of the companies that have beenacquired by Oldcastle Glass.A: [Laughing] Well, first of all, I knowa fair bit about glass …
Q: Okay, good, we can dispel that myth.A: Obviously if you look at our strat-egy, it’s not all that complicated. Wetried to identify the best acquisitions inmarkets where we didn’t have the pres-ence. Let’s start from the beginningwith HGP. HGP had roughly ten loca-tions, sales of about $75 million a year.And it became a cornerstone, a plat-form, for our growth. It was a radicaldeparture for Oldcastle Inc. and CRHbecause it was a building product thatwas very different from anything theyhad contemplated.
Talking Shopcontinued from page 37
Q: And I’m surprised to see that OldcastleInc. really doesn’t have glass holdings inother countries. Is there a reason for that?A: It’s not for lack of interest. But thestructure of the industry is very differentin other countries. In Europe it’s prettymuch downstream, all the way through.
Q: There is a lot of speculation aboutwhether or not Oldcastle Glass either willmove up to float manufacturing, or downtoward actual installation in the future.A: Well, I think both of those are non-starters for us. We have no interest inbeing a float glass manufacturer. Ithink part of the strategy is, as Porterwould say, knowing what to do andwhat not to do. And our core compe-tence, for lack of a better word, is whatwe do today. It isn’t to get into floatglass manufacturing. There are quitea few capable and very successfulcompanies that are very good at man-ufacturing float glass. We would notsee that as a logical nor plausiblestrategic direction for us. And, to an-swer the other question, movingdownstream, we have no interest indoing that. We are very happy with theposition we are in today.
I think we offer a unique culturewhere you can sell your business andstill have an opportunity to run yourbusiness. I mean, one of our first ac-quisitions after HGP was a company upin Vancouver, Wash., called UnitedTempering Systems. It had been startedby some of the former shareholders of
Hunter Glass, Jack Hunter’s business, inOklahoma. When we acquired UnitedTempering Systems in November of1990, Jim Avanzini, who was a princi-ple in that business, joined us. He hascontinued to stay with us. Today, he’sone of my senior team members. He’s agroup president.
Now at the time of sale, Jim was oneof five shareholders of United Temper-ing Systems. So he easily could havetaken his chips and gone somewhereelse. He decided to stay. I’d say hestayed for the past 20 years because heenjoys his work and he’s enjoyed beingpart of our management team. We area different type of acquirer. We providea different culture and a different envi-ronment for people. And I think that’swhy we have been so successful.
The other side of it is that every timeyou buy a business, you learn thingsthat you didn’t know. And even in ourmost recent glass acquisition in 2004—we bought The Floral Group—not onlydid we get a great business, but wefound some things that Chuck Ka-planek was doing particularly well. Wenow have incorporated these through-out the organization … so, the doorswings both ways. That’s been one ofthe keys to our success.
Q: Are there any more quality acquisi-tion targets left out there in the glassarena?A: I think there are a few.
Q: Just a few?A: There are a couple that do a great job,have great customers, have a great repu-tation and would complement our ge-ography. I don’t think we are going to doanything in Montana in the near future,but I wouldn’t be surprised if, depend-ing on the opportunity, we would con-tinue to grow through an acquisition inglass in major metropolitan markets.
Q: Do you feel the same way aboutmetals?A: Well, I think there is a huge potentialfor us in aluminum glazing systems, ab-solutely. Yes.
Q: Can you tell me a little bit about theVistawall deal? It is so brilliant, our read-ers would enjoy knowing how that wasput together.A: We had Vistawall on our acquisitionlist for years. In April 2006, I wrote a let-ter to Lance Hockridge, who was theCEO of North America [for BlueScope].I just wanted to meet him and get toknow him and discuss if there was anyopportunity to consider Vistawall’s di-vestiture, and so we had a couple ofmeetings. In December of that year, wewere notified that the business wasgoing to be divested and it was going tobe handled by an investment banker, soit was a competitive auction. There werequite a few bidders; it was hotly con-tested. It was a very, very desirable pieceof business, and there were manyprospective buyers.
Q: And you won.A: We persevered. Vistawall is a phe-nomenal business. It’s got great people.It’s got a national footprint. If you liketo look at the map [unfurls a map ofOldcastle Glass and Vistawall locations],you’ll see it gave us the ability to reallytouch every customer in every metro-politan statistical area in North Amer-ica. HGP was the cornerstone of ourarchitectural glass strategy. In a similarsense, Vistawall becomes the corner-stone of our architectural aluminumglazing system strategy.
Q: How is the integration going?A: Excellent, excellent. A lot of the in-tegration is underway. The Vistawall ac-
www.usglassmag.com June 2008 | USGlass, Metal & Glazing 39
continued on page 40
There are quite a few capable and very successful companies that are very good at
manufacturing float glass. We would not see that as a logical nor plausible strategic direction for us.
40 USGlass, Metal & Glazing | June 2008 www.usglassmag.com
quisition performed brilliantly in itsfirst six months. They are an excep-tional group of managers who knowtheir business very, very well. What’s ex-citing for us is the synergies that wehave discovered. There are some addi-tional, what I call “knock-on synergies,”which are very, very exciting.
Q: Any you would want to share?A: Well, I think people make it happen.If you look at the map, you’ll see theVistawall locations and the glass loca-tions. It looks like someone was fol-lowing someone else around thecountry. We really have tremendouslocal connections.
Q: That begs this question: do you fore-see a day when your glass and metal op-erations are located in the same place?A: Not really, no. I think they are verydifferent businesses with very differentprocesses. I think it would be a mistaketo put them together. The Vistawall or-ganization is very, very good at archi-tectural aluminum systems, bothmanufacturing them and selling them.And the glass folks are very, very goodat service and processing and manu-facturing architectural glass products.Many times companies think youshould put them all together, but theyhave different personalities, and they dobetter working cooperatively.
Q: So many other people would say, ‘forthe sake of economy and efficiency, wehave got to put these together,’ but that’sprobably been part of what’s made Old-castle what it is, just the acknowledgmentthat ‘hey, they are different businesses andthey need to stay separate.’A: Years ago, before we bought HGP,a friend introduced me to Jim Mar-tineau. Jim was, and continues to be, avisionary. I continue to be a huge fanof Jim and his vision. And Jim startedan amazing company called Viracon.He had a vision and he had a purposeand he was extraordinarily successfulin his day. Everybody is trying tostrengthen the industry and make itmore successful; make it more mean-ingful. I have the utmost respect for
what Jim did with Viracon … it’s asimilar model.
Q: I know you have developed a propri-etary glass jointly with PPG …A: Our proprietary product is calledSunGlass™, yes.
Q: Such proprietary development is avery unusual strategy. Can you explainto me the reasons for providing suchproducts?A: We are a very, very compelling chan-nel partner. People recognize that. Theysee value in partnering with us, and Iuse the word “partner” in a very limitedway. Anything we have done with ourstrategic suppliers, we have done on avery limited basis.
We launched a product years agocalled StormGlass™ and that was a part-nership with a supplier that provided uswith an interlayer. This allowed us tomanufacture the best hurricane producton the market at the time. Now, we did-n’t have an exclusive arrangement for-ever. We had a limited period ofexclusivity and then others in the indus-try were permitted to buy that product.
We are just interested in differentiat-ing ourselves. Where we can find an op-portunity to work with a supplier thatis interested in leveraging our channel,it’s a win-win. When Apple launchediPhone, it had to choose a serviceprovider. It chose Cingular/AT&T. Applewas looking for the best partner tolaunch its product. It’s analogous towhat we try to suggest to our suppli-ers—that they should look at us a littledifferently because we have a nationalfootprint in both architectural glassand aluminum glazing systems.
Q: Would it be accurate to expect Old-castle to have a heavy acquisition curvein metals for the next three to five years?A: It’s our number-one focus right now,to continue to look for complementarycompanies that we can bolt on—thatare either complementary from a geo-graphical or product point of view.
Q: And by bolt on, you mean you canjust attach them to the existing business?
A: It’s not quite that simple. The conceptis that they fit within. For example, webought a business called Southwest Alu-minum Systems in Chandler, Ariz., in2003. That business is now going to be-come part of Vistawall, and the gentle-man running that operation fits naturallywithin the Vistawall management team.
Q: The Antamex acquisition was con-sidered an outstanding move. Can youexplain how that came about? A: Well, the Antamex acquisition wasto give us a leading position in curtain-wall design and engineering becausethat’s where we would like to make ourmark as innovators. So Antamex is partof that strategy.
Q: Have you noticed how Apogee seemsto be following Oldcastle’s lead ... in thecase of their recent acquisition of Tubelite?A: I don’t know if you can say they arefollowing or leading. I have a great deal ofrespect for Apogee and for Russ Huffer’sleadership. You know, they had a presencein architectural windows well before us.They had a presence in finishing—theLinetec operation—before us. Obviously,Viracon is a major player in architecturalglass, so I’m not sure whether they are fol-lowing or leading. I do think everybodyis trying to figure out how to approachthe next decade, though.
Q: Do you think it’s possible for the fewindependent glass fabricators and the re-gionalized aluminum supplier to sur-vive? It’s gotten tougher for thoseindependents to exist. What kind of ad-vice would you give them?A: Anybody who runs his or her busi-ness smartly will survive. We are all in-terested in making a profit, and if wedon’t make a profit … we suffer the con-sequence—which ultimately is bank-ruptcy. There are a few companies thatwill suffer this outcome this year; somesuffered it last year. I suspect this yearwill present new challenges to peoplewho aren’t focused on making a profit.
I’m not saying that if you are a smallplayer, you can’t survive. If you’reknowledgeable and smart, and youknow your cost, you can survive. There
Talking Shopcontinued from page 39
still are massive numbers of independ-ent glass fabricators today. And thosenumbers have grown over the years. Butpeople who try to be all things to allpeople, in any industry, in any con-struction business, suffer from a lack offocus and a lack of purpose.
I would tell people that, if they want tostay independent, there is nothing wrongwith that. This industry is populated withvery good competitors. The better thecompetition is, the more challenging it isfor us to get better, and I think that’s ahealthy environment. So, I don’t see thisnecessarily as a wave of consolidation thatwill keep independents from being able tosurvive. I think independents are an im-portant part of the fabric of our industry.
Q: I have noticed, too, that a number ofwell-respected people, such as Mary CarolWitry, have come to work for you. It seemsyou’ve been able to pick up a number ofgood people through acquisition.A: One of the best measures of yoursuccess as a company is whether or notyou are the most desirable employer inthe field.
Q: That’s a good yardstick for companiesto use. But by what measure do you con-sider yourself successful? What yardsticksdo you measure yourself against?A: To be successful you must be deliv-ering a return on investment to yourshareholders. We have, and are proud of,our very, very strong returns. We haveinvested the capital provided to uswisely. We are providing great careersfor our people, and we are enabling ourpeople to realize their aspirations. Icould give you a dozen people in the or-ganization who started at an entry-levelposition, and today are running very,very successful businesses.
Roy Orr who joined us in 1987 as ahand cutter in our Shawnee (Okla.) lo-cation is one such example. He cameout of a business he had owned andsold, and he joined us just, I guess, togive it a shot. Today, Roy is one of ourgroup presidents. To me, that’s whatmakes it a lot of fun—seeing peoplelike Roy Orr and others who can startat a very low level and rise to the top.
Q: Okay then, let’s move on. What doyou see as some of the biggest threats tothe glass and metal industry? Whatkinds of things keep you up nights?A: China will continue to be an in-creasingly formidable competitivethreat. We are already seeing that, ob-viously, in furniture. All the glass usedin furniture is being manufactured andfabricated in China. Standard-sizedproducts, such as French doors, arecoming to the United States with pre-glazed doorlites. Anything that is astandard size, such as a tabletop or apiece of furniture glass, is going tocome from China. In fact, the Chineseare now beginning to try to supplyboth glass and curtainwall. These aremajor products in North America, andI think this is a huge threat to the in-dustry. If we are not careful, we will paya huge price.
Q: It’s always interesting to me how youcan watch the specs for a job come out andthey are so tight … tight performance,MBE, LEED, etc., local ownership desired,tightly honed safety plans and green plansand then a municipality turns aroundand uses Chinese curtainwall … A: Well, I think the question is one ofwarranties. Will that firm be the nextInterpane? Anyone who has boughtglass from Interpane and is now deal-ing with the consequences of warranty
claims and matching coatings or colorsunderstands this. If you are a buildingowner or developer you have to askyourself if you want to invest in a cur-tainwall that is fabricated and manu-factured from a supplier with whomyou do not have a relationship.
Curtainwall is one of the critical com-ponents of a building. It does muchmore than just close the building enve-lope. It is involved with every aspect ofperformance—wind, rain and so forth.You may buy based on price, but youwill be getting what you pay for. Fewbuilding owners want to deal with acurtainwall issue five years after theyhave gotten their certificate of occu-pancy. People need to be very, veryaware of the decisions they are making.They need to ask themselves if they aregoing to have a long-term relationshipwith a company, or are they just goingto make their purchases a la carte, savea dollar or two and then wake up in acouple of years with a product per-formance question.
Q: From what you are saying—and Ihear this from other sources too—themanufacture of standardized products ismoving offshore while custom productmanufacturing will remain here.A: Anything that’s standardized, in a di-
www.usglassmag.com June 2008 | USGlass, Metal & Glazing 41
continued on page 42
Oldcastle and Vistawall Locations
The white dots are Oldcastle Glass the black dots are Oldcastle GlassEngineered Products (which includes some of the Vistawall locations).
42 USGlass, Metal & Glazing | June 2008 www.usglassmag.com
mensional sense, is going to come fromthe lowest-cost producer. Until Chinabegins to consume its own manufactur-ing capacity, I think China will continueto export a vast quantity of material.
Q: How do you work with building own-ers to educate them about this? The glassguys and the metal guys understand it. It’sthe building owners who are saying, ‘Hey,it’s $4 less a square foot if I buy it there.’A: Everybody has to make their ownassessments, do their own homework.People just need to be very carefulabout how they come to their conclu-sions, that’s all. It’s up to the individualbuying the product to make the pur-chasing decision. There is price andthere is service and then there is who isgoing to be there for the long haul.
Q: Is there anything else you perceive asa threat on an industry-wide basis?A: Virtually every product that we, asan industry, manufacture has a signifi-cant raw material cost. We are now feel-ing the impact of 100+ dollar-a-barreloil on laminated glass, because PVBand other interlayers are manufacturedfrom feedstocks that are oil-related.Aluminum, too, is a global commodityand if the price of aluminum goes upand people choose not to pass that coston, I think that’s a threat.
Input cost inflation is a threat to theindustry. I don’t think any of us want toend up like Eastern Airlines or PanAm,where their inability to pass along costsled to their demise. Every industry hasto be able to pass increases in costs alongto its customers or it doesn’t survive.
Q: There is a lot of discussion, especiallyin our pages, about that and why it is sodifficult to do. A number of manufactur-ers, including Oldcastle Glass, do havefuel surcharges. There is some spiriteddebate in USGlass about this. Some peo-ple say “hey, we understand we have topay for this, but call it a price increase,as opposed to the fuel surcharge.” Do youhave any feelings on that either way?A: Many industries are very success-ful at managing their fuel surchargesand their prices. Federal Express and
Airborne and United Parcel Service allhave such a bifurcated pricing struc-ture. They have a fuel surcharge thatfluctuates with market pricing and,every so often, they announce an in-dustry-wide price increase. I think it’simportant to be able to recoup yourcosts. Anybody in business today un-derstands that. And anybody who isn’tpaying attention to his costs isn’t run-ning a business well. If you can’t man-age your costs, I don’t think you canmanage, period. People who can’tmanage their costs ultimately gobankrupt.
One major threat in an industry suchas ours that’s subject to inflation for floatglass, for sealants, for insulating glass,aluminum extrusions that are used tomake insulating glass, as well as alu-minum extrusions that are used to makecurtainwalls, is that all those are tiedback to a market price for raw material.And if we are entering an inflationaryperiod, which I think we are, there won’tbe many people left standing if peopledon’t pay attention to their costs.
Q: You know, people in your companyspeak so highly of you, but I also occasion-ally detect a bit of fear there as well …A: Fear?
Q: Fear, yes. I don’t know whether it’s justtypical fear of the “big boss,” or whetherit’s something more than that. From yourreaction I would guess you never get thatfeeling from people, though.A: I like to be perceived as demandingbut fair. And this is a meritocracy. Inour businesses, performance is trans-parent. I don’t want anybody to beafraid. I think that’s a bad thing. Peopledo have to understand it’s a very, verycompetitive world today. And ten yearsago, markets, products were easier. Inevery industry known to man, it getstougher and tougher.
Q: That’s going to be a beautiful build-ing over there (pointing to the Museumof Arts and Design under construction).I read an interesting story about how yougot involved.A: I’m on the board, so obviously you
have to be careful because I am biased.What fascinates me about this museumis there are going to be four actualartists studios where artists are goingto be in-situ doing their crafts—glassblowing or working with various mate-rials. The museum is going to have aunique place for people to actuallywatch and observe the craft or the artor the design being produced. It’s goingto open in September of this year.
Q: I know you have two children. Whatkinds of things do you like to do for fun,or do you have time for fun?A: I spend a lot of time on my children.I have custody of my children on anevery-other-week basis. So, when I amwith my kids, I’m a full-time dad. Mydaughter is fifteen and my son is thir-teen. They are busy. They keep me busy.
Q: Do you have any hobbies outside?Are you a golfer?A: I’m a leisure golfer. There was an ar-ticle in the New York Times recentlyabout the dirge of golf courses becausepeople just don’t have the time to spendthere. I don’t. So, I read whenever I can,principally biographies.
Q: Are you in the middle of one rightnow, or have you just finished one?A: I just finished the Mayflower book,and it was a bit dry. Because I travel a lot,for me, a quiet weekend with my childrenat home is as enjoyable as any hobby. Myson likes to hike a lot. We do a fair bit ofhiking. And my daughter is a teenager …
But listen, there is just not that muchtime anymore. I’m also in New York alot because there is a plethora of archi-tects, developers and curtainwall con-sultants. The reason we have an officehere is because this is where a numberof the decision-makers are. You learn alot by listening to your customer.
Q: Great line to end with. Thank you foryour time.A: Thank you. ■
Talking Shopcontinued from page 41
For an expanded version of this article, visit
www.usglassmag.com.
VISTA® is a registered trademark of CPFilms Inc. • P.O. Box 5068 • Martinsville, Virginia 24115 • (276) 627-3000 • www.cpfilms.comThe nature of certain delicate fabrics and dyes will lead to premature fading regardless of the application of any window fi lm or protective treatment.
VISTA WINDOW FILM HELPS CUT ENERGY COSTS BY BLOCKING MOST HARMFUL UV RAYS AND SOLAR HEAT. BY REDUCING HOT AND COOL SPOTS THROUGHOUT YOUR BUILDING, VISTA ALLOWS YOU TO HELP SAVE THE ENVIRONMENT, WHILE YOU SAVE ON ENERGY BILLS.
VISTA WINDOW FILM HELPS CUT ENERGY COSTS BY BLOCKING MOST HARMFUL UV RAYS AND SOLAR HEAT. BY REDUCING HOT
GOING GREEN MEANS SAVING GREEN.
44 USGlass, Metal & Glazing | June 2008 www.usglassmag.com
glassNew Products Provide a Guardian from the Sun
Auburn Hills, Mich.-based Guardian’sSunGuard AG 50 is a low-E coating with
just enough reflectivity to provide a crisp,uniform appearance. The spectrally se-lective coating, which allows highamounts of visible light into a buildingwhile minimizing solar heat gain, nowcomes in light silver, silver gray and green.
CrystalGray™ is a new float glass
substrate with a very light gray tint.In addition to its neutral color, Crys-talGray offers an improved light tosolar gain ratio compared to stan-dard blue and gray tinted float glass.
The technologybehind theproducts allowsfor high lightt ransmissionwhile reflectinginfrared energy,thereby reduc-ing the heatgain for manyarch ite c t u r a lapplications.
The new Sun-Guard RoyalBlue 40 com-bines low-Ep e r for m a n c ewith a blue ap-
pearance but does it without the cost,heat absorption and bluish transmit-ted light of coatings on blue floatglass, according to the company. Itcomes in three shades: royal blue, bluegray and aquamarine. ❙❙➤ www.SunGuardGlass.com
fire-rated glassImprove Your Vision
AGC Interedge in Sausalito, Calif., isoffering its Vision 60 System™. This60-minute fire-rated transparent wallis uninterrupted by intermediateframes and uses Pyrobel® 60 glazingand Quick-Frame™ or StileLite™framing. The glazing panels are sepa-
After 25 Years, It’s Still All NewUSGlass Presents Its 25th Annual Guide to New Products
T here’s something to be said for age. There are, of course, the adages about fine wine, good cheese and great
friends improving with time, and the often-recited wisdom that age and experience go hand-in-hand. It hardly needs
to be said that, as time passes, the glass industry is improving with time, as each passing year brings ever more
impressive, and high performing, products to the marketplace. And after 25 years, UUSGlass magazine’s Guide to New Prod-
ucts is still keeping things fresh by bringing its readers the latest new products of interest to the glass and glazing industries.
From glass and aluminum to finished doors and windows, and the machinery that puts it together, manufacturers have been
busy across the board. So sit back, relax (perhaps with that well-aged wine and cheese mentioned above!) and peruse the
next 20 pages for information on the products that will help move your company into the future.
Royal Blue
rated by 0.16 inches of space, which isfilled with a silicone caulking. ❙❙➤ www.firesafe-glass.com
curtainwallTGP Aims for Infinite Options
Utilizing the strength of steel, Steel-Built Curtainwall™ Systems from Tech-
nical Glass Products in Kirkland, Wash.,allow larger areas of glass, smallerframe profiles and wider free-spansthan is possible with aluminum fram-ing. The Infinity Series uses back mul-lions of virtually any profile, includingI-, T-, U and L-shapes, and can use as aback mullion almost any type of fram-ing member, from stainless steel to glu-lam beams. ❙❙➤ www.tgpamerica.com
aluminumForget SPF—Check Out SC-1 Sunscreens
The UNA-CLAD™ SC-1 ex-truded aluminum sunscreensystem fromFirestone MetalProducts inAnoka, Minn.,aims for designflexibility with itswide selection of bladetypes, outrigger profiles,wall attachment options and
custom fabrication capabilities. The UNA-CLAD SC-1 blade options
include welded or mechanically at-tached pieces that can be set to any
angle and spaced as required. Theproduct is available in a wide va-
riety of colors and sizes. ❙❙➤ www.unaclad.com
20031998
decorative glassIf It Looks Like Marble, It Might Be LLD Glass
According to in-formation from LLDGlass Inc. in Hous-ton, the company’snew simulation-marble glass iscomparable to thereal thing. The col-orful and durableglass product fea-tures lively graph-ics, environmentalsanitation materi-als and a low cost.Although it has amaximum size of47.2-inches wide,the length can beextended freely.
The company also is offering three-di-mensional decorative glass strips for useon doors, windows or folding screens.The strips can be pasted onto any glasssurface quickly and easily using a ultra-violet pasting technique to create pat-terns and design. The highly transparent glass strips feature a crystal texture.❙❙➤ www.miaolinglass.com
continued on page 46
Copper Sales (now Unaclad):New Services
Vetrotech Saint-Gobain:Fire-rated glazing meetingCPSC 16CFR1201
www.usglassmag.com June 2008 | USGlass, Metal & Glazing 45
insulating glassGlasslam Goes for Insulation and Impact Resistance
With the start of hurricane season onJune 1, Glasslam N.G.I. Inc. in PompanoBeach, Fla., is launching its new, patentpending Air-Tight Sudden Impact IGSystem, enabling window companies andglass fabricators to produce insulatingglass to meet hurricane impact codesquickly and efficiently. With the new sys-tem, a layer of crystal clear resin is ap-plied with a proprietary process, bondingone interior glass surface with the spacer,and rapidly creating a hurricane impactunit with one lite less than usual.❙❙➤ www.glasslam.com
storefrontGet it All Through Allglass™
With six contemporary hardware op-tions and a single source of contact frominitial design through installation, thenew Allglas™ interior officefront systemfrom DORMA Glas in Millersville, Md.,offers architects and interior designersa streamlined way to create modernframeless glass interior officefronts.
continued on page 48
New Products continued from page 45
storefronts and entrancesEnter Through All Glass
United Glass Corp. in Louisville, Ky., has launched the Tuf-flex™ family of all-glass entrance systems.The portfolio of productsincludes all-glass swingand sliding doors, struc-tural glass walls andglass canopies.
Tuf-flex entrances areavailable with a wide vari-ety of hardware and fin-ishes. All fabrication,including custom artwork,is done in-house. ❙❙➤ www.ugcinfo.com
46 USGlass, Metal & Glazing | June 2008 www.usglassmag.com
alternative glazingMAKROLON® 15is Lighter Than Glass
New MAKROLON® 15 polycarbonatesheet from Sheffield Plastics, a Bayer Ma-terialScience Co., offers weatherability
and increased protection against toughenvironmental conditions and long-term UV exposure. According to thecompany, MAKROLON 15 sheet islighter than glass and features strong in-sulation properties, making it a practi-cal and cost-effective solution forarchitectural, security and other appli-cations. According to the company,MAKROLON 15 sheet also demonstratesstrong impact and abrasion resistance. ❙❙➤ www.sheffieldplastics.com
2001
Glas-Weld:Scratch removal system
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Barkow glass carriers are equipped with Stake-Loc® self-locking stakes, and feature our patented BarkleatsTM
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48 USGlass, Metal & Glazing | June 2008 www.usglassmag.com
According to the company, not onlydoes this system maximize theamount of glass while minimizingframing and hardware, but it is thefirst fully integrated system in the in-terior glass industry. The Allglas sys-tem delivers a glass-dominatedinterior, including design assistance,tempered glass panels and hardware,turnkey installation and ongoingmaintenance. ❙❙➤ www.dorma-usa.com
material handlingMetalcraft EngineeringCarries a New Load
Metalcraft Engineering in NewZealand has formed an alliance with aSeattle, Wash.-based Allied Body WorksInc. for its light-weight range ofglass carrierracks. The light-weight alu-minum racksare suitable foruse on all pick-ups, ½- to 3-ton,and on all vanmodels.
The rackingfeatures sprung-loaded glass re-taining poles
with non-marking retention blocks.Roof rack or gutter-mounted systemsare available for all models of vans.❙❙➤ www.glassracking.com
New Products continued from page 46
continued on page 50
1994
Libby-Owens-Ford (now Pilkington):SuperGrey glass
Windows • Doors • Storefront • Entrances 1-800-837-7001
[email protected] • www.traco.com
Beyond Windows. Beyond Doors.™
When A Wall Is Better
TRACO TR-700 Window Wall
The TR-700 is ideal for demanding
thermal and structural applications
such as high-rise office and multi-
family buildings. This versatile
product can be used in various
applications including horizontal
ribbon windows or punched
openings.
Consider the TRACO TR-700
Window Wall — the perfect
solution for a wall of glass design.
50 USGlass, Metal & Glazing | June 2008 www.usglassmag.com
Slip Into Something MoreComfortable—and Safer, Too
Supreme Corp.®, a textile research anddevelopment company in
Conover, N.C., has in-troduced a new
cut, slash anda b r a s i o nprote c t iveapparel forthe glass in-dustry. Ac-cording to
information from thecompany, Tuff-n-Lite® is
15 times stronger than steel with thecomfort and flexibility of cotton. The KeelJacket was specially designed for the glassindustry with “no scratch” zippers and“anti-ride-up” thumb loops preventingexposed areas. Its breathable knitted con-struction has up to four times the life ex-pectancy of aramids. ❙❙➤ www.tuffnlite.com
machinery & equipmentDon’t Move—with Wedge-Lock
Glazelock Inc. of Kanka-kee, Ill., has developed anew way in which woodand plastic come togetherand interact with its Wedge-Lock wood composite shim. Thistechnology automatically reacts tovarying shim situations.
When shimming a window, theWedge-Lock’s unique lockingsystem will optimize any job.These shims will notmove, according tothe company.
New Products continued from page 48
continued on page 52
❙❙➤ www.glazelockshims.com
Pinch Free and Easy Action.DORMA BEYOND.
The unique DORMA BEYOND systemfor glass doors is safe, functional, andextremely attractive. Characterized byits systematic design and clear stylinglines, DORMA BEYOND enables you tobuild frameless swing or sliding glassdoors into tempered glass assembliesand wall openings. Whether yourapplication is residential orcommercial, modern or traditional,this system is the elegant, technicallyperfect solution.
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1986
Dlubak: Hydrolaser glass cutting
©2008 YKK AP America Inc. is a subsidiary of YKK Corporation of America.YKK AP is a registered trademark of YKK Corporation.
Increased Capacity800.955 .9551 www.ykkap .com
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52 USGlass, Metal & Glazing | June 2008 www.usglassmag.com
Cut Up with Fletcher-Terry
Fletcher-Terry Co.in Farmington,Conn., is offering its3000 multi-materialwall cutting unit toglass fabricators as an off-linecutting method for custom
cutting and prototypeusage. The tool scores both
glass and acrylic sub-strates up to ¼-inch
thick with a cuttingcapacity of 63
inches.A lever-type
clamping systemcovers themachine’s en-
tire height to prevent material
shifting dur-ing the scor-ing process. Aramping fea-ture on theglass cuttingturret allows
the device to be lifted on top of the glass,resulting in a clean edge break. ❙❙➤ www.fletcher-terry.com
Let This Mule Carry Your Load
The Mule from Quattrolifts in Hen-derson, Nev., was designed to helpone man lift and rotate up to 660pounds of glass or insulating glassunits by himself. It can load and un-load glass, mirrors and double-glazedunits onto cutting tables, edgeworkmachines, trucks and dollies, all
while reducing OHSA risks. ❙❙➤ www.quattrolifts.com
recision Glass Bending specializes in thecustom fabrication of BENT GLASS, one piece or thousands, for Architectural, Fixture & Furniture applications. Capabilitiesinclude bent glass in kinds Annealed, Heat-Strengthened, Safety Tempered, Safety Laminated, and Insulating.
Clear, Tinted, Low-E, Reflective, Acid-Etch, Low-Iron, andSpecialty glass for CAD/CNC integratedfabrication into TRUERADIUS (Curved Glass) or IRREGULAR BENDS in sizes up to 96" x 130"; 3/32" to 3/4" thickness; Polished Edges, Holes,Notches, or Cutouts.Advanced capabilities forbending 3-D fluid shapes, processing high-performance coatings, utilizing digital data, and the five-axis CNC machining of bent glass surfaces.
Built on years of innovation, Precision Glass Bending has formed a new generation of shaped glass with patented methods, proprietary software,and space-age machinery, all backed by a team of industry experts. The results are found in the IMPECCABLE QUALITY and QUICK DELIVERY of every AFFORDABLE PIECE.
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New Products continued from page 50
continued on page 54
1988
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54 USGlass, Metal & Glazing | June 2008 www.usglassmag.com
Bolt Technical CeramicsKeeps On Rolling
The Fairfield, N.J.-based Bolt Tech-nical Ceramics business of MorganAdvanced Ceramics (MAC) is offeringfused silica rollers engineered specif-
ically for use in annealing furnaceapplications due to their high flex-ural strength and low coefficient ofthermal expansion. The transportrollers can be used in the manufac-ture of tempered safety glass for ar-
chitectural applications.The rollers are available in a wide
variety of standard dimensions, andcustom designs and dimensions areavailable.❙❙➤ www.morganadvancedceramics.com
Grenzebach Attends to Coated Glass
A fully automated line for coatedglass production is available fromGrenzebach Corp. in Newnan, Ga. It fea-tures 100-percent automated cutting,transport and stacking operations.
During production, the coated surfaceof the glass is not touched either beforeor after the coating is applied. The inlinecutting feature with automated break-outallows the user to optimize coater per-formance by running stock sizes and alsoto respond to the ever-increasing de-mand for customized glass sizes. The in-
continued on page 56
New Products continued from page 52
2003
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tegration of process buffers and accumu-lators accommodate interruptions incoater operation and ensure consistentspeed and high quality, according to thecompany.❙❙➤ www.grenzebach.com
Accu-Cure™ Provides CoolCuring for Glass Printing
Chicago-based A.W.T. World TradeInc.’s broad range of Accu-Cure™ultraviolet (UV) curingunits provide solutionsfor curing decorated orimprinted flat glass of allsizes. Accu-Cure’s computer-designed cooling system safelycures all types of ultraviolet inksand coatings while minimizing theheat transmitted to the substrate.Operators can adjust gate height on the
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New Products continued from page 54
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58 USGlass, Metal & Glazing | June 2008 www.usglassmag.com
testing equipmentNew SpectrophotometerBroadens Analytical Capabilities
PerkinElmer Life and Analytical Sci-ences in Waltham, Mass., has launcheda spectrophotometer capable of testinga wide range of materials, includinghighly reflective and anti-reflectivecoatings and all types of glass. Thespectrophotometer enables accurateabsorbance and transmittance meas-urements with speed, accuracy andhigh dynamic range on all types ofglass material. The company says itprovides accuracy, resolution and sen-sitivity in the near-infrared region forbroadband and silicon-based anti-re-flective coatings and all thin film opti-cal filters.❙❙➤ www.perkinelmer.com/new-limits
hardwareAmesbury Locca Blurs the Line BetweenHard- and Software
Amesbury Locca in Sioux Falls, S.D., isbringing wireless remoteaccess to homes andbusinesses. The new Ac-cess and Multi prod-ucts give users theability to push aremote but-ton andthen
push through the door. According to thecompany, it utilizes an electronic strike inthe doorframe that releases the lockedlatch on existing hardware. It works withrim and panic bars too.
The Connecta is a wireless intercomthat allows users not only to speak to
guests but unlock the door for themfrom up to 200 yards away. Users canspeak to visitors and then unlock thedoor to let them in from the samehandheld intercom. ❙❙➤ www.amesburylocca.com
continued on page 60
New Products continued from page 56
2001
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60 USGlass, Metal & Glazing | June 2008 www.usglassmag.com
At JLM Wholesale, our capabilities are numerous and built around the premise of providing you with not only quality products but also expert support and advice. We provide takeoffs and line by line pricing. JLM also furnishes templates, installation information and can even supply wiring diagrams when required.
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New Products continued from page 58
1999
TGP:Pyrostop transparentwall panel
decorative glassAGC Goes for Decorative Luxury
Matelux® from AGCFlat Glass NorthAmerica in Al-pharetta, Ga., is anacid-etched glasswith a satin finish anda neutral, translucentappearance. It filterslight softly, smoothesout contours and pro-duces silhouettes fora distinct appear-ance. It is available innumerous colorchoices, extra clear
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62 USGlass, Metal & Glazing | June 2008 www.usglassmag.com
New Products continued from page 60
What You Can’t See Can Hurt Your Hardware
Ingersoll Rand Security Technolo-gies has an addition to its product line
that you can’t see to believe.The company is now offeringlines of Schlage levers andlocks, Von Duprin exit andpanic devices, Glynn-Johnsonpush/pull levers and Ives dooraccessories with an optionalantimicrobial coating that in-hibits the growth of bacteria,mold and mildew on their sur-faces. The antimicrobial clearcoat is a durable BHMA-com-pliant coating intended to pro-
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resourcesFlip Through These Pages
The AMO9 Architectural Metals Cata-log from Los Angeles-based C.R. Lau-rence features the complete andexpanded line of columncovers/cladding, wall panels, canopies,sunshades, awnings, P-post railings, per-
forated pan-els, architec-tural wirecloth systems,spider fittingsand standoffsystems. Thecatalog showsn u m e r o u simages ofcompleted in-s t a l l a t i o n sand, accord-ing to thec o m p a n y ,contains a wealth of technical and speci-fication data. It can be viewed or down-loaded online.❙❙➤ www.crlaurence.com
1995
continued on page 64
Ultraglas:The Ultraglas Collection
64 USGlass, Metal & Glazing | June 2008 www.usglassmag.com
AGA Gets to the SourceThe latest edition of the all new and
enlarged the Source® manual, the onlyglass and glazing interpretation in thecountry, is now available from theAmericas Glass Association. The en-tirety of the International Building
Code’s Chap-ter 24 isreprinted inthe Sourcewith illus-t r a t i o n sand inter-p r e t a -tions, aswell aso t h e rchaptersreferring toglass. It is available in soft cover, tabbedbinder or (non-printable) CD.❙❙➤ www. americasglassassn.org
doors and windows TRACO Brings Thermal Impact Products to the Coast
The Biscayne Shutterless™ line ofproducts by Cranberry Township, Pa.-based TRACO now includes a full lineof thermal aluminum impact coastalarea doors and windows. The productsfeature a 2 ¾-inch thermally brokenframe and insulating laminated glass.
The products have certificationsfrom the American Architectural Man-ufacturers Association, National Fenes-tration Rating Council, ENERGY STAR®,the Florida Building Code and the TexasDepartment of Insurance. ❙❙➤ www.traco.com ■
New Products continued from page 62
1998
AFG Industries (now AGC):Comfort Ti Low-E Glass
66 USGlass, Metal & Glazing | June 2008 www.usglassmag.com
ongratulations and thank you for taking thissurvey. Our goal was to prove, statistically andscientifically, once and for all that yes, glass does
indeed break. And, yes, sometimes glass breaks forwhat seems like no reason.
In all Seriousness …This survey may have taken a satirical look at glass break-
age, but it’s still true that glass has been known to breakspontaneously on occasion. Why? One cause for spontaneousbreakage is a concentration of thermal stress, the physicalcharacteristic causing the breakage. In some applications thethermal stress comes from poor glass edge quality. In tem-pered glass specifically, the stress is concentrated aroundnickel sulfide (NiS) inclusions, which can result from the floatproduction process. The time and/or temperature change ofthe NiS can disrupt the surface compression/core tension lay-ers of the glass at high levels of surface compression—typ-ically greater than 10,000 pounds per square inch (psi) fortempered glass—and result in breakage.
Since the origins of NiS stones can be traced to the floatprocess, the stones also can be present in annealed and heat-strengthened glass. However, heat-strengthened glass with asurface compression of 3,500 to 7,500 psi and annealed glasswith a surface compression of less than 3,500 psi have his-torically not experienced spontaneous breakage.
According to industry consultant Bill Coddington, theprobability of NiS stones in glass is very low due to the ef-forts of float glass producers.
“The primary glass plants in the United States do an ex-cellent job selecting the raw materials and productionequipment used in order to minimize the chances thatnickel could be introduced into the float glass batch,” saysCoddington. “When contamination occurs it is usually fora short period of time and often the periodic sample test-ing that the primary producers perform catches the prob-lem before the glass is shipped. The chances of occurrenceare volume-related and, therefore, directly proportional tothe thickness of the glass.”
For float producers, careful material selection can helpensure their batch is free of nickel sulfide. But there arealso methods that can be used on the tempering end tocheck for such inclusions. Heat-soak testing (HST) is oneway fabricators can check for the presence of NiS in their
tempered glass. HST is a destructive process through whichthe tempered glass is heated to a certain temperature, heldfor a certain amount of time and then cooled to room tem-perature. If NiS inclusions are present the glass will explodeduring the test (see a related article Temper Temper from theApril 1998 USGlass by visiting the Only Online section of www.usglassmag.com).
While HST is definitely a quality assurance measure, it’snot one that’s necessarily a given for every tempering oper-ation. The test is not a guarantee that spontaneous breakagewill not happen; it only reduces the chance of it happening.And experts agree, the process isn’t always right for everycompany or every application.
Soak it UpOwatonna, Minn.-based Viracon has been using HST for
more than 20 years.Rich Voelker, Viracon’s vice president of technical services,
says they installed their first heat-soaking oven because, atthe time, they were supplying more tempered glass thanheat-strengthened glass.
“So there was more potential for spontaneous breakage in
Experts Share Insights on the Heat-Soaking Processby Ellen Rogers
Reader survey questions:
1. Has tempered glass produced by or used by your company
ever broken spontaneously?
___ Yes ___ No
2. Was there seemingly no reason for the break?
___ Yes ___ No
3. Do you know what caused that breakage?
___ Yes ___ No
4. Are you aware of procedures that may reduce the risk of
spontaneous breakage?
___ Yes ___ No
www.usglassmag.com June 2008 | USGlass, Metal & Glazing 67
the field and we had a desire to offer and provide a means toour customers that would help them avoid a situation likethat,” says Voelker.
Today, however, Voelker says a higher percentage of theglass his company provides is heat-strengthened versus fullytempered, but it does recommend HST any time temperedglass is specified.
J.E. Berkowitz (JEB) LP located in Pedricktown, N.J., hasbeen heat-soaking tempered glass for more than ten years.
“We had an opportunity [to work] with an overseas fabri-cator who was supplying projects here in North America. Thecompany also wanted to have a local fabricator provide theglass for smaller projects that required heat-soak testing,”says Arthur Berkowitz, president of JEB. “We felt there wasenough opportunity ten years ago to invest in our initialchamber.”
According to Berkowitz, probably less than 1 percent oftheir fully tempered glass undergoes HST, but he expects thisnumber to grow. One reason for this anticipated demand isthe increasing desire for structural glazing applications.
“For certain unique products that we offer we make it a re-quirement to [put that glass] through heat-soak testing,” saysBerkowitz. “For example, we have a complete engineeredglass division that provides glass for canopies, point-sup-ported, high-risk or other demanding applications. When weprovide that [glass] we provide it with the requirement/rec-ommendation that fully tempered glass be heat-soak tested.”
Craftsman Fabricated Glass in Houston began HST lastSeptember after the company purchased a laminating line.Vice president Phillip Lawrence explains his company is ableto heat-soak by modifying the autoclave cycle so it only addsheat and not pressure.
“We’ve been seeing more and more specifications for heat-soaking, so we added it because we bought the autoclave,”says Lawrence. “It’s not a complicated process, and if we con-tinue to see the test specified we’ll most likely purchase anoven specifically for heat-soaking.”
As with Berkowitz, Lawrence says the increasing demandfor structural applications has accelerated the demand.
“[Spider wall systems] are designed to deal with somebreakage, but they are not as forgiving as when the glass is ina frame,” Lawrence says.
Even more recently, Arch Aluminum & Glass began heat-soaking in early April.
“We’re doing it because it’s market-driven,” says Max Per-ilstein, vice president of marketing. “We’ve had requests for
it for years, but we didn’t see it as necessary or beneficial. Butnow, as more glass that [could have questionable quality] inneed of heat-treating is coming in from overseas we’re seeinga growing demand.”
Perilstein says the investment to begin heat-soaking isn’ttoo significant from a cost factor, but it is an important investment.
“It’s an important investment to make sure we continue totake care of our customers,” he says, explaining that before theybegan the process they even questioned whether it was some-thing they really needed to do. “But we were getting so many re-quests for it that we could not ignore it,” says Perilstein.
Perilstein adds that one of their greatest challenges in of-fering the test is overcoming the misconception that heat-
continued on page 68
The increasing popularity of structural glazing applicationsis one reason why fabricators say they're seeing morespecifications for heat-soak testing.
It’s a process that has its place. You wouldn’t heat-soak a
small interior wall partition. —Mike Wellman, Barber Glass
68 USGlass, Metal & Glazing | June 2008 www.usglassmag.com
soaking glass will eliminate thechance of spontaneous breakagecompletely.
“It only reduces the chance,”says Perilstein.
Attention to DetailThe process and investment
to begin heat-soak testing maynot be as significant as launch-ing an insulating, laminating ortempering line, but it’s not with-out considerations. For starters,there are no North Americanstandards or specifications thatregulate the heat-soak test.While there have been industrydiscussions about developing a standard, nothing has yetcome to fruition.
“The tempering division of the Glass Association of NorthAmerica (GANA) has been asked by its members to look intoadopting a standard or possibly developing a North Americanstandard,” says Greg Carney, GANA technical director. “The issuewill be on the agenda for the division’s standards and engi-neering committee meeting during the GANA Fall Conference.”
Presently, though, most companies say they follow the Eu-ropean standard (EN 14179-1:2005).
“From an operating and manufacturing standpoint you haveto know what the standards are. That’s been a challenge in ourindustry because there are nostandards in North America,” saysBerkowitz, who explains thatwhen his company relocated toits new plant in Pedricktown lastyear they also bought a new heat-soaking oven to operate in accor-dance with the EuropeanStandard EN-14179-1:2005. “Wehad it built, certified and cali-brated in Europe,” addsBerkowitz. “From a capital standpoint, it’s clearly nowhere nearthe expense of a tempering oven and operating it is not as so-phisticated as a tempering oven, but, on the flip side, the doc-umentation and the procedures if you follow the Europeanstandards are very precise.”
Voelker says Viracon also heat-soaks in accordance withthe European standard.
“I think the Europeans have investigated this whole phe-nomenon of NiS breakage in tempered glass much more thanwe have in the United States,” says Voelker. “So, I would say thereis a universal standard out there that people can reference ifthey want to perform a heat-soak test and from our perspec-
tive it is a reliable process that hasworked wonderfully for us.”
According to Voelker, the Euro-pean standard is very prescriptive.
“It’s not so much how high thetemperature is to which you sub-ject the glass or to what extent, it’sreally describing how you achievethat comfort level by making sureyou’re heating the glass and notthe air itself.” He continues, “It’svery descriptive as far as theprocess itself, including [takinginto account] spacing betweenglass lites and certifying the equip-ment is achieving the tempera-tures uniformly in the oven.”
Craftsman and Arch also conduct heat-soak testing ac-cording to the same standards.
Not Just YetWhile some companies are fully supportive of HST, others
have yet to jump on board with the process. It’s not becausethey don’t believe in it, but rather because the market theyserve has yet to demand it.
In Charleston, S.C., for example, Jack Hoey, president ofCoastal Glass Distributors, says they have not seen a real de-mand for the test.
“If our ballgame was the high-rise market, it would be adifferent deal,” says Hoey. “One ofthe things that has really driven alot of this is some of the high-profile buildings where you’ve gotpanes that break and over timethey are a danger to pedestriansand they are expensive to re-place.”
Trent Hartley, sales and mar-keting director at Coastal, addsthat the growth of point-sup-
ported and spider wall applications is another reason thatsome companies are seeing the test specified more and more.
“From a safety standpoint, I fully understand [heat-soak-ing for spider wall applications],” says Hartley. “I would neverput one of those systems together without a heat-soak test.”
Hartley also says he has not seen a great demand forHST. “In our area, specifiers are usually not worried aboutthe breakage and are more focused on the ASTM 1300wind-load calculation.” He adds that spec writers in hisarea are not very familiar with NiS breakage issues.
“I’m still educating them on ASTM 1300. Plus, we’ve had alot of code changes in the past few years and the architects
continued from page 67
If nickel sulfide is present in fully tempered glassheat-soaking may cause the glass to break.
From an operating and manufacturing standpoint you
have to know what the standardsare. That’s been a challenge in our industry because there are no standards in North America. —Arthur Berkowitz, J.E. Berkowitz LP
here are still playing catch-up,” says Hartley. “Heat-soakinghasn’t come up with them, I think, because they are stilllearning about all of the impact codes and wind-load re-quirements. I see a lot of architects going back to the draw-ing board because their opening sizes with tempered glasswill not meet our wind-load calculations.”
Barber Glass Industries in Guelph, Ontario, may not beHST currently but, according to sales and marketing man-ager Mike Wellman, it could very well be doing so at somepoint in the future.
“We’re expanding and, on September 1, we’ll begin man-ufacturing IG that will be as large as 130 by 200 inches andwe’ll be able to marry that together with our laminating, tem-pering and CNC capabilities. That will change our focus withrespect to heat-soaking as there will be more potential forit,” says Wellman.
As with other fabricators, Wellman says he’s started see-ing more requests for HST from architects, especially in re-gards to structural glazing.
“Since we do not currently heat-soak our option is to see
www.usglassmag.com June 2008 | USGlass, Metal & Glazing 69
continued on page 70
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if the architect would take a tempered-laminated product,”Wellman says. “If you use a tempered-laminated product,even if it breaks it stays integral.”
Wellman also is in agreement with Hoey, saying heat-soak-ing is definitely not a test for every piece of tempered glass.
“It’s a process that has its place. You wouldn’t heat-soak asmall interior wall partition,” says Wellman. “It would cost moreto do the test than it would to replace the glass if it breaks.”
For Coastal, Hoey says he has no plans to begin heat-soak-ing at this time, but it’s certainly something he could con-sider in the future. “We don’t think it’s a waste of time, inparticular in the liability environment,” says Hoey. “If it af-fords you some extra protection, if your personal assessmentis that the benefits are not outweighed by the cost [then it’sright for that business] … from a safety point of view andalso a replacement point of view, you are much better spend-ing a little bit of money upfront rather than risking the costof replacement later on.”
What Next?With more architects specifying HST, the number of North
American companies conducting the test has grown. But, willit continue to make its way into mainstream fabrication?
“When we started this there were probably more differ-ences of opinions than there are now as to the validity ofheat-soak testing,” says Voelker. “I think the European stud-ies and papers that have been written and are available showa tremendous amount of research has gone into this notionof heat-soaking and they validated that a proper HST processwill give you somewhere in the neighborhood of a 99 per-cent confidence level that spontaneous breakage due to NiSinclusions will not occur in tempered glass once it’s beenheat-soak tested.” Voelker adds that Viracon has even goneso far as to offer a warranty on heat-soaked tempered glass.“That’s unheard of in our industry because no one warrantsglass breakage. But, the only warranty we have for glassbreakage is for glass that we have heat-soaked. It’s not only forthe glass, but covers labor as well.”
Still, the number of spontaneous breakages due to NiS isrelatively slim. Lawrence, for example, says he’s yet to lose atempered lite in the heat-soak chamber, and Coddington isskeptical about some aspects of the test, as well.
“In my 20 years of tempering and heat-soaking glass I haveseen only a handful of cases in the field where the cause of thespontaneous breakage proved to be NiS stones that could havebeen prevented by heat-soaking,” says Coddington. “I think invery critical, monumental, projects heat-soaking of the primarystructural glass components may be justified, but if the need isthat critical, tempered-laminated glass should be used to elim-inate that concern completely.” He adds that sometimes fabri-
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72 USGlass, Metal & Glazing | June 2008 www.usglassmag.com
cators with the capability to heat-soak recommend it and pro-mote the process to the design community for applicationswhere it’s not critical. “The extra cost due to the extra handlingand energy required to heat-soak the glass needs to be consid-ered. Heat-soaking is not 100-percent effective and most of thecauses of spontaneous breakage of tempered glass are not re-duced by heat-soaking.”
Still, many say the demand for heat-soaking will grow; byhow much is anyone’s guess.
“It’s more of a wait and see, and part of that might dependon future events,” says Hoey. “If there is a failure resulting inloss of life that might have been prevented had the testingbeen performed … rightly or wrongly, that could push theindustry in a certain direction.” ■
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continued from page 70
74 USGlass, Metal & Glazing | June 2008 www.usglassmag.com
From Silica to SidingGlass Fabrication and Glazing Educational Conference Covered the Gamut of Glass Knowledge Megan Headley, Ellen Rogers, Drew Vass and Debra Levy all contributed to this report
The Glass Fabrication andGlazing Educational Confer-ence seminars opened to fullcrowds at the Monte Carlo in
Las Vegas this April. The event, spon-sored by the Glass Association ofNorth America (GANA), was designedto educate individuals who have fewerthan five years of experience in the industry.
As there’s always something new tolearn, the conference featured twojoint sessions each day that providedinformation on glass handling, glassproduction and trends in glass usage.To start in the beginning, from thetrends pushing glass usage, throughproduction and installation, read on.But if your interests are more specific,choose your own track: fabrication in-formation is below or skip to page 76for more on glazing education.
Give an Architect A Lite and He’s Going to Want It Coated …
Glass, glass and more glass. Whilethat might describe the overall themeof the conference, it also describes oneof the trends Don McCann of Viraconpointed out in his seminar “ChangingTrends in Glass Uses.”
“We’re starting to see more floor toceiling glass,” McCann said. And onthat glass, architects are demandinghigh-performance coatings. He notedthat more hybrid materials are beingused to get the best of all performancefeatures, from high visible light trans-mittance (VLT) to low U-values.
High VLT in particular has becomemuch in demand. And, McCann said,“That’s one of the hardest things toget an architect off of.” Not to per-suade architects away from letting in
more light—but educat-ing them about what highVLT really means and howa combination of coatingscan create a room that haslots of visibility and is stillcomfortable.
In addition, McCann saidthat he has seen more ar-chitects push for low U-val-ues, which he expects willbe obtained through moredemand for gas filling ininsulating glass units.Laminated glass also is stillgrowing, he said, for secu-rity applications, as well asacoustics.
So how to meet the de-mand for these trends? Well,glass fabricators were in at-tendance to learn just that.
Floating Through the Basics
Wayne Boor of Pittsburgh-basedPPG Industries opened the joint sessionabout 4,000 years ago, so to speak; hispresentation on “Float Glass Technol-ogy” began with background on thediscovery of glass. Boor quickly movedonto discussing the technology usedtoday to create the basic material usedby each member of his audience.
One point he reviewed was how toadd color to glass substrates.
“We learn to make different colorseveryday,” Boor said, “and that is mar-ket-driven.”
As Boor noted, iron, in all glass, cre-ates the green tint. Cobalt is added tocreate what he described as “true blue,”while selenium creates “more of abrown glass.” Combinations of the lat-ter two create shades of gray. He fur-ther explained to the audience thatlow-iron glass means just that, remov-ing as much iron as possible, and to doso requires a special sand with low lev-els of iron.
“Low-iron glass is really becomingpopular in the solar and photovoltaicindustry,” Boor said, adding, “theywould like us to have no iron.” Ofcourse, as he noted, “I think it’s impos-sible because you’re going to have someimpurities no matter what you do.”
Cut Down to SizeIn addition to learning some of the
basics of altering glass itself, attendeeslearned a little about properly “altering”glass through cutting. In a session cov-ering “Automated Glass Cutting andEdging Techniques,” Chuck Beatty ofEdgeworks Inc. stressed the importanceof the cutting process in glass manu-
Attendees asked questions of the conferences'many knowledgeable speakers.
www.usglassmag.com June 2008 | USGlass, Metal & Glazing 75
facturing. Beatty went as far as sayingthe cutting process is what ultimatelydetermines success for glass processingcompanies. “If you cut glass well, every-thing else is easier.”
He offered a number of suggestionsfor a successful cutting process, includ-ing the importance of matching theproper cutting wheel to a particularprocess and product.
“I prefer to think of the cuttingwheels like the tires on your car,” he ex-plained. Just as you would select a cer-tain tire for a particular drivingcondition, Beatty suggests matchingcutting wheels to a particular product.
Beatty also urged processors to con-sider the benefits of cleaning glass priorto the cutting process.
“The problem is most people don’twash,” he said. “And the cutting envi-ronment is dusty and dirty.”
Hands Off That Coating
Exercising caution is good advice forcutting as well as dealing with thehigh-performing coatings that Mc-Cann mentioned are much in style.“The more things you keep away fromthe coating, the less problems you’llhave,” Jeff Haberer of Cardinal IG saidduring his session about handlingcoated glass.
For instance, keep individual litesfrom scratching one another during thehandling process. Keep coated surfacesaway from conveyor rollers and harprack separators. Even, Haberer advised,keep fingers away from the coating. Andwhen it comes to handling that glass, besure to use some type of clean, softglove; touch only the edges; and handleonly one lite at a time.
There’s no way to keepthe glass from being han-dled and touched at all;it’s just a matter of doingit carefully.
For washing, for exam-ple, Haberer suggested ad-justing the tip of thebrushes so that they arebarely in contact with theglass.
Cleanliness is Next toSuccessfulness
The topic is of such importance thatBob Lang of Billco Mfg. Inc. providedinformation on “Understanding andMaintaining a Glass Washer.”
Among the tips Lang provided wasthis: “If the inside of the glass washer isdirty, it can’t produce clean glass.”
He reminded his audience that main-tenance of these washing machines iscritical to getting the best performancefrom the equipment and, by extension,the glass product going through it. “Ican’t stress enough that the cleanlinessof the glass coming out of washer is di-rectly related to how well the washer ismaintained.”
His suggested maintenance schedulestarts with the first week of operationon through a 500-hour check-up.
Tensed and ShatteredWhat about the defects you can’t see
until it’s too late? Chris Barry of Pilk-ington took the podium to discuss“Why Glass Sometimes Breaks.”
Essentially, he explained, glass breakswhen an applied load exceeds thestrength of the glass. The real questionis: when a break occurs, was the loadtoo great or was the glass too weak?
To begin to answer that question,Barry noted, means asking how strongglass is, and that’s where the problemsbegin. “We don’t really know,” he said.“We know how strong it might be.”
For example, in taking 1,000 sampleslites and applying force, by the time9,000 psi was reached, eight lites stillhadn’t broken.
There are a couple of common causesof breakage, however: tensile stress (in-cluding bending, thermal stress andNiS inclusion and expansion), impactand crushing. To determine what mightbe the cause, fractographics can beused to examine the break—if there’senough time and money and all thepieces are still available, Barry added.
Layered Lites As McCann mentioned, laminated
glass is still growing, and plenty of ses-sions were on tap to help fabricators meetthat demand. To start with, Matt Cowlesfrom Solutia talked about pre-pressingand autoclaving. He began by discussingstoring and handling the PVB roll, andstressed the importance of moisture con-trol, saying the product should be storedat a temperature range of 40 to 50 degreesFahrenheit. He also recommended therolls be used in a first-in/first-out order.
Pilkington's Chris Barry discussed the hows andwhys of glass breakage.
continued on page 76
76 USGlass, Metal & Glazing | June 2008 www.usglassmag.com
“Partially used rolls should be re-pack-aged and stored,” Cowles said. In addition,he described PVB as being like a “stickysponge” as it will pick up anything ittouches. “So avoid contact with dirt, lint,water, etc.”
Troubleshooting laminated glass pro-duction was the next topic of discussion.Ron Hull from DuPont talked about com-mon laminating defects and problems.One problem is PVB blocking, which oc-curs when the PVB sticks to itself. It’s typ-ically caused when the storagetemperature is too warm, when the rollsare wound too tightly or if the rolls aretoo old. To keep this from happening,Hull suggested that storage temperaturesbe kept cool and that the laminator has asupplier unwind and wind the roll prop-erly. Finding bubbles in the laminate wasanother problem he discussed. The bub-bles, Hull said, are actually gas pockets inthe interlayer material or between theglass and the interlayer. “Basically, inade-quate de-airing,” he said. Bubbles can becaused from a surface pattern that is toosmooth or rough; from caliper/thicknessvariations; from stretching the PVB; andalso if the PVB temperature is too highor too low.
While PVB may be the most commoninterlayer in use for laminated glass pro-duction, it’s not the only one available.Michael Burriss from Cytec Industries
gave a presentation about ultraviolet(UV) liquid laminating. He explainedthat by exposing liquid resin to UV lightit changes into a polymer that, in thecase of laminated glass, serves as thesolid interlayer. He said it takes 20 min-utes for the glass to cure fully, and addedthat the process consumed a minimalamount of energy: 7 kilowatts. In addi-tion, Burriss said UV-cured laminatedglass meets the same safety tests as PVBlaminated glass, so the products can beused wherever safety glazing is required.
Mark Gold of Solutia covered thewhy, what and how of laminated glassquality control testing.
“Why test?” asked Gold, “Because wehave to; it’s the right thing to do,” he ex-plained, for regulatory and code re-quirements, as well as protectionagainst liability. “Also, it’s just plain,good business.”
He discussed different types of teststhat can be done to laminated glass,such as the boil and bake tests.
Glazing EducationWhile the glass fabricators were
learning the ins and outs of their in-dustry in one conference room, glazingcontractors were next door learninghow to get involved in the earliest stagesof glass installation, starting with de-sign. Denise Beneke from San Antonio’s
Marmon Mok Architecture had thoseattending the contract glazing sessionoohing and aahing with her presenta-tion about Google™ Sketch-Up. Sheprovided a few project examples thather company had completed, as well asanimations and other design details.
“You can use it for anything,” Benekesaid. She also took the crowd through ademonstration of using the 3D designtool, and left the crowd impressed withhow quick and easy it can be to not onlycreate a structure but also to change outcomponents.
Check PleaseJohn Heinaman, owner of Heinaman
Contract Glazing in Las Vegas, providedan overview of many of the issuesglaziers must watch for on the job.
“Would you know what the toler-ances that adjoining trades will be heldto?” he asked. “You need to know thetolerances of other trades or you canend up not being able to fit in the open-ings with glass.”
Keeping details documented was an-other point Heinaman stressed.
“In our business we really can’t over-document things. It’s not possible. Butwe have to do it on all jobs,” he said.“You can’t document well on a big joband not do it on the little ones.”
Heinaman also discussed the impor-tance of safety procedures for the com-pany in general and on each job.
“Is a safety plan a requirement?” heasked rhetorically. “It sure should be. Ihave had very few cases where I haven’tbeen asked for one. If you have a largeproject, you should have a safety planjust for that job. This is usually accom-plished by taking your standard safetyprogram and customizing it.”
Heinaman added that most insur-ance companies are willing to send arepresentative to the jobsite.
“It’s wise for you to have them comeand inspect your job. It could reducethe likelihood of an accident, could also
Silica to Sidingcontinued from page 75
continued on page 78
All of the Tour, None of the Walking
One of the highlights of the GlassFabrication and Glazing EducationalConference was the riding and walk-ing tour through Las Vegas. GregCarney, technical director of theGlass Association of North America(GANA), led about 40 conference at-tendees through the city to viewsome of the most exciting examplesof glass work in this always-excitingcity. You can check out some of thehighlights yourself by visitingwww.usglassmag.com and clickingon the GANA Walking TourSlideshow.
78 USGlass, Metal & Glazing | June 2008 www.usglassmag.com
Silica to Sidingcontinued from page 76
reduce your mod rate and increaseyour bottom line,” he added. “Don’t as-sume anything. Inspect all safetyequipment. You might say ‘well, gosh,of course we would do that.’ But I haveheard of instances where no onechecked the swing stage for frayedwires and to make sure that it’s at-tached to something at the top of abuilding. You want to check it yourself.”
Getting Closure“Make project closeout a celebration
of the building’s completion,” advisedMerry Wirth from Sierra Glass & Mir-ror Inc. in Las Vegas who discussed theproject closeout chapter from theGANA Project Managers ReferenceManual. Her presentation focused onthe importance of communicationthroughout the job. She also suggestedeveryone begin a project with the endin mind.
“Know from the start what’s expectedof you,” Wirth said. “The least expensiveway to correct a mistake is not at theend; it’s before it happens.”
One specific area she covered was op-erational training.
“Don’t be a dictator,” she advised, “butwork as a team.” She reminded her au-dience that when they are passing the
project over to the customer they needto take the time to explain to them howthey need to take care of the building.
Another discussion point was havinga lien waiver.
“Anything that reduces your liabilityis always a good thing,” said Wirth, whosuggested each company have one ded-icated person on-hand who under-stands and documents waivers that arecoming in and out. On a final note, shestressed that in project closeouts docu-mentation is critical and encouragedeveryone to keep organized all of thedocuments related to the job, includingboth paper and computer files.
Making the CodeFor individuals interested in learning
more about how to meet energy codes,Patrick Musseig of Azon USA explainedhow the THERM and Window softwareprograms can be used to find totalproduct U-factors, determine whethera product will meet energy codes andlook at how changing out componentscan affect the U-factor.
Rob Hitchcock from LawrenceBerkeley National Laboratory followedwith a discussion about COMFEN soft-ware, which is used to provide a wholebuilding calculation. Version 1 of COM-FEN, which was launched last fall, pro-vides specific design guidance oncommercial buildings and facades.
“The focus is on energy consumptionand demand, visual and thermal com-fort and CO2 emissions,” said Hitchcock.He said they would be looking intoways to enhance the glazing, framingand shading selections.
Mike Gainey, also of Azon USA, gavea presentation about the improvementof thermal performance in structuralaluminum windows. He posed thequestion, “What does a thermal barrierdo?” The answer: “It interrupts the heattransfer from hot to cold.” Gainey talkedabout the energy performance levels ofusing thermal barrier systems and how
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they can help greatly reduce energycosts and usage. He explained the win-dow systems can be made more en-ergy-efficient not only through the useof a thermal barrier as part of the alu-minum frame, but also through the useof a warm-edge spacer in the insulatingglass unit.
“The benefits are overall U-factor im-provement,” Gainey said, adding that thekey goal is also to minimize condensa-tion as much as possible.
From Codes toCertification
And speaking of energy, Max Peril-stein from Arch Aluminum & Glassgave an update on the National Fenes-tration Rating Council’s (NFRC) Com-ponent Modeling Approach (CMA)program development, providing a“past, present and future” look (seepages 14 and 32 for more on CMA). Hetalked about the history behind theprogram’s inception, explaining thatin 2002 NFRC decided to looking intorating commercial fenestration products.
Perilstein said it’s not that he’s op-posed to the program itself. “Awhole system calculation is agreat design tool,” he said. “Butit all goes downhill being
attached to the certification and rating aspect [because of the costs involved].”
In ending his presentation, Perilsteinencouraged industry members to speakup and get involved. “It’s been a chal-lenge to get people to come to the NFRCmeetings,” he said.
That’s a challenge GANA hasn’t faced.As executive director Bill Yanek noted,“GlassFab delivered on its goal of pro-viding top-notch glazing educationto industry newcomers and veteransalike. GANA is always striving tomake its meetings better, and GlassFab2008 was no exception.” ■
80 USGlass, Metal & Glazing | June 2008 www.usglassmag.com
Silica to Sidingcontinued from page 78
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M e g a n H e a d l e y is editor, E l l e nR o g e r s is contributing editor, D r e wV a s s is assistant editor and D e b r aL e v y is publisher of UUSGlass magazine.
See For YourselfCouldn’t make it to the show?
Then tune into UUSGlass magazine’svideo coverage of this event.
Visit www.usglassmag.com/studiofor one-on-one interviews with conference speakers.
For an expanded article on the Glass Fabrication and Glazing Educational
Conference go to www.usglassmag.com.
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NewsMakers
birthsNew Baby Boy for Dlubak
Congratulations arein order for AlyssaDlubak Bodiford ofDlubak Corp. She andher husband, Rick Bod-iford of South FloridaGlazing, are celebratingthe birth of their son,Cole David Bodiford.
Cole was born on February 5. Cole is the first grandson for Grandpa
Frank Dlubak, also of Dlubak Corp.
promotions NSG Appoints ChambersCEO Among Other Management Changes
Pending approval atthe June meeting of itsboard of directors, NSGGroup in Japan has ap-pointed Stuart Cham-bers as president andchief executive officer(CEO) of NSG.
According to informa-tion from the company, the appointmentof the British former-CEO of Pilkington(now a subsidiary of NSG) “continuesthe process of evolution of the NSGGroup into an international corporationand will also develop further the processof integration and simplification of thegroup’s management structure.”
Chambers was only recently appointedto his role of representative director, ex-ecutive vice president and chief operat-ing officer (see December 2007 USGlass,page 104). In this new role, he will hold
responsibility for the profitable operationof all businesses within the group. Cham-bers will chair an executive committeethat will oversee the day-to-day manage-ment of the company’s businesses. Theadoption of committees is intended to in-troduce additional safeguards for share-holders, increase transparency andimprove corporate governance.
Katsuji Fujimoto, who previouslyfilled the role of president and CEO,will now become a chairman of NSG.From this position, he will provide sup-port to the executive in communicat-ing with the financial community,shareholders, governments and otherexternal organizations.
In addition, Yozo Izuhara has beenappointed chairman of the board, fromhis previous role as representative direc-tor and chairman of NSG. Executive vicepresident Masakuni Nitta is retiringfrom the board.
Colonial Glass AppointsZachary Weiner CEO
Colonial Glass Solu-tions in Brooklyn, N.Y.,has appointed a newchief executive officer(CEO). Zachary Weinerhas taken over the reinsfrom his uncle, GeorgeWeiner, marking thethird generation to run
the business since it was founded byBen Weiner in 1929.
Weiner has been involved with thecompany since 1997.
“I initially started out driving myfather [Abe Weiner] to work,” he re-
calls. “He couldn’t see that well, so …after I graduated from college heasked me to drive him into work sothat’s what I did. And then as I startedcoming and driving him in it seemedpretty interesting to me, the operationin general. I thought I could help out.I helped out in small areas where Icould. I’m the first one to admit Iprobably didn’t do anything signifi-cant at first. About five years into it Idecided to take more of a leadershiprole and really get very involved in thebusiness.”
Since then Weiner has imple-mented a number of changes. Hebegan as a safety manager, thenmoved to managing the “flow” of thefactory and by 2005 was president ofthe company. In addition to facilityimprovements, he also has placed afocus on expanding the company’sproduct line. In his new role as CEO,Weiner’s plans for the year aheadlargely involve promoting its newestproduct additions. ■
Cole DavidBodiford
82 USGlass, Metal & Glazing | June 2008 www.usglassmag.com
obituariesGeorge Sutorka of ArchAluminum Passes Away
George Sutorka, laminated opera-tions manager of Arch Aluminum &Glass, passed away in late April fol-lowing an illness. Sutorka had beenwith the company since 1992 andwas an integral part of its growth.
“When George started we hadone laminated plant and he had tosupply the entire company,” saysMax Perilstein, vice president ofmarketing. “He had a ton of pa-tience to deal with all of us as wekept on adding branches and peo-ple. He truly was a good man and apleasure to work with. We are allvery saddened by his passing andhe will be missed.”
Sutorka had been in the lami-nated industry for many years beforejoining Arch and is well known inthose circles. He would have turned70 this December.
new hiresPilkington Adds to its Customer Service
Janeé Carpenter has joined Pilkington North America as acustomer service representative for the Building Products FireProtection Group in Toledo, Ohio. She is responsible for cus-tomer service and shipping of Pilkington fire-resistant and fire-protection glass products to customers in North America.
Carpenter has worked as an intern at the facility since Janu-ary 2008 and is currently working on her associate’s degreefrom Owens Community College in Toledo.
JaneéCarpenter
StuartChambers
ZacharyWeiner
[ d a t e b o o k ]
The 2008 Annual Symposium of the ProtectiveGlazing Council (PGC) International will take placeNovember 11-13th at the Hyatt Regency Crystal
City in Arlington, Va. Titled “Protective Glazing in a GreenWorld: Sustainability and Protection,” the symposiumwill feature a variety of presentations and speakers ad-dressing the convergence of protective glazing tech-nologies with the ongoing “green” movement ofenvironmentally friendly buildings.
“The green movement is gaining momentum aroundthe globe,” says Bill Yanek, executive director of PGC In-ternational. “With many projects in need of protective glaz-ing to protect future occupants, our focus with thesymposium is to educate the architectural, governmentand building owner communities on methods to achieve asolution that protects both people and the environment.”
The keynote speaker of the event will be Harvey Bern-stein of McGraw-Hill. Bernstein, who is vice president ofIndustry Analytics, Alliances and Strategic Initiatives andMcGraw-Hill Construction, specializes in green buildinginitiatives and was part of the team that launched thenew GreenSource magazine. Bernstein will discuss thefuture of the green movement in construction.
Other speakers will discuss a variety of topics, in-cluding “green” protection from the building owner’sperspective, as well as other protective glazing tech-nologies. Admission to the event is free for architects,government officials, building owners and glazingcontractors. ❙❙➤ www.protectiveglazing.org ■
PGC Announces Annual Symposium
Reviews&Previews
84 USGlass, Metal & Glazing | June 2008 www.usglassmag.com
PGC International expects to draw glazing contractors,architects, building owners and government officialsinterested in protection, and protecting theenvironment.
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NORTH AMERICAN EVENTS
July 28-31, 2008NFRC Summer 2008Membership MeetingSponsored by the National Fenestration Rating Council (NFRC). The Conrad Chicago.Chicago.Contact: NFRC at 301/589-1776.
August 1-3, 2008American GlassGuild ConferenceSponsored by the American Glass Guild (AGG). Crowne Plaza Hotel. Cherry Hill, N.J.Contact: AGG at [email protected].
September 8-10, 2008GANA Fall ConferenceSponsored by the Glass Association of North America (GANA). Wyndham DFW Airport North.Dallas.Contact: GANA at 785/271-0208.
September 21-24, 2008AAMA National Fall Conference Sponsored by the American Architectural ManufacturersAssociation (AAMA).Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort and Spa.San Antonio.Contact: AAMA at 847/303-5664.
October 6-8, 2008GlassBuild AmericaCo-sponsored by GANA, AAMA, the Insulating GlassManufacturers Alliance, theBath Enclosure ManufacturersAssociation and the NationalGlass Association.Las Vegas Convention Center.Las Vegas.Contact: Show organizers at866/342-5642, ext. 300.
October 12-15, 2008ASC Fall ConventionSponsored by the Adhesiveand Sealant Council (ASC).Baltimore Marriott Waterfront.Baltimore.Contact: Bob Willis at301/986-9700, ext. 104.
November 11-13, 2008PGC 2008 Annual SymposiumSponsored by the Protective Glazing Council (PGC) International. Hyatt Regency Crystal City.Arlington, Va. Contact: PGC at 785/271-0208.
December 9-10, 2008Glass Expo Midwest™ 2008Sponsored by USGlass magazine.Renaissance Hotels & Resorts.Schaumburg, Ill.Contact: UUSGlass magazine at 540/720-5584.
February 22-25, 2009AAMA 72nd Annual ConferenceSponsored by AAMA.Loews Coronado Bay Resort.Coronado, Calif.Contact: AAMA at 847/303-5664.
INTERNATIONAL EVENTS
July 23-26, 2008Glass Expo AfricaSponsored by Specialised Exhibitions Ltd.Expo Centre, NASREC.Johannesburg, South Africa.Contact: Specialised ExhibitionsLtd. at +27 (0)11 835-1565.
October 21-25, 2008glasstecSponsored by Messe Düsseldorf GmbH.Düsseldorf Exhibition Centre.Düsseldorf, Germany.Contact: Messe DüsseldorfGmbH at +49-211-4560900.
November 20-22, 2008Glasstech AsiaOrganized by Conference & Exhibition ManagementServices (CEMS).Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center.Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Contact: CEMS at 65 6 278 8666.
December 5-7, 2008Glass Technology IndiaSponsored by Zak Glasstech.Hall No. 18, Pragati Maidan.New Delhi, India.Contact: Zak Glasstech at (91-11) 2644 7320. ■
Up&Coming
To see the full event schedule, visit www.usglassmag.com/events.php.
www.usglassmag.com June 2008 | USGlass, Metal & Glazing 85
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ADHESIVES/SEALANTSDow Corning Corporation2200 West Salzburg RoadMidland, MI 48686Phone: 989/496-6000www.dowcorning.com/construction/[email protected]
Vitro America965 Ridge Lake Blvd., Suite 300Memphis, TN 38120Phone: 800/[email protected]
Glazing CompoundsOmaha Wholesale Hardware1201 Pacific StreetOmaha, NE 68108Phone: 800/238-4566Fax: 402/444-1659
ARCHITECTURAL GLASSBerman Glass Editions1-1244 Cartwright StreetVancouver, BC V6H3R8CanadaPhone: 604/684-8332Fax: 604/[email protected]
General Glass International101 Venture WaySecaucus, NJ 07094Phone: 201/553-1850Fax: 201/[email protected]
Oldcastle Glass®
Over 40 manufacturing locations throughout North AmericaPhone: 866/653-2278www.oldcastleglass.com
Virginia Glass Products Corp.P.O. Box 5431Martinsville, VA 24115Phone: 800/368-3011Fax: 276/956-3020
Vitro America965 Ridge Lake Blvd., Suite 300Memphis, TN 38120Phone: 800/[email protected]
Acid Etched GlassWalker Glass Co. Ltd.9551 Ray LawsonMontreal, QC H7X 3K7 CanadaPhone: 888/320-3030Fax: 514/[email protected]
Bent/CurvedCalifornia Glass Bending320 E. Harry Bridges Blvd.Wilmington, CA 90744Ph: 800/223-6594Fax: 310/[email protected]
Precision Glass Bending Corp.P.O. Box 19703811 Hwy 10 WestGreenwood, AR 72936Phone: 479/996-8065 or 800/543-8796Fax: 479/[email protected]
BlockDecalite Ltd.The Portergate Ecclesall RoadSheffield S11-8NX, UKPhone: 01142-096096Fax: 01142-096001
Fire-Rated GlassAGC InterEdge Technologies85 Liberty Ship Way, Suite 110BSausalito, CA 94965Phone: 877/376-3343Fax: 415/289-0326www.firesafe-glass.com
SAFTI FIRST™ Fire Rated Glazing Solutions325 Newhall StreetSan Francisco, CA 94124-1432Phone: 888/653-3333Fax: 415/[email protected]
Technical Glass Products600 6th Street SouthKirkland, WA 98033Phone: 800/426-0279Fax: 800/[email protected]
VETROTECH Saint-Gobain2108 B Street NW, Suite 110Auburn, WA 98001Phone: 888/803-9533Fax: 253/333-5166www.vetrotechusa.com
Vitro America965 Ridge Lake Blvd., Suite 300Memphis, TN 38120Phone: 800/[email protected]
Fire-Rated Glass, Impact ResistantAGC InterEdge Technologies85 Liberty Ship Way, Suite 110BSausalito, CA 94965Phone: 877/376-3343Fax: 415/289-0326www.firesafe-glass.com
General Glass International101 Venture WaySecaucus, NJ 07094Phone: 201/553-1850Fax: 201/[email protected]
SAFTI FIRST™ Fire Rated Glazing Solutions325 Newhall StreetSan Francisco, CA 94124-1432Phone: 888/653-3333Fax: 415/[email protected]
Technical Glass Products600 6th Street SouthKirkland, WA 98033Phone: 800/426-0279Fax: 800/[email protected]
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www.usglassmag.com June 2008 | USGlass, Metal & Glazing 87
VETROTECH Saint-Gobain2108 B Street NW, Suite 110Auburn, WA 98001Phone: 888/803-9533Fax: 253/333-5166www.vetrotechusa.com
Hurricane-ResistantCoastal Glass Distributors7421 East Spartan Blvd.Charleston, SC 29418Phone: 800/868-4527Fax: 800/[email protected]
Glasslam1601 Blount Rd.Pompano Beach, FL 33069Phone: 954/975-3233Fax: 954/975-3225www.glasslam.com
SAFTI FIRST™ Fire Rated Glazing Solutions325 Newhall StreetSan Francisco, CA 94124-1432Phone: 888/653-3333Fax: 415/[email protected]
InsulatingArch Aluminum & Glass10200 NW 67th St.Tamarac, FL 33321Phone: 800/432-8132Fax: 954/[email protected]
LaminatedArch Aluminum & Glass10200 NW 67th St.Tamarac, FL 33321Phone: 800/432-8132Fax: 954/[email protected]
Glasslam1601 Blount Rd.Pompano Beach, FL 33069Phone: 954/975-3233Fax: 954/975-3225www.glasslam.com
Vitro America965 Ridge Lake Blvd., Suite 300Memphis, TN 38120Phone: 800/[email protected]
Pattern GlassCoastal Glass Distributors7421 East Spartan Blvd.Charleston, SC 29418Phone: 800/868-4527Fax: 800/[email protected]
Radiation ShieldingAmerope Enterprises Inc.150 Commerce Rd.Boynton Beach, FL 33426Phone: 800/327-3320 Fax: 561/[email protected]
X-Ray Fluoroscopic Amerope Enterprises Inc.150 Commerce Rd.Boynton Beach, FL 33426Phone: 800/327-3320 Fax: 561/[email protected]
X-Ray ProtectiveAmerope Enterprises Inc.150 Commerce Rd.Boynton Beach, FL 33426Phone: 800/327-3320Fax: 561/[email protected]
Technical Glass Products600 6th Street SouthKirkland, WA 98033Phone: 800/426-0279Fax: 800/[email protected]
ARCHITECTURALGLASS/LAMINATEDOldcastle Glass®
Over 40 manufacturing locations throughout North AmericaPhone: 866/653-2278www.oldcastleglass.com
BentPrecision Glass Bending Corp.P.O. Box 19703811 Hwy 10 WestGreenwood, AR 72936Phone: 479/996-8065 or 800/543-8796Fax: 479/[email protected]
Fire & Safety Rated WireSAFTI FIRST™ Fire Rated Glazing Solutions325 Newhall StreetSan Francisco, CA 94124-1432Phone: 888/653-3333Fax: 415/[email protected]
ARCHITECTURALGLASS/TEMPEREDOldcastle Glass®
Over 40 manufacturing locations throughout North AmericaPhone: 866/653-2278www.oldcastleglass.com
All Team Glass & Mirror Ltd.Phone: 800/363-4651 or 416/745-7182Fax: 416/745-2692www.allteamglass.com
Virginia Glass Products Corp.P.O. Box 5431Martinsville, VA 24115Phone: 800/368-3011Fax: 276/956-3020
Vitro America965 Ridge Lake Blvd., Suite 300Memphis, TN 38120Phone: 800/[email protected]
BentPrecision Glass Bending Corp.P.O. Box 19703811 Hwy 10 WestGreenwood, AR 72936Phone: 479/996-8065 or 800/543-8796Fax: 479/[email protected]
ARCHITECTURAL METAL
Vitro America965 Ridge Lake Blvd., Suite 300Memphis, TN 38120Phone: 800/[email protected]
Dies/Custom MetalEFCO Corporation1000 County RoadMonett, MO 65708Phone: 800/221-4169Fax: 417/235-7313
AUTO GLASS ACCESSORIESWindow Film CPFilms Inc.P.O. Box 5068Martinsville, VA 24115Phone: 276/627-3000Fax: 276/[email protected]
AUTO GLASS & RELATED PRODUCTSEDI/BillingIBS Software1221 Harrison StreetKansas City, MO 64106Phone: 800/959-5500Fax: 816/471-1939www.ibssoftware.com
SunroofsNight Watchman Co.30551 Edison Dr.Roseville, MI 48066Phone: 586/778-2144Fax: 586/[email protected]
T-Tops Night Watchman Co.30551 Edison Dr.Roseville, MI 48066Phone: 586/778-2144Fax: 586/[email protected]
continued on page 88
BATHROOM SPECIALTIES
Vitro America965 Ridge Lake Blvd., Suite 300Memphis, TN 38120Phone: 800/[email protected]
Shower Door Hardware C.R. Laurence Co. Inc.2503 E Vernon Ave.Los Angeles, CA 90058Phone: 800/421-6144Fax: 800/262-3299www.crlaurence.com
US Horizon Mfg., Inc.28912 Ave. PaineValencia, CA 91355Phone: 877/728-3874Fax: 661/775-1676www.ushorizon.com
BULLET RESISTANTBARRIERSTotal Security Solutions, Inc.170 National Park DriveFowlerville, MI 48836Phone: 866/930-7807www.totalsecuritysolutionsinc.com
COMPUTER SOFTWAREAlbat + Wirsam North America1540 Cornwall Rd., Suite 214Oakville, ON L6J 7W5Phone: 905/338-5650Fax: 905/[email protected]
PMC Software Inc.Bartles Corner Business Park8 Bartles Corner Rd., Suite 11Flemington, NJ 08822Phone: 908/806-7824Fax: 908/806-3951www.pmcsoftware.com
Auto Glass-RelatedGlassMate(NAGS® International)9889 Willow Creek Rd.San Diego, CA 92131Phone: 800/551-4012Fax: 619/[email protected]
IBS Software1221 Harrison Street,Kansas City, MO 64106Phone: 800/959-5500Fax: 816/471-1939www.ibssoftware.com
EDIIBS Software1221 Harrison StreetKansas City, MO 64106Phone: 800/959-5500Fax: 816/471-1939www.ibssoftware.com
Point of SaleIBS Software1221 Harrison StreetKansas City, MO 64106Phone: 800/959-5500Fax: 816/471-1939www.ibssoftware.com
Quest Software Inc.1000 E. Sturgis St., Suite 8St. Johns, MI 48879Phone: 800/541-2593Fax: 517/224-7067www.questsoftware.com
Window FilmCPFilms Inc.P.O. Box 5068Martinsville, VA 24115Phone: 276/627-3000Fax: 276/[email protected]
DECORATIVE GLASSOldcastle Glass®
Over 40 manufacturing locations throughout North AmericaPhone: 866/653-2278www.oldcastleglass.com
Vitro America965 Ridge Lake Blvd., Suite 300Memphis, TN 38120Phone: 800/[email protected]
World Glass4014 Gunn Highway, Suite 160Tampa, FL 33618Phone: 888/852-2550Fax: 813/265-4293www.WorldGlassAG.com
Etched GlassWalker Glass Co. Ltd.9551 Ray LawsonMontreal, QC H7X 3K7CanadaPhone: 888/320-3030Fax: 514/[email protected]
Glass Flooring
PaintedDecorative Glass Company14647 Lull StreetVan Nuys, CA 91405-1209Phone: 800/768-3109Fax: 818/785-7429
SandblastedAdvanced Glass Design30 Deer RunPlantsville, CT 06479Phone: 860/426-0401Fax: 860/[email protected]
Textured GlassCoastal Glass Distributors7421 East Spartan Blvd.Charleston, SC 29418Phone: 800/868-4527Fax: 800/[email protected]
DOORSBullet ResistantU.S. Bullet Proofing, Inc.4925 Lawrence StreetHyattsville, MD 20781Phone: 800/363-8328Fax: 301/[email protected]
ClosersAccess Hardware Supply14359 Catalina StreetSan Leandro, CA 94577Phone: 800/348-2263Fax: 510/483-4500
Fire RatedTechnical Glass Products600 6th Street SouthKirkland, WA 98033Phone: 800/426-0279Fax: 800/[email protected]
Fire-Rated Framing SystemsAGC InterEdge Technologies85 Liberty Ship Way, Suite 110BSausalito, CA 94965Phone: 877/376-3343Fax: 415/289-0326www.firesafe-glass.com
SAFTI FIRST™ Fire Rated Glazing Solutions325 Newhall StreetSan Francisco, CA 94124-1432Phone: 888/653-3333Fax: 415/[email protected]
VETROTECH Saint-Gobain2108 B Street NW, Suite 110Auburn, WA 98001Phone: 888/803-9533Fax: 253/333-5166www.vetrotechusa.com
WORLDglassTM
T H E D E C O R A T I V E G L A S S S O U R C E
www.AAG-Glass.com
UL ApprovedGlass Flooring
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Folding GlassWalls/DoorsSolar Innovations, Inc.234 East Rosebud RoadMyerstown, PA 17067Phone: 800/618-0669Fax: 717/[email protected]
General Door HardwareAkron Hardware1100 Killian RoadAkron, OH 44312Phone: 800/321-9602Fax: 800/328-6070
C.R. Laurence Co. Inc.2503 E Vernon Ave.Los Angeles, CA 90058Phone: 800/421-6144Fax: 800/262-3299www.crlaurance.com
Metal Clad DoorsDoralco11901 S. Austin Ave., Suite 301Alsip, IL 60803Phone: 708/388-9324Fax: 708/388-9392www.doralco.com
Sliding DoorsDoralco11901 S. Austin Ave., Suite 301Alsip, IL 60803Phone: 708/388-9324Fax: 708/388-9392www.doralco.com
DOORS, OTHERPeterson International Ent. Ltd.504 S. Glenn Ave.Wheeling, IL 60090Phone: 847/541-3700Fax: 847/541-3790www.petersoninternational.com
Virginia Glass Products Corp.P.O. Box 5431Martinsville, VA 24115Phone: 800/368-3011Fax: 276/956-3020
DOOR COMPONENTSAdams Rite Manufacturing Co.260 Santa Fe StreetPomona, CA 91767Phone: 909/632-2300Fax: 909/632-2370www.adamsrite.com
JLM Wholesale, Inc.3095 Mullins CourtOxford, MI 48371Phone: 800/522-2940Fax: 800/[email protected]
DOOR HARDWARE AND RELATED PRODUCTSBoyle & Chase, Inc.72 Sharp StreetHingham, MA 02043Phone: 800/325-2530Fax: 800/[email protected]
JLM Wholesale3095 Mullins CourtOxford, MI 48371Phone: 800/522-2940Fax: 800/[email protected]
Vitro America965 Ridge Lake Blvd., Suite 300Memphis, TN 38120Phone: 800/[email protected]
Track CapsJohnson Bros. Metal Forming5518 McDermott Dr.Berkeley, IL 60163Phone: 708/449-7050 Fax: 708/449-0042
GLASS HANDLING/TRANSPORTATIONRolltech Industries11 Dansk CourtToronto, ON M9W 5N6 CanadaPhone: 419/337-0631Fax: 419/337-1471
KEAR Fabrication Inc.11 Creditstone Rd., Unit 7Concord, ON L4K 2P1CanadaPhone: 905/760-0841Fax: 905/760-0842
INFORMATION AND ORGANIZATIONSAssociationsAmerican ArchitecturalManufacturers Association(AAMA)1827 Walden Office Square, Ste 550 Schaumburg, IL 60173Phone: 847/303-5859Fax: 847/303-5774www.aamanet.org
INSULATING GLASS AND RELATED PRODUCTSOldcastle Glass®
Over 40 manufacturing locations throughout North AmericaPhone: 866/653-2278www.oldcastleglass.com
Virginia Glass Products Corp.P.O. Box 5431Martinsville, VA 24115Phone: 800/368-3011Fax: 276/956-3020
Vitro America965 Ridge Lake Blvd., Suite 300Memphis, TN 38120Phone: 800/[email protected]
AirspacersAlumet Mfg., Inc.3803 136th St. NEMarysville, WA 98271Phone: 360/653-6666 or800/343-8360Fax: 360/653-9884
Helima Helvetion Intl.PO Box 1348Duncan, SC 29334-1348Phone: 800/346-6628Fax: 864/[email protected]
Muntin BarsAlumet Mfg., Inc.3803 136th St. NEMarysville, WA 98271Phone: 360/653-6666 or800/343-8360Fax: 360/653-9884
SpacersEdgetech I.G. Inc.800 Cochran Ave.Cambridge, OH 43725Phone: 740/439-2338Fax: 740/439-0127www.edgetechig.com
Units, Bent-CurvedPrecision Glass Bending Corp.P.O. Box 19703811 Hwy 10 WestGreenwood, AR 72936Phone: 479/996-8065 or 800/543-8796Fax: 479/[email protected]
INSULATING GLASS MACHINERY/EQUIPMENTProduction LinesEdgetech I.G. Inc.800 Cochran Ave.Cambridge, OH 43725Phone: 740/439-2338Fax: 740/439-0127www.edgetechig.com
MACHINERY/EQUIPMENT
Lapcraft Inc.195 West Olentangy St.Powell, OH 44065-8720Phone: 800/432-4748Fax: 614/[email protected]
Cutting MachineBottero Flat Glass Inc.330 Weaver Rd., Suite 600Florence, KY 41042Phone: 800/900-7559Fax: 845/362-1856
MIRROR AND MIRRORRELATED PRODUCTSPalmer Mirro-Mastics146 St. Matthews AvenuePO Box 7155Louisville, KY 40257-0155Phone: 502/893-3668 or800/431-6151Fax: 502/895-9253www.mirro-mastic.com
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continued on page 90
Virginia Glass Products Corp.P.O. Box 5431Martinsville, VA 24115Phone: 800/368-3011Fax: 276/956-3020
Vitro America965 Ridge Lake Blvd., Suite 300Memphis, TN 38120Phone: 800/[email protected]
Acid Etched MirrorWalker Glass Co. Ltd.9551 Ray LawsonMontreal, QC H7X 3K7CanadaPhone: 888/320-3030Fax: 514/[email protected]
Decorative
SKYLIGHTS & OVERHEADGLAZING SYSTEMSSkylightsO’Keeffe’s Inc.325 Newhall StreetSan Francisco, CA 94124Phone: 415/822-4222Fax: 415/822-5222www.okeeffes.com
STOREFRONT/ENTRANCESOldcastle Glass®
Over 40 manufacturing locations throughout North AmericaPhone: 866/653-2278www.oldcastleglass.com
Pittco Architectural Metals, Inc.1530 Landmeier Rd.Elk Grove Village, IL 60007Phone: 800/992-7488Fax: 847/[email protected]
Vitro America965 Ridge Lake Blvd., Suite 300Memphis, TN 38120Phone: 800/[email protected]
SUNROOMS AND RELATED PRODUCTSBent Solarium GlassPrecision Glass Bending Corp.PO Box 1970, 3811 Hwy. 10 WestGreenwood, AR 72936Phone: 800/543-8796 or 479/996-8065Fax: 479/[email protected]
SunroomsSolar Innovations, Inc.234 East Rosebud RoadMyerstown, PA 17067Phone: 800/618-0669Fax: 717/[email protected]
TOOLS AND SUPPLIESCleaning TowelsJacone Distributors5717 Samstone Ct.Cincinnati, OH 45242Phone: 513/745-0244Fax: 513/[email protected]
WINDOW & DOOR REPLACEMENTHARDWAREStrybuc Industries2006 Elmwood Ave.Sharon Hills, PA 19078Phone: 800/352-0800Fax: 610/534-3202www.strybuc.com
WINDOW FILMCPFilms Inc.P.O. Box 5068Martinsville, VA 24115Phone: 276/627-3000Fax: 276/[email protected]
Architectural FilmCPFilms Inc.P.O. Box 5068Martinsville, VA 24115Phone: 276/627-3000Fax: 276/[email protected]
Johnson Window Films20655 Annalee Ave.Carson, CA 90746Phone: 310/631-6672Fax: 310/631-6628www.johnsonwindowfilms.com
Auto FilmJohnson Window Films20655 Annalee Ave.Carson, CA 90746Phone: 310/631-6672Fax: 310/631-6628www.johnsonwindowfilms.com
Commercial TintCPFilms Inc.P.O. Box 5068Martinsville, VA 24115Phone: 276/627-3000Fax: 276/[email protected]
Johnson Window Films20655 Annalee Ave.Carson, CA 90746Phone: 310/631-6672Fax: 310/631-6628www.johnsonwindowfilms.com
Decorative FilmCPFilms Inc.P.O. Box 5068Martinsville, VA 24115Phone: 276/627-3000Fax: 276/[email protected]
Security FilmCPFilms Inc.P.O. Box 5068Martinsville, VA 24115Phone: 276/627-3000Fax: 276/[email protected]
Johnson Window Films20655 Annalee Ave.Carson, CA 90746Phone: 310/631-6672Fax: 310/631-6628www.johnsonwindowfilms.com
WINDOW HARDWAREStiffenersAlumet Mfg., Inc.3803 136th St. NEMarysville, WA 98271Phone: 360/653-6666 or800/343-8360Fax: 360/653-9884
WINDOWSBlast ResistantUnited States Bullet Proofing Inc.4925 Lawrence StreetHyattsville, MD 20781Phone: 301/454-0155 or800/363-8328Fax: 301/[email protected]
Fire-RatedSAFTI FIRST™ Fire Rated Glazing Solutions325 Newhall StreetSan Francisco, CA 94124-1432Phone: 888/653-3333Fax: 415/[email protected]
General Tools & SuppliesPacific Laser Systems449 Coloma StreetSausalito, CA 94965Phone: 800/601-4500Fax: 415/289-5789 ■
www.Jockimo.com
MirrorUnique™ antique mirror glass
introducing...
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ALUMINUM & GLASSCURTAIN WALL / WINDOW WALL
GROVE SHIM STACKS
VERTICLE ALUM. MULLION
INTERNAL ANCHOR CLIP
This Deal is Stacked in Your Favor!Save an additional 10%
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Now, by special order:
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BAKER’S DOZENPurchase 12 Boxes of the Stack Shims
of your choice through August 31, 2008 and receive the 13th box FREE!
P.O. Box 240, 17 Marguerite Avenue, Leominster, MA 01453
Tel: 978-534-5188 • Fax: 978-840-4130
www.groveproductsinc.com
All Shims aremanufacturedfrom recycledmaterials.98% by content.
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92 USGlass, Metal & Glazing | June 2008 www.usglassmag.com
Project ManagerEngineering Draftsman
BCIndustries, a Tampa, Fl. based manu-facturer and Contractor, is recruiting theabove positions. Experience in the indus-try is required. Knowledge of window,sliding door, and curtain wall is required.Relative experience in the respective job isrequired. Florida experience a plus. If youare a career oriented person we want totalk to you. Our 20 year old company isgrowing at above average rates and thebest should apply.
BCIndustries5008 Tampa West Blvd.
Tampa, Fl. 33634Fax: 813/881-0812
Employment/Help Wanted
Classifieds go online everyday! To view listings, visit:
http://www.glass.com/classified.php
Glaziers Wanted5+ years experience in commercialglass. Position starts ASAP. Cookeville,TN. Interested parties please call931/526-4373.
Estimator/ProjectMgr./Draftsperson
Clifton Architectural Glass & Metal, PassicCounty, NJ seeks to immediately fill per-manent positions in project management,estimating & drafting. Know-ledge of alu-minum windows, curtainwall, glass &glazing a must. Excellent salary & workenvironment. Relocation expenses con-sidered. Fax resume to 973/556-1049 ore-mail to rchmura@ cliftonglass.com. In-quires kept confidential.
SupervisorSIGCO, Inc., a fabricator of architecturalglass and aluminum in Westbrook,Maine currently has openings for an ex-perienced supervisor for our edging,drilling, and milling, operation. We arelooking for a hands-on person who knowsand understands the latest automatedequipment, knows how to prioritize, cancommunicate well, has strong analyticaland problem solving abilities and canmaintain focus under pressure. If youmeet this description, please e-mail aresumé to [email protected] detailing yourexperience and salary history.
Project ManagersContract Glaziers, a leading curtain wallmanufacturer and installer, is looking forexperienced project managers. We areseeking candidates with a minimum of 5years experience. Good computer skills amust. Salary commensurate with experi-ence. Relocation expenses considered. E-mail resumes or inquiries to [email protected].
Estimator/Project Mgr.Continued Co. growth requires another experienced individual with backgroundin managing Window, SF, and CW projectsin PA, MD, DC, VA, NJ, and NY. We offerabove average income potential for anabove average person. Looking for organized person w/excellent blueprintreading, people, & computer skills (MSProject, ACT, GDS, Excel, & MS Office).Send resumé & salary requirements [email protected] or fax 717/838-7990.
www.usglassmag.com June 2008 | USGlass, Metal & Glazing 93
Territory Sales Managers Needed
Sapa Fabricated Products in Magnolia, AR is expanding and has immediate open-ings for Territory Sales Managers in new and existing territories in the northeastand the northwest. The positions will be responsible for generating sales forAlumax Bath Enclosures, Sapa Railing & Ornamental fence as well as other excit-ing products under development.
Ideal candidates will be driven, self-motivated, organized individuals with pol-ished field sales skills. Preference will be given to applicants with previous sales ex-perience in building and construction markets. A college degree is preferred.
If you enjoy the challenge of developing incremental sales volume, take this op-portunity to become part of a reorganized, multi-faceted company that is focusedon developing innovative cutting edge solutions for the markets we choose to serve.
Sapa offers competitive salaries, incentive pay and benefits including medical,dental and vision insurance, 401(k) and paid vacation and holidays. Please sendyour resume to Jane Hill, HR Manager. Fax: 870/901-2928. E-mail:[email protected]. EOE, M/F
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New & Used MachineryVertical Washers - Makivetro, CRL, Zaf-ferani, Lenhardt, Somaca.Horizontal Washers - Billco, SomacaMiller, Bovone & Bavelloni. Used Oven Presses - Billco, BestenVinyl Welders, Corner Cleaners, Saws,Bevelers, Edgers, Drills, & TemperingFurnaces
Ph: 724/239-6000; Fx: 724/[email protected]
www.usglassmachinery.com
New and Used EquipmentNEW 4 spindles flat edger $19,500 US60” horizontal glass washer 6 brush60” vertical glass washer 4 brushButyl extruder 15 pounds slugNEW EDGERS. NEW BEVELERS. 50% OFF REGULAR PRICEContact: Steve BrownTel: 888/430-4481; Fax: 450/477-6937E-mail: [email protected]
Used Equipmentfor Sale
Atech Fornax Vinyl (PVC)Bending Machine
Designed to bend vinyl (PVC) windowprofiles to a desired form. PHTech bend-ing molds for 2 frame profiles + 4 glazingbeads also available. Contact Dale orBryan at 386/445-2290. $32,500 or bestoffer.
Industry Services
Bieber Consulting Group, LLCIs a group of retired Glass Industry Exec-utives with the ability to solve your prob-lems, grow your business and add to yourrevenue stream. With over 40 years of ex-pertise managing sales and profits, weknow cost reduction, sales & marketing,finance, glass fabrication, safety, purchas-ing, labor relations and more. To explorehow we can be of benefit to you, callPaul Bieber at 603/242-3521 or [email protected].
Products for SaleCurved China Cabinet GlassStandard curves fit most cabinets - oneday service. Most sizes $87, $92, $97and each piece is delivered. Call512/237-3600, Peco Glass Bending, POBox 777, Smithville, TX 78957.
Businesses for Sale
Montana Glass BusinessFor Sale - A turn-key glass & paint salesbusiness. Includes the building & MainStreet corner lot. $269,000. E-mail Rick atGarden Realty [email protected].
Glass Business for SaleBusiness is located in the Atlanta, GA area.Sale includes all inventory, 3 trucks, punch,and all other equipment. Sales last yearwere 1.2 million dollars. Contact us bye-mail [email protected].
To place a classified, please call Janeen Mulligan at
540/720-5584 Ext. 112 or e-mail [email protected].
35 AGC Flat Glass North America 800/251-0441 423/229-7110 www.na.agc-flatglass.com
9 AGC InterEdge Technologies 877/376-3343 415/289-0326 www.firesafe-glass.com
98 Arch Aluminum & Glass Co. Inc. 866/629-2724 586/725-4627 www.archaluminum.net
24 Artus Corp. 201/568-1000 201/568-8865 www.artuscorp.com
33 Ashton Industrial Ltd. 44 1279 624810 44 1279 621566 www.ashton-industrial.com
81 Boyle & Chase Inc. 800/325-2530 800/205-3500 www.boyleandchase.com
12 Bromer Inc. 450/477-6682 450/477-9679 www.bromerinc.com
87 California Glass Bending 800/223-6594 310/549-5398 www.calglassbending.com
53 Cardinal LG Co. 952/935-1722 952/935-5538 www.cardinalcorp.com
79 CMS North America Inc. 616/698-9970 616/698-9730 www.cmsna.com
43 CPFilms Inc. 800/345-6088 314/674-1950 www.cpfilms.com
31 Crane Revolving Doors 800/942-7263 847/295-5288 www.cranedoor.com
59 C.R. Laurence Co. Inc. 800/421-6144 866/921-0532 www.crlaurence.com
6 Dependable Glassworks 800/338-2414 800/866-0986 www.dependableglass.com
50 DORMA Glas 800/451-0649 301/390-0011 www.dorma-usa.com
61 Edgetech IG Inc. 800/233-4383 740/439-0121 www.superspacer.com
64 Epco Group 866/313-3726 626/961-3525 www.epcocorp.com
77 Erdman Automation Corp. 763/389-9475 763/389-9757 www.erdmanautomation.com
47 F. Barkow Inc. 414/332-7311 414/332-8217 www.barkow.com
58 Fletcher-Terry Co. 800/843-3826 860/676-8858 www.fletcher-terry.com
87 Florida Screen Enterprises 305/687-0424 305/687-3008 www.floridascreen.com
25 Forel Spa 336/768-5504 336/768-7549 www.besanalovati.com
62, 69, 83 Glass Association of North America 785/271-0208 785/271-0166 www.glasswebsite.com
27 Glasstech Inc. 419/661-9500 419/661-9616 wwwglasstech.com
31 Glasswerks L.A. Inc. 888/789-7810 888/789-7820 www.glasswerks.com
65 Glaston Finland/Tamglass Brand 358 10 500 6103 358 10 500 6109 www.glaston.net
19 Glaston Italy/Bavelloni Brand 39 031 728311 39 031 7286358 www.glaston.net
97 GlasWeld Systems 800/321-2597 541/388-1157 www.glasweld.com
78 Glazelock Shims Inc. 815/935-5396 815/936-9314 www.glazelockshims.com
54 Groves Inc. 800/991-2120 815/385-8640 www.groves.com
63, 91 Grove Products Inc. 800/724-7683 978/840-4130 www.groveproductsinc.com
5 Hegla Corp. 404/763-9700 404/763-0901 www.heglacorp.com
57 Intermac AGM 704/357-3131 704/357-3130 www.intermacamerica.com
15 Intermountain Lock & Security 800/453-5386 801/485-7205 www.intermountainlock.com
60 JLM Wholesale 800/522-2940 248/628-6733 www.jlmwholesale.com
72 Jordon Glass Co. 800/833-2159 305/482-0119 www.jordonglass.com
21 Joseph Machine Co. 800/457-7034 717/432-2712 www.josephmachineco.com
80 J. Sussman Inc. 718/297-0228 718/297-3090 www.jsussmaninc.com
70 Julius Blum & Co. Inc. 800/526-6293 201/438-6003 www.juliusblum.com
72 Lapcraft Inc. 800/432-4748 614/764-1860 www.lapcraft.com
84 Liberty Glass & Metal Industries 800/843-2031 860/923-9662 www.libertywindowsystems.com
69 Lothar’s Industrial Sales Ltd. 905/453-8857 905/453-9554 www.lothars.ca
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94 USGlass, Metal & Glazing | June 2008 www.usglassmag.com
www.usglassmag.com June 2008 | USGlass, Metal & Glazing 95
11 Mayflower Sales Co. Inc. 800/221-2052 718/789-8346 www.mfsales.com
16-17 Oldcastle Glass 866/653-2278 770/804-3369 www.oldcastleglass.com
55 Painters & Allied Trades 888/934-6474 301/654-2025 www.lmcionline.org
52 Precision Glass Bending 800/543-8796 800/543-8798 www.e-bentglass.com
86 Pulp Studio 310/815-4999 310/815-4990 www.switchlite.com
73 Quattrolifts 800/983-5841 61 3 93728105 www.quattrolifts.com
48 Salem Distributors 800/234-1982 336/766-1119 www.salemdist.com
13 Schott North America Inc. 502/657-4417 502/966-4976 www.us.schott.com
22 Shat R Proof Corp. 800/328-0042 952/946-0461 wwwshatrproof.com
23 Soft Tech America Inc. 954/568-3198 954/563-6116 www.softtechnz.com
71 Sommer & Maca 866/583-1377 866/584-9722 www.somaca.com
56 Taco Metals 800/743-3803 727/576-1053 www.tacometals.com
C2 Taricco Corp. 562/437-5433 562/901-3932 www.taricco.com
1 Technical Glass Products 800/426-0279 800/451-9857 www.fireglass.com
49 Traco 800/837-7001 724/776-7014 www.traco.com
29 United Glass Corp. 800/232-9050 Not Available www.pdcglass.com
3 Unruh Fab Inc. 888/772-8400 316/772-5852 www.unruhfab.com
7 Vitro America 800/238-6057 501/884-5338 www.vitroamerica.com
6 Wood’s Powr-Grip Co. Inc. 800/548-7341 406/628-8354 www.powrgrip.com
51 YKK America 800/955-9551 678/838-6099 www.ykkap.com
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Maybe they just felt that the greenmovement at the commercial buildingside of things needed them.”
“Kinda out of the goodness of theirhearts, Hill?”
“I don’t know, Mooch. Something hasto be motivating them to move into thecommercial side.”
“What do you think it might be,Hill?”
“I’m not sure. I mean, I’m all for theenvironmental stuff but I don’t honestlysee what the NFRC brings to the tableexcept another layer of redundancy andthe costs associated with it. I’m a littleconfused about the whole thing. Specif-ically, what will they really do that isn’talready being done or couldn’t be donemore efficiently and cost effectively bysomeone already in a position to doso?”
“Let me ask you something, Hill.Have you ever heard of IRS Form 990?”
“It sounds familiar. I think it’s the formthat not-for-profit organizations have tofile with the IRS each year, but I’m notgoing to tell you that I’ve ever seen one.”
“Well Hill, I’ve seen quite a few ofthem.”
“How do you get them? You don’tsteal them do you, Mooch?”
“No, no, no. You see, if an organiza-tion has a tax exempt status, their 990form is available to the public for re-view. You can get a 990 on any tax ex-empt organization and let me tell youHill, some of them make for some veryinteresting reading.”
“Really? So did you get one on theseguys?”
“Yes I did and it was pretty muchwhat I expected.”
“What do you mean, Mooch?”“They are a decent size business, Hill
and just like any other business. Theytake in money, give out contracts, spend
money on themselves and take prettygood care of their people. And theyseem to be doing quite well. Particularlyif you look at their cash position and in-vestment holdings. In fact, Hill, I thinkyou would be amazed at how wellthey’ve been doing.”
“So what are you saying here,Mooch?”
“I’m saying that, just like any otherbusiness that wants to sustain itself,they need to look for new things to do… new services to sell, and particularlyso if the stuff they used to do to earnmoney has started to dry up. And it re-ally doesn’t matter if what they do iswanted, useful or even needed. If theywant to keep the train rolling, they’vegot to look for new areas to go into.”
“So you don’t think it’s all about goinggreen, Mooch?”
“No, Hill, I do not. I think it’s actuallyall about going for the green.” ■
theBusinesscontinued from page 96
theBusiness
In the eyes of the world, Johnny “TheMooch” Rago would not be consid-ered a very bright guy. In fact, some
might even refer to him as somewhatdull. And certainly if we were to lookonly at his academic achievements ... orlack thereof ... we would have to con-clude that he might just be challengedintellectually. He was 16 years andseven months old when he graduatedfrom grammar school—the only grad-uate in the history of Irving Elementaryto legally drive himself to his own grad-uation ceremony. At the age of 19, hedropped out of high school. He was asecond semester freshman at the time.In spite of the shortcomings of his for-mal education he is, in many ways, avery intuitive, logical, sharp individual.And if we were to equate intelligence tocunning, shrewdness and perspicuity,we might even be inclined to think heis a genius of sorts.
It had been a little over a month sincewe last spoke and, during that conver-sation, I had promised The Mooch thatI would look into this National Fenes-tration Rating Council (NFRC) thingthat, for some unknown reason, hadcaught his attention. So it came as nosurprise when he called late one after-noon to see how I was doing with myinvestigation.
“Hill,” he began, “how goes the struggle?”
“It’s never easy, Mooch,” I answeredafter immediately recognizing his lowgravelly voice. “In fact, in some ways thestruggle gets a little rougher every day.And how goes it with you?”
“It’s okay, Hill, but I’m anxious to seehow you’re doing with your analysis.Have you reached any conclusions yet?”
“Well, to be honest with you, I prob-
ably have more questions than an-swers at this point. But I’ve gottatell you, Mooch, that I’m a littlepuzzled by your interest inall of this.”
“Hill, you shouldknow me well enoughby now to know that Iam a student of twothings and two thingsonly. The first is money... specifically, who hasit and how do I getsome of it? And secondly, I continue tobe interested in, andfascinated by, human nature.”
“OK, but like I said,this whole NFRC thingis puzzling and I’m struggling to makesense of it.”
“I’m not surprised that you’re strug-gling, Hill. In fact, I would be more sur-prised if you weren’t. So, I’ve been doinga bit of research on my own, but beforeI tell you what I’ve come up with, let mehear where you’re at with all of this.”
“It’s complicated, Mooch … at least atfirst glance. You see the NFRC was cre-ated about 17 years ago to develop a uni-form identification program that wouldhelp standardize and maybe even en-force energy requirements for residen-tial windows. All kinds of manufacturerswere making bogus energy claimsand there was mass confusion withregards to standards, complianceand ratings. The NFRC reallyhelped to clean up the mess. In fact,you could say these guys weremore or less at the forefront of the‘green movement.’”
“OK, then what?”
“Well, as time went by, theNFRC people apparently felt as
though they had conqueredthe residential side of the
window fenestrationindustry and so theydecided that theyshould maybe turntheir attention to thecommercial side of themarket. Perhaps theyfelt that the commer-cial side needed somehelp from them ingoing green.”
“Did anyone ask fortheir help?”
“That’s not realclear to me, Mooch. Ihave heard them
imply that the DOE had pushed themthat way but, you know, there’s alreadyall kinds of safeguards and verificationprocedures for the commercial side ofthe industry. I mean, the commercialside is much more formalized and thepermitting, sample and test submissionprocedures are already time-consum-ing, costly and cumbersome. I can seewhy the residential area needed somecleaning up, but there is a huge differ-ence between the residential and thecommercial fenestration businesses.
L y l e R . H i l l is presidentof MTH Industries of Chicago.Mr. Hill’s opinions are solelyhis own and not necessarilythose of this magazine.
96 USGlass, Metal & Glazing | June 2008 www.usglassmag.com
Going (for the) Green
b y L y l e R . H i l l
continued on page 95
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METAL & GLAZING
TemperTemper
One on OneWith TedHathaway
In many ways, Ted Hathaway is larger than life. The 53-year-old chief executive officer (CEO) of OldcastleGlass® has a reputation for getting results, eliciting stellar business performance, and making impeccableacquisition choices—all combined with a great appreciation for the artistry of design. He also has a repu-
tation as a “behind-the-scenes” person, who has never sought nor accepted the media spotlight. Were that spotlight to shine on him, however, it would cast an impressive shadow. Hathaway holds a master’s
degree in business administration with honors from Columbia University’s Business School and a bachelor’sdegree in economics from Connecticut College. He started his career as a commercial banker with BankersTrust and later worked for a leverage buyout firm. In 1987, he joined Oldcastle Inc.® as its vice president of de-velopment. Within three years, he led the $100 million acquisition of HGP Industries and Oldcastle Glass wasborn. During the next ten years, he added more than 25 companies to the mix in an acquisition frenzy that leftOldcastle one of the top glass fabricators in the country. Oldcastle Glass currently has 75 locations in 26 U.S.states and four Canadian provinces. It employs nearly 7,000 people. Today, Hathaway serves as CEO of Old-
castle Glass, having been promoted from chief operating officer in 2000. In addition to his work, Hathaway participates in many philanthropic ventures. He is
a member of the board of trustees of New York’s Museum of Arts and Design, which sitsdiagonally across from the company’s Manhattan offices. The newlyredesigned and renovated structure, to which Oldcastle Glass donatedmore than $1 million in glass, is scheduled to re-open inSeptember. Hathaway visits New York often, but makes his homein Pacific Palisades, Calif., where he is raising his two children.
Oldcastle Glass is owned by Oldcastle Inc., the North Americanarm of the Dublin-based CRH plc, one of the world’s
largest building products and materials companies.Oldcastle Inc. operations include more than 1,700locations in 50 states and four Canadian
provinces. Originally a reluctant inter-view subject, Hathaway was graciouswhen we sat down in early March totalk about his career, the industry andthe rapid growth he has led.
—Debra Levy
Talking ShopWith Ted Hathaway, CEO of Oldcastle Glass
Ted Hathaway in his New York offices with a scale modelof the renovated New York Museum of Arts and Designconstructed entirely of LEGOs®.
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© 2008 USGlass magazine. 540-720-5584 All rights reserved.
© 2008 USGlass magazine. 540-720-5584 All rights reserved.
Q: Let’s start at the beginning with yourname. Your actual given name is Edwin.And, unless I am missing something, Tedis not a normal derivative of Edwin. Isthere a story behind how that nicknamecame about?A: You would have to check with mymother. She has departed, though … Idon’t really know what the genesis ofthat was. It’s just a nickname.
Q: Then let’s talk about your youth. Iunderstand that you are Connecticut-born and bred. Where in Connecticut areyou from?A: I spent a fair bit of time in Westport,but was born in Waterbury. I spent myformative years in Watertown.
Q: And then you went to school here [inNew York City], correct?A: I went to undergraduate school inConnecticut, and then I went on to getmy MBA from Columbia Universityhere in New York.
Q: I understand that you went intobanking after that.A: Yes, I started out as a commerciallending officer for Bankers Trust Com-pany. I went through its credit-trainingprogram where they hired a group oftrainees and paid us full salaries to goback to school. So, we all spent a yeardown at One Bankers Trust Plaza, whichis now the Deutsche Bank Building thatwas damaged in the 9/11 attack.
Q: So Bankers Trust paid you to go backto school?A: Well, they brought in a group ofbusiness school professors to teach usbusiness and credit analysis. So, we allgot paid gargantuan salaries basicallyto study for a year. And then, when yougraduated from the program, you wereplaced within various departments of
the bank. It was their effort to groomand train people.
Q: I don’t know of too many people whohave made a jump from banking back tothe private sector. That’s rather atypical.There must have been some impetus toincite you to move. Was there somethingthat told you banking was not for you?A: Well, I wanted an MBA; the bankprovided me with a leave of absence,provided me with benefit continuanceand allowed all my retirement plans tocontinue in full force. So I went back toColumbia. In the course of going therefor two years, I decided to explore otheraspects of finance. So I left BankersTrust and joined what was called, inthose days, a leverage buy-out firm.Today, they are referred to as private eq-uity firms. Then I spent a couple ofyears there doing deals.
Q: Were you there through the whole“Barbarians at the Gate” era?A: Yes, through that and Gibson Greet-ing and a number of other high-profiledeals, but we ourselves didn’t do thehigh-profile deals. We did the simplerdeals. That’s where I became intriguedwith the idea of doing acquisitions. I haddone a number of acquisitions and wassort of part of the senior team. Fromthere, I moved to the West Coast in 1986.
Q: What led you to make that move?A: Just a change. I wanted a change ofpace and wanted to try a different partof the country.
Q: You couldn’t get a much more differ-ent pace than going from New York toCalifornia. Did you have culture shockwhen you first got there?A: Well, I did, actually. A lot of my NewYork friends were concerned that Iwould stop reading books and …
Q: … go look at the water every day?A: There was a sense (there probablystill is somewhat) that people on theWest Coast are not as literate or as in-tellectually curious as they are in theEast. It’s not true, by the way. But whenI sent my friends a change of address,a lot of them wrote back and told meto keep reading books. But you know,if you grow up on the East Coast andthen you go to the West Coast, it’s avery different environment. It’s a freerenvironment and it is a more entre-preneurial environment in some re-spects. Nowadays so many NewYorkers are there, it’s probably thesame environment.
So, I moved to the West Coast in 1986,and I actually worked for a New YorkStock Exchange company that was try-ing to diversify its product line. It’s acompany called Kerr Glass, probablybest known for its home canning prod-ucts. It actually had a dominant posi-tion in the market of glass containersused for food products.
Q: Did you work directly for Kerr?A: I went to work for the CEO and wasgiven the task of identifying diversifi-cation opportunities in packaging. Myfirst idea came about while I was walk-ing up and down the aisle of a nearbygrocery store looking for food productsthat were packaged in plastic. I cameacross Mott’s Applesauce, and I turnedthe package over and it said “RampartPackaging.” At that time, chemistry waschanging and you could package foodin what was called barrier plastics. Bar-rier plastics prevented oxygen from de-fusing through the plastic and causingbacteria to grow. This was a novel prod-uct. I mean, we are talking the 1980s.
So, I went and visited Rampart Pack-aging, which was based in Williams-burg, Va. We were able to make a
© 2008 USGlass magazine. 540-720-5584 All rights reserved.
connection. We had had a tremendousrelationship with Kraft and a numberof other food companies, and now herewas this small fledgling company out ofWilliamsburg, Va., trying to make itsway on its own. We had a very good ini-tial meeting, and when I asked theirCEO if we could pursue this, he pausedand said, ‘Well, I need to talk to our par-ent company.’ I said, ‘Well, I didn’t no-tice on the D&B that you had a parentcompany,’ and he said, ‘Well, we do.’ AndI asked, ‘Who might that be?’ and hesaid, ‘It’s Shell Oil.’
Q: Quite a surprise, I’m sure.A: So, we actually had some very high-level discussions with Shell Oil to see ifthere might be any opportunity to do ajoint venture. Those discussions didn’treally lead into anything, but after thatexperience I decided I needed to lookfor something more active. I moved onfrom Kerr to Oldcastle Inc.
Q: When was that?A: In October of 1987. I have been atOldcastle now for some 20 years.
Q: Oldcastle Glass originally was a looseconglomerate of HGP locations at thatpoint, wasn’t it?A: Actually Oldcastle Glass didn’t existin 1987. Oldcastle was then (and still is)a wholly owned subsidiary of CRH. Itwas very modest in its scale and scope.It was focused principally on what wewould call heavy-side construction ma-terials—aggregates and asphalt andconcrete products.
Q: So in what capacity did you go towork for Oldcastle Inc.?A: Doing acquisitions.
Q: Were you reporting to a managementteam here in the States, or were you re-porting straight to Dublin?A: I was working for the CEO of NorthAmerica, a gentleman named DonGodson. I suppose my first significantdeal was the acquisition of HGP Indus-tries, which we closed on April 4, 1990.Oldcastle Inc. became interested in the
glass business because we had an op-portunity to buy a company up inEverett, Wash., called O&W Glass.
Q: Oh, sure, I remember them.A: O&W Glass was founded by JohnSchack. Schack had already sold Old-castle Inc. a number of precast busi-nesses. In fact, in the 1970s, he had soldOldcastle Inc. a company called UtilityVault. And then, in the ’80s, he wasbored and he decided to start up a glassfabrication plant in Everett, Wash. Afterhe got it up and running, and after it washighly profitable, he contacted us.
He wanted to sell it to us. I was askedto go and evaluate the deal. I was in-trigued with the glass business. It’s a lit-tle more dynamic than the aggregatesbusiness just because it has morebreadth in terms of competitors.
Q: It definitely has more characters, Iwould imagine.A: It’s just different, not better, just dif-ferent. And so, after having consum-mated the O&W acquisition on behalfof Oldcastle, I was intrigued with theglass business and, through a networkof business brokers, we became awareof HGP Industries. That was the deal Iput my heart and soul into in 1989.
Q: When you are doing an acquisition,do you get totally focused and driven tothe point where you can’t focus on any-thing else until it’s done?A: I think you do get focused, yes. Youcan get preoccupied to a degree, becauseit’s an opportunity to grow your busi-ness strategically and because not all ac-quisitions are the same. So when youfind one you like, you want to consum-mate it, you want to do everything youcan, within reason, to make sure you areable to secure it and make it a success.
Q: It must feel wonderful; it must feellike winning the World Series when youfinally close the deal.A: Actually, it feels terrible. No, it does-n’t feel terrible. Strike that. It’s easy toget the deal done; it’s a lot harder to in-tegrate it and to honor the promises you
have made to the board of directors interms of a return on investment.
Really, the hard work begins the daythat you close the deal when you actu-ally own it.
Q: So, it’s almost like the candidate whowins an election and turns to his staffand says “now what do we do?”A: In a positive way, yes. It’s not a drag.The real hard work is not necessarilygetting the deal done as much as it ismaking the deal a success.
Q: Are there a couple [of deals] thathave gotten away that you wish hadn’tover the years? Do you look back and say‘well gee, I wish we’d gotten that one?’A: Very few actually. And the few thathave gotten away, in hindsight, havebeen … I guess the phrase “when Irisheyes are smiling” might be applicable.Sometimes it’s knowing when not to doa deal even though it looks attractive, oreven when it may have a strategic fit,that’s just as important as knowingwhen to do one. We have had severaldeals that have gone all the way downto the eleventh hour, that were submit-ted to the board and approved by theboard but, in the eleventh hour, some-thing came up that gave us pause andwe backed away. In some instances,some of the sellers decided they didn’twant to sell. For a transaction to work,both parties have to want it to work. Ifsomebody changes his mind, be itbuyer or seller, there is no harm and nofoul in saying “I changed my mind.”
Q: That’s interesting because I talked toa lot people in preparation for this inter-view and a common theme I heard overand over again was that “Ted will tellyou he doesn’t know glass.” But don’t youhave to know an awful lot about theglass business to pick off the companiesthat you have? I think it’s pretty commonknowledge in the industry that most peo-ple are extremely impressed with thequality of the companies that have beenacquired by Oldcastle Glass.A: [Laughing] Well, first of all, I knowa fair bit about glass …
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Q: Okay, good, we can dispel that myth.A: Obviously, if you look at our strat-egy, it’s not all that complicated. Wetried to identify the best acquisitions inmarkets where we didn’t have the pres-ence. Let’s start from the beginningwith HGP. HGP had roughly ten loca-tions, sales of about $75 million a year.And it became a cornerstone, a plat-form, for our growth. It was a radicaldeparture for Oldcastle Inc. and CRHbecause it was a building product thatwas very different from anything theyhad contemplated.
Q: And I’m surprised to see that Old-castle Inc. really doesn’t have glass hold-ings in other countries. Is there a reasonfor that?A: It’s not for lack of interest. But thestructure of the industry is very differentin other countries. In Europe it’s prettymuch downstream, all the way through.
Q: There is a lot of speculation aboutwhether or not Oldcastle Glass either willmove up to float manufacturing, or downtoward actual installation in the future.A: Well, I think both of those are non-starters for us. We have no interest inbeing a float glass manufacturer. I thinkpart of the strategy is, as Porter wouldsay, knowing what to do and what notto do. And our core competence, for lackof a better word, is what we do today. Itisn’t to get into float glass manufactur-ing. There are quite a few capable and
very successful companies that are verygood at manufacturing float glass. Wewould not see that as a logical nor plau-sible strategic direction for us. And, toanswer the other question, movingdownstream, we have no interest indoing that. We are very happy with theposition we are in today.
I think we offer a unique culturewhere you can sell your business andstill have an opportunity to run yourbusiness. I mean, one of our first ac-quisitions after HGP was a company upin Vancouver, Wash., called UnitedTempering Systems. It had been startedby some of the former shareholders ofHunter Glass, Jack Hunter’s business, inOklahoma. When we acquired UnitedTempering Systems in November of1990, Jim Avanzini, who was a princi-ple in that business, joined us. He hascontinued to stay with us. Today, he’sone of my senior team members. He’s agroup president.
Now at the time of sale, Jim was oneof five shareholders of United Temper-ing Systems. So he easily could havetaken his chips and gone somewhereelse. He decided to stay. I’d say hestayed for the past 20 years because heenjoys his work and he’s enjoyed beingpart of our management team. We area different type of acquirer. We providea different culture and a different en-vironment for people. And I thinkthat’s why we have been so successful.
The other side of it is that every timeyou buy a business, you learn thingsthat you didn’t know. And even in ourmost recent glass acquisition in 2004—we bought The Floral Group—not onlydid we get a great business, but wefound some things that Chuck Ka-planek was doing particularly well. Wenow have incorporated these through-out the organization … so, the doorswings both ways. That’s been one ofthe keys to our success.
Q: Are there any more quality acquisi-tion targets left out there in the glassarena?A: I think there are a few.
Q: Just a few?A: There are a couple that do a great job,have great customers, have a great repu-tation and would complement our ge-ography. I don’t think we are going to doanything in Montana in the near future,but I wouldn’t be surprised if, depend-ing on the opportunity, we would con-tinue to grow through an acquisition inglass in major metropolitan markets.
Q: Do you feel the same way aboutmetals?A: Well, I think there is a huge potentialfor us in aluminum glazing systems, ab-solutely. Yes.
Q: Can you tell me a little bit about theVistawall deal? It was just so brilliant,our readers would enjoy knowing howthat was put together.A: We had Vistawall on our acquisitionlist for years. In April 2006, I wrote a let-ter to Lance Hockridge, who was theCEO of North America [for BlueScope]. Ijust wanted to meet him and get to knowhim and discuss if there was any oppor-tunity to consider Vistawall’s divestiture,and so we had a couple of meetings. InDecember of that year, we were notifiedthat the business was going to be di-vested and it was going to be handled byan investment banker, so it was a com-petitive auction. There were quite a fewbidders; it was hotly contested. It was avery, very desirable piece of business,and there were many prospective buyers.
Q: And you won.A: We persevered. Vistawall is a phe-nomenal business. It’s got great people.It’s got a national footprint. If you liketo look at the map [unfurls a map of
There are quite a few capable and very successful companies that are very good at
manufacturing float glass. We would not see that as a logical nor plausible strategic direction for us.
© 2008 USGlass magazine. 540-720-5584 All rights reserved.
Oldcastle Glass and Vistawall locations],you’ll see it gave us the ability to reallytouch every customer in every metro-politan statistical area in North Amer-ica. HGP was the cornerstone of ourarchitectural glass strategy. In a similarsense, Vistawall becomes the corner-stone of our architectural aluminumglazing system strategy.
Q: How is the integration going?A: Excellent, excellent. A lot of the inte-gration is underway. The Vistawall acqui-sition performed brilliantly in its first sixmonths. They are an exceptional group ofmanagers who knowtheir business very,very well. What’s ex-citing for us is thesynergies that we havediscovered. There aresome additional, whatI call “knock-on synergies,” which arevery, very exciting.
Q: Any you would want to share?A: Well, I think people make it happen.If you look at the map, you’ll see theVistawall locations and the glass loca-tions. It looks like someone was fol-lowing someone else around thecountry. We really have tremendouslocal connections.
Q: That begs this question: do you fore-see a day when your glass and metal op-erations are located in the same place?A: Not really, no. I think they are verydifferent businesses with very differentprocesses. I think it would be a mistaketo put them together. The Vistawall or-ganization is very, very good at archi-tectural aluminum systems, bothmanufacturing them and selling them.And the glass folks are very, very goodat service and processing and manu-facturing architectural glass products.Many times companies think youshould put them all together, but theyhave different personalities, and they dobetter working cooperatively.
Q: So many other people would say, ‘Forthe sake of economy and efficiency, we
have got to put these together,’ but that’sprobably been part of what’s made Old-castle what it is, just the acknowledgmentthat ‘hey, they are different businesses andthey need to stay separate.’A: Years ago, before we bought HGP, afriend introduced me to Jim Martineau.Jim was, and continues to be, a vision-ary. I continue to be a huge fan of Jimand his vision. And Jim started anamazing company called Viracon. Hehad a vision and he had a purpose andhe was extraordinarily successful in hisday. Everybody is trying to strengthenthe industry and make it more success-
ful; make it more meaningful. I have theutmost respect for what Jim did withViracon … it’s a similar model.
Q: I know you have developed a propri-etary glass jointly with PPG …A: Our proprietary product is calledSunGlass™, yes.
Q: Such proprietary development is avery unusual strategy. Can you explainto me the reasons for providing suchproducts?A: We are a very, very compelling chan-nel partner. People recognize that. Theysee value in partnering with us, and Iuse the word “partner” in a very limitedway. Anything we have done with ourstrategic suppliers, we have done on avery limited basis.
We launched a product years agocalled StormGlass™ and that was a part-nership with a supplier that provided uswith an interlayer. This allowed us tomanufacture the best hurricane producton the market at the time. Now, we did-n’t have an exclusive arrangement for-ever. We had a limited period ofexclusivity and then others in the indus-try were permitted to buy that product.
We are just interested in differentiat-ing ourselves. Where we can find an op-
portunity to work with a supplier thatis interested in leveraging our channel,it’s a win-win. When Apple launchediPhone, it had to choose a serviceprovider. It chose Cingular/AT&T. Applewas looking for the best partner tolaunch its product. It’s analogous towhat we try to suggest to our suppli-ers—that they should look at us a littledifferently because we have a nationalfootprint in both architectural glassand aluminum glazing systems.
Q: Would it be accurate to expect Old-castle to have a heavy acquisition curve
in metals for the nextthree to five years?A: It’s our number-one focus right now,to continue to look forcomplementary com-panies that we can
bolt on—that are either complemen-tary from a geographical or productpoint of view.
Q: And by bolt on, you mean you canjust attach them to the existing business?A: It’s not quite that simple. The conceptis that they fit within. For example, webought a business called Southwest Alu-minum Systems in Chandler, Ariz., in2003. That business is now going to be-come part of Vistawall, and the gentle-man running that operation fits naturallywithin the Vistawall management team.
Q: The Antamex acquisition was con-sidered an outstanding move. Can youexplain how that came about? A: Well, the Antamex acquisition wasto give us a leading position in curtain-wall design and engineering becausethat’s where we would like to make ourmark as innovators. So Antamex is partof that strategy.
Q: Have you noticed how Apogee seemsto be following Oldcastle’s lead ... in thecase of their recent acquisition of Tubelite?A: I don’t know if you can say they arefollowing or leading. I have a great deal ofrespect for Apogee and for Russ Huffer’sleadership. You know, they had a presence
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I’m not saying that if you are a small player, you can’t survive. If
you’re knowledgeable and smart, and you know your cost, you can survive.
in architectural windows well before us.They had a presence in finishing—theLinetec operation—before us. Obviously,Viracon is a major player in architecturalglass, so I’m not sure whether they are fol-lowing or leading. I do think everybodyis trying to figure out how to approachthe next decade, though.
Q: Do you think it’s possible for the fewindependent glass fabricators and the re-gionalized aluminum supplier to sur-vive? It’s gotten tougher for thoseindependents to exist. What kind of ad-vice would you give them?A: Anybody who runs his or her busi-ness smartly will survive. We are all in-terested in making a profit, and if wedon’t make a profit … we suffer the con-sequence—which ultimately is bank-ruptcy. There are a few companies thatwill suffer this outcome this year; somesuffered it last year. I suspect this yearwill present new challenges to peoplewho aren’t focused on making a profit.
I’m not saying that if you are a smallplayer, you can’t survive. If you’reknowledgeable and smart, and youknow your cost, you can survive. Therestill are massive numbers of independ-ent glass fabricators today. And thosenumbers have grown over the years. Butpeople who try to be all things to allpeople, in any industry, in any con-struction business, suffer from a lack offocus and a lack of purpose.
I would tell people that, if they wantto stay independent, there is nothingwrong with that. This industry is popu-lated with very good competitors. Thebetter the competition is, the morechallenging it is for us to get better, andI think that’s a healthy environment. So,I don’t see this necessarily as a wave ofconsolidation that will keep independ-ents from being able to survive. I thinkindependents are an important part ofthe fabric of our industry.
Q: I’m going to ask you about the rela-tionship with CRH. Are there any chal-lenges that are unusual, working as aU.S.-based company for a publicly heldIrish-based company?
A: I don’t feel comfortable answeringthose types of questions. I think that’smore of an internal matter and I justdon’t think it would be appropriate for meto respond. So I’d prefer not to answer.
Q: Okay, let’s switch back to glass andmetal. I’m wondering where you thinkthe next big “plastic applesauce packag-ing” is going to come from in the con-struction industry?A: Oh, well, I think the overriding focusis on the lack of productivity in con-struction today. Some of our preliminaryresearch suggests that construction is ac-tually less productive today than it wassome 10 or 15 years ago. And so I thinkthere’s a huge opportunity for OldcastleGlass to change the roles in the industryby enabling it to become more efficientand more productive.
Q: It will be exciting to watch for thosethings. Can you give our readers an ideaof what new products will be introducedin the near future?A: If you take a look at sustainability,which is obviously the buzz word, cer-tainly LEED is representative of that, al-though it doesn’t go far enough. You willfind Oldcastle innovating in both mar-ket and product. We are very much fo-cused, for example, on solar, as is
everyone. But I think we have a uniqueopportunity to do something very dif-ferent with solar.
Q: Everybody defines “solar” a little bit dif-ferently. Can you give me your definition?A: Well, I think first of all, you need tostart with the knowledge that commer-cial office buildings have the largestcarbon footprint. They consumeroughly 75 percent of the electrical out-put in North America. And they do sobecause you and I get up every day andgo to work in an office building, unlesswe work at home. If you are trying toaddress sustainability, you need tofocus on the office structures wherepeople tend to work. And those work-ers consume a vast amount of electric-ity, not through the ambient lighting,but through the utilization of heatingand cooling. If you can come up with asolution to make office buildings trulysustainable, as opposed to just talkingabout LEED, then transformativechange takes place. Then you really getto do something that’s noble, construc-tive and adds value to the world as op-posed to adding just to your individualprofit-and-loss statements. To me, thisis the best ultimate solution for our CO2problems. If you look at the BTU equa-tion on ethanol, it’s a bit mind-boggling
Oldcastle and Vistawall Locations
The white dots represent Oldcastle Glass locations. Theblack dots represent Oldcastle Glass Engineered Products(which includes some of the Vistawall locations).
© 2008 USGlass magazine. 540-720-5584 All rights reserved.
© 2008 USGlass magazine. 540-720-5584 All rights reserved.
that we are growing corn, to fermentcorn into alcohol to put it into cars toextend the gasoline.
The sun is the only truly sustainablesource of energy. It has no C02 issues. Upuntil this point, our industry has beentotally focused on blocking or banningor harnessing the sun. So, you havePPG’s product, Solarban®, there is Sun-Guard®, which is Guardian’s product,and with both of them you are trying toblock the infrared heat,
And really when you talk aboutsolar, you are trying to capture andharvest the sun’s energyin a productive way bycreating electricity …The best thing aboutsolar is that every powergrid has the same chal-lenge: how to handlepeak load. Peak load typically occurswhen you have very, very hot, sunnydays. It’s a direct result of the sun’sbright, brilliant sunshine beatingdown on buildings. To the extent thatyou can use the sun’s energy to gen-erate electricity, it’s a very comple-mentary opportunity.
Q: Are you doing research on thisright now?A: We are beyond research, we are ac-tually going to be announcing a newproduct very soon. That’s the result ofhaving more than 120 curtainwall en-gineers working.
Q: I am sensing that that’s the fun of it.A: I think the fun of it is just findingways to grow successfully. There’s a greatgroup of people at Oldcastle Glass andwatching those people realize their aspi-rations is actually the most fun for me.
Q: I have noticed, too, that a number ofwell-respected people, such as Mary CarolWitry, have come to work for you. It seemsyou’ve been able to pick up a number ofgood people through acquisition.A: One of the best measures of yoursuccess as a company is whether or notyou are the most desirable employer inthe field.
Q: That’s a good yardstick for companiesto use. But by what measure do you con-sider yourself successful? What yardsticksdo you measure yourself against?A: To be successful you must be de-livering a return on investment toyour shareholders. We have, and areproud of, our very, very strong re-turns. We have invested the capitalprovided to us wisely. We are provid-ing great careers for our people, andwe are enabling our people to realizetheir aspirations. I could give you adozen people in the organization who
started at an entry-level position, andtoday are running very, very success-ful businesses.
Roy Orr who joined us in 1987 as ahand cutter in our Shawnee (Okla.) lo-cation is one such example. He cameout of a business he had owned andsold, and he joined us just, I guess, togive it a shot. Today, Roy is one of ourgroup presidents. To me, that’s whatmakes it a lot of fun—seeing peoplelike Roy Orr and others who can startat a very low level and rise to the top.
Q: One of the raps you get from some ofyour competitors is that Oldcastle Glassitself is in businesses that compete withits customers. Do you feel that that’s afair statement? A: Well, I’m a little reluctant to respondto it because I really don’t want to com-ment on that.
Q: Okay then, let’s move on. What doyou see as some of the biggest threats tothe glass and metal industry? Whatkinds of things keep you up nights?A: China will continue to be an in-creasingly formidable competitivethreat. We are already seeing that, obvi-ously, in furniture. All the glass used infurniture is being manufactured andfabricated in China. Standard-sized
products, such as French doors, arecoming to the United States with pre-glazed doorlites. Anything that is a stan-dard size, such as a tabletop or a pieceof furniture glass, is going to come fromChina. In fact, the Chinese are now be-ginning to try to supply both glass andcurtainwall. These are major productsin North America, and I think this is ahuge threat to the industry. If we are notcareful, we will pay a huge price.
Q: It’s always interesting to me how youcan watch the specs for a job come out and
they are so tight …tight performance,MBE, LEED, etc.,local ownership de-sired, tightly honedsafety plans andgreen plans and
then a municipality turns around anduses Chinese curtainwall … A: Well, I think the question is one ofwarranties. Will that firm be the nextInterpane? Anyone who has boughtglass from Interpane and is now deal-ing with the consequences of warrantyclaims and matching coatings or colorsunderstands this. If you are a buildingowner or developer you have to askyourself if you want to invest in a cur-tainwall that is fabricated and manu-factured from a supplier with whomyou do not have a relationship.
Curtainwall is one of the critical com-ponents of a building. It does muchmore than just close the building enve-lope. It is involved with every aspect ofperformance—wind, rain and so forth.You may buy based on price, but youwill be getting what you pay for. Fewbuilding owners want to deal with acurtainwall issue five years after theyhave gotten their certificate of occu-pancy. People need to be very, veryaware of the decisions they are making.They need to ask themselves if they aregoing to have a long-term relationshipwith a company, or are they just goingto make their purchases a la carte, savea dollar or two and then wake up in acouple of years with a product per-formance question.
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Until China begins to consume its own manufacturing capacity,
I think China will continue to export a vast quantity of material.
© 2008 USGlass magazine. 540-720-5584 All rights reserved.
Q: From what you are saying—and Ihear this from other sources too—themanufacture of standardized products ismoving offshore while custom productmanufacturing will remain here.A: Anything that’s standardized, in a di-mensional sense, is going to come fromthe lowest-cost producer. Until Chinabegins to consume its own manufactur-ing capacity, I think China will continueto export a vast quantity of material.
Q: How do you work with building own-ers to educate them about this? The glassguys and the metal guys understand it. It’sthe building owners who are saying, ‘Hey,it’s $4 less a square foot if I buy it there.’A: Everybody has to make their ownassessments, do their own homework.People just need to be very carefulabout how they come to their conclu-sions, that’s all. It’s up to the individualbuying the product to make the pur-chasing decision. There is price andthere is service and then there is who isgoing to be there for the long haul.
Q: Is there anything else you perceive asa threat on an industry-wide basis?A: Virtually every product that we, asan industry, manufacture has a signifi-cant raw material cost. We are now feel-ing the impact of 100+ dollar-a-barreloil on laminated glass, because PVBand other interlayers are manufacturedfrom feedstocks that are oil-related.Aluminum, too, is a global commodityand if the price of aluminum goes upand people choose not to pass that coston, I think that’s a threat.
Input cost inflation is a threat to theindustry. I don’t think any of us want toend up like Eastern Airlines or PanAm,where their inability to pass along costled to their demise. Every industry hasto be able to pass increases in costs alongto its customers or it doesn’t survive.
Q: There is a lot of discussion, especiallyin our pages, about that and why it is sodifficult to do. A number of manufactur-ers, including Oldcastle Glass, do have fuelsurcharges. There is some spirited debatein USGlass about this. Some people say
‘hey, we understand we have to pay forthis, but call it a price increase, as op-posed to the fuel surcharge.’ Do youhave any feelings on that either way?A: Many industries are very suc-cessful at managing their fuel sur-charges and their prices. FederalExpress and Airborne and United Par-cel Service all have such a bifurcatedpricing structure. They have a fuel sur-charge that fluctuates with market pric-ing and, every so often, they announcean industry-wide price increase. I thinkit’s important to be able to recoup yourcosts. Anybody in business today under-stands that. And anybody who isn’t pay-ing attention to his costs isn’t running abusiness well. If you can’t manage yourcosts, I don’t think you can manage, pe-riod. People who can’t manage theircosts ultimately go bankrupt.
One major threat in an industrysuch as ours that’s subject to inflation forfloat glass, for sealants, for insulatingglass, aluminum extrusions that are usedto make insulating glass, as well as alu-minum extrusions that are used to makecurtainwalls, is that all those are tiedback to a market price for raw material.And if we are entering an inflationaryperiod, which I think we are, there won’tbe many people left standing if peopledon’t pay attention to their costs.
Q: Just a few more question, if youdon’t mind. If you were me, what ques-tions should I be asking you that Ihaven’t already?A: Oh, that’s so unfair. Well, I think themost important new notion out there isBIM (building information modeling).
It will be transformative, much as Au-toCAD® transformed architecture,much as Catia transformed aerospace.(Editor’s note: Catia is a three-dimen-sional software platform that is used byBoeing and Airbus to design and engi-neer airplanes. It also has some appli-cations in the building industry.)
The building construction industry islagging behind in terms of technologyand innovation. There are a number ofreasons for this. First of all, it’s highlyfragmented, and second, it’s difficult to
make the change. It’s difficult to moveeverybody in a common direction toachieve efficiency. I think BIM is vital. Itwill produce significant efficiencies forall participants in the industry and sep-arate the men from the boys.
Certainly solar is hot, and it’s proba-bly over-indulged but just like architec-ture, it has taken a dramatic change.Some of the standard rules of the roadare changing.
Q: What are you doing to get ready forthe BIM revolution?A: I have a task force on it and we havesome plans. It’s the number-one strate-gic focus for our organization.
We have a global society and every-body has languages, right? How manydifferent languages are there on theplanet earth? There is one language thatis universal. Math is a universal languageand that enables technology to advancebecause everybody is speaking from acommon point of reference. Whether youare from Asia, from Europe, the Far East,math is a universal language. Think
The radiometer pictured here is usedto demonstrate the solar heat that isreflected by different glass types.
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A fter a $90 million construction project, NewYork’s new Museum of Arts and Design is setto open to the public in September. Located
at the southwest corner of Central Park, the trans-formed 54,000-square-foot building at 2 ColumbusCircle is expected to serve more than 500,000 mu-seum visitors each year.
The new building increases the museum’s total areaby threefold and will double the gallery space available.
The building, designed by Allied Works Architecturein Portland, Ore., and New York, dramatically opens upwhat was once a nearly windowless building to bringnatural light into the gallery and allow visitors expan-sive views of the city. According to information from themuseum, a series of three separate 30-inch “cuts,”each one a continuous line fitted with Oldcastle Glass’stransparent and fritted glass, weave across the build-ing’s facade to create a light-filled, cantilevered struc-ture. These bands of glass continue inside the buildingacross the floors, ceilings and walls of each of the build-ing’s 12 floors to provide a visual connection amongthe galleries. The building’s façade is clad with 22,000custom-made 30- by 6-inch terracotta tiles finished in apale iridescent glaze that changes with the time of dayand point of view. The use of glass and ceramic on theoutside is intended to complement two materials thatfigure prominently in the museum’s collection.
The Museum of Arts and Design—formerly theAmerican Craft Museum—focuses on the materialsand processes used by practitioners in the fields ofcraft, art and design, as well as architecture, fash-ion, interior design, technology, performing arts andart- and design-driven industries. It is dedicated tothe collection and exhibition of contemporary objectscreated in media such as glass, metal, clay, woodand fiber, and hosts a permanent collection of morethan 2,000 objects that document the history of thefield from the mid-20th century to the present.
The museum places an emphasis on the essen-tials that link all of the creative arts: materials, tech-niques and the artist’s engagement with process.Through its collections, exhibitions and educationalprograms, the museum encourages awareness andappreciation of art, craft and design in daily life.
Oldcastle Glass Supplies its Touch to the N.Y. Museum of Arts and Design
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© 2008 USGlass magazine. 540-720-5584 All rights reserved.
about how you make the construction ofa structure more efficient. You take costout, and you accelerate the time it takesto build a building. In other words, youmake it go up quicker.
The residential arena has had a con-solidation of builders who used bestpractice to improve the efficiency ofhome building. Today you have a half-dozen or so major building players thatcontrol 80 percent of the market rightnow. Tremendous efficiencies in resi-dential homebuilding have beenachieved over the last decade that don’tshow up in commercial market.
Q: Yet.A: Yet. Exactly.
Q: If you weren’t doing what you aredoing today, what do you think youwould be doing?
A—Well, I don’t have an answer tothat because I love what I’m doing. Inever think about what I might bedoing because I love what I do.
Q: I got the sense from my reading thatyou could actually be a designer or anarchitect in a different time …A: That’s unlikely. I have no flare fordrawing. I can’t read a set of drawings.I cannot, for love or money, look at a setof drawings and read them. I’d be in apeople business though. As it’s says onour website, the most important assetyou have is your intellectual capital. Itis the people who make it successful,not the equipment, not the products.Certainly, the customers help, but it’sthe people who are your key.
Q: You know, people in your companyspeak so highly of you, but I also occasion-ally detect a bit of fear there as well …A: Fear?
Q: Fear, yes. I don’t know whether it’s justtypical fear of the “big boss,” or whetherit’s something more than that. From yourreaction I would guess you never get thatfeeling from people, though.A: I like to be perceived as demandingbut fair. And this is a meritocracy. In
our businesses, performance is trans-parent. I don’t want anybody to beafraid. I think that’s a bad thing. Peopledo have to understand it’s a very, verycompetitive world today. And ten yearsago, markets, products were easier. Inevery industry known to man, it getstougher and tougher.
Q: Do you have any reactions, com-ments or thoughts about the price-fixinglawsuits that are being promulgatedagainst the manufacturers right now?A: I have no comment whatsoever onthat.
Q: In preparation for this interview, Iasked a number of people to give methree words to describe you. The wordphilanthropic came up very high on thelist. So I know that you do a lot of goodworks out there and are involved in anumber of interesting projects. Can yougive me an overview of some of them?A: Our hallmark in New York is to do-nate all the glass on this museum [theMuseum of Art and Design]. We werethe lead sponsor of the Zaha Hadid ex-hibition two years ago at the Guggen-heim. We sponsored a Columbia Schoolof Architecture symposium on glass aswell. So we are very interested in pro-moting architecture and the technologyused in architecture. Wherever we seean opportunity to sponsor somethingin that arena, we will write the check.
Q: And you are also involved in thePhilp Johnson “Glass House”?A: Yes, we are sponsoring what we call“conversations.” We host symposiums.Small groups from the elite of the archi-tectural community are provided withhousing and food and they have discussand debate major global issues aboutarchitecture or planning or urban de-sign. We are underwriting that. We thinkit is very important to encourage dis-course … we are trying to give back alittle bit to the architectural community.
Q: That’s going to be a beautiful build-ing over there (pointing to the Museumof Arts and Design under construction).
I read an interesting story about how yougot involved.A: I’m on the board, so obviously youhave to be careful because I am biased.What fascinates me about this museumis there are going to be four actualartists studios where artists are goingto be in-situ doing their crafts—glassblowing or working with various mate-rials. The museum is going to have aunique place for people to actuallywatch and observe the craft or the artor the design being produced. It’s goingto open in September of this year.
Q: I know you have two children. Whatkinds of things do you like to do for fun,or do you have time for fun?A: I spend a lot of time on my children.I have custody of my children on anevery-other-week basis. So, when I amwith my kids, I’m a full-time dad. Mydaughter is fifteen and my son is thir-teen. They are busy. They keep me busy.
Q: Do you have any hobbies outside?Are you a golfer?A: I’m a leisure golfer. There was an ar-ticle in the New York Times recentlyabout the dirge of golf courses becausepeople just don’t have the time to spendthere. I don’t. So, I read whenever I can,principally biographies.
Q: Are you in the middle of one rightnow, or have you just finished one?A: I just finished the Mayflower book,and it was a bit dry. Because I travel a lot,for me, a quiet weekend with my childrenat home is as enjoyable as any hobby. Myson likes to hike a lot. We do a fair bit ofhiking. And my daughter is a teenager …
But listen, there is just not that muchtime anymore. I’m also in New York alot because there is a plethora of archi-tects, developers and curtainwall con-sultants. The reason we have an officehere is because this is where a numberof the decision-makers are. You learn alot by listening to your customer.
Q: Great line to end with. Thank you foryour time.A: Thank you. ■
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From Silica to SidingGlass Fabrication and Glazing Educational Conference Covered the Gamut of Glass Knowledge Megan Headley, Ellen Rogers, Drew Vass and Debra Levy all contributed to this report
The Glass Fabrication andGlazing Educational Confer-ence seminars opened to fullcrowds at the Monte Carlo in
Las Vegas this April. The event, spon-sored by the Glass Association ofNorth America (GANA), was designedto educate individuals who have fewerthan five years of experience in the industry.
As there’s always something new tolearn, the conference featured twojoint sessions each day that providedinformation on glass handling, glassproduction and trends in glass usage.To start in the beginning, from thetrends pushing glass usage, throughproduction and installation, read on.But if your interests are more specific,choose your own track: fabrication in-formation is below or skip ahead formore on glazing education.
Give an Architect A Lite and He’s Going to Want It Coated …
Glass, glass and more glass. Whilethat might describe the overall themeof the conference, it also describes oneof the trends Don McCann of Viraconpointed out in his seminar “ChangingTrends in Glass Uses.”
“We’re starting to see more floor toceiling glass,” McCann said. And onthat glass, architects are demandinghigh-performance coatings. He notedthat more hybrid materials are beingused to get the best of all perform-ance features, from high visible lighttransmittance (VLT) to low U-valuesand more.
High VLT in particular has becomemuch in demand. And, McCann said,“That’s one of the hardest things toget an architect off of.” Not to per-
suade architects awayfrom letting in morelight—but educatingthem about what high VLTreally means in a buildingand how a combination ofcoatings can create a roomthat has lots of visibilityand is still comfortable.
In addition, McCannsaid that he has seen morearchitects push for low U-values, which he expectswill be obtained throughmore demand for gas fill-ing in insulating glassunits. “Gas filling is goingto start becoming moreimportant,” he said.
Laminated glass also isstill growing, McCannsaid, for hurricane-resis-
tant and security applications, as wellas acoustics.
What’s driving these trends? Amongseveral factors is the biggest trend of all,the focus on energy. As McCann noted,the costs of energy continue to rise.“When you start looking at building ap-plications, buildings tend to be one ofthe higher consumers of electricity aswell as natural gas.”
So how to meet the demand for thesetrends? Well, glass fabricators were inattendance to learn just that—the insand outs of handling and creatingvalue-added glass.
Floating Through the Basics
Wayne Boor of Pittsburgh-basedPPG Industries opened the joint sessionabout 4,000 years ago, so to speak; hispresentation on “Float Glass Technol-ogy” began with background on thediscovery of glass. Speeding quicklythrough the production of sheet glassin the early 20th century to plate glass tofloat glass in 1959, Boor moved ontodiscussing the technology used todayto create the basic material used byeach member of his audience.
One point he reviewed—particularlynotable when surrounded by the flashi-ness of Las Vegas—was how to addcolor to glass substrates.
“We learn to make different colorseveryday,” Boor said, “and that is mar-ket-driven.”
As Boor noted, iron, in all glass, cre-ates the green tint. Cobalt is added tocreate what he described as “true blue,”while selenium creates “more of abrown glass.” Combinations of the lat-ter two create shades of gray. He fur-ther explained to the audience that
Attendees asked questions of the conferences'many knowledgeable speakers.
© 2008 USGlass magazine. 540-720-5584 All rights reserved.
low-iron glass means just that, remov-ing as much iron as possible, and to doso requires a special sand with low lev-els of iron.
“Low-iron glass is really becomingpopular in the solar and photovoltaicindustry,” Boor said, adding, “theywould like us to have no iron.” Ofcourse, as he noted, “I think it’s impos-sible because you’re going to have someimpurities no matter what you do.”
Cut Down to SizeIn addition to learning some of the
basics of altering glass itself, attendeeslearned a little about properly “altering”glass through cutting. In a session cov-ering “Automated Glass Cutting andEdging Techniques,” Chuck Beatty ofEdgeworks Inc. stressed the importanceof the cutting process in glass manu-facturing. Beatty went as far as sayingthe cutting process is what ultimatelydetermines long-term success for glassprocessing companies.
“If you cut glass well, everything elseis easier,” he explained.
He offered a number of suggestionsfor a successful cutting process, includ-ing the importance of matching theproper cutting wheel to a particularprocess and product.
“I prefer to think of the cuttingwheels like the tires on your car,” he ex-plained. Just as you would select a cer-tain tire for a particular drivingcondition, Beatty suggests matchingcutting wheels to a particular product.
Beatty also urged processors to con-sider the benefits of cleaning glass priorto the cutting process.
“The problem is most people don’twash,” he said. “And the cutting envi-ronment is dusty and dirty.”
Beatty said cleaningalso helps maintain tem-perature, which he de-scribes as the number-oneenemy in glass cutting.
“Glass doesn’t like to beexpanded,” he explained.“When you’re processingglass, the greatest enemyis heat. Your ability tomanage heat during theprocess will ensure thatthe end product is strong.”
Hands Off That Coating
Exercising caution isgood advice for cutting aswell as dealing with thehigh-performing coatings that McCannmentioned are much in style. “Themore things you keep away from thecoating, the less problems you’ll have,”Jeff Haberer of Cardinal IG said duringhis session about handling coated glass.“It’s commonsense.”
For instance, keep individual litesfrom scratching one another during thehandling process. Keep coated surfacesaway from conveyor rollers and harprack separators. Even, Haberer advised,keep fingers away from the coating. Andwhen it comes to handling that glass, besure to use some type of clean, softglove; touch only the edges; and handleonly one lite at a time.
There’s no way to keep the glass frombeing handled and touched at all; it’sjust a matter of doing it carefully.
For washing, for example, Haberersuggested adjusting the tip of thebrushes so that they are barely in con-tact with the glass. “Just brush off thesurface, you don’t want it scrubbing
there … with low-E coatings you candamage if you scrub too much.”
Cleanliness is Next to Successfulness
The topic is of such importance thatBob Lang of Billco Mfg. Inc. providedinformation on “Understanding andMaintaining a Glass Washer.”
Among the tips Lang provided wasthis reminder: “If the inside of theglass washer is dirty, it can’t produceclean glass.”
He reminded his audience thatmaintenance of these washing ma-chines is critical to getting the best per-formance from the equipment and, byextension, the glass product goingthrough it. “I can’t stress enough thatthe cleanliness of the glass coming outof washer is directly related to how wellthe washer is maintained.”
His suggested maintenance schedulestarts with the first week of operation(during which operators are recom-
Pilkington's Chris Barry discussed the hows andwhys of glass breakage.
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mended to tighten fasteners, grease theentire machine and perform propermotor rotations), on through weeklymaintenance (cleaning tanks and re-movable screens, checking air filtersand sparingly greasing pinch roll bear-ings) and, ultimately, a 500-hour check-up (for inspecting brushes and rollsand cleaning all rolls, checking brushadjustment, checking belt and chaincondition and adjustment, etc.).
Tensed and ShatteredWhat about the defects you can’t see
until it’s too late? Chris Barry of Pilk-ington took the podium to discuss“Why Glass Sometimes Breaks.”
Essentially, he explained, glass breakswhen an applied load exceeds thestrength of the glass. The real questionis: when a break occurs, was the loadtoo great or was the glass too weak?
To begin to answer that question,Barry noted, means asking how strongglass is, and that’s where the problemsbegin. “We don’t really know,” he said.“We know how strong it might be.”
For example, in taking 1,000 samples
lites and applying force, by the time9,000 psi was reached, eight lites stillhadn’t broken. In other words, thebreaking point for each lite was reachedat a different point.
There are a couple of commoncauses of breakage, however: tensilestress (including bending, thermalstress and NiS inclusion and expan-sion), impact and crushing. To deter-mine what might be the cause,fractographics can be used to examinethe break—if there’s enough time andmoney and all the broken pieces arestill available, Barry added.
Layered Lites As McCann mentioned, laminated
glass is still growing, and plenty of ses-sions were on tap to help fabricatorsmeet that demand. To start with, MattCowles from Solutia talked about pre-pressing and autoclaving. He began bydiscussing storing and handling thePVB roll, and stressed the importanceof moisture control, saying the productshould be stored at a temperaturerange of 40 to 50 degrees Fahrenheit.He also recommended the rolls be usedin a first-in/first-out order. “Partiallyused rolls should be re-packaged andstored,” Cowles said. In addition, he de-scribed PVB as being like a “stickysponge” as it will pick up anything ittouches. “So avoid contact with dirt,lint, water, etc.”
When preparing the glass, Cowlessaid to avoid mismatched glass andwhen washing the glass, water temper-ature should be 120 to 140 degreesFahrenheit. “Cleaning the water tankthoroughly once a week will also helpthe way it works to provide consis-tency,” he added.
The condition of the clean room alsois critical. Humidity should be 20 to 35percent and temperature should be 55to 72 degrees Fahrenheit. “Cleanlinessis imperative,” Cowles added, and sug-
gested the use of a double-door entryto keep the factory environment out ofthe clean room. “Also, use tacky mats atthe entry door to keep fibrous materialsout of the clean room,” he said, addingthat clean room clothing also needs tobe considered. “You need somethingthat won’t leave debris, lint, etc. Thoseare all enemies of the process.”
Troubleshooting laminated glass pro-duction was the next topic of discus-sion. Ron Hull from DuPont talkedabout how companies can improvetheir yields, reduce costs and improvequality and customer satisfactionthrough troubleshooting.
“Troubleshooting is one way to getlean,” said Hull, who cited Six Sigma asone particular troubleshooting process.“Since the economy has slowed down[there’s been more] interest in improv-ing yields, quality, etc., as people nowhave time to focus on being lean.”
Hull also talked about common lam-inating defects and problems. Oneproblem is PVB blocking, which occurswhen the PVB sticks to itself. It’s typi-cally caused when the storage temper-ature is too warm, when the rolls arewound too tightly or if the rolls are tooold. To keep this from happening, Hullsuggested that storage temperatures bekept cool and that the laminator has asupplier unwind and wind the rollproperly. Finding bubbles in the lami-nate was another problem he dis-cussed. The bubbles, Hull said, areactually gas pockets in the interlayermaterial or between the glass and theinterlayer. “Basically, inadequate de-airing,” he said. Bubbles can be causedfrom a surface pattern that is toosmooth or rough; from caliper/thick-ness variations; from stretching thePVB; and also if the PVB temperatureis too high or too low.
While the use of PVB may be themost common interlayer in use for lam-inated glass production, it’s not the only
Edgeworks’ Chuck Beatty discussedthe importance of the glass cuttingprocess.
Silica to Sidingcontinued
© 2008 USGlass magazine. 540-720-5584 All rights reserved.
one available. Michael Burriss fromCytec Industries gave a presentationabout ultraviolet (UV) liquid laminat-ing. He explained that by exposing liq-uid resin to UV light it changes into apolymer that, in the case of laminatedglass, serves as the solid interlayer. Hesaid it takes 20 minutes for the glass tocure fully, and that the UV lights arecontrolled for a consistent cure. Headded that the process consumed aminimal amount of energy: 7 kilowatts.In addition, Burriss said UV-cured lam-inated glass meets the same safety testsas PVB laminated glass (CPSC 16 CFR
1201, category I and II; and ANSIZ97.1), so the products can be usedwherever safety glazing is required.
Mark Gold of Solutia covered thewhy, what and how of laminated glassquality control testing.
“Why test?” asked Gold, “Because wehave to; it’s the right thing to do,” he ex-plained, for regulatory and code re-quirements, as well as protectionagainst liability. “Also, it’s just plain,good business.”
He discussed different types of teststhat can be done to laminated glass,such as the boil and bake tests. When
boil testing, Gold said, look for bubbles,trapped air, air penetration, de-lamina-tion, contamination and optical distor-tion. With the bake test, which Golddescribed as a step up from the boiltest, he recommended laminators get agood oven. “Have the right equipmentand obtain, read and understand all ofthe test procedures,” he said.
Glazing EducationWhile the glass fabricators were
learning the ins and outs of their in-dustry in one conference room, glazingcontractors were next door learning
As Don McCann ofViracon pointedout in his seminar
“Changing Trends inGlass Uses,” the focus onenergy is among the bigdrivers for the varioustrends in glass fabricationtoday. Energy efficiency ispart-and-parcel of today’sgreen movement, amovement to which theglass industry is verymuch contributing.
“GANA also ramped upits ‘green’ educationalofferings, which wereamong the most heavily attended ses-sions of the conference,” commentedBill Yanek, GANA’s executive director.Among those offerings was a presen-tation from Henry Taylor of Kawneer on“How the Glass Industry Can Con-tribute to LEED and Green Building.”
Focusing on sustainability was Tay-lor’s first suggestion. “We have thetechnology to make these buildingslast—let’s go ahead and do that.” Ac-cording to Taylor, the goal had been toproduce buildings that last 25 to 30
years, but new technologyis driving manufacturers tocreate products that lastas long as possible to limitthe impact on the environ-ment. Now it’s not unusualto aim for a building thatwill last without problemsfor 60 or 70 years.
Hand-in-hand with sus-tainability and making ma-terials last is the renewedfocus on using recycledcontent. He explained thatprograms such as the U.S.Green Building Council’sLEED system are looking
for materials that use pre-consumer re-cycled material (which has not yet goneout into the field and been used) as wellas post-industrial recycled content.
Recycling is a concept that’s beenaround for a while but has renewed im-portance today. But among the “trendi-est” ways in which glass is contributingto green today is through photovoltaics(PV) or solar cells.
“We’re seeing a lot of opportunities inspandrel areas … to use PV,” Taylor said.Slope glazing is another application
where these products are gaining inpopularity, and replacing such productsas sunshades and patterned glass thathelp create shading. According to Taylor,PV is popular in these applications sincethese opaque products not only cutdown on heat but also create energy.
A member of the audience asked ifTaylor thought the limited size avail-ability of PV panels is a reason thetechnology is not more often speci-fied by architects. Taylor noted thatmost architects are aware that therearen’t many size options yet since it’sa new (but growing) technology anddon’t mind working with what’s avail-able. He did note, however, that it maytake more motivation than simplegreen consciousness to further pro-mote the use of these environmen-tally friendly products.
“To get this moving at a much fasterpace the government is going to haveto step in to get the momentum going,”Taylor said.
Some small such efforts are alreadybeing used. “When it comes to photo-voltaic, the government will give a 50-percent tax credit to an owner for [using]photovoltaic in a building,” he said.
Applying the Glass Fab Knowledge to Today’s Biggest Trend
Henry Taylor discussedhow the glass industrycan contribute to greenbuilding.
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Silica to Sidingcontinued
how to get involved in the earliest stagesof glass installation, starting with de-sign. Denise Beneke from San Antonio’sMarmon Mok Architecture had thoseattending the contract glazing sessionoohing and aahing with her presenta-tion about Google™ Sketch-Up. Sheprovided a few project examples thather company had completed, as well asanimations and other design details.
“You can use it for anything,” Benekesaid. She also took the crowd through ademonstration of using the 3D designtool, and left the crowd impressed withhow quick and easy it can be to notonly create a structure but also tochange out components.
Check PleaseJohn Heinaman, owner of Heinaman
Contract Glazing in Las Vegas, providedan overview of many of the major is-sues contract glaziers must watch for onthe job.
“Would you know what the toler-ances that adjoining trades will be heldto?” he asked. “This is a big, big prob-lem. You need to know the tolerances ofother trades or you can end up notbeing able to fit in the openings withglass that.
Keeping details documented was an-other point Heinaman stressed.
“In our business we really can’t over-document things. It’s not possible. Butwe have to do it on all jobs,” he said.“You can’t document well on a big joband not do it on the little ones. That’snot a wise practice. You can get sloppy.You should have policies and proce-dures in place on how you do things.”
Heinaman also discussed the impor-tance of safety procedures for the com-pany in general and on each job.
“Is a safety plan a requirement?” heasked rhetorically. “It sure should be. Ihave had very few cases where I haven’tbeen asked for one. If you have a largeproject, you should have a safety planjust for that job. This is usually accom-plished by taking your standard safetyprogram and customizing it.”
Heinaman added that most insur-ance companies are willing to send arepresentative to the jobsite.
“It’s wise for you to have them comeand inspect your job. It could reducethe likelihood of an accident, could alsoreduce your mod rate and increaseyour bottom line,” he added. “Don’t as-sume anything. Inspect all safetyequipment. You might say ‘well, gosh,
of course we would do that.’ But I haveheard of instances where no onechecked the swing stage for frayedwires and to make sure that it’s at-tached to something at the top of abuilding. You want to check it yourself.If you have to go to the edge of thebuilding even for a moment, you mustbe tied off. That could be the momentyou trip and over the side you go.”
Getting Closure“Make project closeout a celebration
of the building’s completion,” advisedMerry Wirth from Sierra Glass & Mir-ror Inc. in Las Vegas who discussed theproject closeout chapter from theGANA Project Managers ReferenceManual. Her presentation focused onthe importance of communicationthroughout the job. She also suggestedeveryone begin a project with the endin mind.
“Know from the start what’s expectedof you,” Wirth said. “The least expensiveway to correct a mistake is not at theend; it’s before it happens.”
One specific area she covered was op-erational training.
“Don’t be a dictator,” she advised, “butwork as a team.” She reminded her au-dience that when they are passing theproject over to the customer they needto take the time to explain to them howthey need to take care of the building.
Another discussion point was havinga lien waiver.
“Anything that reduces your liabilityis always a good thing,” said Wirth, whosuggested each company have one ded-icated person on-hand who under-stands and documents waivers that arecoming in and out. On a final note, shestressed that in project closeouts docu-mentation is critical and encouragedeveryone to keep organized all of thedocuments related to the job, includingboth paper and computer files, draw-ings and e-mails.
All of the Tour, None of the Walking
One of the highlights of the GlassFabrication and Glazing EducationalConference was the riding and walk-ing tour through Las Vegas. GregCarney, technical director of theGlass Association of North America(GANA), led about 40 conference at-tendees through the city to viewsome of the most exciting examplesof glass work in this always-excitingcity. You can check out some of thehighlights yourself by visitingwww.usglassmag.com and clickingon the GANA Walking TourSlideshow.
© 2008 USGlass magazine. 540-720-5584 All rights reserved.
Making the CodeFor individuals interested in
learning more about how to meetenergy codes, Patrick Musseig ofAzon USA explained how theTHERM and Window softwareprograms can be used to find totalproduct U-factors, determinewhether a product will meet en-ergy codes and look at how chang-ing out components can affect theU-factor.
Rob Hitchcock from LawrenceBerkeley National Laboratory fol-lowed with a discussion aboutCOMFEN software, which is usedto provide a whole building calcu-lation. Version 1 of COMFEN,which was launched last fall, providesspecific design guidance on commer-cial buildings and facades.
“The focus is on energy consumptionand demand, visual and thermal com-fort and CO2 emissions,” said Hitchcock,explaining that the software tool isunder continual development. “We’reworking on the second version andlooking ahead to version three and be-yond.” He said they would be lookinginto ways to enhance the glazing, fram-ing and shading selections.
Mike Gainey, also of Azon USA, gavea presentation about the improvementof thermal performance in structuralaluminum windows. He posed thequestion, “What does a thermal barrierdo?” The answer: “It interrupts the heattransfer from hot to cold.” Gainey talkedabout the energy performance levels ofusing thermal barrier systems and howthey can help greatly reduce energycosts and usage. He explained the win-dow systems can be made more en-ergy-efficient not only through the useof a thermal barrier as part of the alu-minum frame, but also through the useof a warm-edge spacer in the insulatingglass unit.
“The benefits are overall U-factor
improvement,” Gainey said, adding thatthe key goal is also to minimize con-densation as much as possible.
From Codes to Certification
And speaking of energy, Max Peril-stein from Arch Aluminum & Glass gavean update on the National FenestrationRating Council’s (NFRC) ComponentModeling Approach (CMA) programdevelopment, providing a “past, presentand future” look (see June 2008 USGlass,page 14, for more on CMA). He talkedabout the history behind the program’sinception, explaining that in 2002 NFRCdecided to looking into rating productswithin “untouched markets,” includingcommercial fenestration.
Perilstein said it’s not that he’s op-posed to the program itself. “A wholesystem calculation is a great design tool,”he said. “But it all goes downhill beingattached to the certification andrating aspect [because of thecosts involved].”
In addition, Perilstein talkedto his audience of contractglaziers about how they specifi-cally would be affected by theCMA program.
“You will have to pay for per-formance, pay for the test labs,the certification … all of thiswill have to go into your bidsand your quotes. You will have tosupply rated materials for thejobs and you will have to pay forit,” said Perilstein. “[The NFRC]does not understand what youdo already.”
Perilstein said a CMA proto-type will be going through test-ing in May and June this year,with more testing to come in Oc-tober. A six-month pilot launchis planned for January 2009, witha full release scheduled for Au-gust of 2009.
In ending his presentation, Perilsteinencouraged industry members tospeak up and get involved. “It’s been achallenge to get people to come to theNFRC meetings,” he said.
That’s a challenge GANA hasn’t faced.As executive director Bill Yanek noted,“GlassFab delivered on its goal of pro-viding top-notch glazing educationto industry newcomers and veteransalike. GANA is always striving tomake its meetings better, and GlassFab2008 was no exception.” ■
M e g a n H e a d l e y is editor, E l l e nR o g e r s is contributing editor, D r e wV a s s is assistant editor and D e b r aL e v y is publisher of UUSGlass magazine.
See For YourselfCouldn’t make it to the show?
Then tune into UUSGlass magazine’sexclusive video coverage of thisevent.
Visit www.usglassmag.com/studiofor one-on-one interviews withconference speakers.
Bill Lingnell of Lingnell Consulting Services, wasone of several speakers focusing on insulatingglass units.
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The waves were the first thing thearchitect noticed when the ship-ment of 500 lites of tinted tem-
pered glass was installed in acurtainwall project. A heavy roll-wavedistortion was apparent on the glass,and what was worse, glass delivered onthe same truck had distortion in eachdirection. The architect rejected theshipment.
“That creates a checkerboard pat-tern (on a building) that sticks out likea sore thumb,” explained the job’s glaz-ing contractor, who wished to remainanonymous. Evidently, the fabricatorthat had provided the glass order re-quires customers to specifically re-quest that the distortion be in the samedirection, and charges a premium forthe service.
“I got stuck holding the bag and itcost me another $15,000, including
labor, to replace several thousandsquare feet of glass,” the midwest con-tractor said. “My biggest irritation is thelack of industry standards that allowedthis to happen.”
In another scenario, Washington Postfood critic Phyllis Richman rushed toinvestigate the sound of crashing glassin her home to find that the temperedglass door of her oven had shatteredinto small glass particles without num-ber on her kitchen floor. When shecould not get it replaced for free, shewrote an irate article describing her ex-perience for the Washington Post. Thedecade-old oven had not been used inweeks and had not been subjected totemperature or shock trauma of anykind. Conditions of the incident suggesta tempering stress or point defect as thecause, but more than a year later, Rich-man has no conclusive explanation. “I
don’t really have any idea,” she said. The same process that strengthens
tempered glass also creates some in-herent problems. Through the tem-pering process, a system of residualstresses is introduced to convert nor-mal flat glass to safety glass when thestress level is high enough. Glass istempered by heating sized, edged glassin a tempering furnace to approxi-mately 1,200 degrees Fahrenheit, thenrapidly cooling, or quenching, theglass to approximately 400 to 600 de-grees Fahrenheit. In quenching, air jetsquickly cool and set the surfaces, leav-ing the inner portion of the glassthickness relatively hot and cooling ata slower rate. The surfaces becomerigid, but the center is still pliable andcontracting as it cools, thus compress-ing the surface. Compressive residualstresses imposed on the glass surface,
by Regina R. Johnson
Managing theProblems Inherentin Tempered Glass
A Page from the USGlass Archives
Volume 33, Number 4, April 199811998
© 1998 USGlass magazine. 540-720-5584 All rights reserved.
which close up any cracks, are bal-anced by residual tensile stress in thecenter of the glass.
These stresses make tempered glassapproximately four times strongerthan annealed glass, making it idealfor applications where maximum re-sistance to thermal and cyclic windloading pressures is required. In addi-tion, if broken, fully tempered glassbreaks into relatively safe, smallpieces, rather than shards.
However, distortion and point inclu-sions, touched on in the incidentsabove, are a natural part of the temper-ing process. Potential problems withthese phenomena raise importantquestions for professionals industry-wide, whether directly involved in themanufacturing or tempering process ordealing with products that use tem-pered glass.
Dealing With Distortio nBy its very nature of heating sheet glass
to a level of soft pliability, the temperingprocess always causes distortion to somedegree. Its severity is largely a function ofthe furnace and tempering conditions.Though usually imperceptible to the con-sumer, optical distortion can be unac-ceptable for architectural applications,especially those with tinted or coatedproducts. Distortion is also a critical prob-lem when glass is to be treated (e.g., withlamination) after tempering. Therefore,optimization of the tempering process tominimize distortion represents a constantchallenge for manufacturers.
In tempering, glass is heated by radi-ation, convection or a combination ofboth. Through this heating, glass entersa transition range, during which typicaltransition problems such as roll-wavedistortion or bow and warp can occur.
“During the heating, glass will sag veryslightly between the carrier rolls (in aroller hearth or gas hearth furnace), orfrom the tongs in a vertical furnace,” ex-plained Harry Miles, industry expert andconsultant to the Glass Association ofNorth America (GANA). “The result is aslight deviation from optically flat glass,usually seen as ripples or roller wave.”Miles added that glass thickness and sizeaffect the amount of distortion: generally,the thicker the glass, the less deviationfrom perfect flatness, while larger glasssizes tend to have more deviation.
Distortion is particularly problematicwith auto glass, due to higher qualitydemands. According to Catita Edward,executive vice president of Atlanta-based Lasor Laser Sorter, “The gravityof optical distortion on automotiveglass is, of course, considerably moreserious, resulting in a large number of
The same process that strengthenstempered glass also creates someinherent problems. Here, shatteredglass is held in place with theglassLock window film system fromWestern Glass Restraint Systems ofSan Jose, CA.
There is some
skill that the operator
develops over time,
which helps in
making adjustments
to optimize
the process.—John Colapietro
Tempglass, Inc.
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rejects due to higher quality demands.” To minimize distortion, many issues
must be considered in optimizing thetempering process. According to DougCanfield, president of Casso-Solar Corp.in Pomona, N.Y., the three most impor-tant considerations in optimizing theprocess involve the conveyor system,temperature uniformity throughout thefurnace and the quench design.
“Distortion will vary depending onhow flat the conveyor bed is maintainedand how precisely motion is controlledvia conveying rollers,” he explained. “Flat-ness is a function of roll spacing and rollspeed, and sometimes it’s best to have alot of small rollers close together. How-ever, this does increase the cost of thesystem.” Canfield added that a multiple-zoned flat-roof furnace or an elliptical- ordomed-roof furnace can greatly increasetemperature uniformity in the furnace,resulting in a more uniform glass surface.“It also depends on where the furnace ispositioned in the plant,” he added, notingthat location next to an outside wall canaffect the temperature regulation on thatside of the furnace. Finally, Canfield saysroll spacing and line speed should be op-timized to avoid distortion during thequenching process.
Mauri Leponen, director of architec-tural glass industry for the TamglassGroup, a glass machinery manufacturerfrom Finland, agrees that temperatureuniformity is critical. “Most importantis focusing and controlling heat ac-cording to the glass type and loading,”he explained. “Our systems use an opti-mized heating control method wherebysensors detect where the glass is locatedand only that area is heated.” This is animprovement over the more commonopen-type heating system that heatsthe entire furnace, said Leponen.
It is also important to monitor thetempering process to minimize dis-tortion, he added. “We have to knowwhat is coming out of the system, andfeedback on the temperature and pres-
External Net
Additional Operation(max. 25)
Central Operation
(HOST)
Internal Ethernet
PC - IP
Image Frame Grabber
LasorLine OM
Camera 1 Camera 2
Projection Screen
Light Source
Cut Optimization
I/O Marking
Printer
The Lasorline OM detection system from Lasor Laser Sorter is designed to inspect the etire flo9at glass ribbon with two cameras.
Temper Temper continued
© 1998 USGlass magazine. 540-720-5584 All rights reserved.
sure is most critical,” explained Lepo-nen. Tamglass Group’s Quality Moni-toring System (QMS™) monitors andcompares tempering conditions sothat changes can be effected to opti-mize the process.
John Colapietro, quality control man-ager for Tempglass, Inc. in Perrysburg,Ohio, noted that in addition to factorssuch as the condition of the furnace,size of the glass and conditions underwhich the tempered glass will finally beviewed, the experience level of the op-erator certainly contributes to the levelof distortion apparent in temperedglass. “It’s part art, part science,” he said.“There is some skill that the operatordevelops over time, which helps inmaking adjustments to optimize theprocess.”
Many machinery manufacturersalso produce equipment designed todetect tempered glass problems suchas distortion. Edward states that LasorLaser produces a defect detection sys-tem for online quality control. “We alsosupply off-line equipment to detectany remaining defects and check onthe optical quality of the glass after ithas been tempered,” she said. “Tem-pering can cause additional reject-causing defects that are notperceivable prior to tempering.”
Common industry practice and Mas-terSpec®, a compendium of specifica-tions produced by the AmericanInstitute of Architects, require that roll-wave distortion be parallel with the bot-tom edge of glass as installed. However,this is only possible if the width of litesfalls within the widths that can be han-dled by the tempering furnace (typicalmaximum width is 84 inches). Further,loading capabilities through the fur-nace often make it inefficient to pro-duce a large quantity of glass withdistortion in the same direction.
For this reason, some tempererscharge a premium for providing distor-tion in the same direction throughout
an order. Opinions vary regarding howwarranted this practice is, however.“Charging for uniformity or specifyingwhich direction the roller wave mustrun may be justified on production in-efficiencies caused by having to runlites of glass in a certain direction,” re-marked Miles. “I am sure that sometemperers must either turn down or-ders with that sort of problem, chargeextra or take a loss.”
Tom Sugano, general manager of Mil-gard Tempering Inc. in Tacoma, Wash.,sees it differently. “I think any goodtempering company probably tries torun all glass the same way, anyway. Oth-erwise, your customer could have acheckerboard pattern and (they) will bemad,” he said. “We don’t charge for it,and we don’t even mention it.”
Work Toward a Distortion Standard
ASTM C 1048 Standard Specificationfor Heat-Treated Glass includes limita-tions for bow and warp distortion, butthe current requirements for flatness donot limit the kind of visually unaccept-
able roll-wave distortion produced bythe horizontal tempering process. How-ever, according to Roscoe Reeves, Jr.FAIA, CSI, director of architecturalspecifications for ARCOM Master Sys-tems in Alexandria, Va., “The ASTMcommittee responsible for standardsfor heat treating glass is consideringadding roll-wave distortion limits in thenext edition.”
Though the tempering industry hasworked for years to devise a standardfor optical distortion, Miles explainedthat it has been difficult “to arrive atan honest, repeatable and meaningfulmethod to quantify distortion andthen, based on such a measurement,establish limits.” He added that the dif-ferent optical effects caused by vary-ing temper furnace roll spacing androll diameter complicate the task, andwhile the industry continues to try todevise such a standard, “it knows thatan inadequate or invalid standard isworse than none.”
In the meantime, a great number offloat glass manufacturers and temper-ers have developed in-house standards
Continuous horizontal flat glass tempering system from Tamglass Group of Finland.
Temper Temper continued
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© 1998 USGlass magazine. 540-720-5584 All rights reserved.
for distortion tailored to meet theneeds of their markets. According toColapietro, “We use different qualitycontrol measures including the visual‘zebra board’ method, which reflectslines off of the glass surface. We alsouse a small roll-wave gauge thatmeasures distortion.” Colapietroexplained that with the objec-
tive roll-wave gauge method, a smalldial caliper detects any high or lowpoints on the glass surface.
Viracon is another company that hasadopted in-house standards for con-trolling distortion. As Roger Skluzacek,
technical services manager, ex-plained, “We measure roller wave
distortion periodically, and use
visual zebra boards to inspect all heat-treated glass.” He added, “It’s alwaysbeen our position that we like to see anyroller-wave distortion parallel to base.”
Milgard also compares temperedglass against the zebra board, accord-ing to Sugano, who noted that becauseof the subjectivity of the test, “the oper-ator must be well-trained to recognizeacceptable levels.”
Darrell Aldrich, general manager ofNorthwestern Industries, Inc. in Seattle,Wash., explained that in order to producethe flattest glass possible, his companydeveloped high standards internallyusing inspection with the zebra board.“When we added laminating to our man-ufacturing capabilities, flatness becameeven more important. We then imple-mented measuring instruments to quan-tify the distortion. This removed much ofthe subjectivity of what is acceptable dis-tortion.” Aldrich added, “With goodequipment and properly trained opera-tors, we believe we can and do producetempered glass with minimal distortion.”
“PPG uses an in-house standard forcontrolling distortion, as well as vari-ous measurements for flatness, bowand warp and edge kink,” said Albert F.Lutz, Jr., director of technical servicesand product development for PPG In-dustries in Pittsburgh. “We use both vi-sual inspection and measurement inabsolute units.”
Because the appearance of distortionis influenced to some degree by the ap-plication and conditions under whichthe tempered glass is viewed, industryauthorities advise the use of mockupsfor all building projects. “Construct afull-size mockup, view it in the con-text(s) for the planned building and re-tain the mockup for comparison to thefinal products,” advised Miles. “Withoutit, what you see is what you get.”
MasterSpec® also advises users toconsult manufacturers and view mock-ups that simulate project conditions toevaluate the degree of distortion present.
Thermal Stress Breakage: Whose Responsibility?b y J o h n E . P o n d e r
Thermal stress is a problem for which each participant in the constructionprocess may have some level of responsibility. The extent of responsibility willhave to be determined on a case-by-case basis depending upon the expressterms of each participant’s contract (i.e., who is to specify the material tobe used), what express and/or implied representations were made, andwhat is the professional standard of care regarding compliance with indus-try standards. In attempting to limit legal liability, there are four basic pre-vention measures: avoid, minimize, shift or insure for liabilities.
Liability can be avoided by employing due diligence techniques such asinvestigation of the job site; becoming educated on product criteria propen-sities and limitations; and adequate design and quality control through care-ful inspection for edge damage.
Liability can be minimized by including protective provisions in contractsand purchase orders limiting liability for thermal stress breakage; excludingthermal stress breakage from express warranties; disclosures and bulletinswarning of the potential for thermal stress breakage and means of reducingthermal stress development such as avoiding shading patterns and heattraps.
Liability can be shifted by provisions in contracts regarding scope of workand performance standards; responsibility for specifying materials; and in-demnification obligations for claims arising from thermal stress breakage.
Liability can be insured by requiring a broad form of comprehensive gen-eral liability insurance policy including products/completed operations; ob-taining certificates of insurance; and insisting upon additional insuredendorsements.
By becoming educated about thermal stress, acting to prevent it and fol-lowing these steps to limit legal liability from it, thermal stress breakageshould cease to be a significant problem for the glass industry.
J o h n E . P o n d e r is an associate with the law firm of Sparber,Ferguson, Ponder & Ryan of San Diego, CA, specializing in constructionlaw with an emphasis on representation of the glass industry.
© 1998 USGlass magazine. 540-720-5584 All rights reserved.
Avoiding InclusionsApproximately 50 different types of
dirt or other inclusions found in glasshave been identified, according toGANA. Most of these are blemishes thatdo not in any way affect performance ofthe glass. However, much has beenmade of very rare but harmful glass in-clusions such as nickel sulfide stones,which are contaminants that may causespontaneous breakage at some pointafter tempering—even years later.
Boston’s John Hancock Tower is per-haps the most famous case allegedly in-volving harmful inclusions. In 1973,when the 60-story, 790-foot reflectiveglass tower was still under construc-tion, huge window panels weighing 500pounds each began shattering in place,particles raining down below. Nearlyhalf of the windows shattered overtime, and eventually all 10,344 of theHancock’s double-pane windows werereplaced with single sheets of temperedglass at a cost of $7 million. Expertshave speculated that harmful glass in-clusions or foundational problems wereto blame in the Hancock disaster. An-other theory suggests that the lead sol-der bond between the reflectivechromium and the window frame wastoo rigid, prohibiting the joint from ab-sorbing slight movements of the tower.
Despite all the publicity generated bycases of apparently spontaneous break-age such as the Hancock Tower or aconsumer’s shattered oven door, suchincidences have become increasinglyrare. “The industry has found ways tosignificantly reduce this potential,” saidBob Spindler, director of the productdevelopment group for Cardinal IG inMinnetonka, Minn.
“Our experience has been that nickelsulfide stones are very rare,” agreedAldrich. “But this is difficult to reallyknow. The nature of tempered glassbreakage is that the evidence will be-come a large pile of small glass pellets.”
“Inclusions large enough to be de-
tected visually on the float productionline are cut out. Most other harmful in-clusions that get through will causebreakage at the tempering facility ornone at all,” according to Miles. “The ex-ception is nickel sulfide.” He added thatincidences of the contaminant are ex-ceptionally uncommon because justone type, or phase, of nickel sulfidecauses breakage, and only if the stoneis located in or near the tension zone offully tempered glass. According to A.A.“Sak” Sakhnovsky, Ph.D., president of
the Construction Research LaboratoryInc. in Miami, nickel sulfide may be in-troduced during the manufacturingprocess in several ways. Nickel-richcontaminants, such as stainless-steelfrom stirring sticks, may inject nickel,while sulfide may be in the furnace fuelor batch materials. During tempering,the nickel sulfide inclusions are trans-formed into a state wherein they willexpand with time and temperature.Nickel sulfide stones typically range insize from three to 15 thousandths of an
Shattered Perceptions for ConsumersWhen she was startled by the crash of glass on the lower floor of her home
one morning in 1996, Phyllis Richman, restaurant reviewer for the Washing-ton Post, first suspected burglars. Instead, she found her kitchen floor pavedwith small pieces of glass—the remnants of her Thermador oven door, whichhad spontaneously shattered.
As she shared with her readers, she was shocked, baffled and outragedby what appeared to be a manufacturing defect. The oven was a decade oldand had not been used in weeks. To compound Richman’s frustration, in-stead of replacing the door without question as she had expected, the ovenmanufacturer accepted no responsibility for the loss. Thermador’s customerservice representative suggested that on the rare occasions when the glassdoors break, the customer is at fault, having caused a situation such as ablow to the door or a cold shock to a hot door.
Her investigation with an appliance parts retailer, Underwriters Laborato-ries, the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM) and the U.S.Consumer Product Safety Commission revealed that such reports of glassoven doors breaking without apparent cause do arise from time to time. Arepresentative of the AHAM explained that the door was made of temperedglass, which “can have internal stresses.”
Eventually, Thermador did replace Richman’s oven door, though not ac-cepting responsibility for the incident. Her indignant article about the experi-ence generated many letters from readers, some of whom informed Richmanthat the incident was likely caused by a nickel sulfide inclusion.
Conservator Bruno Pouliot of the McCord Museum of Canadian History inMontreal faced bewilderment similar to Richman’s when a large temperedglass lite from an exhibit case suddenly shattered during the museum’s staffChristmas party in 1996. Environmental records for the day showed no sig-nificant fluctuation in temperature of relative humidity. The incident was un-settling—though it caused little damage to artifacts in the case, it raisedconcerns for the safety of visitors, staff and artifacts on display.
Pouliot took his dilemma to the internet with a plea for information on whatmight have caused the incident. His final solution: to install clear acrylic shat-terproof-resistant safety films on all tempered glass lites used in exhibition cases.
inch, making online detection of everytiny inclusion impractical. ASTM C1036-90 Standard Specification for FlatGlass permits stone inclusions from lessthan 16 up to 125 thousandths of aninch in float glass.
The practice of cutting visible blem-ishes from glass before it ever reachesthe tempering furnace is usually moti-vated by the desire to produce the mostaesthetically perfect glass possible,rather than because the inclusion mightcause spontaneous breakage. Accordingto Sugano, “If we see an inclusion, wetake it out because it’s objectionable forthe customer to view.”
Temperers say their best defenseagainst inclusions of all types is in-spection. At Milgard, glass is inspectedat several stations. “It is visually in-spected when it is taken out of the man-ufacturer’s pack and placed on thecutting line, during the breakout proce-dure, after it is washed, when it isloaded into the furnace and again whenit comes out of the furnace,” said Sug-ano. “We have a final inspection forpicky customers where the glass is ex-amined on a light rack.”
Sugano added that the most commondefects found are scratches, but anykind of defect glass is rejected.
“We’re governed by the ASTM
spec for point defects for float glass, aswell as internal documents,” said Lutz.In addition to visual inspection tech-niques, he said, “PPG also uses a sensorsystem to measure point defects.”
Because very tiny inclusions are dif-ficult to detect visually, detection sys-tems using laser scanning or othersensors are available. In addition, somecompanies use heat soak testing, whichcauses fully tempered glass with inclu-sions to shatter. The process involvesexposing the tempered lites to one ormore cycle of heating to temperaturesbased on their thickness and quantity,with cooling between each heatingcycle. However, it adds to productioncosts and, according to industry ex-perts, is not always effective.
Sakhnovsky noted that heat soak-ing is used with great success in Eu-rope, but is less effective as used inthe United States. He said temperersclaim to eliminate all stones in Eu-rope. “U.S. manufacturers heat soakwith the temperature too low and fortoo short a time,” he said. “Few U.S.companies use heat soaking at all be-cause it’s not cost effective.”
PPG Industries argues against thepractice on its internet website, which
states, “Heat soaking of fully tem-pered glass is a significant
waste of energy, is not completely effec-tive, and therefore, provides little addi-tional information for estimating theprobability of breakage caused bynickel sulfide stone inclusions.”
It should be emphasized that appar-ently spontaneous breakage is not al-ways caused by an inclusion. Surface oredge damage, for example, can eventu-ally result in breakage for no apparentcause. “We have rarely heard of cus-tomers experiencing spontaneousbreakage,” commented Aldrich. “I be-lieve physical damage which weakensthe glass and/or mechanical stress is re-sponsible for most tempered glassbreakage.”
Miles reminded, “Glass is glass and itcan be broken by a number of causes,some of them not readily detected.”
“We All Wash Our Glass and Our Hands”
Washing flat glass prior to temperingis another issue. Encouraged by expertsto avoid the scratched, pockmarked anddented glass that can result from tem-pering unwashed glass, washing alsoserves the basic purpose of keeping thetempering furnace clean. Once dirt orparticles from the edging process areintroduced into the furnace, it can buildup on the conveyance rollers, eventuallydamaging glass as it flows through thesystem. Other times, particles such asglass fines from the cutting or edgingprocess and handling smudges that arenot washed off the surface of glass be-fore tempering will bake onto the sur-face, causing blemishes.
Whether from dirty rollers or debrison the glass surface, unclean furnaceconditions can cause small “pimples”on the surface not visible to the casualviewer. This pimpling condition is de-scribed throughout the industry by var-ious names, including “orange peel,”“heat prickling,” “seeds,” “bubbles,” orjust plain “garbage” that was notwashed off prior to the glass entering
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Detection System For NiS Stones Developed
A new method for detecting glass inclusions may be on the horizon. A re-search team at the University of Queensland in Australia has developed atechnique that it says detects 0.1 to 0.5 mm stones in glass panels both be-fore they leave the factory and in existing applications.
“The advantage of our technique is that we can differentiate between harm-less air bubbles trapped in the glass and potentially dangerous stones,” saidJohn Barry, Ph.D., a member of the team.
The group is now working on developing an imaging technique that will au-tomatically detect nickel sulfide stones in glass on the production line.
© 1998 USGlass magazine. 540-720-5584 All rights reserved.
© 1998 USGlass magazine. 540-720-5584 All rights reserved.
the tempering furnace. During normalwindow cleaning after building con-struction, the pimples can be scrapedoff and then dragged across the glasssurface, causing scratches.
Dan Fields, a third-generation win-dow cleaner and owner of Fields Win-dow Cleaning in Livermore, Calif., saidhe first became aware of the problemmore than three years ago when he wasconsulted in an insurance lawsuit.Since learning about the causes of tem-pered glass with these pimples, Fieldshas become an outspoken advocate ofglass washing, writing articles andtraveling to industry conferences tospread the word.
He named several West Coast tem-perers whose glass is regularly found tobe pimpled during window cleaning—companies whose windows he refusesto clean.
“I’ve lost jobs when I’ve refused towash (blemished) glass,” he said, “but Iend up getting them back.”
Though no standard for washingtempered glass exists, most temper-ing facilities do wash all glass prior totempering as a matter of good prac-tice. “Glass comes to the tempererwith interleaving powder, sometimesa carbon-dioxide film and some han-dling smudges. Cutting and edgingadds a little oil, chips and othersmudges,” explained Miles. “Whilethere might be a reason for not wash-ing the glass prior to tempering, Icannot imagine what it might be.”
Lutz remarked, “PPG has a propri-etary coating and surface protection, sowashing removes this coating and anyresidue from the edge seaming process,as well as any cutting chips and marksleft by handling.”
“Foreign matter on the glass can be-come fused to the glass during temper-ing,” added Aldrich. “If you don’t washthe glass, you cannot control this.”
Still, some resistance to washingglass before tempering remains, espe-
cially in cases where the applicationdoes not demand high-quality tem-pered glass or due to the expense of theglass washing system.
In particular, washing glass beforetempering is imperative if there is to beany treatment after tempering. As LyleHill, president of MTH Industries inChicago observed, in the case of glassto be laminated, etched or sandblasted,“If not washed first, the glass will bevirtually useless.” He added, “I knowthere is an additional cost for washing,but there needs to be some discern-ment as to where and how the glasswill be used.”
Further, evidence does not supportthe cost argument for not washing glassprior to tempering. According to BobLang, sales manager for Zelionople, Pa.-based Billco Manufacturing, a manu-facturer of glass washers, “The cost of aglass washer is often less than ten per-cent of the cost of a tempering furnace.It’s minuscule compared to the furnaceinvestment and the potential cost ofcustomer rejects.”
“The tempering companies thatdon’t wash prior to tempering just saythere is no ASTM standard that re-quires them to, even though theyshould know it’s bad practice not to,”noted Fields.
In addition to washing glass prior totempering, many temperers also regu-larly clean the surface of the rollers inthe tempering furnace, a process calledhoning. “We clean our furnace rollersevery week to prevent a buildup of con-tamination,” said Aldrich. This practicealso extends the life of therollers, which are expensive toreplace.
Despite the fact that no stan-dard for washing tempered glassexists, most temperers do notbelieve the industry shouldadopt one.
“We don’t need more regula-tion, especially regarding wash-
ing,” said Sugano. “I can’t believe therewould be a temperer who wouldn’twash glass. You’re ruining your most ex-pensive piece of equipment.”
“I think it’s so obvious people shoulddo it, there is no need (for standardiza-tion),” said Lutz. Miles compared it tothe most basic act of cleanliness: “Weall wash our glass and our hands . . .”
Quality Control is Paying Off
Glass manufacturers and temperersare to be commended for their ex-traordinary efforts to eliminate theproblems inherent in tempered glass.Through quality control measures in-cluding furnace design improvements,tempering optimization and detectionefforts, the industry has come a longway toward this goal. ■
R e g i n a R . J o h n s o n is themanaging editor of UUSGlass magazine
The nature of
tempered glass
breakage is that
the evidence will
become a large
pile of small
glass pellets.—Darrell Aldrich
Northwestern Industries, Inc.