e-glass weekly - January 23, 2007
Vol 2 | Num 4
(Print All Articles)

Glass Week focuses on technology, future

Glass Week 2007, which began Saturday at the Ritz-Carlton Sarasota in Florida, featured eight guest speakers during the first three days...

Glass Week 2007 began Saturday at the Ritz-Carlton Sarasota in Florida and featured eight guest speakers during the first three days.

The Glass Association of North America of Topeka, Kan., held numerous general sessions Sunday and Monday, and more are scheduled today.

Chris Barry, director of technical services, building products, for Pilkington North America in Toledo, Ohio, spoke Monday about “The Visibility of Tempered Quench Marks.” He explained why quench spots and lines are sometimes seen in tempered glass when viewed in reflections.

A quench pattern proves the glass has been heat treated, Barry said. It does not indicate a defect or non-compliance with standard ASTM C 1048. Anti-reflective coatings can reduce, but not eliminate, quench patterns.

A pattern is more visible with thicker glass, higher transmission glass, multilayer glass and with reflective frits and coatings, Barry said.

Barry recommended supplying architectural samples to match final specifications. He also suggested viewing a full-size mock-up, on site, under blue sky conditions.

On Sunday, Barry discussed the development of five different methods of applying gold and gold colored coatings to architectural glass and energy efficient products.

The speakers

Rachel Long of Hospitality Design Magazine, Tampa; Jan Skeeter, chief executive officer of UltraGlas, Chatsworth, Calif.; and Mary MacDonald of Macci Design, Miami, zipped through about 500 images during their hour presentation on “Emerging Products in Decorative Glass.” The resulting impression was the almost limitless potential of decorative glass in the built environment.

Joseph Smith of Applied Research Associates, Vicksburg, Miss., presented “Hurricane and Blast Resistant Products – a Katrina Case Study and More.”

Smith pointed out that from 1994 to 2004, about 1,000 explosive incidents took place each year in the United States, resulting is losses totaling $430 million. Protective glazing technologies such as window films, catch systems and laminated glass have helped reduce the number of injuries and collateral damage from explosions, he said.

Smith used examples of two buildings in Gulfport, Miss., that were damaged after Hurricane Katrina. A bank building was considered a total loss, totaling $35 million in damage. Window replacement cost about $4 million alone.

The courthouse, which was built in 2003 and designed to meet ISC criteria, had only one interior window pane crack and exterior panes failed on less than 25 lites. Water damage primarily from roof damage led to mold and a price tag of $8 million. A better roof design that kept water out would have lowered the damage estimate to about $100,000.

Michael Rogers, a futurist with the New York Times and former vice president at Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive, opened the event with a speech titled “Society, Technology and the Future.” Rogers focuses on five topics: customization, interactivity, telepresence, the extended Internet and the new new media.

Few people watch television in real time today as they customize their viewing, Rogers said. Meanwhile, the music industry has gone back to the time of singles as people buy individual songs to create their own playlistsplay lists.

Meaningful personal relationships are being made online, Rogers said. People also search for information and want action, looking to finish a transaction before leaving a Web site.

“Building a Brand 101” was the topic of a speech by Shawn Donovan of Donovan & Associates, Tampa, Fla.

Donovan said business to business branding has tremendous value. Businesses can control their own brand message and build the brand without spending millions of dollars.

The process has three steps: develop the plan for the marketplace, consistently communicate the plan and then deliver.

Economist Don Reynolds of 21st Century Forecasting, Forth Worth, Texas, spoke about “Tectonic Plates of Change.” Companies and individual need to become pro-active, anticipatory and inter-disciplinary to be successful.

The center of the world construction is in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates and the United States is in the twilight of economic global dominance, Reynolds said. Annual debt-to-income ratio in the United States increased from 18 percent in 1950 to 86 percent in 1985 and then 114 percent in 2006. The U.S. economy grew 3.5 percent in 2005 and 2.8 percent this past year. China, however, grew at 10 percent and Indian 8 percent in 2006.

Reynolds said the global economic pie is getting larger, the U.S. piece is getting smaller, but there is still plenty to go around.

New committees

GANA’s Protective Glazing Committee met for the first time and agreed upon drafts for glass information bulletins on blast-resistant glazing and bullet-resistant glazing. The bulletins will be sent to full membership for ballot. The draft for a GIB on detention facility glazing also was introduced. Chairwoman Valerie Block, decorative glazing marketing manager of DuPont, Wilmington, Del., said the drafts are intended to be informational and do not include highly technical testing results.

During the inaugural meeting of the Fire-rated Glazing Council, six founding members voted Jerry Razwick, Technical Glass Products, Kirkland, Wash., as chair. They worked on a draft scope and objectives for their group and discussed the importance of promoting an awareness of the benefits of fire-rated glazing materials within the building supply chain and the public.

Both committees report to GANA’s board of directors.

New president

Julie Schimmelpenningh of Solutia, Laguna Hills, Calif., turned over the GANA president’s position to Andrew Gum, Thomas Glass Co., Columbus, Ohio.

Gum has been a board member for nine years and is the youngest person to serve as GANA president.

What's in and what’s out for bath glass

In an informal poll of glass shop owners specializing in shower enclosure installations, e-glass weekly compiled a "what's in, what's out" list in the bathroom...

In an informal poll of glass shop owners specializing in shower enclosure installations, e-glass weekly compiled a "what's in, what's out" list in the bathroom. Though regional differences apply, clear and low-maintenance shower glass are in, while white finishes, and gold-veined antique mirror are out.

With more ins than outs in this category, 2007 looks to be a good year for the shower enclosure market. Of course, there was unanimous agreement that shower curtains are out!

To comment on this in and out list, or to offer suggestions for next week’s in and out list for architectural glass, send us an e-mail.

IN

OUT

Finishes:

Oil rubbed bronze finish

Gold or white finish

Non-standard finishes that match proprietary hardware

Glass:

3/8 and 1/2-inch glass

3/16-inch glass

Clear glass

Obscure glass

Low-iron glass

Gold-veined antique mirror

Low-maintenance glass

Decorative options:

Acid-etched glass
Graphics
Screen-printed

Glue-chip

Patterned glass

Hammered glass

Low-iron patterned glass

Other:

Slumped glass sinks

Painted backsplashes

Antique and seedy glass for cabinets

Building envelope consultant goes nationwide

Q&A with Mark Baker, head of IBA Consultants

In 2004, building envelope consulting firm IBA Consultants Inc. of Boca Raton, Fla., operated three offices, all in Florida. Today, the company has seven locations, including offices in Las Vegas, Seattle and New York City...

Mark Baker, president of IBA Consultants Inc.
Q&A with Mark Baker, head of IBA Consultants

In 2004, building envelope consulting firm IBA Consultants Inc. of Boca Raton, Fla., operated three offices, all in Florida. Today, the company has seven locations, including offices in Las Vegas, Seattle and New York City.

The firm’s rapid nationwide expansion is the result of a strategic plan that includes the launch of one office a year, with the most recent opening of the company’s New York office in January.

In the Q&A below, Mark Baker, president of IBA Consultants, discusses the strategic plan, the challenges of rapid growth and what other glass industry companies can take from IBA’s expansion.

What prompted that decision to grow so rapidly across the country?
It’s been the execution of a plan we put together in 2004. We hired a consultant, and he gave us three options. We could consolidate in south Florida, with our goal and identity to being a south Florida consulting firm; we could establish a national representation; or we could go international. We decided to become a national firm, opening one office a year so we would have locations in the Southeast, Southwest, Northwest and finally the Northeast.

What difficulties did you confront because of that rapid growth?
Actually, the biggest challenge was learning how to limit growth—how to not overextend and not over commit. Our goal was to grow in accordance with a plan and not try to eat every apple we found on the ground. Instead, we tried to find the best opportunities and to learn to strategically grow from them.

Briefly explain the process of opening an office.
First, we identify potential markets and evaluate it to make sure there’s a need for us to be there. We look at construction projections, find out who the developers and architects are, and what their feelings are toward our type of firm. Once we decide a place is where we want to go, we actually go there and stay for a time. I’m not a fan of flying in and flying out. We rent an office, fly people in, seed it with trusted staff and watch it grow.

What’s next for IBA Consultants?
The next stage is really focused on solidifying—tending to seeds and keeping things stable. New York is our 2007 office, so we’ll focus on growing that, and maybe down the road start looking at whether we’re going to open another in 2008. None of this is planned, but if I had to predict some major developments for us, it would be that our bigger offices would spin off satellites. We’re looking pretty aggressively at southern California, which would be a satellite of the Vegas office. Out of New York, there are opportunities to go north to Boston to open a satellite or south to Washington, D.C.

What can other companies in the glass industry learn from IBA’s expansion?
Companies need a business plan, a strategic plan, a roadmap for the company. It sounds text book, but it’s the greatest thing we ever did. It really is what made us successful. Before we had the road map, we went all the way the wind blew us. To have a plan laid out helps daily in terms of decision making—you look at every opportunity and ask whether it takes you closer or further from the goal. The plan is the key. It really gives some sense of direction.

What has been the biggest challenge for you personally?
Really, 97 percent serious, the biggest challenge now is just keeping track of my keys. We have seven offices, I have apartments in New York, Seattle, Las Vegas, and two apartments in Florida. I got to Vegas two nights ago at 11 p.m. and I couldn’t get into the apartment because I couldn’t find the key.

Project news from the week

...

Glaverbel to serve as glass supplier for Moscow business center
Officials from Brussels-based glass manufacturer Glaverbel announced the company will be a major glass supplier for the new Moscow-City business center, currently under construction, according to a Jan. 22 company release.

Moscow-City, a near $13 billion investment, will be a collection of about 20 skyscrapers over an area equivalent to 1,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools, or more than 10 million square meters, according to the release … read more

Laminated glass overhang highlights Seattle sculpture park
Seattle’s Olympic Sculpture Park, set to open Jan. 20, features a 200-foot glass overhang by artist Teresita Fernandez of Brooklyn, N.Y. The piece, made of 60 laminated glass panels, displays a cloud-like pattern with varying colors, depending on the angle and intensity of sunlight, according to a Jan. 15 article from the LA Times … read more

Green design gains momentum

Investments in green building should be a top priority for owners, corporations and real-estate investors, according to an article by Charles Lockwood in the December 25 edition of Barron’s, a New York City-based weekly financial magazine. Lockwood is an environmental and real-estate consultant based in Santa Monica, Calif., and New York City.

“Trillions of dollars of commercial property … will soon become obsolete and will drop in value,” Lockwood said in the article. The projected downfall is a result of “a significant real-estate market shift [that] is gathering momentum: Green buildings … are going mainstream,” Lockwood said.

The U.S. Green Building Council recognizes energy-efficient projects with its Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification. Glass and glazing act as integral part of LEED certification—high-performance, low-emissivity glass boosts ratings, as well as infiltration of natural lighting.

As of December, 669 projects had received certification, with almost 5,000 buildings awaiting ratings. The USGBC estimates that 5 percent of new commercial construction for 2006 will be LEED certified, according to the article.

To read the full article, click here.

Check out the Green Building section of www.glassmagazine.net to learn more about LEED in the glass industry.

Crystal Windows opens commercial subsidiary in Taiwan

Crystal Window & Door Systems Ltd., of Flushing, N.Y., will open a Taiwan subsidiary focused on the design and installation of curtain wall and architectural windows, according to a Jan. 20 company release.

The subsidiary, Crystal Union Co., based in Taipei, will serve the Taiwanese construction industry for new construction and renovation projects. Eventually, Crystal Union also will begin to manufacture curtain wall and window systems, according to the release.

There are future plans to expand the company into East Asia, Australia and New Zealand, according to the release.

Crystal President Thomas Chen, a Taiwan native, says the move will provide high quality and more sophisticated products to the region.

The week’s business headlines

...

Production begins at Saint-Gobain’s Romania float facility
Saint-Gobain of France opened its Calarasi, Romania, float glass plant, according to a Jan. 22 article from Bursa On Line. The $130 million facility will produce 600 tons of float glass a day, with 50 percent of production going to the Romanian market, according to the article.

Emirates Glass starts $27 million expansion
Emirates Glass LLC of the United Arab Emirates will invest more than $27 million in an expansion project to increase the company’s coating capacity, according to a Jan. 13 article from AME Info.

The expansion will increase the company’s annual production from 700,000 square meters to 3.7 million square meters, according to the article … read more

Photowatt Technologies to partner with Clean Venture 21
Officials from Photowatt Technologies Inc., part of Automated Tooling Systems Inc. of Cambridge, Ontario, signed a non-binding letter of intent to work with Japan’s Clean Venture 21 Corp. to develop its Spheral Solar Technology, according to a Jan. 11 Photowatt release.

The partnership would allow the companies to share technology and expertise in photovoltaics, according to the release.

Photowatt produces building integrated photovoltaic products based on a sphere solar cell design, according to the release… read more

Welsh insulating glass company thrives under new ownership
Capital Glass, a Cardiff, Wales-based manufacturer of insulating glass units has almost doubled its turnover since Richard Williams took over as owner last year, according to a Jan. 15 article from IC Wales.

Williams, a former manager of Capital Glass, used his personal funds to buy the struggling company in November 2005. Since then, the company’s turnover has grown from about $176,600 a month to $333,500 a month, according to the article ... read more

e-glass weekly - January 23, 2007Vol 2 | Num 4(Print All Articles)