e-glass weekly - April 17, 2007
Vol 2 | Num 16
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Southwall enters green partnership in China

Southwall Technologies, a thin film company out of Palo Alto, Calif., has joined the ranks of United States-based glass companies bringing energy-efficient glass and glazing products to China...

Southwall Technologies, a thin film company out of Palo Alto, Calif., has joined the ranks of United States-based glass companies bringing energy-efficient glass and glazing products to China.

Southwall’s move is in keeping with the broader trend of U.S. companies going to China. Among other film companies entering the Chinese market is 3M of St. Paul, Minn. The company has been working in China since the 1980s, and it opened a research and development center there last year, said Colleen Harris, 3M program manager.

“We have been selling our sun control window film products in China since the mid 1990s,” Harris said. “These films—for residential and commercial—are energy saving films that block [ultraviolet] rays that come into a house.”

Southwall entered into a partnership with China-based companies Eco Green Building Research Center and GB Sunshine Glass Technology to bring several energy-efficient building products to China, according to an April 12 company release.

Officials from the companies signed the partnership agreement during the International Conference on Intelligent, Green and Energy Efficient Building & New Technologies and Products Expo, March 26-28 in Beijing, according to the release.

Products include the company’s Heat Mirror and XIR film products that improve energy efficiency in buildings, according to the release.

Southwall Executive Vice President Dennis Capovilla said in the release that the growing awareness of green building in China makes the country a prime market.

"There is no doubt that China will continue its rapid economic growth and play an increasingly important role in the global economy,” Capovilla said. “We view China's adoption of sustainable design concepts as a compelling growth opportunity for Southwall's core energy-saving products.”

In the April 3 issue of e-glass weekly, representatives of Pittsburgh-based PPG Industries said the green trend also extended into low-emissivity coatings, tinted glass, insulating units and other glazing-related energy savers.

“There is an intense focus on energy conservation and energy prices in China,” said William Klingensmith, director of international business development for PPG Performance Glazings. As a result, the Chinese government is “driving the need for insulating glass and low e-products across different regions in China, and it’s evolving pretty quickly. You’re seeing more and more better performing glass,” he said.

To read the full article, click here.

Family businesses balance nepotism and merit

Part two of three in the e-glass Special series on family businesses.

Nepotism defines many family businesses across all industries, and glass is no different. Sons, nieces, grandchildren and spouses often get jobs and promotional opportunities, with or without experience...

Part two of three in the e-glass Special series on family businesses. Click here to read part one.

AllBusiness.com offered some tips to managing nepotism at family businesses, including:

Place family members in jobs they are qualified for

Pay the same salary for family and non-family employees in like positions

Give non-family managers rights to hire, fire and transfer family employees

Institute a referral program that allows even non-family workers to recommend relatives and friends.

To read the entire AllBusiness.com article, click here.

Nepotism defines many family businesses across all industries, and glass is no different. Sons, nieces, grandchildren and spouses often get jobs and promotional opportunities, with or without experience, according to several respondents to part one of the e-glass Special series on family business.

Too much of family favoritism will end up hurting a business, says Bill Evans, president of Evans Glass Co. in Nashville.

“For those employees who aren’t family, if they see preferential treatment, it will hurt morale, and that will hurt production,” Evans says. “If a family member has an attitude but doesn’t have the ability to do the job, you’d see an exodus of even longtime employees.”

Kris Vockler, vice president of ICD High Performance Coatings in Vancouver, Wash., says family business owners need to show non-family employees that merit matters.

“Employees will believe and see that you’re getting what you’re getting because you’re part of the family,” Vockler says. “So, you have to be overly vigilant [in a family business] to prove otherwise. You have to make sure that you’re treating everyone the same.”

This includes equal opportunities and equal pay scales, Vockler says.

Family members also need to prove they have a right to be in their jobs, Evans says, particularly when dealing with promotions sought after by family and non-family employees.

“In our business, any of the grandchildren [to Evans’ father who started the business] deserve the opportunity to explore the company. But just because they are grandchildren doesn’t guarantee they will have a place,” he says. “They have to prove it.”

Evans says he faced the same issue when he took over as president after his father. “I can tell you first hand that when a family member takes a leadership role, it will be assumed it’s because they are family,” Evans says. “But once that family member proves they are capable, they are accepted.”

Tracy McLean became president of Glazing Concepts Inc. in Summerville, S.C., when her husband started the contract glazing firm in 1999. McLean says in addition to proving a family manager is capable of completing a job, they also have to show that they are willing to learn and grow as leaders.

“I came into this because I’m married to my husband,” McLean says. “But I didn’t want to step in and say I’m the boss. I have to be willing to learn. And I have employees who know a whole lot more than I do about this business, and I respect that.”

Do you have a positive or negative family business story to share? Please email me at kdevlin@glass.org.

Equity firm acquires United States Aluminum parent

Genstar Capital LLC of San Francisco bought International Aluminum Corp., Monterey Park, Calif., in a deal worth $228 million, according to an April 2 Genstar announcement...

Genstar Capital LLC of San Francisco bought International Aluminum Corp., Monterey Park, Calif., in a deal worth $228 million, according to an April 2 Genstar announcement.

International Aluminum is the parent company for United States Aluminum, of Waxahachie, Texas, manufacturer of commercial storefront, window and door systems.

Clark Olson, marketing manager for United States Aluminum says Genstar approached United States Aluminum, targeting it for its growth potential. “They pursued us for about a year, because they expect to see aggressive growth,” he says.

Genstar will provide United States Aluminum, and the rest of International Aluminum, with additional resources, allowing the company to expand further than it could with the resources it had previously, Olson says.

Darren Gold, managing director for Genstar, says the acquisition follows several other deals for the company in building products. “IAL is in the sweet spot of our investment focus because it operates in the building products industry—a sector we understand and where we have previously created value,” Gold says.

Previous deals in the sector include the acquisition of Gentek Building Products Inc., an Akron, Ohio-based manufacturer of aluminum and vinyl siding, windows and doors; and the acquisition of Panolam International Inc., a Shelton, Conn.-based manufacturer of decorative laminates.

International Aluminum employs 1,600 people in 15 locations. Olson says Genstar has not yet instituted any changes at the company. “They’ve only had us for a couple of weeks,” Olson says. “So, I imagine there will be changes.”

Architectural segment drives revenues for Apogee

Company set to complete exit of auto glass market with sale of RV and bus windshield business
Revenues increased 17 percent in the final fiscal quarter of 2007 over the same period last year for Apogee Enterprises Inc. of Minneapolis, according to an April 11 company release. Total year revenues for the company reached $778.8 million, also 17 percent above fiscal year 2006...

Company set to complete exit of auto glass market with sale of RV and bus windshield business

Revenues increased 17 percent in the final fiscal quarter of 2007 over the same period last year for Apogee Enterprises Inc. of Minneapolis, according to an April 11 company release. Total year revenues for the company reached $778.8 million, also 17 percent above fiscal year 2006, according to the report.

Apogee Chief Executive Officer and Chairman Russell Huffer attributes the strong performance to the company’s architectural segment that includes glass fabricator Viracon of Owatonna, Minn.

“We achieved significant improvement in our architectural operating margin in fiscal 2007, increasing to 5.8 percent from 3.2 percent in the prior year,” Huffer said in the release. “Architectural pricing increased, and operations improved. In addition, we had a better mix of projects with higher margins than during the prior year. And, strong markets supported our performance.”

Revenues for the architectural segment were up 21 percent in the fiscal year compared to 2006, and 20 percent for the quarter, year-over-year, according to the release.

With a current architectural backlog of $424 million, the segment will likely continue to grow in the next year, Huffer said.

Apogee also stopped manufacture of auto glass replacement windshields in the quarter. Production of recreational vehicle and bus windshields will continue until the segment is sold—expected in third quarter 2008, according to the release.

"We finalized our strategic plans to exit the auto glass segment, with the fourth quarter decision to sell the RV and bus windshield business," Huffer said. "We stopped producing aftermarket auto windshields late in fiscal 2007 and have started converting the facility to provide additional architectural glass capacity.

To read the full release, click here.

The week's business headlines

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AFG changes name to AGC Flat Glass North America
AFG Industries Inc. of Atlanta is changing its name to AGC Flat Glass North America to more closely identify the glass company with its parent, Asahi Glass Co. of Japan, according to an April 13 article from TimesNews.net.

The announcement follows AFG’s corporate headquarter relocation to Atlanta in January. The name change will be complete in September, according to the article … read more

Sales up 6 percent for Vitro in first quarter
Officials from Mexican glassmaker Vitro S.A.B. de C.V. announced April 12 that company sales rose 6 percent to $603 million in the first quarter of 2007 compared to the same period last year, according to a same-day company release.

Consolidated earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization increased 30 percent year-over-year, reaching $95.8 million, according to the release … read more

Southwall brings green building agenda in China
Southwall Technologies, a thin film company out of Palo Alto, Calif., entered into a partnership with China-based companies Eco Green Building Research Center and GB Sunshine Glass Technology to bring several energy-efficient building products to China, according to an April 12 company release.

Officials from the companies signed the partnership agreement during the International Conference on Intelligent, Green and Energy Efficient Building & New Technologies and Products Expo, March 26-28 in Beijing, according to the release … read more

Window-film buyers eligible for tax credits
Officials at Brussels-based Bekaert announced buyers of Panorama solar-control window film can apply for federal tax credits under the Energy Policy Act of 2005, according to an April 12 company release … read more

Malaysian Sheet Glass borrows $58 million from investment bank
The Rhb Investment Bank of Malaysia issued a $58 million loan to Malaysian Sheet Glass, according to an April 12 article from The Edge Daily.

MSG will use the loan to pay off an existing debt of $43.5 million and to invest in future capital expenditures and working capital requirements, according to the article … read more

Several investment groups look to buy Pilkington Australia
A joint venture of Sydney-based Carlyle Group and Gresham Private Equity of London might bid more than $450 million on Pilkington Australia, according to an April 9 article from The New Zealand Herald.

Several other equity and investment firms also have requested sale documents for the company, according to the article … read more