You've read about proper sales calls; now listen to them live

As the editors and I conducted interviews for the January 2010 forecast issue of Glass Magazine, we spoke with a number of glass company execs about their plans to remain profitable in what forecasters predict will be a challenging year ahead. Several themes emerged, among them: cutting costs, diversifying product and service offerings, and extending marketing efforts.

We found that the economic downturn has spurred many companies to revisit their sales strategies as they seek out new customers. With this in mind, we are running a two-part series on outbound sales calls in Glass Magazine.

In addition to the written articles, available here and in the upcoming February 2010 issue, we've partnered with ContactPoint to introduce an interactive format on GlassMagazine.com that allows you to listen to examples of good and bad sales calls.

Here is one example of a sales rep effectively gathering information about potential future jobs.

Example 4: Identifying additional job opportunities

For more examples, click here. If you have recordings you'd like to share, please send them to jchase@glass.org.

—By Jenni Chase, Editor, Glass Magazine

Still seeing green after Greenbuild

It’s been more than three weeks since I returned from the Greenbuild International Conference & Expo in Phoenix, but the green dust certainly hasn’t settled. Maybe it’s all the press coverage about President Obama’s upcoming visit to the climate summit in Copenhagen, or maybe it’s the news that my alma mater was just named America’s Greenest Campus (Let’s go Maryland! *clap* *clap*), but I just keep thinking efficiency and seeing sustainability. And not even hacked e-mails and re-invigorated global warming skeptics can rain on my green parade.

While we (“we” being that universal we, meaning you, me, the lamppost, the industry, the nation, the world) still have a long way to go, I can’t help feeling excited and motivated about the environmental and energy-conscious strides that we have taken, particularly in the construction industry, just in the last decade.

These strides were made very apparent during a conversation I had at Greenbuild with Eddie Bugg, director of sustainable solutions, Kawneer Co., Norcross, Ga., about how the industry has “greened.” Kawneer has been involved with the U.S. Green Building Council and the Greenbuild conference since its inception, Bugg said. “We’ve been here since there were only early adopters. When USGBC hosted the first conference, we were there, with a card table and a couple of table-top samples.”

According to the conference catalog, the first Greenbuild was held in Austin, Texas, in 2002, and hosted a little more than 4,000 people. “Back then, we were an emerging movement, a collection of dedicated, passionate people who knew we were coming together around a good idea,” said Rick Fedrizzi, president, CEO and founding chair of the USGBC, in the catalog. Attendance topped 27,000 at the recent Phoenix Greenbuild.

“Year after year, the number of exhibitors and attendees grows,” Bugg said. “This used to be considered a niche market. People weren’t sure it would stay around. During the last two years, it’s become evident that green is mainstream. … The direction that architects are going, the direction that the building industry is going, it is right in line with where Greenbuild is going.”

The mainstreaming of the green movement was emphasized by the USGBC’s theme for this year’s Greenbuild, Main Street Green: Connect to the Conversation. Hopefully we’re now at the point where individuals and companies have to decide to get on board or get out of the way. And from the large number of glass and glazing companies on the Greenbuild floor—about 100 by my count—it looks like the industry is getting on board.

Read more coverage from Greenbuild.

--By Katy Devlin, commercial glass & metals editor

Arch files for bankruptcy. What’s next?

One of the big names in aluminum storefront and glass fabrication tripped last week: Arch Aluminum and Glass Co. filed for voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy, Nov. 25, with the Southern District of Florida U.S. Bankruptcy Court. Court documents list the fabricator's assets at $0-$100,000, with $100MM-$500MM in liabilities, according to TrollerBk.com. The filing does not include Arch's Canadian holdings or Trulite.

Trouble had been brewing at the company for awhile. Arch had 28 facilities in 17 states and 2,400 employees, but in October announced it was "selectively closing or temporarily shuttering" facilities in: Kansas City; Rogers, Minn.; Nashville; and Sarasota, Fla.

According to a South Florida Business Journal report on Nov. 30, “The company said in a news release it would sell all assets to an affiliate of Grey Mountain Partners LLC (“GMP”), a leading private equity firm in Boulder, Colo. The company said it would seek approval for an expedited auction process with the GMP agreement as a so-called “stalking horse” bid, but it did not immediately disclose the bid amount.”

In an interview with Glass Magazine, Leon Silverstein, president and CEO of Arch, said: "It was the size and fall of the economy that caught everybody off guard. With sales down in excess of 20 percent, it is much harder to manage through."

The primary problem was not being able to restructure debt, Silverstein said. "We have a syndicated loan of seven banks. Just think about trying to get seven people to do something. And with the problems the banks have, with the regulators up their rear end, it’s just hard to do things."

What does Arch’s bankruptcy signify to the industry? In particular, to the commercial glazing sector?

At McGraw Hill Construction’s Outlook 2010 Conference Oct. 15-16, Robert Murray, vice president, economic affairs, McGraw Hill Construction, New York, said that the value of new construction starts in 2009 was estimated at $419 billion, a 25 percent decline that follows shortfalls of 13 percent in 2008 and 7 percent in 2007. The level of construction starts in 2010 is expected to climb 11 percent to $466.2 billion, he said. Read story.

However, commercial building construction is not out of the woods yet. Bankers are still tightening lending standards and affecting projects, Murray said. The recovery in commercial construction has been pushed back to 2011 at the earliest, assuming that credit markets continue to improve and lending conditions become more accommodative, according to the Construction Outlook 2010 report.

Max Perilstein, Arch's vice president of marketing, pegged commercial glass industry's recovery even further back. On Nov. 19, he wrote in his blog: “Some analysts see the commercial glass industry struggling until … get this … 2013! Seriously that was a prediction and the first I have seen that has not shown the uptick coming by the end of 2010. Just typing this boggles my mind, but we’ve had such a solid run for a long time, you just can’t fathom that some of the tough times could continue that long.”

What is your take on the market? Will more major players falter before we go on the upswing again?

—By Sahely Mukerji, Senior editor, Glass Magazine

'You've been served!'

You've been sued. It could have been prevented, or you could have at least had a solid defense to get you out. It's too late for that now.

That should grab your attention. That's the situation one glass shop recently found itself in, and shared what they learned the hard way so that the rest of us might avoid the same perils in the future. So, without going into the whole case, here are some takeaway points that we should all take to heart.

State your warranty clearly. Spell out what you do and do not cover, and for how long. Don't leave any room for "creative interpretations" that can be used against you. For example, this company's statement that printed on every work order and invoice read as follows: "Materials and Labor are guaranteed for one year. Insulated glass carries 5-year warranty from manufacturer, we warrant labor for 1 year." That statement is clear to people in our industry, but not so clear to outsiders. Worse, it leaves plenty of room for interpretation. In this case, the glass shop sold IGUs to a millwork company, who installed the glass in windows they were making. The glass company simply brokered the IGUs, buying them from a local manufacturer and delivering them to the millwork company. When the IGUs began to fail in the first year, the customer claimed that the glass shop was on the hook to cover their labor costs, even though the glass shop sold them no labor, because the warranty stated that labor was covered for the first year! Obviously, that was not the intent of the warranty, but the glass shop ended up with a fight on their hands, and it's a fight they could easily lose.

Avoid even the appearance of deception. The millwork company went on to claim that they were maliciously deceived by the glass company into thinking that the glass company was manufacturing the IGUs in-house. Again, the warranty statement at least implies that someone else is making them, but state it in writing on your quote for all to see.

Keep your Web site updated, and be careful what it says. This glass shop's Web site stated, "We keep all glass fabrication in-house!" But the shop doesn't make IGUs. Again, the intent of the owners was honest: they do fabricate their own glass (cut, polish, bevel. drill, etc.), and they don't manufacture IGUs and never meant to imply that they do. In hindsight, that distinction between fabricating and manufacturing could and should be more clear, lest it be used against them in court. Which it was. Read your Web site as an outsider, or better yet as a plaintiff's attorney, and see what could be misunderstood or twisted to use against you.

Choose your vendors carefully. Don't just buy on price. Does your IGU supplier have a professional operation, a clean plant and good equipment? Does your temperer routinely test their glass and log the results? Saving a few cents now can cost you in the long run, at the least in callbacks, and at worst in a jury award! If things go bad, you are going to have to explain how and why you chose that specific vendor.

Require insurance certificates from your vendors. This is the big one, the most important lesson here. The glass company in this case obtained a ruling against the IGU supplier requiring it to indemnify the glass shop. But the supplier did not have insurance in place, and no money with which to indemnify, so the glass company was left holding the bag. Don't just assume your suppliers are taking care of their business, require them to give you a certificate of insurance.

If you get sued or have a claim made against you, be involved. Don't just hand it off to your insurance company and hope that it goes away. Your insurance company is looking out for #1, despite what they might say. If there is a way for them to deny coverage, they will. They will choose an attorney for you, and that attorney probably gets a lot of business from the insurance company. Most attorneys take their obligation to you, the insured, seriously, but some might want to look good to the insurance company by identifying a way to get them out of the claim altogether, leaving you on your own. So, stay in the loop, ask questions, be involved, and be cooperative. You might also consider hiring your own attorney to look over the shoulder of the insurance company's attorney; this is an additional expense to you, but will keep everyone honest.

Our friend in this case ended up settling with the customer, but could have avoided a great deal of expense, time, and heartache if they had just known then what they know now! So now you know, and of course "you should not consider this as legal advice" and should talk to your own attorney about any and all of the above! In the end, the above is worth exactly what you paid for it.

--By Chris Mammen, president, M3 Glass Technologies, Irving, Texas

Green Phoenix? You bet.

I have spent a fair amount of time in Phoenix and never considered it a green, environmentally friendly city. The city, located in Sonoran Desert, far from its main water source, the Colorado River, sprawls 517 square miles and has a population of more than 1.5 million, ranking it the fifth largest city in the country and the largest capital city in terms of population. All of those people in all of that space use a lot of water and a lot of energy, particularly since average high temperatures top 100 degrees during the summer. And sure, it’s a dry heat, but I attended my sister’s college graduation from Arizona State University one May, and the temperature hit 115. I’ll tell you, once it’s over 100, dry heat or not, it’s just hot. Air conditioners hum to make buildings comfortable, sprinklers work to keep nonnative plants alive, and misters spray cool water mist onto shoppers in outdoor malls. Phoenix seemed to me to be an unsustainable city. And then I went to Greenbuild and learned quite the opposite.

The City of Phoenix hosted the 2009 Greenbuild International Conference and Expo, Nov. 11-13 in its Silver Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certified convention center. View a photo gallery of the convention center. The day-lit and glass-heavy convention center that features solar panels and sits just blocks away from the Valley Metro light rail is a perfect representation of the efforts Phoenix has taken to become an environmentally friendly and sustainable city.

"Greenbuild didn't come to Arizona by accident," Beth Vershure, executive director of the Greenbuild Arizona Host Committee, said in the Official Greenbuild 2009 Blog, according to a Nov. 13 U.S. Green Building Council release. "A strong USGBC chapter, the Valley's new light rail system, Phoenix's LEED Silver convention center addition and USGBC's recognition of Arizona's growing commitment to sustainability all factored into this decision."

According to a Nov. 7 Arizona Republic blog posting, Phoenix’s water usage has sustained the same level as a decade ago, despite the city’s population growth. Additionally, the city is beginning its 30th year of its comprehensive recycling program.

In March, the city government enacted the Green Phoenix strategy to make Phoenix “carbon-neutral and the most sustainable city in America,” said Mayor Phil Gordon in his letter for the convention catalog. “The Green Phoenix initiative … is a comprehensive, collaborative effort designed to leverage the Federal government’s emphasis on job creation, energy efficiency and economic recovery.”

If fully implemented, the three- to four-year plan would cut the city’s greenhouse gas emissions by 70 percent, equal to taking 80,000 vehicles off the road, according to a March 11 article from the Arizona Republic. The plan also includes building a solar power plant on 1,200 acres at the city’s landfill in Buckeye, Ariz., and transforming Phoenix into a “solar city” by installing solar panels and solar water heaters in existing buildings and requiring them for all new facilities. Home and business owners would also receive incentives for solar panels and weatherization, according to the article.

Is Phoenix green? You bet.

--By Katy Devlin, commercial glass & metals editor

Will 2010 be a better year for the glass industry?

According to the hundreds of glass company executives who have already responded to Glass Magazine's 2010 "State of the Industry" survey, the answer is "no" by a slim margin. But the jury is still out. If you'd like to participate in this important industry survey, you have until Nov. 23 to do so. We will reveal the final results for this question and many others regarding the financial health of the North American glass industry in the January 2010 issue. Click here to take the short survey. I look forward to sharing the results.


—Jenni Chase, Editor, Glass Magazine

"Safety first" comes front and center

Anyone who ever doubted the sincerity of “Safety first” corporate value statements need only look at recent industry events to see that the phrase is more than just a catchy slogan.

In fact, safety has been driving many of the most important developments in the auto glass industry over the last few weeks.

In Vegas, Cindy Ketcherside of IGD Industries won the first Carl Tompkins Distinguished Service Award from the AGRSS Council, in recognition of her long-time dedication to enhancing industry safety.

You’ve gotta' love the mantra she has made a part of her company’s fabric: “We’re not in the auto glass business installing ‘windshields,’ we’re in the safety business of installing ‘safety-shields.’ ”

Cindy gets it.

Also recently, Allstate Insurance rolled out a new Distinguished Performers Program to recognize and reward quality workmanship within auto glass shops--a welcome initiative that shifts the emphasis from price-driven coverage to safety and quality. The NGA has thrown our support behind the effort and will be encouraging other insurers to follow suit.

Allstate is getting it.

Harvesting--the unsavory practice of proactively encouraging unnecessary installations--is gaining national attention.

Safety is at the core of the harvesting issue, along with ethics.

And here at the NGA, one company joined the association last week with the explicit goal of getting 100 of their technicians NGA certified.

At the core of their motivation … you guessed it: Safety.

I think you get the point. Safety is top-of-mind for many far-sighted executives and companies committed to instilling best practices throughout their shops. They know it’s both the right thing to do and good business.

— By David Walker, Vice President of Association Services, National Glass Association

Set big, hairy, audacious goals for 2010; don't give up on 2009

We are in the 4th quarter of the calendar year. What can you do to impact the current final weeks of 2009? It is at this time of year that many companies get off schedule. They lose their focus as holidays approach, the temperature changes, and preparation for winter begins. To use a sports analogy, most games are won or lost in the 4th quarter; most races are won or lost in the final meters.

Lessons from dad
Now is the time to implement strategies that impact the 4th quarter results while simultaneously laying the foundation for 2010. My father sold pots and pans door to door in 1940. Remember, the world was still in a depression and a war was in its inception in Europe. From Thanksgiving to Christmas he walked, without much success, from house to house trying to sell his wares. The week between Christmas and New Years Day is, in our culture, a slow time.

But dad needed money for tuition, so he decided to keep knocking on doors. He had his best sales week ever. It seems that there were many men who had either not gotten their wives a Christmas gift or had gotten them an unsatisfactory gift. He set company sales records. His company was so impressed that they offered him a full-time sales manager position. His company noted that he was one of a very few that worked that particular week. Most of his peers had quit for the year. Yet he was successful because he kept knocking on doors.

Now or never!
Now is the time to implement strategies that impact your 4th quarter results while simultaneously laying the foundation for 2010. Set some Big Hairy Audacious Goals for 2010. If you knew you couldn't fail, what goals would you set? Remember, though, these goals have to be measurable and have a specific time frame.

The two reasons people don't hit their goals are that they never really set them or they set them and forget them. So, write them down. Post them. Get pictures to remind you of them. Get someone to hold you accountable.

In a few weeks I will be meeting with 10 fellow glass shop owners. I will announce my 2010 BHAG and challenge them to participate. Start running the race for next year now. Get a head start on your competition.

Break the tape!
Don’t quit on this year! Keep “knocking on doors.” Keep “running the race.” Don’t “quit” before the end of the game. Will you finish with a burst of speed to hit your goals or will you limp across the finish? It’s up to you. Do something today to break the tape in 2009!

—Bill Evans, president, Evans Glass Co., Nashville

The credit crunch

When I bought a home in 2005, banks were more than willing to finance the purchase. Some were offering loan amounts that exceeded my comfort level by tens of thousands of dollars.


Today, banks are much more cautious, and loans are hard to come by, say glass company execs. “From our standpoint, one of the most major challenges right now is the availability of money,” says Newton Little, executive vice president, Ace Glass, Little Rock, Ark. “Money is available, but [banks] want you to have more skin in the game than we think is reasonable,” he says.

It’s the banks, not the number of jobs coming in, that’s more of a problem, says Charlotte Broussard, owner and CEO, Universal Window and Door LLC, Marlborough, Mass. “This year, we are quoting more projects than we have in the last three years, with continual value engineering. After the engineering, unfortunately many banks are not funding the projects,” she says.

Credit will be instrumental for us to move forward, agrees Ed Sieber, president, Glass Doctor of Charlotte, N.C. “We’re going to need the capital to buy vans, equipment, etc., for when we do grow. Dina Dwyer, CEO, The Dwyer Group, was on Capitol Hill speaking before Congress to help free up credit for small businesses. If they can make some headway and free up some of the credit, it will enable us to be able to hire people back.”

Indeed, underwriting standards remain tight, according to a Sept. 9 “State of the Financing Markets” Webcast from Lincoln International LLC, with offices in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles. “Conventional wisdom would say that the broader economy is out of the recession and company performance is improving; however, credit is available for only the highest-quality companies,” officials stated in the presentation. “The recent stagnation in loan volume and mergers and acquisition activity is due to a combination of lack of visibility into many borrowers’ future performance, and underwriting standards of lenders still providing capital remaining very tight,” they said.

Glass Magazine will delve deeper into the issue in the December 2009 edition and we'd like your input. How is the credit crunch affecting your business, and what effect has it had on your customer base?

—By Jenni Chase, Editor, Glass Magazine

Time to get off the sideline

In recent years, architects have begun to see some of the many creative uses for glass, and they have incorporated more and more of it into their spaces. This was not by accident. Many companies in our industry have spent a great deal of money in getting our products in front of the architectural community. Even more money has been spent in the development of new glazing products to keep the momentum going in favor of "more glass" in buildings, even as energy codes have become increasingly stringent. In the end, we have all benefited. Even if your piece of the pie didn't grow, the pie itself did, whether you were directly involved in these efforts or not.

But now, this trend is in real danger of reversing, and fast! Several code organizations are attempting to reduce the use of glass in new buildings. For example, shortly after the GlassBuild America show left Atlanta, the ASHRAE 90.1 envelope subcommittee met there to discuss how it would meet its mandate of reducing energy consumption by 30 percent in 2011. Their solution? Reduce glass area by 25 percent while also tightening the light to solar gain ratio requirement on glass such that more than half of the existing high-performance glazing products won't qualify. Is it any surprise that our industry has no representation on that subcommittee? Thankfully, Glass Association of North America stepped in and mitigated some of the damage through their presentation to the subcommittee.

In the past, we all relied on the Glass Industry Code Committee to fight these battles for us. The GICC, however, is shutting down. GANA is picking up its torch, and the National Glass Association is fully behind its efforts. Now we need to get into this fight, as well; collectively, as an industry, our future is at stake. We need to come together with a strong voice, to support all the hard work that has been done to develop and bring to market strong products that can and should play an important role in energy-efficient buildings.

Now, I must admit that the preceding paragraphs just about fully exhaust my knowledge on this topic as of today; I just recently learned of the dangerous situation we find ourselves in. So please join me in learning about the issues, and in participating in our great industry organizations. GANA and NGA both have highly dedicated volunteers and staff that are working hard for you and me every day, so take the time to learn what is going on and how you can get involved! Read a Glass Magazine article on this issue.

--By Chris Mammen, president, M3 Glass Technologies, Irving, Texas

Have you found your solar niche yet?

Opportunity for the glass industry in the emerging solar market has been the topic of much discussion for some time now. Big companies, such as Guardian, have already climbed on the bandwagon; small companies are looking for ways to get their piece of the pie.

I attended the solar seminar at GBA: The Glass, Window & Door Expo Oct. 1. Panelists at the seminar, moderated by Russ Ebeid, made amply clear that the solar market is a plumb opportunity for the glass and glazing industry.

"This is a huge growth opportunity,” said Steve Coonen, solar design consultant, Applied Solar, San Diego. “The glass industry hasn’t taken on this photovoltaic challenge yet. Why be afraid? Why not take it up as a serious opportunity to make money?"

The rest of the panel talked about PV in China; CSP in the U.S. and Spain; BIPV in Europe and North America, and about the current state of those different technologies and applications. Read the article.

The government is doing its share to encourage energy efficiency. It has provided $32.6 billion in funding to the U.S. Department of Energy through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. More than half of these funds went to the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy program office.

The Recovery Act also includes $2.3 billion to fund 30 investment tax credits for manufacturing assets used to manufacture advanced solar products. This program is run through the Department of Treasury and that department must certify the projects.

The act extends bonus depreciation as an incentive for manufacturers to invest in new equipment. Half the cost of the equipment is deducted immediately when the equipment is placed in service with the remaining amount depreciated normally.

The ASTM, for its part, has started work on a possible solar glass standard. Members of ASTM International Committee E44 on Solar, Geothermal, and Other Energy Sources, and ASTM International Committee C14 on Glass and Glass Products met with representatives of the U.S. Department of Energy Sept. 29 to develop and maintain “standards for glass and glass coatings for solar applications that include, but are not limited to, photovoltaic, solar thermal, and concentrating applications. The standards will address the characteristics that affect performance, durability and reliability.” Read the article.

Interested parties who want to participate in the ASTM standard process, should write Pat Picariello or Christine DeJong.

Seems to me like there has never been a better time to jump on the solar bandwagon. As Ebeid said at the GBA seminar: “I have talked about mega trends, especially those that illustrate how government regulations and product innovations combine to change the business climate irreversibly. Solar, if and when realized, is touted to be one of those game changers.”

What’s your take on this emerging market? Is this going to be like the dot-com bubble or is it here to stay?

—By Sahely Mukerji, news editor/managing editor, Glass Magazine

Bidding wars: Price vs. quality

Talking to attendees and exhibitors at GlassBuild America: The Glass, Window & Door Expo, I repeatedly heard stories of companies involved in bidding wars where the job ultimately went to the lowest bidder without regard to the quality of its product or service. In one incident, a developer installed more than $1 million worth of windows, only to pull them out due to poor quality, said Charlotte Broussard, owner and CEO of Universal Window and Door LLC, Marlborough, Mass. “Out of fear, people are going after price and not [paying attention to] the quality of the product,” she said. There have been projects where Universal was underbid by 40 percent, and the company ended up going back and doing the projects over because the developer had to pull the original product, she said. “It is becoming a real problem.”

“Our customers are hard bidding jobs and [developers] are going with the best price,” said Tom O’Malley, vice president of sales, Doralco, Alsip, Ill. “The building owners are almost making it a bidding war to see how desperate people will get. Companies are taking jobs at prices that they shouldn’t be at. We’re obviously looking at our costs, but we’re not going to put ourselves in a position to go out of business. There are some people out there that are [putting themselves in that position],” he said.

Education is the answer to the problem, said Paul Weisblatt, technical director, Universal Window and Door. “We’re doing our best to educate the customer with regard to why they’re going to pay what they’re going to pay,” he said. “It costs money; you can’t compare [a value-added product] against a price-only product and expect to get the same performance.”

Has your company been involved in bidding wars where the customer has turned a blind eye to quality and gone with the lowest price instead? What are you doing to convince them that there’s more to choosing a product or service than dollars and cents?


—By Jenni Chase, Editor, Glass Magazine

GlassBuild America "Live"

When a colleague forwarded me this video of what appears to be a primitive bullet-resistant glass demonstration, three thoughts came to mind:

1. Is this video real or fake?

2. This woman must really trust this gentleman's marksmanship.

3. When selecting a product or service, there's no substitute for experiencing its capabilities firsthand.



At GlassBuild America: The Glass, Window & Door Expo, attendees had the chance to do just that--try out products firsthand--as almost 400 companies took the show floor Sept. 30 through Oct. 2 in Atlanta. While the live demonstrations weren't as nerve-wracking, they were educational.

Visit GlassMagazine.com to see photos from the trade show floor and read about attendees' diversification plans, thoughts on the state of our industry and expectations for the year ahead.

—By Jenni Chase, Editor, Glass Magazine

Project Blinkenlights

Glass is not just a means of enclosing a building or home; as the following examples illustrate, it can also be a conduit for personal expression.
German firm Project Blinkenlights is transforming building façades into digital art installations using computer-controlled lamps placed behind darkened windows to create large-scale animated images on glass façades. As part of its most recent Stereoscope installation in Canada, people also were able to play video games on the side of Toronto City Hall using their mobile phones.

Similarly, fellow Germans UrbanScreen Gmbh & Co. create “custom-made virtual skins“ for urban surfaces by projecting digital, large-scale images and messages on building exteriors. The firm points out on its Web site that “every installation’s central starting point is the architecture.”

Too often, the general public sees glass as a simple daylighting solution. That attitude is changing, however, as people encounter glass in unexpected, innovative applications. I encourage you to read our 2009 Crystal Achievement Awards coverage to see how the minds of the glass and architectural design communities continue to produce innovative architecture that inspires not just our industry, but others who look to glass as a vehicle for creative expression.

—By Jenni Chase, Editor, Glass Magazine

Create opportunity to showcase your employees' talents

My wife and I enjoy watching America’s Got Talent. It’s amazing to us how many people have a talent that has been hidden from most of America and the rest of the world. That television show made me realize that everybody has talent. It may not be entertainment talent; it may be some undiscovered administrative, sales, marketing, installation, or creative talent. Every company has a hidden talent reservoir.

Business is going through a belt-tightening/downsizing period. Many businesses are anticipating 2010. As businesses plan for 2010, part of the strategy should include the appropriate use of the surviving workforce. Take a fresh look at all employees. Imagine what their hidden strengths may be. Ask them about their hobbies/interests. Identify those with obscured talent and/or untapped potential.

How can a business use someone’s talents in previously unused ways? How can a business use them to strength the company? The key is to create an opportunity for them to showcase their talent. Evans Glass Co. has an employee that began in clerical role. We discovered she had the knowledge and ability to network on the Internet and create links back to our Web site. She is also very adept at creating glass sculptures, tables, and ornaments. She is opening a previously unimagined market for us.

If your business does not have any talented people or leaders, then it is time to go find some. There are displaced unemployed people looking for a chance to showcase their talents. If they have been unemployed for some time, they may not demand a high salary or wages.
It is time to plan for your company’s growth in the coming year. Your growth centers on your people. See people as they can be, not as they are.

—Bill Evans, president, Evans Glass Co., Nashville

Autumnal thoughts. And policy musings ...

Autumn brings us many things each year ... football, falling leaves and the return of Congress from summer recess. Ah, it's that time of year again. Autumn has a feel all its own. We get the sweet aroma and “crunch” of dried leaves on the ground. Not to mention the smell of burgers and dogs on the grill as tailgating fills the air at every football stadium across America.

Meanwhile, the smoke from “pork” filled bills emanates from the halls of the Capitol building. Hmm ... let's peek at what is possibly going to be delivered from Congress this Fall.

When asked why he runs the ball more than passing in his offensive sets, legendary Michigan coach Bo Schembechler famously retorted: when you pass the ball, three things can happen, two of which are bad (incomplete pass or interception). I feel the same way about the upcoming Congressional session. Three things could happen with major impact, and I’m just not sure where that will leave us.

Congress has never faced a more critical agenda, most of which might turn out to be bad for our business interests—the outcome of the health care debate; cap and trade; and the “Employee Free Choice Act" or card check.

We’ve discussed most of this before in blogs and in articles. However, I do want to speak about the health care issue that dominated the news this August and is sure to influence our planning over the next few years.

We will all know the outcome of this contentious issue soon. Congress seems to be moving forward toward a solution of some kind (Public option or not? Universal coverage or limited to a smaller pool? Etc.). Regardless of the specifics, it is safe to assume that the final cost will be passed along to average Americans and businesses in the form of tax increases as the bill has to be paid somewhere along the line.

Regardless of the specifics of the final bill, my real question involves timing since most of the bill won’t take effect until 2013! Your thoughts?

Another hot topic, energy mandates will be debated at the Energy Efficiency Town Hall Forum at GlassBuild America: The Glass, Window & Door Expo Oct. 1. Be sure to join us for this must-attend event. You’ll hear first-hand from industry participants on a number of issues posing opportunity, and risk.

Remember to exercise your rights as a citizen and contact your representative or senator. Regardless of what side of the argument you support, it is our right and privilege to participate in the debate. Or, if you want to speak your mind here, post your thoughts below.

PS: The glass community lost two of its finest businessmen in recent days. Tom Lee Jr., of Lee & Cates Glass in Jacksonville, Fla., and John Whitlatch, president of Matkins Auto Glass Inc., Greensboro, N.C. Both were instrumental in shaping the industry, and each legendary at mentoring many in the industry. To us, John was a past president of the National Glass Association and Tom Lee Jr. was an NGA Community Service Award winner, a distinction worthy of a champion. What's more, they were our friends. Each will be remembered, and our heartfelt prayers extended to the families of each.

— By David Walker, Vice President of Association Services, National Glass Association

What is the government doing for YOU?

While I support the U.S. government’s efforts to stimulate the economy through legislation such as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, I have to admit that sometimes I find myself asking: what’s in it for me? I missed out on the first-time homebuyers’ credit; my car didn’t qualify for the Cash for Clunkers program; and although I’d like to take advantage of the tax credits available for improving the energy efficiency of my home, a major remodel isn’t a possibility right now. I know I will benefit from these stimulus efforts in the long run, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little envious of the $8,000 check my new neighbors just pocketed!

So, while I continue to navigate the ARRA to see how it can benefit me personally, I’d like to point out one area where it can help small businesses that may have struggled financially last year.

Under the ARRA, small businesses with a net operating loss (NOL) in 2008 can get a refund of taxes paid over the past five years instead of the usual two. To qualify for the new five-year carryback provision, a small business must have no greater than an average of $15 million in gross receipts over a three-year period ending with the tax year of the NOL. Businesses with more than $15 million in gross receipts still qualify to carry back their 2008 NOL for two years.

“The new net operating loss provisions could throw a lifeline to struggling businesses, providing them with a quick infusion of cash,” said IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman, in a release.

You’ll need to hurry if you want to take advantage of this option, however. Calendar-year corporations that qualify as Eligible Small Businesses (ESB) must file a claim by Sept. 15. For individuals--sole proprietors, individual partners and shareholders in an S corporation that qualifies as an ESB--the deadline is Oct. 15. More information is available here.

—By Jenni Chase, Editor, Glass Magazine

In hard times, watch out for scams

It seems this recession has sent scammers into overdrive. Maybe they hope that companies struggling to stay afloat during the slow economy will be easy targets for scams, perhaps taking business they would avoid during better times. Or maybe the scammers themselves are feeling the economic pinch (not that my heart bleeds for them).

These scammers are stepping up their efforts to steal from legitimate business owners, often using a fake shipping company scam, and companies need to be on the lookout. The recession is hard enough already—don’t make it worse by losing thousands of dollars to these folks.

On average, I receive two emails a week from business owners reporting they have been targeted with fraudulent orders (for the most part, they have identified the scam in time). Jorge Morales, general manager at Dimensional Plastics Corp., Hialeah, Fla., wrote in a recent email, “I get hit by these scammers at least two to three times a day. … Today, one actually called me!”

Rich Yergovich, sales and marketing manager for Kingston Printing, Eudora, Kan., said, “I got two in one day. Both smelled bad from the start, but I responded with a polite estimate. When I got a response with a request to contact Mobo Shipping in order for my product to be shipped to Singapore, I knew there was a rat in the kitchen. The very minute someone wants to send printed material to a foreign country you have to know something isn’t right.”

The scammers have even started to email me directly, trying to place glass orders supposedly for orphanages, churches or schools in other continents.

If you know the warning signs, the scams are easy to identify. At Glass Magazine, we set up a Scam Alert page listing the red flags for fraud. Make sure you and everyone at your company knows the warning signs. And, most importantly, trust your gut. If it seems fishy, it probably is. Legitimate customers won’t be hesitant to provide basic additional information. Legitimate customers won’t insist on the use of their preferred shipping company when it costs thousands of dollars more to do so. And legitimate customers won’t force you to take a great financial risk to complete their order.

To learn more about the red flags, read examples of fraudulent orders and get information about reporting scammers, go to the Scam Alert page. To read more in-depth information about the shipping company scam and see numerous comments from business owners who have been targeted, click here.

--By Katy Devlin, commercial glass & metals editor

What will the next six months bring?

A recent survey of senior U.S. manufacturing executives examines their midyear outlook for the U.S. economy, attitudes toward the proposed cap and trade legislation, and current international presence and expansion plans. Baker Tilly commissioned the survey and KRC Research conducted it. Overall, the survey indicates a tale of two manufacturing sectors: the winners and the losers.

Three-hundred senior executives of small, medium and large U.S. manufacturing companies participated in the survey through telephone calls between June 2 and June 22, 2009. Here’s a snapshot of the survey’s key industrial economic outlook findings:

Cautiously optimistic – Nearly six in 10 senior manufacturing execs (57 percent) have a positive outlook for the U.S. economy over the next six months, but slightly (51 percent) more pessimistic about the outlook for the manufacturing sector.

Rightsizing – Over the next six months, 70 percent of manufacturers said they plan to keep staffing levels the same.

Brighter days ahead for some – About half of executives (49 percent) expect their firm’s performance to decline, with 12 percent (disproportionally small businesses) saying their firm is in danger of failing. Customer demand is cited as the top challenge to growth, followed by access to loans and credit, over the next 12 months.

Economic survival strategies – Over the next 12 months, the majority of manufacturing execs expect to reduce costs across the board, such as operational (80 percent), supplier (65 percent) and labor (51 percent).

Staying the course – Despite pressure to reduce costs, executives are continuing to invest in their companies. The most common investments are in quality improvement systems (51 percent).

Bargain hunting – Among executives with plans for M&A activity, 85 percent report no change in their plans, 12 percent plan to increase and 3 percent plan to decrease it. Among executives whose firms derive some revenue from outside the United States, 80 percent said most of their new customers over the next three years would come from domestic markets. However, more than one in four executives from large manufacturers cited most of their new customers will come from outside the U.S. during the next three years. For companies that conduct business overseas, China (44 percent) and Mexico (40 percent) were cited as countries that will play an increasing role in their global growth strategies during that same period.

The survey also showed that most manufacturing executives (59 percent) generally oppose legislation that includes a greenhouse gas emissions cap and trade system, but a sizable pocket of soft support exists among some executives (32 percent), especially those who are more optimistic about the U.S. economic recovery and the manufacturing sector.

See the executive summary of the report, and let me know your thoughts for the next six months. Are we done with the worst yet, or have we still not reached the bottom? Are we ready to take off and soar high? Will it be an easy or difficult takeoff?

—By Sahely Mukerji, news editor/managing editor, Glass Magazine

A glazing mission

Every Memorial Day for at least eight years, my wife, Linda, and I have traveled to Tegucigalpa, the capital city of Honduras, for a week to be part of a medical and missionary team from our church, Fellowship Bible Church of Little Rock. We go out into the city and set up a site with doctors, dentists, an optometrist, a pharmacy and a children’s area. The peoples’ physical needs are the draw we use to then address their spiritual needs, which are our true focus.

This year is particularly special, as we will travel to Honduras at least three times to help build a new mission home for World Gospel Outreach, our yearly host.

On July 14, Linda and I traveled to Tegucigalpa with two ACE Glass Co. associates, Blake and Isaac; our good friend, Johnny; and our middle son, Chris. Amidst the political turmoil, we set out to install the aluminum, single-glazed windows that had been sent a few weeks before our arrival via an emptied Dole banana container going back to Honduras.

In 3-1/2 work days--with occasional help from two very energetic Honduran men, Antonio and Caesar-- we installed 200 window units. Isaac, being bilingual, instructed four Honduran men, believed to have some caulking proficiency, how we wanted the backerod installed and the bronze GE Silpruf applied. They turned out to be pretty good caulkers and are reported to be doing a fine job in our absence. We’ll find out personally when we return in September.

We have about 40 remaining windows units to install in the basement and two other buildings; the holes weren’t ready in July. We will then install a beautiful executive office entrance provided by Alpha Door & Rail and M3 Glass Technologies with DecoTherm logo and 18 Vistawall Oldcastle aluminum doors, frames and sidelites.

These trips are very rewarding personally, and the Hondurans are vocally appreciative to have us help their country and them. Their smiles and laughter are infectious. You can’t imagine how economically poor they are until you experience it.

By Newton Little, executive vice president and co-founder, ACE Glass Co., Little Rock, Ark.

Learning from others' mistakes and successes

I just got back from a two-day trip with my two partners to visit a colleague in the glass business 1,500 miles away. Some would say that now is not the time to spend money on flights and hotels, and that they can't spend time away from their businesses when times are tough. I say that it has never been more important than it is now! None of us can just keep doing what we have always done and hope to thrive, or even survive. Now is the time to tap your network for all kinds of ideas: new products, new applications for old products, management techniques, efficiency improvements and more.

Some business owners fear they will send the wrong message to their employees if they travel while tightening the belt on most everything else. These fears are easily assuaged, however, when you return with ideas that you can immediately implement to save money and improve the business. Share what you find with your managers and employees and make sure they see that the positive changes are a direct result of what you learned from your contacts. Every time that we have done this--and we typically do it two or three times a year, including attending GlassBuild America: The Glass, Window & Door Expo--we bring back pages of good ideas that justify and pay for the trip.

For these trips to be successful, you need two things: someone who is willing to share openly with you and a willingness to reciprocate. The latter is most important, and if both parties believe that, the exchange will be the most fruitful. While some things are taboo--pricing for example, if you are competitors--don't put up any walls and don't hesitate to share ideas and experiences that will help your friend! It amazes me when people in this industry think they have discovered something that no one else has, and that they can best benefit by closing off their operation like a secret military base. If your focus is on openness and listening, you will always leave having gained more than you shared, and having profited more than you spent.

Time away from the daily routine and pressures also clears and frees your mind to see your company and people in a fresh light. You will return refreshed and energized. Start with GlassBuild America Sept. 30-Oct. 2. Meet up with friends there, and make some new ones. Attend the seminars and take notes. Before you leave, make plans to exchange visits with another company, or to visit a valued supplier. Doing so will grow your business faster, improve our industry and even contribute to overall economic recovery!

--By Chris Mammen, president, M3 Glass Technologies, Irving, Texas

NFRC's site built rating system not ready for rollout by Jan. 1, 2010

—The following is the transcript of a July 27 letter from Chuck Knickerbocker, curtain wall manager, Technical Glass Products, Snoqualmie, Wash., chuckk@tgpamerica.com, to officials of NFRC.

I appreciate the work the National Fenestration Rating Council has done with regard to getting the residential window industry playing on a level field as it relates to ratings for energy performance. I have misgivings the same can be said for the planned rollout of the site built fenestration rating system as described in the July 15, 2009, NFRC-hosted Webinar.

I have no doubt that energy is a prime concern. As an architecture major in the late '70s, I took both passive and active solar energy design courses in school. That was avant-garde then, and things like Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, the high cost of energy, and long gas lines of the '70s have made a lot of us conscious of the energy side of the products we build and sell. I drive a Prius. I know the issues, and NFRC’s planned rollou--and more immediately California’s requirement that site built fenestration be certified by Jan. 1, 2010--does not appear to be ready to respond to actual, everyday conditions as they presently exist.

Having 28 years in the glass and glazing industry, as a subcontractor, a consultant and now as a frame supplier, there appear to be many loose ends. Can you help me with some answers with the questions herein, please? And thank you.

1. The NFRC size for modeling may or may not represent actual conditions on site. Certification of a window of an arbitrary size that doesn’t duplicate the site built conditions may lead to:

a. A unitized wall panel, for example, with its varying framing methods, which cannot be accurately modeled in the CMAST program as demonstrated at the Webinar.

b. Certifications of walls that may perform better or worse than the NFRC size expose the qualifying entity, most likely the subcontractors, to huge liability issues.

c. As a result, NFRC certification may or may not indicate actual performance of a given wall product.

d. Is this a possibility, and what do we do if we encounter this? What is NFRC prepared to do to assist the glazing subcontractor if this occurs?

2. Fenestration rating for curtain walls: does this just cover the glass industry? What about the other “curtain walls” (non-load bearing building skins) that are out there? Does NRFC have a say in rating precast concrete and window systems? How about Stucco? Masonry? GFRC? Stud-built systems with either terra cotta, stone, brick, or EIFS? How do we get those rated come Jan. 1, 2010?

a. Should we just be concerned about the glazing portion of these walls?

b. What about other glazing materials that get mounted into any of the variety of steel or aluminum curtain walls? Composite metal panels for one, or granite? How do we get a California building inspector to accept a certification in January that NFRC is not presently prepared to offer? Architects aren’t going to stop designing these systems with these components.

3. Has the NFRC involved the one entity that has to pay for all of this, the building owners? This includes federal, state, and local governments, who can fob it off to the taxpayers, but:

a. Time to schedules will be required to allow testing of custom curtain walls not previously built to be tested and certified. The response to this question in the Webinar was it could happen in as little as two months. If it takes longer, then what?

b. What happens if the designed custom wall the owner’s architect has put in the drawings doesn’t get rated or certified? Is that the glazing subcontractor’s problem? The architect’s?

c. The owner’s going to be impacted, that’s for sure. Do the building owners realize that a huge cost impact to their projects just got dumped on them?

d. And do they know that a certificate of occupancy can hang in the balance should the certification not meet the building inspector’s expectation?

4. NFRC is out there trying to alert the one entity that will be charged with getting the certifications, that being the glazing subcontractors. They’ll enlist the help of the glass or frame suppliers, but they have to include the cost and schedule impact into their estimates.

a. The Glass Association of North America has been trying to clue the glass and glazing subcontractors in, but they haven’t been made to understand the impact. They won’t until they have to experience it first hand.

b. Jobs being bid right now for 2010 will miss a significant cost in their estimates. That’s never good for owners or subcontractors. They’ll be burned on the cost of the first one, and then the owners will feel the impact on the next job.

c. Except there will be one glazing sub on the next project being bid that won’t know what they are about to walk into, and their price won’t include any of certification, and they will get the job because they were the low bidder. The playing field will not be level at bid day. And delays will be incurred while they absorb the cost impact to get certification.

d. All while at or near the end of the job, when the owner’s trying to get the CO, the owner, architects, general contractors, as well as the sub’s bankers and bonding company will be breathing heavily on their necks to get the certification.

5. TGP’s in a unique position. What has priority: fire rated partitions or the energy requirements, both of which by code are required? The issue comes down to public safety or energy code compliance. Who gets to decide the fate of that issue if a fire rated fenestration product can’t get certified as being compliant with the energy code?

I don’t think I’m overstating the case as it presently stands. And NFRC may have plans to implement and eventually deal with the contingencies. But what do we do in the meantime? Seems the only resort is to plead our case for the building inspectors of the world to grant us an exemption. That’s a risk, too. It can be naïve to think they may approve the exception, and worse, the consequences when they won’t. It’s also naïve to think the NFRC CMA certification will cover all conditions after Jan. 1, 2010.

There appear to be too many loopholes. How we can work within what appears to be a very difficult situation is of extreme interest to us. I’d be curious as to NFRC’s reaction to all this. It may help us plan and implement TGP’s approach a little better.

The opinions expressed here are those of the individual author and do not necessarily reflect those of the National Glass Association, Glass Magazine editors, or other glassblog contributors.

An economic mixed bag

We’ve been hearing some positive economic news lately. New-home sales jumped 11 percent in June. The Dow managed to top 9,000, and Goldman Sachs reported $3.44 billion in second quarter earnings earlier this month. Larry Summers, top economic advisor for President Obama, said the economy is “back from the abyss” in a July 17 Forbes article.

According to a July 20 Bloomberg report, the index of U.S. leading economic indicators rose in June “reinforcing signs the economy may be emerging from the worst recession in five decades.” James O’Sullivan, a senior economist from UBS Securities LLC in Stamford, Conn., predicted in the article that the recession will end in the third quarter. “We’re moving in the right direction,” he said. And the results of a recent National Association for Business Economics shows the economy recovering, albeit slowly, during the last half of this year, according to a July 20 article from MarketWatch.

But just as I start to take a nice long sigh of relief, I start to hear the strong, scary and convincing words of warning from folks who are not so optimistic about the economic recovery.

Paul Krugman, for one, the Nobel Prize-winning economist and columnist for the New York Times, queried in his July 12 column whether America was becoming a “boiled frog,” lingering in increasingly hot water, unaware of the fact that it will soon be boiled alive. “Now that the free fall is over, all sense of urgency seems to have vanished,” he said. Krugman predicts a painful jobless recovery, with unemployment rates staying high through the end of 2010, and with many unemployed losing their savings and homes.

Many in the glass industry also are unsure about the economy’s recovery. In a July 7 e-glass poll, only 20 percent of respondents said the economy had bottomed out.

So, where does that leave us? Will Wall Street recover in the near future, while Main Street continues to trudge through a recession into 2010? Could things on both streets just keep getting worse? Or are we all actually rising from the economic abyss? What’s your take?

--By Katy Devlin, commercial glass & metals editor

'Free' health care

In a CNBC Financial report, I heard an investment guy who summarized it all brilliantly.

He was discussing the fact that emerging market funds will be where the money is made. He said that the Chinese are using their currency to buy up and hoard commodities (oil, metals, etc.) at the current bargain prices in preparation for the turn around that will surely come at some point in time.

He said this: “The U.S. will lag the recovery because we have so much bad spending to digest. The rest of the world is financing growth opportunities, while we’re in the USA financing entitlement programs. Where would you put your money?” That just about says it all.

Here are some of the key points of the bills approved in the House this week: You will pay a 5 percent excise tax if you earn more than $280,000 in order to fund health care. Businesses will be forced to pay a “fine” of $375 for every part-time worker if they don’t offer health care. That one is sure to create jobs for our younger workers and the marginally employed.

Yep, it’s a real incentive to hire people who might not even generate that much in profits during a year. In one scenario: You have employees who only work five-to-10 hours per week because this is a second income for “fun” money in their homes. These are typically people who already have health care through their spouses’ employers, but under Obama-Care you'd be forced to pay a fine if you don’t offer them a program. You'd likely lay them off first if you can’ t make a reasonable profit. That model will be repeated over and over in our country.

Oh, it gets more than just interesting. This proposal could cost you even more.

It could even be worse; one of the Democrat proposals is an 8 percent tax on salary if your annual payroll is more than $400,000 for your company. How much good do you think that will do for small businesses? It doesn’t take much to hit an annual payroll of $400,000. If you take an 8 percent hit of $32,000, you might not have any profit left for many small businesses.

This is mind-boggling. Tell me how you feel about what is being proposed by posting your thoughts.

— By David Walker, Vice President of Association Services, National Glass Association

The opinions expressed here are those of the individual author and do not necessarily reflect those of the National Glass Association, Glass Magazine editors, or other glassblog contributors.

Study habits influence attitudes

There are only three three things we can control:
1) Our work habits
2) Our study habits
3) Our attitude

It is easy to define work habits. At Evans Glass Co., we define our work habits by what we call The Five Main Things; communication, daily quality results, customer service, teamwork and personal growth.

However, our study habits directly influence our attitude. Consider an analogy of the Dead Sea and the Sea of Galilee. Nothing new enters the Dead Sea. Consequently, it is generally lifeless and stagnant. The Jordon River runs through the Sea of Galilee bringing with it fresh growth and new life.

Our minds are similar. Without studying something beneficial, our minds are like the Dead Sea. Nothing new enters and our attitude begins to deteriorate. We become mired in the same muck as last week, last month, last year, last decade.

Read a book. If we read a positive self-improvement book only 15 minutes per day, we will read about 300 pages per month. That is more than one book per month. Attend a seminar. One hour or one day at a seminar will stimulate our minds and get us focused on positive change or growth.

Attend GlassBuild America. A few hours or days with our peers will rejuvenate us. The flow of new information, or old information from a new source, will change our attitude. The improvement of our study habits leads directly to a positive attitude. Remember we can't eat anything we want and lose weight simultaneously. Improving our diet--study habits--leads to better health--improved attitude.

—Bill Evans, president, Evans Glass Co., Nashville

Ditch water, summer readings, and creating your own economy

Anybody who knows me knows I am easily enthused. Let's face it, sometimes the little things, even the most trivial, matter. And I am excited as I pen this note on this beautiful July 4 weekend.

True, my mood was just brightened as I listened to the Brewers walking in the Cubs’ winning run in the bottom of the ninth. Sorry, fellow Domer/Brewer Craig Counsel. Them’s the breaks.

But my excitement today goes beyond another Cubbie win.

As Dutch might have said, “Well … we made it.” The worst is behind us. The economy has bottomed out. And not a moment too soon. So the economists tell us.

Monday's headline news affirms this: "U.S. service industries--from retailers to homebuilders--contracted last month at the slowest pace since September, a sign the worst recession in half a century is easing," said economists at the Institute for Supply Management.

Indeed, while many businesses and individuals are still struggling mightily, many manufacturers, suppliers and glass shops have gotten through the worst in decent shape. A few are even flourishing. All is not well--by a long shot--but the proverbial light appears to be flickering at the end of this very dark and dreary tunnel …

The first half of this year was akin to drinking ditch water on a hot summer day. It’s all we had, so we had to drink it; but it sure tasted awful. Hopefully, we've buried that ditch once and for all and that gorgeous, sparkling oasis we see in the distance isn’t a mirage.

As we soldier on, several interesting threats--aka, opportunities--remain.

GE CEO Jeff Immelt was quoted this week as saying that our country needs more manufacturing. We know how true that is; especially in the glass industry.

But China remains a major player in the manufacturing arena. A few months back, I was impressed when Ford Motor Co. announced that it now has the same labor cost structure as Toyota, at some $50 per hour. I was equally shocked to learn that Chinese firms can produce cars at $13 per hour of labor. So the competition is there.

But so is the opportunity.

Indeed, if Immelt’s challenge is to be met, we as a nation must make some important, tough decisions. We need policies that support job creation, without being protectionist. Now more than ever, our unified involvement is needed.

The Obama administration is already talking about a second stimulus package, based on last week's abysmal job creation numbers. What shape it takes, who knows? But we all know that government can only do so much. At some point, the private sector must step up and make the real difference.

In speaking with NGA board member Kevin McMahon last week, he indicated the local association meetings he attends are brimming with business people doing just that. These tough times are clearly prompting people to reach out and connect, network, and yes, create their own economy! It seems we’re all tired of drinking the ditch water.

We’re seeing this play out with GlassBuild America too. If early registrations are any indication, we could be on pace for a wonderful year! In fact--all things being equal--we’ve seen equivalent, if not higher, registrations for this fall’s show than we’ve seen over the previous two years.

You know what I’m going to say here …

It’s time to network, build your business and create your own economy! And there’s no better place to do that than at this fall's GlassBuild America expo. Register today to attend. I promise: We won’t be serving ditch water. After all, ditch water is for dogs; it’s time to drink from a better source.

And if you're looking for a book to add to your summer reading list, try "Create Your Own Economy: The Path to Prosperity in a Disordered World," by Tyler Cowen. Just released, this quick and timely read focuses on how you win by innovating, sharper thinking and working harder.

— By David Walker, Vice President of Association Services, National Glass Association

Who's the boss?

How much involvement should the federal government have in the personnel policies of U.S. business owners? That is a question at the heart of the debate surrounding the Healthy Families Act (H.R. 2460/S.1152). If passed, it would require employers with 15 or more employees to offer paid sick leave to their staff: about seven days per year for full-time employees and one hour for every 30 hours worked for part-timers.

In an industry that has shed nearly 1 million jobs in the past year, according to the Associated General Contractors of America, construction companies and their suppliers have had to come up with creative ways to avoid layoffs. The introduction of mandatory paid sick leave could mean the difference between making payroll or not, argue Associated Builders and Contractors officials. "Small businesses across the country are struggling to keep their doors open in these trying times and mandating paid leave will only aggravate this already fragile situation, they stated in a June 10 letter to the House of Representatives. "At a time when employers are struggling to avoid layoffs and business closures, imposing paid leave mandates on employers is unwise policy that threatens jobs and the viability of many of the nation's small businesses," they stated.

Proponents of the act, however, point out that many Americans feel forced to go to work when sick for fear of losing their jobs or a day's pay. "There's something wrong when people have to choose between their jobs and taking care of themselves or their families when someone is sick," said Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut in a New York Times article

I think we can all agree that employees should be able to take a sick day if they or their family members are ill. The question is, on whose terms? Should sick day policy be up to the employer or the government?


—By Jenni Chase, Editor, Glass Magazine

New standard contract makes it easier to work on federal and stimulus projects

On June 10, the ConsensusDOCS coalition published 11 new contract documents and forms to help make bidding, negotiating and managing construction projects easier and more efficient for sub-contractors.

At a time when the stimulus and other federal construction programs are rapidly expanding, general and specialty contractors will benefit from using the first standard subcontract to address new complex contractual rules and regulations for federal government projects, according to a June 10 release from the AGC of America.

“With America looking to the construction community to rebuild our economy and restore our hope, the last thing we want is contractors being excessively burdened by complex rules and regulations,” said Tom Kelleher, senior partner in Smith, Currie & Hancock LLP and chair of the national coalition of associations who wrote and endorse the new standard contract, in the release. “The new ConsensusDOCS federal subcontract will keep needed construction projects from getting tangled up in red tape.”

The new document, known as ConsensusDOCS 752 – Subcontract for Federal Government Construction Projects, addresses the terms and conditions needed for subcontractors and contractors to comply with Federal Acquisition Regulations, Kelleher noted in the release. The contract also addresses new legal and ethical requirements pertaining to the legal status of employees, complying with ethics rules, as well as federal Prompt Pay Act requirements.

The document was written, reviewed and approved by a team of professionals representing every part of the construction process, including contractors, subcontractors, owners and sureties.“There is no need to reinvent the wheel every time someone wants to engage a subcontractor or work as a subcontractor on a federal government construction project,” Kelleher said.

ConsensusDOCS contracts are the first and only industry standard contracts written and endorsed by 22 leading construction organizations, according to the release. They offer a catalog of more than 90 contract documents covering all methods of project delivery, and utilize best practices to represent the project’s best interests. Endorsing organizations represent designers, owners, contractors, subcontractors and sureties.

Take a look, and let me know if the new contract documents will make life easier for you to bid on a federal or stimulus-funded job.

—By Sahely Mukerji, news editor/managing editor, Glass Magazine

R&D in the slow economy

Glass companies have been forced to make some drastic and painful cutbacks during this recession. However, one business area that has remained fairly unscathed during the downturn at most glass companies is research and development.

According to the May 19 e-glass poll, only 21 percent of respondents reported cutting R&D during the slower economy. Forty-seven percent said their activities had stayed the same, and 32 percent said they were increasing activities. The industry as a whole will greatly benefit from this collective innovation, and the individual companies dedicating themselves to R&D will come out of the recession poised to gain market share and stand apart from the competition.

“Research and development can be expensive, there is no denying that. But without it, your business, as well as the products or technologies that you provide, would grow stagnant. Without R & D you could even be missing out on new opportunities in industry sectors that are still thriving,” wrote Courtney Wilson, consultant at Northbridge SR&ED Consultants, in a March article.

Glass companies investing in R&D could receive an additional boost from the federal government, if a recent proposal from the Senate Finance Committee goes through. The committee, in a move to further support companies’ R&D efforts, unveiled new legislation June 8 to make it easier for companies to receive the R&D tax credit, according to a same-day article from RTTNews.

"In this global economy, research and development by American companies is critical to our economic recovery and the long-term global competitiveness of our country," said Max Baucus, committee chairman, who sponsored the bill (D-MT), according to the article.

So, what are some of your R&D activities at your company? Post a comment, or e-mail me at kdevlin@glass.org.

—Katy Devlin, commercial glass & metals editor, Glass Magazine