SALEM Flat Glass & Mirror has announced it has teamed up with IGis and Ashton Industrial. Constantly looking to improve both the quality and variety of our products and services in our already robust portfolio, we will immediately begin offering these companies’ products – insulated glass lines and seaming/pre-tempering equipment, to our customers.

Sept. 11, 2017 - On Thursday, September 7th GLASTRONiC, a subsidiary of the LiSEC Group, celebrated its first anniversary and at the same time opened the new 1,165 m² production hall. Around 100 customers, suppliers and employees of the LiSEC Group took part in this event at Oroszlány, Hungary.

Sept. 7, 2017 - North American glass fabricators now have additional choices for precision glass drilling. Starting August 2017, HHH Tempering Resources (HHH) is adding an Automatic Glass Drilling Machine to their product line-up.

Sept. 7, 2017 - H.B. Fuller Company has announced that it has signed an agreement to purchase Royal Adhesives & Sealants, a leading manufacturer of high-value specialty adhesives and sealants. This business consistently delivers industry-leading growth rates, EBITDA margins, and free cash flow that are expected to enhance H.B. Fuller’s position as a global leader in the adhesives industry.

Aug. 24, 2017 -  Klϋber Lubrication, a worldwide manufacturer of specialty lubricants, introduces STABUTHERM greases for rolling bearings in the automotive, beverage, glass and ceramics industries.

Aug. 24, 2017 - The new insulating glass line Velocity combines above-average quality and a high output. With a cycle time of only 16 seconds in the version Velocity Plus, the high-speed line manages the flash production of double insulating glass units in the dimension 900x600mm (triple glass units with only 26 seconds) with hot-melt sealing – this is the fastest plant for this type of processing currently available on the market. This short cycle time complies with the market requirements especially for series insulating glass producers in the USA, Great Britain and South Korea.

Aug. 24, 2017 - CRL-U.S. Aluminum has announced the launch of its new Mojave Series Advanced Thermal Storefront and Entrance. The system will make its premiere at GlassBuild America this September in Atlanta, Georgia.

Aug. 9, 2017 -  Guardian’s newest jumbo coater, under construction at its Carleton, Michigan glass manufacturing complex, is a major milestone in a long history of oversized glass production from the company that delivers solutions to architects and fabricators around the world.

Aug. 3, 2017 - Vitro Architectural Glass has published third-party-verified, product-specific Type III Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for its flat glass and processed glass products, becoming the first architectural glass manufacturer in North America to do so.

Benders, IG lines, edgers, coaters and more...

July 13, 2017 - Effective Monday, March 13th the new Alumicor facility is open at 24 Gloria McCluskey Avenue, Dartmouth, NS, B3B 2C2.

July 13, 2017 - AGC Asahi Glass (AGC) has announced that it will invest approximately 19 billion yen to relocate a float furnace and mirror manufacturing facility from the Jakarta Plant to the Cikampek Plant of PT Asahimas Flat Glass, Tbk (AMG). The float furnace is for manufacturing of architectural glass and mass production is scheduled to commence in the first quarter of 2019. The new float furnace and mirror manufacturing facility will have increased production capacity by 40% and 30% respectively, which will significantly enhance AMG’s architectural glass production.

Sept. 14, 2017 - Day Three at GlassBuild America in Atlanta featured the "Best in Show" Awards, presented to six companies in recognition of their overall exhibit presence. Winners were chosen after review by an anonymous peer panel including sales, marketing, and operations professionals from the residential and commercial glass industries.

Sept. 14, 2017 - Day One at GlassBuild America kicked off with the Opening Session, which featured a dynamic message from keynote speaker and generational expert Cam Marston as well as an important announcement from the National Glass Association and the Glass Association of North America (see event news below). The 12th Annual Glazing Executives Forum, Window & Door Dealer Days, and a full lineup of Express Learning educational sessions also highlighted Day One at GlassBuild America.

The Boards of Directors of the Glass Association of North America (GANA), Topeka, KS, and the National Glass Association (NGA), Vienna, VA, have unanimously approved combining the two associations into one, strong and unified voice for the glass and glazing industry. 

Sept. 7, 2017 - GlassBuild organizers have posted a message online updating the industry as to the status of the show in light of the approaching hurricane Irma. The show is still scheduled to go forward at this time.

Sept. 7, 2017 - With strong roots in the North American IGU markets, Inagas - the leading supplier of gas filling solutions - will be back at GlassBuild America 2017 with even more innovations. It’s fitting that Inagas is showcasing its range in conjunction with distributor partner, Quanex Building Products on Booth 1919 under theme of The Future of Fenestration is Here.

Sept. 7, 2017 - Registration for the American Architectural Manufacturers Association (AAMA) 2017 Fall Conference in Greenville, North Carolina, is now open, and AAMA members can register online. Early bird rates are available until Sat., Sept. 23, and the conference takes place Oct. 15-18 at the Hyatt Regency Greenville.

Aug. 9, 2017 - The GANA Fall Conference is a gathering of the leading glass and glazing experts in North America. The Conference is your opportunity to help define industry standards and elevate design and construction communities by creating the expertise that advances the use of architectural glass.

The Canadian Glass Association’s Glass Connections conference hit a home run when it returned to Burnaby, B.C., in June, offering high caliber educational and networking opportunities with local, national and U.S. glazing leaders. The welcome reception on June 7 was a success with many sticking around until late singing everything from “Sweet Caroline” to “Sweet Child o’ Mine” at the casino’s dueling piano bar.

At the tender age of 12, Ted Redlarski ran his first business: a small shop repairing bikes. It was a first money-maker. Later, while still in college (age 19), he became one of the youngest company presidents in his native Poland to helm a construction company.

Let’s take a look at some of the great work our Emerging Technology and Innovation Committee has been doing.

The CGA’s annual Glass Connections conference took place June 7 and 8 in Burnaby, B.C.

July 20, 2017 - FENBC has been listening. This year our annual conference has some changes.

Sept. 12, 2017 - Glaston Corporation has closed a deal with U.S based Trulite Glass & Aluminium Solutions for a FC Series jumbo-size tempering furnace. The order is part of Glaston third-quarter expected order intake. The line will be delivered to the customer by the end of this year.

Carbon fibre composite remains too expensive and slow to process for widespread use as a building material. But trends both on the supply and demand side are perhaps bringing it closer to feasibility. The material’s strength-to-weight ratio, corrosion-resistance and low thermal conductivity make it an intriguing possibility for very high-end projects demanding low sight lines, big glass and good thermal performance.

July 28, 2017 - Many applications for building inspection...

June 15, 2017 - The American Architectural Manufacturers Association (AAMA) recently released a new white paper created by the AAMA Aluminum Material Council that discusses the use of aluminum in high-performing building enclosures. AMC-2-26, "Aluminum in High-Performing Building Enclosures," is now available in the AAMA online store as a complimentary download.

Let’s take a look at the recent great work by our Technical Services Committee, chaired by Jeff Haberer of Trulite Glass and Aluminum Solutions.

Glass and glazing elements like most primary construction materials including concrete, masonry, metals and plastics have benefited a great deal from improvements in advanced coating technologies. The use of advanced coating techniques and materials to improve appearance and performance of glass in particular has proven to be a constant source of successful innovation over time.

The Insulating Glass Manufacturers Alliance is inviting Ontario Glass and Metal Association members to attend its Fabricators Workshop in Mississauga, Ont., on Feb. 28 - March 2 at the same discounted rate IGMA members pay. The workshop will be hosted at Exova's facility. OGMA members have received a code via email that will qualify them for the discount.

Stunning unbroken views of vistas or store interiors – that’s the demand driving the production, shipment and installation of large panes of glass today – panes as much as 20 feet across and thousands of pounds. Agnora, the largest-capacity glass fabricator in North America, has seen a tenfold increase in the demand for big glass over the last five years. Vice-president of operations Jeff Wilkins says this includes both storefront and residential markets right across continent. Agnora is able to temper, machine, laminate and insulate various thickness of glass up to a maximum size of 130 by 300 inches. The company’s two main challenges of with glass (float glass availability and shipping) have been handled, says Wilkins, through creating strong partnerships with suppliers and by working collaboratively with shipping partners. “Big glass is heavy and dangerous therefore we are very serious about our maintenance and upkeep of our lifting equipment and designing our work flow to minimize the amount of manual lifting,” he explains.  

Dec. 14, 2016 -  With a customized inloader, sedak optimizes the handling of oversize glass. The new 23m long inloader now delivers glass units up to 16m. The steerable rear axle which allows the truck to drive through narrow curves such as roundabouts is the key feature of the mega trailer. Due to its space-saving interior concept, no escort vehicle is required.

Everywhere you look today, architects are leveraging glass for daylighting purposes to allow the right amount of light into a building. But while much of the attention centers on the façade, interior spaces leveraging glass are just as critical to the introduction of natural light into the building environment. For interior space in particular, glass railing systems for stairways and balconies play a key role in letting the light in. And that means opportunities for glaziers with glass railings.

Over the past decade, client relationship management (CRM) has become a common industry buzzword like social media marketing. These relationship management tools in the form of computerized programs were designed to automate interaction between you and your customers, however, in the window and door industry, automating personal interaction can be complex.

With the recent publication of a Product Category Rule (PCR) for processed glass, the glass industry now has official PCRs for all architectural glass products: flat glass, processed glass and windows and doors. Future green building projects under LEED v.4 and beyond are going to require product lifecycle assessments for all building facade components.

Sept. 12, 2017 - Ontario’s Workplace Safety & Insurance Board says that—after conducting a multi-year engagement with experts and stakeholders—it is changing the way the board calculates employer premium rates, adding the process will be easier for employers to understand, and more accurately reflect the risks associated with operating their businesses.

Sept. 7, 2017 - Canadian municipalities issued $7.9 billion worth of building permits in July, down 3.5% from June and the first decrease since March 2017. Lower construction intentions for commercial buildings and multi-family dwellings were mainly responsible for the national decline. Seven provinces posted decreases, with the largest decline in Ontario.

Aug. 24, 2017 - The American Architectural Manufacturers Association is currently planning instructor training classes for the InstallationMasters program. Those interested in becoming accredited instructors are encouraged to contact the association now, so that as many schedules as possible may be accommodated.

Aug. 10, 2017 - Canadian municipalities issued $8.1 billion worth of building permits in June, up 2.5% from May and the second highest value on record. Higher construction intentions for multi-family dwellings and commercial buildings were mainly responsible for the national increase. All building components reported gains in June, except for single-family dwellings.

In the last edition I told you that the drafting of the new Ontario Construction Lien Act was well underway and that all but three of the recommendations contained in the Expert Review were being written into law. We also looked at how manipulation of the invoice submission schedule by owners will essentially make a farce of the prompt payment provisions and the underwhelming response by PPO. The unhappiness does not end there.

One of the defining characteristics of modern high-rise residential apartment building design in Canada today is window wall. Most systems in use today evolved from punched windows in double-wythe mass-masonry walls in the 1960s, beginning in the Greater Toronto Area. The original punched windows incorporated thermally broken, open-back, extruded aluminum frames.

Your showroom is the public face of your company. Too often in our industry, these areas take on the appearance of secondary storerooms for the unsold remnants of yesteryear, complete with dusty, out-of-date products haphazardly scattered amid poor lighting, flat decor, yesterday’s lunch garbage and a stack of boxes awaiting shipping.

You do good work, you take pride in your work and you want to be able to make a decent living doing it. So it’s infuriating when some jerk swoops in to a project with a bid you know to be incomplete, priced at a level you know to be unsustainable.

July 18, 2017 - Pomerleau is pleased to announce that it is investing in innovation to bring new business practices to market that will enhance quality in the construction industry across Canada. Pomerleau's investment will enable it to efficiently prequalify trade partners. The prequalification of trade partners is a common practice across North America, but a relatively new one in the province of Quebec.

June 7, 2017 - The North American Contractor Certification (NACC) program is pleased to announce that it will host its first industry webinar for technical discussion at 2:00PM EST on June 28th, 2017. The discussion will present a case example of an installation project, including some of the challenges that arise when trying to deliver a quality product. There will be 3 points of view presented – the glazing contractor point of view, the consultant point of view, and the quality manager point of view.

In the last edition of You Bet Your Glass I told you about all the wonderful things recommended by the review of the Ontario Construction Lien Act that were meant to, at long last, provide some fairness to the trades in the construction pyramid: prompt payment, mandatory interest on late payments, binding dispute resolution, the right to suspend work, and so on and so on.

Looking ahead, the architectural glass industry will encounter a number of significant human resource challenges over the next decade. Near the top of the list is the fact that almost 250,000 skilled construction workers are expected to retire over the next decade. It’s also possible that some workers in their 60’s may also choose to reduce their commitment to working full time, or contemplate early retirement. This larger trend will have at least some long-term impact on glazing and glass-related industries.

Aug. 24, 2017 - The Insulating Glass Certification Council (IGCC), the leading provider of independent IG certification globally, along with the Insulating Glass Manufacturers Alliance (IGMA) is pleased to announce a new program to advance the long-term performance of insulating glass units.

Aug. 24, 2017 - The North American Contractor Certification (NACC) is pleased to announce its latest certified organization. U.S. Glass, Inc. of West Sacramento, California became the 16th company to acquire certification after going through the ANSI accredited 3rd party NACC program.

Aug. 3, 2017 - The Architectural Glass and Metal Technician (AGMT) Certification Program, a third-party, personnel certification initiative being developed by Administrative Management Systems, Inc. (AMS), held a steering committee meeting in Chicago on July 20, to develop the basic design for a mechanism that will provide validation of glaziers’ fundamental knowledge and skills.

Aug. 3, 2017 - The American Architectural Manufacturers Association (AAMA) recently released an updated document to provide a standard water penetration test method when it comes to using dynamic pressure. AAMA 501.1-17, the "Standard Test Method for Water Penetration of Windows, Curtain walls and Doors Using Dynamic Pressure," establishes the equipment and procedures for testing.

July 13, 2017 - ASTM International’s committee on glass and glass products (C14) is creating a standard that will help clean and restore glass windows, doors, and other architectural glass used in modern buildings. People involved in related industries including glass manufacturing, glazing companies, and maintenance/restoration contractors are invited to participate in the development of the proposed standard (WK58123, Practice for Cleaning Architectural Flat Glass).

June 23, 2017 - The development of the Architectural Glass and Metal Technician (AGMT) Certification Program has reached a milestone with the formation of a 27-member steering committee that met for the first time in a 2-hour teleconference on Thursday, June 15. The program, a third-party, personnel certification initiative, is being developed by Administrative Management Systems, Inc. (AMS, Inc.) and is sponsored by the Finishing Trades Institute (FTI) International. The committee is comprised of a balanced representation of industry experts from three major stakeholder segments: glaziers, glazing contractors, and the user community consisting of manufacturers, suppliers, architects, consultants and spec writers.

June 7, 2017 - The American Architectural Manufacturers Association (AAMA) has launched a new website intended to increase ease of usability for members and other visitors. The site’s address has not changed, and can still be located at aamanet.org. Join AAMA for a short, complimentary webinar to learn more about the site’s new features on July 18.

April 6, 2017 - The American Architectural Manufacturers Association (AAMA) recently released a new document to provides a standard laboratory procedure for exterior shading devices and the project-specific evaluation of downward static ice and snow loads, and impacts on them from falling ice or snow. AAMA 514-16, the "Standard Test Method of Static Loading and Impact on Exterior Shading Devices," uses sandbags to simulate downward loads from ice and snow to test shading devices.

You probably remember all the kerfuffle brought on by mainstream media a few years ago over the epidemic of shattered glass falling from high rise buildings onto the heads of unsuspecting pedestrians. People were afraid to walk outside, Toronto politicians panicked and an emergency panel was assembled to find ways to combat this terrifying phenomenon.

Jan. 12, 2017 -  The American Architectural Manufacturers Association (AAMA) recently released an updated technical information report addressing the most commonly used composite thermal barrier systems. The 72-page AAMA TIR-A8-16, "Structural Performance of Composite Thermal Barrier Framing Systems," was last updated in 2008 and now includes several new figures and instructions specific to testing dual cavities. Updated software and a user guide are forthcoming to aid users in understanding information contained in this report.

The Canadian Standards Association (CSA) has published A500-16 Building Guards, a new standard governing materials, hardware and installation of balcony guards, including glass balcony balustrades. The standard is expected to be referenced in future national and provincial building codes to prevent well-publicised issues of falling balcony glass.

What are the top barriers and issues affecting the health and safety of workplaces in Canada, and what can we do about them? The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) is inviting workers and employers to take part in an online survey that continues the conversation sparked at CCOHS’ Forum 2016: The Changing World of Work, held earlier this year in Vancouver, British Columbia.