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GlassBuild America 2010

Thousands of glass industry professionals poured into Las Vegas this
September to attend this year’s GlassBuild America: The Glass, Window
and Door Expo. The event took place at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Thousands of glass professionals went to Las Vegas to attend GlassBuild North America, the continent’s biggest glass-focused trade show and exhibition. They went to network and socialize with fellow professionals, but as always the main draw was the chance to see the latest products and technology in action on the show floor.

Thousands of glass industry professionals poured into Las Vegas this September to attend this year’s GlassBuild America: The Glass, Window and Door Expo. The event took place at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

The biggest glass-focused trade show and exhibition in North America, GlassBuild 2010 featured nearly 400 exhibitors spread across more than 1,000 booths. In addition, the event included the 5th Annual Glazing Executives Forum, the inaugural Window & Door Dealers Forum, and a number of informative seminars on topics such as decorative glass and the use of integrated photovoltaics in fenestration applications.

Over 7,000 glass professionals attended GlassBuild over three days. This was nowhere more evident than when walking the show floor. Every exhibitor seemed to be engaged in earnest conversation with a fellow industry professional, and
excitement was in the air.
             

Edgetech's racetrack themed booth (including Virtual GT race car simulators) attracted a large number of attendees.
GlassBuild brings together people from all aspects of the glass business, such as Margaret Webb, executive director of IGMA, and Denny Raskie of Allmetal.

Mild recovery
The 5th Annual Glazing Executives Forum took place on the first day of GlassBuild, and was attended by nearly 150 of North America’s leading glaziers. Jeff Dietrich’s highly anticipated economic forecast was one of the highlights of the forum.
 Dietrich gave his economic overview for 2011 and beyond and how it impacts glazing executives.

 “There are real challenges that threaten to undermine consumer spending and business growth,” he said. “But at this time, the leading indicators, extant economic activity, consumer trends, cuts in spending and ITR’s (Institute for Trend Research) cyclical theories offer a view consistent with a mild recovery in North America.”
 Dietrich ended his presentation on an optimistic note. “This recovery will have many bumps and bruises along the way. Be proactive anyway. There are excellent opportunities to gain market share at this point in the business cycle,” he said.

 The Glazing Executives Forum included a number of other presentations and breakout sessions. Jason Baumgarten of FMI Corp delivered a presentation that highlighted how increased productivity will almost certainly deliver higher profits.
 Baumgarten noted that, because glazing is a labour intensive industry, an increase in productivity means an immediate decrease in overhead. This can be used to bring your price down. The current state of the economy means that very often competition is based on price, and if it can be lowered, more jobs will result.

 According to Baumgarten, one of the best ways to increase productivity is through more effective pre-job planning. Meetings with site managers and personnel can pay dividends down the road. He also noted that he believes that Building Information Modeling (BIM) will become increasingly important, as more projects start to use it.
Also on the slate for the Glazing Executives Forum was Charles A. “Chip” Gentry of the law firm Carson & Coil. Gentry presented a number of useful ideas and tools in his presentation entitled “Plugging the Leak on Lawsuits: Practical Advice for Window Manufacturers, Curtain Wall, and Glazing Companies in a Litigious World.” Carson discussed the “construction defect crisis” and ways in which companies can defend themselves.

 The first day of GlassBuild America concluded with the official Welcome Reception, held at the Las Vegas Hilton, the official show hotel.

Windows and doors
The second day of GlassBuild continued with more action on the show floor and the first Window and Door Dealers Forum (WDDF). The WDDF was created for North America retail dealers to help them network, build relationships and exchange information. The forum included a number of informative and enlightening breakout sessions, including Creating Your Market In The New Economy, Focused System Improvements, Customer Service and Operational Excellence.

Of particular interest to those concerned with marketing in the digital age, internationally renowned internet marketing expert Andy Beal provided hands-on website analysis and marketing strategies. Beal led the high-energy and interactive consultation, which included analysis of as many participants’ sites as was possible.

“Studies indicate that 82 per cent of all new customers use search engines to look for your business. Don’t let them find your competitor instead,” said Beal. “The best way to manage your company’s reputation is to assure your web presence is the best it can be, accurate and fresh.”

“We were thrilled with this highly practical seminar that dissected participants’ websites from top –to bottom, examining design elements, customer service, Google Analytics, reputation management, and more,” said Ken Mariotti, president of Woodland Windows and co-chair for the event. “This kind of in-depth analysis provided the attendees with real take-home value.”

Many companies took the opportunity provided by GlassBuild America to premier new products and technology. Among the most intriguing are a number of methods promoted by different companies that should allow window manufacturers to achieve with double pane units the same sort of ratings normally associated with triple pane units. Watch for more on this in an upcoming issue of Glass Canada magazine.

Sponsors
GlassBuild America would like to thank the following sponsors:

• Badges and expo cards: Diamon-Fusion International
• Lanyards: Vitro America
• Tote bags: Quanex
• Digital billboard: Diamond Seal Systems
• Welcome reception: National Glass Association, Glass magazine and Window & Door magazine.
• Website sponsors: YKK AP, 360 Innovations, Tru Seal Technologies, Deceuninck
• Blast email sponsors: 360 Innovations, Tru Seal Technologies, Quanex Building Products
• Glazing Executives Forum: GTS, Quattrolifts, Glassopolis, YKK AP, Carson & Coil
• Window & Door Dealers Forum: WTS Paradigm, Edgetech, Quanex Building Products, Gary Law Group, Infinity from Marvin, UPS

GlassBuild America 2011 will take place in Atlanta, Ga., from Sept. 7 to 9 at the Georgia World Congress Center.