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CLEARLY BETTER THAN EVER—GLASSBUILD
AMERICA SHINES IN ATLANTA
Day 2: September 14, 2005
Photo Highlights
Industry Education
News Briefs
Industry Forecast
Day 1: September 13, 2005 Click
here
Day 3: September 15, 2005 Click
here
Photo Highlights
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| The brightly lit booth of Edgetech
I.G., Cambridge, Ohio, welcomes visitors at the entrance to Hall
B4 at the Georgia World Congress Center with a display and live
demonstrations of the company's TrueWarm® edge technology. |
Exhibitors such as flat-glass fabrication
machinery manufacturer Glassrobots of Pirkkala, Finland, saw heavy
foot traffic on the second day of GlassBuild America, as attendance
topped 8,900. |
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Sika Corp. of Madison Heights, Mich., displayed
their wide variety of adhesives, sealants, cleaners and lubricants
to GlassBuild America attendees. |
Truth Hardware, Owatonna, Minn.,
is just one of several exhibitors
displaying both commercial and residential window hardware on
the trade show floor. |
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Potential customers get a close-up look at one
of the door processing and vinyl fabricating machines on display
from Stürtz Machinery of Solon, Ohio. |
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Chris Mammen of Mammen
Glass and Mirror proudly displays the NGA windshirt he won in a
raffle drawing at the association's member reception on Sept. 14. |
Industry Education
China's Impact on the Flat Glass Market
Garth Hedley, chief industry specialist in the Global Manufacturing
and Services Department of International Finance Corp., Washington,
D.C., made a presentation to an early-morning crowd Sept. 14 on the
economic importance of flat glass production in China and other emerging
markets (click here
to download a complete copy of the presentation, 456KB, Adobe
Acrobat file). The National Glass Association
and Glass Magazine make this presentation available for your information
only. It cannot be reproduced or reprinted. All rights reserved.
"Without statistical justifications, the trend appears to be that in
the value-added flat glass products, the United States is becoming a
net importer," Hedley said. "The U.S. is still exporting, and in dollar
terms the ratio of import to export is half." Imports are increasingly
coming from China and Mexico; however, Mexico is considered an extended
part of the U.S. market, he said.
This is a matter of concern for the U.S. fabrication industry, Hedley
said. If nothing changes, he predicts "commodity fabricated products
coming from China will keep increasing." Currently, the cost of ex-factory
commodity architectural glass in China is $190 a ton, while in the United
States, it is $340 a ton, he said. Along with cheap materials, China
also has a huge labor force.
"The solution is to consolidate the highest quality, highest-value
products." Technology will have to be used to reduce costs and improve
quality, he said. "Innovation will be key. If you can differentiate
your product, however marginally, it will work toward brand enhancement."
'Sub Doesn't Mean Second Class'
Education for glazing contractors continued in a Sept. 14 seminar, when
Ron Clawson, president Looking Glass Inc., of Las Vegas, and two attorneys
in the industry emphasized the importance of understanding and exercising
lien rights.
"If you are a subcontractor, you understand how difficult it is sometimes
to get paid," Clawson explained. "Have proper documentation of everything,
understand the procedures and know your lien rights.… Sub doesn't mean
second class."
Clawson, along with John Ponder, partner for Sheppard, Mullin, Richter
& Hampton LLP of San Diego, Calif., and Dave Hendrick, senior partner,
Hendrick, Phillips, Salzman & Flatt, P.C., Atlanta, told the group of
about 40 to recognize the inherent risk of nonpayment on every job.
"The lower down in the tier you go, to the subcontractors to the sub-subcontractors,
the more risk you have," Hendrick said. "So, the glazing contractors
and suppliers really do need to know their rights."
Argon Loss in IG Affects Comfort and Vision
Not only does the loss of argon gas in an insulating glass unit affect
thermal performance, it also causes a visual distortion, said Jim Plavecsky,
vice president of sales and marketing for Edgetech I.G. of Cambridge,
Ohio. Plavecsky spoke at the seminar "Calculating the Theoretical Life
Expectancy of an Insulating Glass Unit" Sept. 14.
"An IG unit fails when argon retention is lost, because a lens is created
and the unit is visually distorted," he explained. "There is a negative
pressure, because the argon escapes faster than the unit is filled with
air."
Plavecsky said argon retention can be improved by using spacers with
continuous corners.
News Briefs
Indalex Forges Partnership in Powder Paint
Lincolnshire, Ill.-based Indalex Aluminum Solutions Group, one of the
largest extruded component suppliers in North America, partnered with
powder coatings supplier Akzo Nobel, with U.S. headquarters in Chicago,
according to a Sept. 12 company release. The new partnership represents
a major step for Indalex, which currently uses only liquid paint throughout
10 lines nationwide. The company is investing at least $7 million in
a 25,000 foot expansion of its Gainesville, Ga., facility to house vertical
and horizontal powder paint lines.
"We're not looking to move the market away from liquid paint. Rather,
we want to expand our offerings with the introduction of powder," says
Tom Click, vice president of Indalex's products group. "Our customers
have been asking for this." The lines should be operational by January
2006, he said.
Two sides of Hurricane Katrina
Out of Hurricane Katrina, "a most unfortunate and terrible tragedy,"
comes rebuilding and new business ahead for companies in all the construction
sectors, noted Stefan Grenzebach, president and chief executive officer
of the Grenzebach Corp. in Newnan, Ga., in an interview at GlassBuild
America. At the same time, the equipment manufacturer said builders
would be crimped by higher fuel prices throughout the supply chain.
"My suppliers have already announced fuel surcharges," he pointed out.
Grenzebach provided a tour of his Newnan plant for roughly 40 trade-show
attendees; the facility manufactures robots and stackers.
German Technoform launches North American operations
Mark Silverberg, president of Technoform's North American division in
Cleveland, comes to GlassBuild America with the I-Strut, a polyamide
6.6 thermal-break system with 25 percent glass fiber content, for aluminum
window and curtain walls; and the I-Spacer, a warm-edge insulating glass
spacer constructed of stainless steel and polypropylene.
The strut has been distributed in the United States for two years and
boasts a range of clients including Efco Corp. of Monett, Mo. The strut
has been fully tested for energy efficiency, Silverberg said in a GlassBuild
interview. Parent Technoform Holding resides in Germany. He plans to
open a U.S. manufacturing facility for each product during 2006, with
these plants located in the Southeast and Midwest. For information,
visit www.technoform.us.
Razwick takes on Pilkington Profilit
As the Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceedings of Westcrowns Inc., formerly
of Shallotte, N.C., wind their way through the courts toward settlement,
Westcrowns' primary product-Profilit channel glass-emerges again in
the U.S. market, explains Jerry Razwick, president of Technical Glass
Products Inc. in Kirkland, Wash. He purchased Westcrowns' assets for
an undisclosed sum and has been assigned a contract to distribute Profilit
from the manufacturer, Pilkington BGI in Germany. He plans to incorporate
the product into his line of fire- and decorative-glass products and
considers hiring reps to continue marketing it to U.S. architects, as
Profilit has only been on the U.S. market for about five years. Meanwhile,
Razwick said a form of Profilit enforced with polycarbonate has passed
hurricane-impact tests for use in Dade County, Fla., and a second type
was approved for use in meeting certain requirements in regions with
seismic activity. For information, visit www.fireglass.com.
Industry Forecast
Three Views of the Construction Economy
Members of the Bath Enclosures Manufacturers Association heard three
economic forecasts during their annual meeting Sept. 14 at GlassBuild
America. Highlights:
- High oil prices in themselves won't spur recession, but when oil
prices get this high, it will affect economic growth, warned Robert
Fry, DuPont's senior associate economist based in Huntington, W.V.
Nevertheless, the nation's economy boasts many positive indicators:
new and existing home sales will set a record this year with record
levels of mortgage applications and high levels of housing starts.
"People who thought the bubble would burst probably will be wrong
because of Katrina. If you're looking for a silver lining in this
very dark cloud-that's it," he said. Whereas the long-term effect
of the hurricane will be positive for the construction sector, the
short-term effect of Hurricane Katrina will be "decidedly negative,"
with a lot of people out of work, businesses destroyed and price increases
associated with disruptions more harmful than those associated with
strong demand.
- Frederick E. Wallin, vice president of marketing and business development
for AFG Industries Inc. in Kingsport, Tenn., agreed that Hurricane
Katrina will weaken the near-term economy but "will not derail long-term
expansion." Inflation will be higher this year as a result, he warned.
The key business issues: disruption of seaports, damage to the Gulf's
energy infrastructure and, overall, a 12-month recovery period. Initial
reports of physical damage to structures has reached $100 billion;
disruption to economic activities, $25 billion; higher energy costs,
$50 billion; "which will not be spent on shower doors." For glass
manufacturers such as AFG, he said natural gas prices will drive up
costs. Long term, he sees continued growth for the shower niche, based
on results of a fabricator study from Ducker Research of Bloomington
Hills, Mich. More than half of U.S. homes have 2.5 or more baths,
he noted, "creating great opportunity and a trend that should sustain
your growth," he told the manufacturers.
- Richard S. James, vice president and general manager of the Aluminum
Group at the Loxcreen Co. in Roxboro, N.C., said that low-cost overseas
aluminum has replaced production from 15 to 20 North American aluminum
extrusion plants in the last four or five years. Meanwhile, he warned,
consumers now have to deal with long lead times from China, India,
Malaysia, Vietnam and other developing countries. As a result, "some
users who went overseas now dual source [their components] to protect
against long lead times. We think we've reached the bottom and will
see modest gain in North American-supplied demand and modest price
support. Meanwhile, our base is shrinking" because the aluminum used
in bath enclosures has fallen by 25 percent as frameless construction
grows in popularity.
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