October 2011

Five Things that Really Scare Me

By Debra Levy on October 31st, 2011

Yup it’s Halloween. I just read how Halloween has now surpassed Christmas as the holiday for which people buy the most outdoor decorations. Sometimes I look at all the hoopla around this minor holiday with great amusement. I know that people love dressing up for it (we do it too. Take a look at our own annual Halloween Costume participants here). Other times I think the devil must be laughing his horned head off in you-know-where as he shouts with glee at how it’s grown. After all, cute little goblins and friendly ghosts have a way of just taking the edge off real evil, you know? So, for lots of… Read More »

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Profiles in Courage, and One in Cowardice

By Debra Levy on October 24th, 2011

Whoever said honesty is the best policy obviously did not work in the glass business. For years, companies—and not just those in the glass business—have remained relatively quiet when faced with certain business challenges. But that is starting to change. I’d put a hat on just so I could tip it to Kris Vockler for sharing what her company, ICD, is going through in trying to defend against a preferential payment claim by the creditors of Arch Aluminum. Oh and get this, ICD is also an unsecured creditor in the bankruptcy. So not only will Kris not see most of what the old Arch owes her company, the company’s attorneys… Read More »

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The Long and Short of It

By Debra Levy on October 17th, 2011

If I tell you when they are short, and I do, then I sure should tell you when they aren’t. And if you read this blog with any regularity you know that I usually don’t miss a week, even on Mondays of holiday weekends when I could skate by. But I didn’t write last Monday, No, it wasn’t in honor of Columbus but rather of something much bigger in my world (more on that later). The upshot is that I have two weeks worth of news so it’s a long blog this week. Here goes. First Up: Our News Last spring, USGlass magazine commissioned an industry research firm to create… Read More »

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Seasons of Change

By Debra Levy on October 3rd, 2011

Well, hunting season may be upon us in many parts of the country but in the glass industry, it’s mating season. During the past year, a number of primary manufacturers have set their sights on some pretty attractive conquests. A deliberate hello was followed by some “getting-to-know-you” dating and then, an all-out dance of courtship, all led by these same primary manufacturers. The result? Everyone is hooking up with someone. Why? Because the primaries need what they don’t have—or rather need to have access to what they don’t have. It all began with Saint Gobain’s acquisition of a fifty percent equity stake in SAGE Electrochromic, a manufacturer of electrochromic glass… Read More »

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