DEBlog

The 24th edition of the Building Envelope Contractors (BEC) Conference is in the books. In addition to having a feel of normalcy about it, the event serves as a miner’s canary for the industry in forecasting coming trends. Here are my top five takeaways: The Energy Noose Tightens—well, it’s not a noose really, but it is a group of regulations designed to increase energy efficiency in buildings. New York City’s new Energy Codes are beginning to reverberate to other states. We can expect to see more, not less, regulation around energy in more states in the future. Luckily, our industry has products that offer the energy-saving performance these codes will… Read More »

Join USGlass magazine publisher Debra Levy for this installment of “Leadership in the Glass and Metal Industry.” Today’s guests are Marcus Dreher and Alex Buechel, co-owner and creative director of LearnGlazing.com.

The news today of the sale of Oldcastle BuildingEnvelope® (OBE) was expected. The buyer was a bit of a surprise, and the price was a shocker. Somehow the news that Irish company CRH was interested in divesting of OBE made its way into the business press late last year. This in itself was highly unusual, as the parties involved usually take great pains to keep such information confidential until a deal, or at least an agreement in principle, is completed. They do so for a variety of reasons including security and regulatory ones. I could not think of another case where an impending sale had been “leaked” to the public… Read More »

These are not the easiest of times for our industry. They are not the hardest either. In many ways, the glass industry is suffering the effects of long COVID, and, though not life-threatening as it is to humans, it is difficult to handle and leaves us wondering when it will end. Let’s start by talking about supply. Is there a glass shortage? The answer is the same as when I wrote a blog on the topic nearly a year ago. Is there a shortage? Yes, if shortage means you cannot get the glass you need in its normal timeframe and under normal pricing patterns, then there most certainly is. But… Read More »

So the question is “How was the show?” and the answer is “Don’t know.” The show, of course, is Glassbuild America (GBA), which was held in Atlanta last week. The “Don’t know” is because tradition says you never really know the success of a trade show until weeks, maybe months, after it’s occurred. COVID, of course, blew tradition away. Nothing was usual about this year’s show, from the temperature checks before entry to the lack of usual services at the venue and hotels. It was, of course, a very memorable event. How much of a success you deemed the show depended on where your expectations were. Many exhibitors told me… Read More »