DEBlog

If you’d told me as recently as a week ago that I would experience both an earthquake and a hurricane all in the same week—and in my home state of Virginia yet—I would have shaken my head in disbelief at your hubris. Because never in my lifetime would I have imagined that could be the case, especially here in North Central Virginia. And, had I driven just a few miles to the northeast, you could have thrown in a tornado to boot. A trifecta of natural disasters all within five days! Luckily, neither our employees nor I nor any of our collective family or friends sustained any injury or property… Read More »

There’s been a lot of talk lately about “branding,” especially among the glass manufacturers. A number of manufacturers believe that consumers will respond and one day request PPG glass, or Guardian, let’s say on the strength of the brand. I’m guessing the hope is that they will request one of these brands, rather than a no-name product. This has already come to pass in the auto glass industry, where glass manufacturers such as Pilkington, Guardian and PGW are working hard to distinguish their glass from the “generic” products toward which insurers forcefully push their customers. It’s a scenario that has been repeated over and over again in many industries. The… Read More »

My blog today was going to be about branding. It’ll have to wait a bit. That’s because of the influx of e-mails I’ve received today from various financial entities with which we do business. I am sure you got some today too—or perhaps a call from a broker or two. The people who administer our pension fund wrote me, and so did the “friendly bankers” with whom we have our checking and payroll accounts. Shoot, I even heard from a major credit card company which weighed in on the subject as well—that subject being the recent downgrade of the U.S. credit rating by one of the agencies that does this… Read More »

I would like to lend my blog space this week to our newest employee. Many of you know Sahely Mukerji from her many years of covering the glass industry for another publication. We are thrilled to have Sahely join our editorial team today. It’s always been gratifying to me how all the best industry writers and editors sooner or later end up here. Welcome Sahely! In honor of your arrival, I thought I’d turn my “blog space” over to you today. Check out Sahely’s first.  

Few in our business remain unaware of the announced purchase of U.S. Aluminum by C.R. Laurence (CRL) last week. Actually, the purchase was met with a sigh of relief in many circles because CRL is known as extremely well-run company. And the idea that there will be another quality metal supplier around with knowledgeable industry veterans such as Tom Harris running it is both comforting and exciting to many. It’s a brilliant move by CRL for sure. The purchase, though, has left a fair number of people wondering what the “new U.S. Aluminum” will look like. Certain assets of the company were purchased by UMEX late last month. At the… Read More »