Remembering Floral
by Deb Levy
There has been a slight uptick in plant closings as manufacturers and fabricators consolidate amid an uncertain economy and concerns about the perceived or actual effects of tariffs.
There’s always an element of sadness when a plant closes, which is especially true with a recent announcement that Oldcastle BuildingEnvelope® (OBE) is closing its plant in Hauppauge, New York.
But that’s just part of the story.
At Glass Expo Northeast ’24, USGlass recognized Chuck Kaplanek (right) and Paul Bieber (not pictured) for their role in the inaugural event. I was able to accept Paul’s award on his behalf.The plant is centrally located on Long Island. (If you are from the Island, like I am, you say you are ON the Island, not IN it—just like being ON a line, not IN it). Floral Glass built a new laminated plant in the 1990s. The plant was one of the assets OBE bought when it purchased Floral in 2004 and was one of the country’s largest and most efficient fabrication plants. And, from what I’ve heard from some of its employees, if the walls could talk, there’d be quite a few stories, too.
So, it was with surprise that I took a call from its general manager, a fine gentleman named Paul Bieber. You may know Paul as a long-time columnist for this magazine. But way before that, he phoned out of the blue one day.
“Hey, Deb,” he said, “the new lammy plant’s almost built, but we are not scheduled to move in for quite a while, so how about you bring a Glass Expo here before we fill it up?”
Paul was right. It was a crazy idea. The plant was not operational; it was still a shell. We’d have to bring everything in, including booths, classrooms, food, and more. It took a few minutes for me to figure out if he was joking.
He was totally serious and had already talked Floral’s owner, Chuck Kaplanek, into it. I told Paul I’d think about it and, since I came “home” to see my family there often, I’d stop in to see the building in the next few weeks. My plan was to look around politely, then point out why having a Glass Expo there would not work. That was the plan; that is not what happened.
Paul Bieber is one of the most enthusiastic and positive people I know. By the end of my visit, I’d thrown all my objections aside and said, “Okay, let’s do it.” Eight months later, Glass Expo Northeast™’96 premiered at the new, but not yet operational, Floral laminated glass plant.
We had a few glitches, like being able to keep the electricity on and the oppressive heat that had settled over New York for a few days. But we kept an electrician around, went out, got fans for all the wonderful and patient exhibitors, and had a great turnout (okay, there are some other unique memories, but I’ll save those for that book I’m going to write someday).
Having a Glass Expo is like building a city—except you construct and dismantle it in less than three days. A couple of hours after the show, almost everyone was gone except for a manager from Floral, our very pregnant meetings manager, and me. The manager brought out two brooms, looked at us, and said, “I’m going to be over there on the phone. I can’t leave til this place is broom-clean, so get going.”
And so we did. She and I swept and sweated for a couple of hours until we left that floor worthy of clean-room status. So I am being literal when I say I knew every nook and cranny of that plant’s floor. I am sorry for nostalgic reasons to see it fade away.
Starting the show in a glass plant must have been a good omen. The Glass Expo Northeast™ show has continued to grow since that time. It will next be held March 25-26, 2026, at the Long Island Marriott in Uniondale, not all that far from the Hauppauge plant from which it sprang.
I remember that show and sending Paul a bunch of architect contacts to invite! It was a hit if I recall correctly and prompted many to try and repeat success by combining convention/shows with plant tours, novel idea at the time. Many may not know or remember but we should, the positive impact the innovative Chuck and his team at Floral has had on our industry. Saw the potential with several new innovations and took the leap to adopt and launch to their customer base. Late 70’s Floral was the very first ever to use a 2-part silicone from GE to fabricate insulating glass units. In the early 90’s joint ventured with 3, Dow C, Chemetal and Bystronic to co-develop and launch the warm edge spacer system now readily adopted and commonplace, TPS. Chuck, Paul and his company, always nimble to be ahead of new product innovations, blaze new grounds not letting corporate bureaucracies, conservative specifiers/approvers or naysayers stand in the way of new ideas. And of course, first and foremost also nimble and responsive to their customer needs their secret for success. Hence the experience gained leading to the wisdom we’ve valued from reading Paul’s post over the years.
Thank you so much for writing and adding some real life examples of how innovative Chuck and Paul were. It has always been a pleasure to work with them
Hello Deb,,
Holy Cow, what a great blog you wrote. What a fantastic memory you have! This is a beautiful blog.
We worked hard, as a team, to make the first glass convention a success. The great team from your office really worked hard.
Chuck Kaplanek, who owned our great company, encouraged our whole team to stand out from the crowd. We tried many different ideas and most worked out well, and I really don’t remember the ones that bombed.
Deb, thank you again for your beautiful writing.
Paul Bieber
Thanks for your lovely note Paul. It would have never happened without you both—and the great team Floral had.
What great memories! A first class company with quality people and wonderful owners. I was personally impressed with Chuck and his wife’s efforts and dedication to autism support.
Hi Ren, both Chuck and his wife were dedicated to a number of good causes for sure. Thanks for sharing.
Chuck and my father, Martin Lerner, owner of Laminated Glass Corp. in Telford, PA, spent many hours discussing the challenges around laminating. They were friendly competitors—as most in family businesses were at the time. Although Floral and Laminated Glass Corp. are no longer around, they were both well respected fabricators, especially in the Northeast.