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DAY THREE: GLASSBUILD AMERICA HITS THE JACKPOT IN LAS VEGAS

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Day 1: September 19, 2006 Click here
Day 2: September 20, 2006 Click here

Attendees wrap-up the show on Day 3.	Guilin Champion Union Diamond Co., Ltd.
GED Integrated Solutions	Coastal Industries, Inc.
Royal Group Technologies	LiteSentry Corp.
Billco Mfg., Inc.

Industry News

Talking Building Trends
When it comes to the building construction industry, trend watchers can be sure of one thing—they’ll always have something to observe, said Richard Voreis, CEO of Consulting Collaborative, at a seminar held Sept. 21 at GlassBuild America. Architectural styles, building material preferences and technology will always advance based on the needs and desires of the market, he says. “In the last couple of decades, the only constant is change itself.”

Voreis pointed out that in the last decade, no one architectural style dominated the market. Clients are looking for quality products with longer life spans, as well as “green” architecture that benefits the environment and reduces energy consumption. “Buildings today are being designed with flexibility in mind,” he says.

The current materials trend is primarily to use aluminum, wood, vinyl and steel. Demand may change, however, to cellular PVC, fiberglass and composites during the next decade and beyond, Voreis added. “[Fiberglass] in particular will be a material that will gain significant popularity in the next decade.”
 
Building products entering the market are often a result of four primary drivers, Voreis contended: architects looking for design options; subcontractors who want to reduce labor, market-driven products that are innovative and come at the hands of research and development efforts; and code-driven requirements. “A classic example of that is what’s happening in coastal cities,” he explained. “Impact products are not just suggested, they’re demanded by building codes.”

Product development is also trending toward quality, he added. “There’s going to be a continued press for quality with continued product liability litigation.”

Voreis pointed out that the building construction industry, and fenestration suppliers specifically, will continue to make advancements in embracing technology. He cited a recent experience observing a 3-D CAD software program that produced virtual models of buildings and was able to calculate project bids in minutes.

Moving into the future, Voreis expects that attracting young workers into the industry will continue to be a major problem for fenestration companies. With declining numbers of union apprenticeship programs, he urged the industry to continue developing training programs and make use of existing programs offered by the National Glass Association.

“We’re not attracting enough young people to our industry,” he said. “I see that as a responsibility of glass and glazing contractors, product manufacturers and associations like this to let young people know that there are opportunities available in this industry.”

Technology Continues To Allow for Greater Efficiency and Higher Profits
“There are huge amounts of benefits to an integrated dealer solution,” explained Paul Gray, VP of sales for software developer Friedman Corp., at his seminar “Leveraging Profits with Technology” held Sept. 21 at GlassBuild America. He also warned, “To do it right, expect a lengthy phase of implementation.”

Technology, including laptop computers and RF barcode scanners, is enhancing the window and door industry from the sale, to product creation, installation and, in the future, product failure tracking.

The main areas Gray covered were technology solutions to reduce remake orders, improve material yield, provide visibility to accurate cost data and reduce the expense of customer service. With today’s innovations, a specific window or door can be tracked by the seller, manufacturer and customer, using stand-alone and Web-based systems.

Gray offered the following advice for a company bringing new technology into an existing fenestration operation: “Decide what you’re trying to achieve and focus on that. Don’t pick 30 things to deal with at once and most importantly, six months or so after you ‘go live,’ assess whether you achieved what you intended.”

“Make sure the vendor you’re considering specifically serves the window and door industry,” Gray added.

With several software products on the market performing these tasks, the current focus for competing vendors is tying together software the dealer uses to make the sale together with software the manufacturer uses to create the product.