Nearly 700 visitors from eight states attended
the second annual Glass TEXpo. This years’ event took place September 17-18 in Fort
Worth, TX, which was sponsored by the Texas Glass Association (TGA) and USGlass
magazine.
Guests were treated to two days of educational seminars and demonstrations along with a
trade show and social events. Friday morning attendees were able to tour the U.S. Aluminum
plant located in Waxahachie, TX. Seminars included Legal Issues for Auto Glass
Installation Companies, Contract Glazing Challenges and Legal Updates, Security Glazing,
and more.
Mirro-Mastics
claim their prize.
The opening session and TGA awards luncheon was held Friday, and was sponsored by Palmer
Mirro-Mastics. Senator Ken Armbrister, a representative from the 18th District in Texas,
was the keynote speaker. The TGA presented its Lou Green Award to James Greathouse of
Knowles Door Check. Greathouse was visibly surprised by the association’s highest
honor, but said little as he was suffering from laryngitis. In addition, the Saturday
morning breakfast speech by Jerry Wright of AAA Glass & Mirror in Fort Worth, TX,
proved quite inspirational to the group. Vistawall sponsored the Friday night cocktail
party and Glass America sponsored the Saturday morning breakfast.
A new addition to TEXpo was the forklift training for managers and drivers. Due to the new
regulation imposed by OSHA, USGlass magazine provided these seminars and
certification with general show registration. Both seminars were well attended and
successful.
“It was a great event,” said Sue Cheek of Apache Glass of Tyler,
TX, president of the TGA. “Texas really turned out.” Cheek added that next
years’ event will be held in September in San Antonio, TX. “San Antonio is a
beautiful city,” said TGA administrator Virginia Lee, “everyone is
invited.” -ML
The 26th annual industry exposition for the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic
states was held October 8-9 in Providence, RI. The event was sponsored by the Connecticut,
Massachusetts and Rhode Island Glass Dealers Associations.
This year’s show was disappointing for a lot of exhibitors because of the low
turnout. The show had approximately 50 exhibitors. Some thought holding the show during
Columbus Day may have hurt attendance at what traditionally is a strong event.
At the October 8 Oktoberfest cocktail reception and awards sponsored by Auto Glass
Wholesale and Visteon/Carlite, awards were given for the best bath enclosure designs.
Lenox Glass and Door of Lenoxdale, MA, won for the best installation up to $1,500. For the
over $1,500 category, Custom Design Mirrors of Glendora, NJ, was the winner.
Glass Show featured a variety of informative seminars for visitors. A popular seminar was
the Connecticut Licensing Bill Workshop. This dealt with the new Connecticut licensing law
that will require all glaziers in the state to be licensed as of October 1, 2000.
Attendees traveled from near and far to the “Biggest Little City in
the World” just to experience the California Glass Association’s (CGA’s)
Glass Expo West ’99 held in Reno, NV, on October 1-2, 1999. Although the area casinos
were a big draw, so too were the exhibits, educational seminars, and social events. The
two-day show drew in 68 exhibitors and approximately 1,500 attendees.
Computer software, shower doors, glazing tools, recreational vehicle glass, protective
coatings, and a new product designed to assist auto glass installers were just a few of
what attendees found among the many exhibitor booths. Carlite offered a popular six-hour
seminar, Car Autoglass Replacement System, to any auto glass dealer presently performing
auto glass installations at Ford, Mercury, and Lincoln dealerships.
Attendees learned how to sell value in a price world, were instructed on the proper use of
sealants, shown various respiratory protection models and trained on employer
responsibilities at multi-employer worksites.
Kevin Claycomb of CRC Power Push gave a hands-on demonstration of his Power Push tool.
Several vehicles were used to demonstrate the effectiveness of the tool in one-person
windshield removals.
Preparation is already underway for next year’s Glass Expo West, scheduled for
October 6-7, 2000 at the Ontario Convention Center in Ontario, CA.
The glass industry rocked and rolled into Cleveland when Glass Expo
Midwest ’99 took place October 22-23 at the I-X Center there. This year’s event
was sponsored by the Ohio, Detroit, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin Glass
Dealers’ Associations, USGlass, Window Film and AGRR magazines.
The show kicked off with a tour of Tempglass Group Inc.’s Perrysville, OH, fabricated
flat glass manufacturing plant. More than 20 attendees participated in the plant tour.
Attendees were split into two separate groups led by John Colapietro, the plant’s
quality manager, and Rick Sands, the quality coordinator. Each group was shown the
company’s op-erations, which includes tempering, laminating, IG manufacturing and
silkscreening.
The highlight of the show was the sixth annual Glass and Metal Hall of Fame dinner and
induction ceremony held the evening of October 22 at the Marriott Hotel. Prior to the
awards dinner and ceremony, participants attended a cocktail party sponsored by U.S.
Aluminum Corporation. The award, sponsored by USGlass magazine, honors
individuals who have given their time and talents for the betterment of the industry. The
inductees were nominated and chosen for their contributions to the glass industry, their
professionalism and their involvement in civic and business organizations.
This year’s Hall of Fame inductees were Harry Miles, formerly of AFG Industries in
Kingsport, TN, and C.C. Vanderstar, president of U.S. Aluminum Corporation in Waxahachie,
TX. U.S. Aluminum also sponsored the cocktail party that evening.
The event also offered a variety of seminars to educate attendees. The keynote speech was
presented by Russell Ebeid, president of the Guardian Glass Group, who gave attendees
quite a bit of food for thought. “If the price of glass were the same throughout the
world, why—what reason—would your customers buy from you?” he challenged
the crowd at a luncheon sponsored by Palmer Mirro-Mastics. Additional seminars available
included, What’s Next from NAGS, Legal Issues for AGR Companies, Running a Successful
Window Film Business, Taking the Hard Out of Hardware and Working with Your Metal
Supplier.
In addition to the seminars, Glass Expo Midwest featured other events to entertain and
educate participants.
Glass Expo Midwest 2000 will return to Chicago for the first time in four years when it is
held in October next year.
1999 Hall of Fame inductees Harry Miles of AFG Industries (left) and
C.C. Vanderstar of U.S. Aluminum congratulate each other.
The custom-made awards were designed and produced by Glass Wholesalers Inc. of Houston,
TX.
“This was one of those great shows where everything just comes
together and people come to learn and kibbitz,” said Howard Cohen, president of the
Long Island Glass Association of Glass Expo Northeast ’99. The group co-sponsored the
event along with USGlass magazine. Nearly one thousand people visited the two-day event to
view products and services from 55 different companies.
“We were overwhelmed,” said Cohen, “who added that attendees came from
nearby New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Massachusetts and as far away
as Colorado and California. “We had a great show,” said Mark Kemp of CHMI,
“our customers —and some new customers— really turned out to see us.”
Educational programs were of great interest to attendees, with nearly 40 registrants
attending the day-long Auto Glass Tech Training program presented by the Performance
Achievement Group. The session by NAGS vice president Catherine Howard and the session
Taking the Hard out of Hardware also proved popular.
There were plenty of opportunities to network as well. Floral Glass sponsored an elegant
wine and cheese tasting party featuring the best of Long Island wines. Palmer
Mirro-Mastics sponsored breaks on both days.
Jerry Wright, owner of AAA Glass & Mirror in Fort Worth, TX, gave a humorous
presentation on employee management during breakfast. Wright also received the USGlass
“Road Warrior” award for spending so much time on the road.
That’s right, members of the glass industry will have another reason
to attend the USGlass Expos in 2000: a chance to win a glass truck. The
truck, provided by Unruh Fab of Sedgewick, KS, will be on display at all USGlass
expos in 2000. Every attendee who actually attends will be entered in a drawing for the
truck and five finalists will be chosen at the end of each show. The winner will be drawn
from among the 25 finalists at the conclusion of Glass Expo Midwest on October 21st.
“We are so excited about this program,” said Deb Levy, publisher of USGlass
magazine. “We know the attendees at the show take home lots of ideas and knowledge
and info about new services, but now one will actually be able to drive home in a brand
new truck.” The truck can be configured for either auto or flat glass use as the
winner wishes. It will be displayed on the floor at all events.
USGlass Magazine will co-sponsor five regional
expositions in 2000. They will all feature the best in regional education and
two day expositions. The events are:
The Spring Glass Expo™ for Auto Glass Repair and Replacement—March 19-21 at the
Riviera Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas
Glass Forum™—April 7-8, 2000 at the Center of New Hampshire in Manchester, NH
Glass Expo Pacific Northwest™—June 2-3, 2000 at the Oregon Convention Center in
Portland, OR
Glass TEXpo™—September 22-23, 2000 at the Sheraton Four Points in San Antonio,
TX
Glass Expo Midwest™—Tentatively scheduled for October 20-21, 2000 in Chicago,
location to be announced.
For attending information, please call Michelle Robinson at 540/720-5584 or e-mail mrobinson@glass.com; for exhibiting information,
please call Tina Czar at 814/339-6675 or email tczar@glass.com
USG
© Copyright 1999 Key Communications, Inc. All rights reserved. No reproduction of any type without expressed written permission.