Obituary: Remembering Glazing Industry Leader Leo Karas

The glass and glazing community is mourning the loss of an industry giant: Leo Karas of Karas and Karas Glass Company, who passed away Tuesday, November 30th. He was 93. Karas spent his final years in Boston, in a glass condominium built by his family’s multigenerational company. According to his son, Joey Karas, Leo’s impacts on the industry could be felt in several capacities. “He had the terrible need to be involved in [everything],” he says. A Harvard graduate [more]

NorthGlass Continues its Jumbo Trend—Now Eight Stories High

Two months ago, NorthGlass set a Guinness World Record for the largest window installation. Now, the Chinese glass fabricator has produced a lite that pushed its production capabilities to its limit. This time, the jumbo tempered glass will be installed in the Guangzhou Chamber of Commerce in Guangzhou City, China. JangHo is the façade contractor and RFR is the facade consultant. According to Holly An, sales director for NorthGlass, the project’s glazing consists of low iron, fully [more]

Bird Watch: Experts Discuss Glazing Industry's Role in Protecting Birds

Questioning what the glass and glazing industry can do to help mitigate the number of fatal collisions affecting birds has been a longstanding discussion. It was also the focus of one session during the recent Zak World of Facades conference in New York. Christoph Timm, principal at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, moderated the discussion, "No Harm, No Fowl: Bird-Friendly Glass, Local Law 15." The panel included Christine Sheppard, director of Glass Collisions Program for the American [more]

Judge Rejects U.S. Commerce Department's Remand Redetermination in AD/CVD Case

Almost a year after the last significant change in the antidumping and countervailing duty (AD/CVD) case of Columbia Aluminum Products vs. U.S. Department of Commerce, Judge Timothy C. Stanceu issued an opinion and order in response to the Commerce Department's Remand Redetermination, filed in December 2020, and the subsequent responses and comments submitted by both the plaintiff, Columbia Aluminum Products and Defendant-Intervenors: Aluminum Extrusions Fair Trade Committee and Endura Products Inc. In the Remand Redetermination, Commerce—the [more]

Construction and Iron Workers are Still Ranked in the Top Most Dangerous Jobs

Workplace injuries and fatalities can occur in any field—and those in construction are especially prone due to exposure to more dangerous situations than most jobs. A few construction jobs were recently ranked in the top 25 most dangerous jobs in the U.S. by AdvisorSmith, which analyzed the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries for 2019. According to the study by AdvisorSmith, on-the-job deaths have been increasing in recent years, going from 4,836 in [more]

Solar Seal Architectural Plans to Open New Location

Solar Seal, a custom fabricator of architectural glass products based in South Easton, Mass., is preparing for further expansion in New England. The company has signed a 10-year lease for a new plant of about 200,000-square-feet in a Norwich business park in Connecticut with options to renew and expand. “We wanted to develop an independent architectural or major project-based business that was able to drive top-level/global quality glass within North America’s footprint,” says Jeff Heintz, Solar [more]

Glass Manufacturer Records Significant Increase in Revenues

NSG Group, parent company to Pilkington, saw a 25% increase in architectural glass revenues in the most recent quarter compared to the same period last year, according to its latest financial report. NSG reports sales in this segment totaled $544 million in its second-quarter fiscal year 2022, which represents the months of July-September 2021. The architectural segment accounted for 45% of the company’s revenue during the quarter and includes the manufacture and sale of flat glass and [more]