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New products are one of the major draws to the show floor at Glass Expo West in San Diego. Attendees had plenty to discover, such as salvaged antique glass, a bird-friendly solution and EVA interlayers. The show’s education program gave attendees a chance to learn about business tips and fire-rated glazing.
Olde Good Things exhibited at a Glass Expo for the first time in San Diego. The company salvages antique glass, often with chicken wire, and repurposes it for decorative applications. Chuck Marburgh said it’s popular with designers.
Olde Good Things salvages antique glass and repurposes it for decorative applications.
Wausau Window and Wall Systems also had a focus on historic products. According to architectural sales representative Jason Marquez, there’s been a demand for glazing systems with a historic aesthetic in schools, universities and retrofit applications. The systems are built with aluminum and provide greater energy efficiency.
The company’s Invision unitized curtainwall system was also on display. West region architectural engineer Lisa May said it’s been in demand due to the need for products that are less labor intensive.
While in California, DeGorter vice president Pete DeGorter explained that his company is working to get changes made to specifications for handrails to include EVA. He said that some of the advantages of EVA over PVB include fewer delamination issues, a clearer color on the exposed edge and more durability and temperature stability. DeGorter represents Evalam in the U.S.
DeGorter is comparing the benefits of EVA versus PVB interlayers with its Evalam product.
Glass Coatings and Concepts showcased its frit on surface 1, which is being used in bird friendly applications. Sales manager Tim McGee expects to see that demand grow as more codes incorporate bird friendly glass requirements.
Glass Coatings and Concepts surface 1 frit can be used for bird-friendly applications.
Another company showing off new innovations was MyGlassTruck.com, which has a new design for its slider racks. They now offer 70% extension, which expands the rack’s capacity. Vice president of global sales Amber Deimler also explained that the company is focusing on strengthening partnerships and increased its dealership and installer network, including in the California market.
Educational Seminars
Glass Expo West also offered an extensive educational program. Thursday included seminars on topics such as finding employees, business advice and fire-rated glazing.
USGlass magazine publisher Debra Levy gave 15 tips for finding employees in her seminar. She suggested having young employees speak about why they enjoy working for a company. Other recommendations include updating referral programs, reaching out to previous employees, offering a training program and having a relationship with schools.
In Keytech North America president Lyle Hill’s seminar, “The ABC’s of Business,” audience members chose letters of the alphabet for Hill, who gave business advice based on the letter. For the letter D Hill suggested that companies focus on decision making. For P Hill said that companies should plan ahead.
The final seminar of the day was “Pushing the Design Envelope with Fire-Rated Glazing.” In the seminar, Vetrotech Saint-Gobain western regional sales manager Laura Head gave an overview of fire-rated glazing products and their differences.
Vetrotech Saint-Gobain western regional sales manager Laura Head speaks about the differences between fire protective and fire resistive glazing.
She explained that protective glass provides protection against smoke and flame, but allows heat to come through, whereas resistive glass protects against smoke, flames and heat. Resistive glass is often required by code in applications needing 60-minute fire protection or greater.
Head said that architects can sometimes specify lower-level protection to stay within budget when those products aren’t sufficient according to code.
Glass Expo West ended Thursday. The next Glass Expo event will be held May 1-2, 2020 in San Antonio for Glass TEXpo™.
