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Guardian Glass cites extreme volatility in raw material costs, supply chain disruptions and industry conditions in a letter to its U.S. and Canadian customers announcing price increases on all shipments starting next week. It also announced its energy, transportation and silver surcharges will now undergo monthly adjustments.
“The global situation facing all of us has created unprecedented pressure on our business,” said executive vice president of the Americas Rick Zoulek and Lance Altizer, vice president of sales in the Americas, in a joint letter issued June 10. “Therefore, based upon ongoing extreme volatility in raw material costs, supply chain disruptions and current industry conditions, Guardian Glass will implement a price increase effective on all shipments starting June 20, 2022.”
All thicknesses of clear float and tinted float will increase by 40%, as will prices of tempered glass, tempered coated, and patterned glass. UltraClear, coated SunGuard, coated ClimaGuard, ShowerGuard and laminated glass will all increase by 20%. Mirror prices are increasing by 25%.
“The changes to glass prices will enable future investments in our business and enable us to maintain our position as a premier supplier to the glass industry,” said the letter.
Rick Leserman, owner of Girard Glass in California, says his company is one of Guardian’s smaller customers. Girard Glass has been a customer of Guardian Glass since its doors opened in 1978. He says the last several months have seen Girard Glass consider purchases of Guardian glass on a month-to-month basis. Leserman says Guardian Glass is busy delivering to its contracted customers, adding that months may go by without Girard Glass being able to make a purchase, regardless of the price.
“We’ll have to absorb the increase and pass along the increase the best we can to our customers,” he says.
Changes in glass prices weren’t the only announcement in the correspondence. The letter also notes that energy, transportation and silver surcharges will move to monthly adjustments. Surcharges, effective July 1, will be recalculated based on second quarter costs of raw materials. Monthly adjustments start on August 1, 2022.
The letter notes that Guardian sales representatives will be in contact with customers within a week to provide additional information and answer questions.
San Jacinto Glass is in the same boat with Cardinal Corp. Ever since they purchased AGC we are no longer a valued customer. We were a Guardian Customer till AGC came and got our business 10yrs ago now we are non exitance to them cause we are a small business and not a corporation who pulls 30 truckloads a month. As we all can see corporations like this are killing small business and really don’t care.
Wow. After 52 years in the industry, this is a shocker. I’m not saying that the price increase is not necessary for them but they could have staggered it a bit, given their customers a little more time (warning) and communicated it a little better as well. Hopefully their bigger customers were consulted in advance of this announcement so they have some time to prepare themselves and their end users for this. I know that some of their customers are going to be on fixed price contracts that will not allow them to pass this on … at least not for awhile. Anxious to see what others do.
This is most diffidently going to hurt many glazing contractors. It’s not like we are ordering glass within thirty days of our proposals. There’s the submittal process, the erecting of the building process and then measuring and ordering.
My sources tell me that Guardian has been loosing money for years and they need to rebuild two lines so the only way to accomplish this is to raise their prices. I get that and agree with that but they had to know this long before last week. There should of been some notice. At least given a quarter to give glass fabricators and glazing contractors time to incorporate these cost into bidding.
Now these rising cost are going to be coming out of the pockets of the glazing contractors who have used Guardian to quote the jobs and already contracted them.
I’m not sure how to handle the contracted jobs but from here on out we are going to have to add to our contracts that if material prices go up the contract price will have to be adjusted.
we already wait months to get cases of glass 🙁
Vitro is doing the same.
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This really was no big surprise. It follows suit with the monopoly merger CRL/CRH and Old Castle Group have to corner the construction market. Several of us glass and construction contractors have banded together and are tripling the prices of residential work done for corporate executives, brokers, corporate lawyers(basically those ethically responsible to prevent gluttonous actions like this.), but maintaining the prices the working class has been accustomed to. Their egos and the internet make this very easy. I hope others follow suit.
I was shocked at the 30% increase starting July first so I googled it and sure enough. I’ve only been in the bus 20 years come and gone, lol, and I’m used to the normal 9% every year, but 30-40% overnight?! Unprecedented.
I’m a glass carver/etcher, sandblaster…I do lots of commissions for home and business installations. I also make glass wave sculptures. I’ve been dealing with the five times increase the past year, and have had clients not too bothered with the increase, but, this sudden 40% jump has me worried I’m going to lose a lot of future clients, and therefore I may not be able to continue on. I’ll keep my opinions as to why this has happened off here, but, we’re all getting screwed.