Glass TEXpo™ ’18 brought a relevant and insightful educational line-up and an extensive show floor to San Antonio from May 10-11. Seminars focused on safety, hurricane glazing, digital imaging, oversized glass, blast mitigation and thermal efficiency. The event, which took place at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, was sponsored by the Texas Glass Association, USGlass magazine, USGNN.com™ and Architects’ Guide to Glass & Metal Attendees came from 29 states and four countries, including the U.S. and Canada.
Safety Changes and Updates
In his presentation, “Changes, Updates and What’s New That You Need to Know About Safety,” Johnathan Granados, vice president of Curv Compliance, pointed out that slips, trips and falls are the leading accidents in the construction industry and second in fatalities to vehicle crashes. “It only takes one time. We don’t know how we’ll come out of that situation until it happens. Until, that’s the word I want you to remember,” said Granados. “It makes no sense to work as hard as we do and lose it to one incident where we drop a ball. We have to focus on those ‘until moments’ and prepare for them.”
Hurricane and Impact Glazing
Julia Schimmelpenningh, global architectural applications manager for Eastman Chemical Company spoke about how hurricane glazing mitigates hurricane damage in her seminar, “Hurricane Glazing (1 AIA LU).”
Hurricane Katrina caused $160 billion in damage, according to Schimmelpenningh, who said the storm’s damages were the most financially costly of any hurricane. Katrina is followed by Hurricane Harvey, which caused $125 billion in damage when it brought major flooding to the Houston area last year.
In recent reports conducted in Florida following Hurricane Irma, places that adopted newer codes and enforced hurricane-resistant products fared well, whereas areas that had not updated the codes, such as Key West, were devastated.
“This tells us that hurricane glazing is working to save people, properties and the whole community from having to deal with $160 billion of devastation,” said Schimmelpenningh.
Benefiting from Graphic Imaging
Bernard Lax, CEO of Pulp Studio, explained the difference in digital printing techniques in his seminar, “Decorative Glass: Benefiting from Graphic Imaging.”
“It’s not new technology. Ceramics are little particles and you have to blow them through a nozzle.
It can be very corrosive and tear up the nozzle. The machine technology existed, but it took the industry almost 20 years to develop the nozzle,” he said. (See related article on page 44.)
Oversized Glass Trends And Applications
Jacob Kasbrick, regional architectural manager (West) for Guardian Glass, defined oversized glass as roughly up to 200 square feet. The fabrication process is similar to standard- sized glass, but requires larger machinery.
He said oversized glass is being used more extensively in renovations and adaptive reuse projects to showcase historical features while meeting to day’s expectations for daylighting and energy efficiency.
Blast Mitigation
Greg Galloway, ProTek brand manager for YKK AP America Inc., said the goal of blast mitigation is not to protect people in the immediate area of the blast, but to contain the effects of the blast to the immediate area.
Codes could require that building materials be specified for charge weight 1, at a 148-foot minimum standoff distance, and charge weight 2 at an 82-foot minimum standoff distance. He suggested that users select the glazing make-up with the least glass resistance load that meets all requirements. It’s also vital for glazing contractors to be aware of which part of the blast system they are responsible for installing.
“The worst thing that could happen is that in the middle of the project [you have] to add cost and labor and not get paid for it. Glazing contractors have a responsibility to anchor the window,” he said. “Get preliminary engineering done before quoting if the job has blast specs.”
Thermal Efficiency
Kevin Haynes, architectural representative for Tubelite, said that glass is much more energy efficient than aluminum frames, which are poor insulators. This affects the overall U-factor of a window, which is the weighted average of the frame, center of glass and the edge of the glass.
“Framing systems are not doing a lot of the heavy lifting, but as technology improves we’re starting to do a better job about that. Window manufacturers are starting to pick up on that weight,” said Haynes.
Haynes also explained that the 2015 International Building Code is being enforced in at least 13 states and the 2015 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) is followed in at least eight states, including Texas.
“The energy cost savings for Texas after updating the commercial and residential energy codes is estimated at $1 billion by 2030,” he said.
The Show Floor
Exhibitors at Glass TEXpo ’18 all said the same thing: business is good, especially in the Texas market. It was Standard Bent Glass’ first time exhibiting at TEXpo. “We’re looking to bring on an independent sales representative for the Texas region so we can do more business here,” said Jake Bowser, sales manager.
M3 Glass Technologies, a company with an interior focus, is based in Texas and plans to begin distributing to the Oklahoma market this month.
Many other exhibitors are also well-established in the Texas market and focused on speaking with attendees about their latest products.
Erdman Central North America sales representative Mike Kautz talked to attendees about the company’s automated curtainwall machine.
“A lot of our customers don’t know about it. It’s quicker and cleaner than creating unitized curtainwall manually,” he said.
Bailey Specialty Cranes & Aerials was reaching for new heights at the show. Jack Garczynski, sales engineer, operated the Brandon 10, a crane which can reach up to 37 feet. He said the crane is ideal for atriums. The company also has a crane that can be used for inside-out installations, including the installation of glass ceiling panels. Safety is another major focus at Bailey. “The ANSI safety standards are becoming more rigid. Air-filled tires will no longer qualify under the standard. Our cranes are already prepared for this change,” said Garczynski.
MyGlassTruck.com has a new shelf that allows people to lean a lite of glass against a van wall. It has rubber to protect the glass and can be used by a company that doesn’t need to transport glass often.
According to Joel Nudelman, account executive at MyGlassTruck.com, approximately 25 percent of the company’s business is in Texas. Kuraray’s SentryGlas is well known in the industry, but Mark Jacobson, market manager, said the company wanted to inform attendees about the hurricane benefits of SentryGlas.
He also said that the company has seen a rise in inquiries about security glass for schools. “Glass is only one part of the solution. It has to be part of a whole security system,” said Jacobson. He also addressed some school districts’ worries that glass makes a school more vulnerable.
“Glass is so beneficial for a learning environment. It can provide the security needed to help keep an intruder out while making sure students feel like they’re in a school and not a prison,” he said.
Attendees saw the show as an opportunity to learn something new. “We’re about two hours from here. I think eight of us total from our two shops came and we’re all enjoying it,” said Kyle Newman of Glass Doctor in Victoria, Texas. “I feel like everybody gets stuck in their old ways using their same products, same things, and [we’re looking for] something out there that can help us do our job better.” Dates for Glass TEXpo™ 2020 will be announced soon.
The author Jordan Scott is the assistant editor of USGlass magazine. She can be reached at jscott@glass.com.
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