Mexico's float glass sector is showing growth despite headwinds from U.S. trade tensions and a domestic construction slump driven by cuts in public infrastructure spending. While the near-term outlook is challenging, analysts see long-term growth potential driven by automotive demand, rising interest in high-performance glazing, and green building trends, though heavy dependence on the U.S. market remains a structural vulnerability.
I’ve got a new episode of the From the Fabricator podcast for everyone, and it’s got a bunch of strong takeaways. First up, the 2015 Glass Industry MVP Jon Kimberlain of Dow joins me. Jon is just a brilliant guy. Smart as heck, extremely friendly and always doing his best for his company and our industry. It was fun to pick his brain on a few items, including the growth of unitizing and the moves he’d make to improve the industry.
The March issue of Glass Magazine is our yearly Architect’s Guide. It’s designed to speak directly to the architect and design community, and to highlight exactly what makes glass such a unique building material. Here are just a few reasons that glass is a powerful and dynamic part of the built environment.
The construction industry is under mounting pressure from rising costs, labor shortages, and increasing performance demands, which is reshaping decisions around facade and daylighting systems. Traditional framed solutions—such as FRP, polycarbonate, and stick-built curtain walls—require specialized labor and face long‑term performance drawbacks, making them costly and risky in today’s labor‑constrained environment.
I share my feelings about the passing of Larry Vockler of ICD Coatings & Chemistries, his legacy inside and outside the industry. Plus, a cool education session by Precision Bent Glass and my favorite Super Bowl ads.
Each new year reminds me that opportunity and challenge often appear simultaneously. I’ve written about this before and both were on full display at Winter Olympics. In the glazing world, we see our fair share of challenge and opportunity.
I’ve got a new episode of the “From the Fabricator” podcast for you, and I gotta say it was a real dandy. Leading off was Brad Thurman of General Glass International. Then to Paul Robinson of Pioneer Glazing.