From The Publisher_DWM

Volume 12, Issue 2 - March 2011

From The Publisher

Industry Game Changers

I have to admit lately I’m a political book junkie—not to be confused with a political news commentary junkie (in fact, I can’t stand those shows). But anyway, I recently read the best-selling book, The Game Change, as if it were a novel, furiously eager to hear of all the sordid details behind the 2008 election campaign. If you’re not familiar with the book, it details a few game-changing events that occurred within that campaign (I encourage you to read the book to learn more).

When writing the article on page 28, it occurred to me that the introduction of tablet devices, for example the iPad or the Galaxy, will be a “game changer” for our industry. Door and window dealers are not selling windows using traditional methods—the window-selling game is changing. Early adapters of this technology are finding that use of these devices is giving them a definite competitive advantage.

Once finished writing the tablet article I turned to getting industry reaction to the Quanex purchase of Edgetech (see page 26). Quanex, which owns Truseal, will be bringing two spacer competitors together.

Is that a game-changer? For now it seems too soon to tell, as there are so many unanswered questions. How will the technologies be integrated together? How will it affect the competitive landscape?

Speaking of acquisitions, as of this writing there have been at least five since the beginning of 2011. Five in approximately 38 days is a big deal. According to DWM columnist Michael Collins, this could signify an industry turn-around. For more reasons to be optimistic, check out my February 1 blog on www.dwmmag.com.

Finally, I’d like to pose a question to you. While at the recent International Builders’ Show (for all the news from the event, see page 38), a manufacturer made an interesting comment when talking about the fact that the industry is starting to pick up.

“When companies get busy their energy concerns go down,” he said. “When people get busy again that spotlight on energy may go down.” I’d love to hear your thoughts on the issue. E-mail me at ttaffera@glass.com.

In this issue, you’ll see something new popping out in DWM—2D bar codes. These two-dimensional codes offer readers and viewers immediate access to additional information about a product or service.

In order to utilize the MS tags, visit http://gettag.mobi on your smartphone to download the appropriate tag reader (free of charge). (You can also search for “Tag Reader” in the app store and download it at no cost there as well.) Then, simply open the app, point it at any MS tag (try the one bellow to start), and you’ll immediately be taken to the enhanced online content. Another can be seen on page 20 in the news section.