Americas' Glass Showcase Offers Numerous Learning Opportunities

With seminars ranging from the latest in codes to fire-rated glazing, along with a full trade show, the Americas Glass Association (AGA) held its annual Americas Glass Showcase last week in Las Vegas at the Cashman Convention Center. The event ran May 2-3.

Frank Forgione (left) and Donn Harter (right) spoke about topless glass railings on Friday, May 2.

On Friday afternoon, Frank Forgione of Forgione Sales, took on the topic of "Can You Go Topless? Glass Railings." Forgione focused on interlayer and glass options for "topless" glass railings-and particularly on their increase.

"As we've seen in all these buildings we're doing, there's more glass, less metal," Forgione said.

He focused on three particular types of interlayers available for laminated glass used in topless glass railings, including PVB, RainEdge and Dupont's SentryGlass® Plus.

"If you're doing an all-glass-type handrail, then retention is what it's all about," he said. "I think the engineering part is most important."

Donn Harter, AGA president, provided an update on the latest code cycle for safety glazing, while Tom Grandy of

Palmer was one of the many exhibitors on-hand at Americas Glass Showcase.

Grandy & Associates provided a presentation on profitable labor pricing.

Sherilyn Hobkins of Momentive Performance Products and Bryce Roughton of Sunshine Supply also took on the topic of

"The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of Sealant Installation," with an explanation on how to use the correct sealant and proper application to fulfill the manufacturer's requirements.

On Saturday, May 3, a forum tackled the latest in fire-rated glazing.

Bill Braun of Braun & Melucci LLP also provided information on "Effective Avoidance and Defense of Construction Defects."

Bill Braun of Braun & Melucci LLP provided a presentation called "Effective Avoidance and Defense of Construction Defects."

In addition to providing a lengthy handout including tips and suggestions, Brown also provided some general tips to attendees.

For example, he provided a quick lesson terms and conditions and how they relate to contracts at large.

"Once the customer signs those terms and conditions, it becomes part of that contract," Braun said.

He also provided a lesson on oral contracts.

"An oral contract is just as enforceable as a written contract," he said, though he noted that often it's harder for an attorney to prove what was in an oral contract.

Greg Ketter of Ketter Development ended the two-day event with presentations on "Mastering Emotional Intelligence" and "Cultivating a High-Performance Team."

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