During GlassBuild America last month, around 8,600 representatives participated in the show and nearly 400 exhibitors displayed. It was a busy industry event, but companies involved in GlassBuild took the opportunity to talk about key industry matters like sustainability, hurricanes and structural glazing sealants. AAMA members had key roles in the show, and their work proved to have environmental and educational relevance in 2018.

In the Express Learning part of GlassBuild, Vik Ahuja from thinkstep presented “Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) and Why You Need Them.” With California’s State Bill 262 leading a new charge for requiring EPDs in order for products to be eligible for government projects, understanding the complexities of developing EPDs has never been more important. Sustainability has been a key focus for AAMA and its members over the last decade, with speakers from different points of view participating in AAMA conferences and extensive effort invested in developing the cradle-to-gate Product Category Rules (PCR) for vertical windows and skylights.

Intertek demonstrated impact resistance, based upon testing parameters in AAMA 506, Voluntary Specifications for Impact and Cycle Testing of Fenestration Products. Given the severe hurricane storm activity that has occurred in 2018 and prior years, understanding impact testing and how it has allowed fenestration products to perform so well from a structural and windborne debris standpoint is critical.

Finally, several AAMA member companies, including YKK AP America and Guardian Glass, participated in a panel entitled Navigating the Supply Chain as part of the Glazing Executives Forum, which included more than 200 glazing professionals. This was the 13th year of this forum, a one-day educational networking event for discussing challenges glazing contractors face, such as supply chain needs as well as finding and maintaining employees.

One final addition to this year’s show was the Knowledge Bar, which gave attendees a venue to discuss industry, technical or codes questions one-on-one with glass, window and door industry and staff specialists. We here at AAMA look forward to seeing how the industry has changed a year from now, at GlassBuild 2019.