Glass Canada editor Patrick Flannery recaps the 2015 Top Glass event. Find more video from the show on pages 5 and 7. 4
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Smashing expectations
A strong second edition raises hopes for the future.
OGMA Awards for Excellence
The Ontario Glass and Metal Association honoured two outstanding achievements in a special presentation.
Exclusive knowledge on offer
It was standing-room only in the Top Glass educational sessions.
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A strong second edition raises hopes for the future.
Top Glass, Canada’s conference event for the commercial glazing industry, smashed through expectations on April 15 at the International Centre in Mississauga, Ont., with glaziers, fabricators and architects swarming an expanded show floor and education seminars packed to standing room only. The one-day event welcomed over 280 attendees from right across Canada, and attracted coverage by the U.S. trade press. The event was powered by strong support from industry suppliers, including Gold Sponsors Tremco and Alumicor, and Speaker Sponsors Erdman Automation and RavenBrick.
In just its second year, Top Glass has shown remarkable growth. Compared to the inaugural event, show organizers recorded:
• 281 attendees up from 150 - 87 per cent increase
• 42 exhibitors up from 30 - 40 per cent increase
• 51 architects and building engineers - more than triple the number from 2014
• 135 glazing contractors and building envelope fabricators
• Total glass building professionals on the floor: 402
The four seminar sessions relocated to a room in the same hall as the show floor, making it easier for attendees to move back and forth between the sessions and the exhibits. The first two sessions were standing-room only, and even the final session of the day was more than three-quarters full.
“I was delighted to be part of the second edition of Top Glass,” said Angelo Cairo of Stouffville Glass, OGMA president. “The amount of great networking opportunities at this event far surpassed our expectations. Also, the amount of new companies we got to meet looking to get their hands on to whatever useful information the OGMA had to offer was great to see. The two awards we presented to the Flynn Group and N45 Architects went very well and we were happy to recognize them for their achievements.”
APRIL 20
Top Glass returns April 20, 2016 to the International Centre in Mississauga, Ont. Free online registration is now open at topglasscanada.com. Watch @GlassCanadaMag and glasscanadamag.com for announcements and updates.
HEARD ON THE SHOW FLOOR
Here are some of what the attendees had to say about Top Glass 2015.
“The education program was so interesting. I really liked the talk about Chinese curtain wall. You can’t get that kind of information anywhere else!”
- MARY ENG, ARCHITECT
The Ontario Glass and Metal Association honoured two outstanding achievements in a special presentation.
Angelo Cairo of Stouffville Glass, OGMA president, and Steve Gusterson of Alumicor, OGMA vice-president, presented the Award of Excellence in glass building execution to Michael Roche of Flynn Canada for their work on Ryerson University in Toronto. Richard Brightling and Tom Carolan of Jigsaw Marketing/ Stella Hardware accepted the award for design on behalf of N45 for the Isabel Bader Centre for Performing Arts in Kingston, Ont.
“This is the kind of thing we need more of. The presentations here are better than a lot of the architecture conferences I attend.”
- NATHANAEL GRAY, ARCHITECT
“My guys said the morning was terrific and the afternoon was good as well. Lots of excellent leads!”
- LEE BAKER, TREMCO
“Our representative said it was great. He was impressed and recommended we do it again in 2016.”
- JESSICA ERDMAN, ERDMAN AUTOMATION
CSA A500 will dictate how building guards are constructed in Canada.
The education sessions began with Paul Gulletson, project manager with CSA Built Environment Group, previewing CSA’s upcoming A500 Building Guards standard. The new standard will cover most aspects of balconies, balustrades and other structures designed to prevent falling from height on buildings, but Gulletson focused on the aspects related to areas where glass might be used. The new standard will include requirements for materials, fasteners, hardware, connections to the structure and connections to glass components. Key information for attendees was the revelation that A500 will include guard load, impact resistance, wind load and post-breakage retention requirements and that designs will need to be tested, potentially on-site, in order to be certified. Gulletson says a mixture of proscriptive and tested performance requirements will be used, leaving designers with some flexibility. Use of laminated glass will not be mandated as long as the material used can meet the performance specifications.
When sourcing curtain wall offshore, you get exactly what you pay for.
Hamid Vossoughi and Ehab Naim Ibrahim of Halsall Associates provided a fascinated crowd with insights into working with Chinese curtain wall fabricators drawn from their direct experience. Their discussion illustrated the explosive growth around the world of Chinese building envelope fabrication, and the surging market for glazing and construction in China itself. They discussed the trade disputes that have arisen over Chinese export pricing and noted that concerted action by Canada’s glazing community has largely corrected the problem of Chinese unitized curtain wall entering the country at unfair prices. The message was that Chinese pricing is very sharp - you get what you pay for and nothing that you don’t. High quality is certainly achievable, but must be specified. Vossoughi said the Chinese challenge should be treated as an opportunity by North American fabricators to get better, especially through innovation and research. The two even gave some examples of the kind of cuisine you might sample on a trip to China - not for the timid! Architects attending the presentation commented afterwards that information of this kind is simply not available from any other source.
ergorobotic.com
The Ergo Robotic Solutions’ GM2000-12 is an extremely versatile and useful glass installation machine. It can lift a 2,000-pound load 13 feet and move it into position with fine control all in a machine that can fit through a mansized door. Its standard articulations allow an operator to move the boom three different ways, tilt the glass two ways, shift it from side to side, and rotate it 180 degrees in either direction. The add-on options include EZ Pick (an articulation up and in to pick up glass from a rack, or in reverse, to set glass in place); an extended boom (up to 16 feet for normal installation or 18 feet for skylights); a winch and crane hook; a hydraulic drive; and double front and rear wheels for imperfect terrain and to distribute load. Many enthusiastic customers claim the benefits include more productive manpower, quicker installation, and the reduction
of temporary equipment costs. The improved handling leads to less breakage and damage and an overall safer work site. Installers find that the GM2000-12 has a large capacity for both size and weight, making it a solid installation platform. This allows them to take on bigger jobs regularity. They find the machines pay for themselves quickly, often on the first job.The GM2000-12 is the central part of a lineup that includes both larger and smaller capacity machines, as well as an intelligent under-hook solution, the SkyHook WPI.
Erdman Parallel Process IG Line erdmanautomation.com
Erdman’s new Parallel Process highspeed insulating glass line is designed to revolutionize the IG fabrication process. Capable of producing more than 1,400 IGU per shift with only three or four operators, the Erdman line will increase output in a smaller footprint for less cost. The Parallel Process line derives its name from the innovation of shuttling the topping lite to a back lane. Therefore, the two glass lites run parallel to each other. This and other advancements lead to a significant increase in speed. Erdman Automation has been an industry leader in providing automated equipment for over 20 years. Its equipment is designed to increase your production and consistently produce higher quality products, decrease waste and cleanup and provide a safe, ergonomic work environment for your operators.
Think REHAU.
REHAU Window & Doors Systems are designed for both beauty and brawn–engineered for security and safety.
We’re not just a pretty face. See for yourself at na.rehau.com/windows
fenzi-na.com
Chromatech and Chromatech Ultra stainless steel warmedge spacers were displayed at the Top Glass Show. Manufactured by Roll Tech, a Fenzi owned company; they both were well-received by the visitors to the Fenzi booth. Both Chromatech and Chromatech Ultra spacers are available in a wide range of air space widths. The Chromatech Ultra has a polycarbonate bridge across the top, available in traditional white, grey and black colours. Combined with our Fenzi Hotver 2000 HM Butyl, Fenzi Thiover Polysulphide, Fenzi Poliver Polyurethane, Fenzi Molver 3A Desiccant, Fenzi Butylver PIB and Alu Pro aluminum spacer profiles, Fenzi North America continues to be your single source supplier for all your IG component needs.
Alumicor was proud to be a gold sponsor of Top Glass Conference and Exhibits 2015, where it displayed its new addition to the Entrance Doors collection, the Phantom Door. For a sleek façade with zero sight lines, the discrete Phantom Door is an innovative design solution. It is a natural extension of the design aesthetics when wrapping a building in a waterfall of glass providing natural illumination. Additionally, the door corners are both mechanically fastened and plug welded for dualmoment construction.The Phantom Door is suitable for SSG curtain wall applications and is available in custom sizes, finishes and designs. Alumicor also offers zero-sight-line vents for natural ventilation while delivering maximum security. The Phantom Vents allow random placement of operable windows and have been fully tested to current performance standards. Alumicor champions
LEED with a commitment to sustainable design through the exclusive use of recycled aluminum. Fully dedicated to support green building projects, Alumicor is devoted to maintaining LEED eligibility. Since 1959 Alumicor has driven innovation with its products and manufacturing capabilities that effectively respond to the evolving needs of the architectural and building community. Alumicor has earned respect and recognition for technical competence, responsiveness and integrity and is a preferred Canadian-based supplier of architectural aluminum building envelope products.
20. In addition, these profiles feature a patented integrated reinforcement system (IVS), with screw channels and additional lateral stiffening that ensure the highest degree of strength at all critical points of the system.
glassopolis.com
rehau.com
Rehau’s comprehensive line of commercial uPVC window and door designs includes solutions to address the tight building envelope goals of today’s sustainable construction projects. Featuring uniquely engineered compression-seal technology, high-performance windows and doors from Reha provide notable energy efficiency, structural and acoustical performance and security.
Rehau compression-seal designs are some of the highest performing windows and doors available in North America, suitable for buildings targeting LEED Platinum, German Passivhaus and hurricane impact-resistance ratings. One of the featured designs at Top Glass 2015 was the Rehau System 4700 Geneo tiltturn window design. The Geneo achieves exceptional strength and thermal performance without the use of steel reinforcement. The proprietary Rau-Fipro fiber-composite material and unique Geneo profile design combine to achieve U-values down to 0.13, STC ratings up to 45 and forced-entry resistance of Grade
Glassopolis offers Protect3 safety glass as the best value replacement for traditional wired glass, which has been proven dangerous and has been banned in the U.S.A. School boards across Canada are looking for ways to economically replace their wired glass with something that is impact-safe to the highest standards. Protect3 safety glass is fully certified by ULC and meets tough ANSI Z97.1 impact safety standards. Each piece comes ULC-marked and approved for use in schools, hospitals and other commercial applications. Glassopolis offers a range of specialty glass including a full range of fire-rated glass, lead x-ray glass, switchable privacy glass, security and ballistic glass, and more.
Posiglaze railing systems from PureVista allow for fast installation because they are designed to be installed without needing to ensure the fitting surface is totally level. They are fully adjustable after installation due to their unique, simple adjustment system allowing horizontal alignment of each glass panel. Lightweight and extremely strong, Posiglaze components are anodised for increased protection against the elements. The system is tested and engineered to meet the strictest building regulations (with the appropriate fixing and glass thickness) in both domestic and commercial installations. It can be installed in a wide variety of applications. The system will accommodate glass thickness of 12 mm in strengthened glass and 21.5 mm in laminated glass.
Here are some of what the attendees had to say about Top Glass 2015.
“This show is everything we had hoped for. Glasshaus has met some interesting new connections today.”Laura Weil, Glasshaus
- LAURA WEIL, GLASSHAUS
“Congratulations on a great show. All the right people were there. We are in it for life.”
- JAY MADHA, TILTCO
We are the only company in the industry with an expansive knowledge of connectivity and innovative glazing products backed by all-inclusive warranties:
• PROTECTIVE GLAZING Meeting blast and hurricane/impact resistance requirements
• RESTORATION GLAZING Providing custom solutions to restoring window and curtain wall systems in aging structures
• STRUCTURAL GLAZING Offering total system compatibility for 2- and 4-sided structural silicone glazing
• TRANSITIONS Eliminating window-to-wall interface issues with patented transition assemblies