Glass Cast

Thank you to Kommerling for sponsoring this episode of Glass Cast! Robert Thiroff started out as a carpenter at 16. Today he’s president and CEO of Kommerling USA. In this episode of Glass Cast, recorded at GlassBuild America, Katy Devlin talks with Robert about his career across Europe, India and China, and about Kommerling’s history, from its 1897 start serving the shoe industry to 30 years of m...

Thank you to Vitro for sponsoring this episode of Glass Cast! How does a chance conversation on a playground lead to a career in glass? In this episode of Glass Cast, recorded at GlassBuild America, Katy Devlin talks with Chris Fronsoe, director of innovation for the commercial segment at Vitro Architectural Glass. Chris shares how a former sommelier found his way into the industry, then takes lis...

Thank you to CRL-OBE for sponsoring this episode of Glass Cast & thank you to our GlassBuild series sponsors NSG Pilkington, Tremco, & Quanex! Today’s downturn isn’t 2008. It’s more like a frog in slowly heating water. CRL-OBE’s Eric Kowalewski joins Glass Cast to explain how the company is navigating a slow-drift market by simplifying the customer journey. He talks about bundling products...

GlassBuild America is almost here — and this episode has everything you need to know before you land in Vegas. Katy Devlin, NGA's Chief Content Officer, and Max Perilstein of Sole Source Consultants break down what's new this year, and there's a lot. They're talking Shark Tank's Daymond John kicking off the new Keynote Theater program, economist Connor Lokar returning for his s...

Glass Cast host Katy Devlin, chief content officer at the National Glass Association, sits down with Daniel Feische, director of occupational safety and health and glass technologies at Messe Düsseldorf, to preview glasstec 2026 — the international flagship trade fair for the glass industry, taking place October 20-23 in Düsseldorf, Germany. In this conversation, he shares what drew him to the gla...

Thank you glasstec (Messe Dusseldorf North America) for sponsoring this episode of Glass Cast! Learn about glasstec: https://www.glasstec-online.com/ Recorded live at GFAB, REAG founding partner and CEO Scott Mashuda gives glass and fenestration owners — and their leadership teams — a candid primer on selling a business. His premise is blunt: an exit isn't a maybe, it's a certainty, so the...

Thank you glasstec (Messe Dusseldorf North America) for sponsoring this episode of Glass Cast! Learn about glasstec: https://www.glasstec-online.com/ Recorded live at GFAB, NGA President and CEO Lakisha A. Woods sits down with IIDA CEO Cheryl Durst for a conversation on the untapped potential of glass in the commercial interior. Durst makes the case that glass is "the material of our lives&qu...

Thank you glasstec (Messe Dusseldorf North America) for sponsoring this episode of Glass Cast! Learn about glasstec: https://www.glasstec-online.com/AI strategist Elton Boocock of thinkivity AI cuts through the hype for glass fabricators, starting with a hard truth: AI is fluent, but it isn't always factual. Recorded live at GFAB, this session breaks down how to get reliable results by control...

Two years ago, Mark Adamson was five weeks into the CEO role at Oldcastle Building Envelope. Now, he's back on Glass Cast to take stock of a transformation still in motion — one that's involved integrating a fragmented organization, navigating a challenging ERP conversion, expanding CRL's distribution footprint, and steering through a market that one industry veteran told him is "...

Thank you REAG for sponsoring this episode of Glass Cast! Scott Mashuda, founder and CEO of REAG, joins NGA Chief Content Officer Katy Devlin to talk about the state of mergers and acquisitions in the glass fabrication industry. With more than two decades of experience helping lower middle market business owners navigate ownership transitions, Scott breaks down the market forces shaping M&A ri...

Thank you A+W Software for sponsoring this episode of Glass Cast! Josh Rudd, sales and marketing manager for A+W Software North America, joins NGA Chief Content Officer Katy Devlin and NGA Director of Membership Sarah Neiswanger to break down what AI actually means for a glass fabrication business. Josh walks through how A+W's new AI order entry agent, Mira, reads inbound emails and purchase o...

Thank you Cyncly for sponsoring this episode of Glass Cast! Don Busiek, strategic business and technology leader for Cyncly, joins NGA Chief Content Officer Katy Devlin and NGA Director of Membership Sarah Neiswanger to break down Cyncly's recent acquisition of Smart Glazer and what it means for glass fabricators, installers and homeowners. Don explains the concept of a digital thread connecti...

Thank you LiteSentry-Softsolution-Strainoptics for sponsoring this episode of Glass Cast! Nate Huffman of LiteSentry, Softsolution and Strainoptics joins NGA Chief Content Officer Katy Devlin and NGA Director of Membership Sarah Neiswanger, to trace the evolution of glass inspection from manual zebra boards and handheld gauges to fully automated, real-time measurement systems. Nate explains what m...

Thank you IGE Glass Technologies for sponsoring this episode of Glass Cast! Learn more about GFAB & Register: https://www.glass.org/GFAB Michael Spellman, founder and CEO of IGE Glass, joins NGA Chief Content Officer Katy Devlin and NGA Director of Membership Sarah Neiswanger to discuss what the modern glass fabrication plant looks like and where it's headed. Drawing on more than 40 years of h...

Listen in on a candid conversation about the forces reshaping architectural design—and what they mean for glazing contractors. From embodied carbon and thermal bridging to smart glass and supply chain resilience, architects are navigating intense performance pressures while clients demand transparency in every material decision. This standout session from the BEC Conference 2026 left attendees wit...

The face of glass industry leadership is changing. The topic of business management transitions took center stage at BEC 2026, and this episode spotlights two sessions. First, Brin Glass President and CEO Priscilla Koeckeritz talked about tackling leadership change by focusing on people, culture, and the new ways of doing things. Then, hear a panel of new generation family business leaders talk th...

Thank you TSS Glass Machinery Sales Inc. for sponsoring this episode of Glass Cast! Learn more about GFAB & Register: https://www.glass.org/GFAB Cliff Green, president and founder of TSS Glass Machinery Sales Inc., joins NGA Chief Content Officer Katy Devlin to explore how smart factory technology is transforming glass fabrication. From automated cutting and sorting systems to real-time produc...

In this episode, Glass Cast’s Katy Devlin sits down with Barbara Haaksma, chief marketing officer of Oldcastle BuildingEnvelope, parent of CRL, from the stage at BEC Conference, the Building Envelope Contractors Conference, in Louisville. They discuss Barbara’s history in glass, architecture and design, the key trends in glass, and what’s coming from OBE and CRL. This episode is sponsored by OBE a...

Join Chief Content Officer Katy Devlin and NGA Consultant Max Perilstein for an insider's preview of the 2026 Building Envelope Contractors Conference (BEC Conference), heading to Louisville, Kentucky for the first time on March 1-3. Thanks to BEC Conference media sponsor Vitro Architectural Glass. Register for the conference at https://www.glass.org/bec-conference-2026 This episode unpacks th...

Kristin Thomas, Vice President of Operations at Tab Glass and Window explores how workplace values and expectations are evolving—are flexibility and empathy reshaping what commitment looks like? This conversation dives into leadership, boundaries, and the balance between kindness and accountability in today’s work culture. With Melanie Dettmer, Industry Engagement Manager, and Sara Neiswanger, Dir...

General Glass International celebrated its 125th anniversary in 2025, which also aligned with Glass Magazine's own 75th anniversary. GGI's VP of Business Development Stephen Balik and Director of Business Development Spencer Raymond discuss how GGI has managed to successfully stay in business for so long, as well as challenges and triumphs the company has faced throughout more than a centu...

American manufacturing faces a workforce crisis: 400,000 unfilled jobs today, with nearly 2 million more projected to go unfilled by 2033. Tony Davis, National Director of FAME USA at the Manufacturing Institute, shares how apprenticeship programs are bridging this gap by combining paid work experience with associate degrees. Topics include how small manufacturers can access high-level training th...

Cathie Saroka, CEO and Michael Saroka, Chief Product Officer share how Goldray Glass was formed 40 years ago, how the company has continued to evolve to changing business demands and what makes them unique as they celebrate this special anniversary. Explore our channel and watch more Glass Cast & Window Cast episodes to learn more from industry experts, live from the GlassBuild 2025 show floor...

Join leaders from Erdman Automation, GED Integrated Solutions, Sturtz Machinery and Joseph Machine as they discuss trends and opportunities for the fenestration industry in machinery, automation and technology. Subscribe to NGA's YouTube Channel for more podcast episodes of Glass Cast and Window Cast. Explore more from NGA and GlassBuild America. NGA Website: ⁠https://www.glass.org/⁠ View belo...

NGA VP of Workforce Development Jenni Chase and NGA Director of Apprenticeship Amy Hadfield sit down with national apprenticeship expert Joshua Johnson to discuss common myths and misconceptions, the benefits of apprenticeship for employers and employees, and how NGA can help members considering an apprenticeship program for their business Subscribe to NGA's YouTube Channel for more podcast ep...