GlassTalk 2011
GlassTalk 2011 was a great success.
With the backdrop to the latest in the GlassTalk Live! series the beautiful, lavishly nurtured greens of The Belfry in the West Midlands, golfing similes may be inevitable, the obvious summary of this latest outing being a ‘hole in one’.
The core of GlassTalk Live! continues to be the speed networking, described by one delegate as a sort of ‘musical chairs’ for grownups. Additional rules introduced to limit the dominance of these groups by one or two individuals were generally successful and, judged by the general noise in the excellent facility chosen for the event, embarrassing silences were not a characteristic of the day.
The networking sessions were, as ever, punctuated by the On The Couch sessions, kicked off by a summary of the results of the first GlassTalk survey, carried out in the weeks preceding the event by Mike Knudsen of BBPN (http://www.businessbestpractice.net). The results were particularly surprising in two key findings: Amongst retailers and installers, less than 30% keep meaningful lists of customer, indicating a woeful waste of a key resource; and less than 10% of the sample (more than 100 respondents across all sectors) use lowest price as a key purchasing criterion. Delegates will each receive a copy of the findings.
The next On the Couch session, believed to be the star item on the programme, covered the issue of triple glazing and, such was the interest a couple of gatecrashers were even turned away after trying to gain entrance just for this discussion. A pity they didn’t pay to get in as they missed one of the best OtC sessions ever held.
Leading the discussion were Conservatory Outlet’s Matthew Glover and Matt Kirby from Solaglass. Though cautious with his comments lest he alerts too many to his future vision, Glover believes that triple glazing is inevitable both on the grounds of efficiency and a step closer to the demands of anticipated energy legislation, as well as the sheer power of the selling points compared to double glazing. Matt Kirby, though stating his obvious desire to sell 50% more glass in every unit, also believes that the market will become triple within the foreseeable future.
This was not a view shared by all with Scotland’s largest retailer telling the assembly that his company sold merely a handful of A rated windows last year, let alone going for the extra pane; meanwhile another delegate said that he had installed hundreds of triple glazed frames in a previous life, most of which pulled the fixings out of the wall due to the extra weight! This session could have commanded the whole afternoon but it can be considered that the debate has been formally launched!
Further networking was followed by a fascinating discussion on Apprenticeships, heralded by the temptation of ‘Cheap Labour’’ It was discussed by Chris Rob whose company (Trade Skills Academy (www.tradeskillsacademy.com) prepares people for employment under the scheme, and Danny Williams, whose company Pioneer Trading intends to employ 15 to 20 apprentices under the scheme during the next two years.
A new feature, The Lions Den, brought the day programme to an energetic climax. Delegates were offered the opportunity to experience the trials of becoming a modern day Christian by presenting themselves and their wares to the audience for a strictly enforced maximum two minutes, to be judged by their peers in the room. No less than seven potential ‘victims’ took their turns and, sadly for some in the room, all were applauded with non facing the ignominy – and possibly worse – of being ‘eaten by the lions’.
Regarded by many as the most fertile networking session, the evening programme included entertainment, dinner and discussion into the small hours.
“GlassTalk is now firmly a part of the glass and glazing industry calendar,” remarked fabricator Danny Williams of Pioneer Trading. “We need something like this to get people together, thrash out the issues On the Couch and one-to-one, which is still the best way to get things done. This is a serious event for everyone involved in the business of making and selling glazing products and services.”
Mandy Newby of West Country retailer Sunshield (www.sunshieldconservatories.com) said on her blog: “All in all I think it was a great day and evening, we will certainly be going next year. We’ve made some excellent contacts, strengthened current working relationships, as well as meeting some really interesting people. One of the things we were refreshed to see is that there are some genuinely switched on people in our industry and that the more successful people within the group were very friendly, professional, unassuming and willing to take the time to listen to little old us.”
Once again voted by the delegates a great success, the GlassTalk brand is enhanced and maintains its status as the only dedicated business-networking event taking place in the glass and glazing industry presently. Networking may be continued through the GlassTalk Online site (http://www.glasstalk.co.uk), which also offers industry and company news, blogs, discussions and a directory.
