What do you get when you bring together professionals in the fenestration and glazing industries and offer them an opportunity to network and collaborate? Three days of celebration, learning and fun, says Janice Yglesias, executive director of the Fenestration & Glazing Industry Alliance (FGIA).
The organization is hosting its annual Fall Conference at the JW Marriott Indianapolis. The conference offers a wide range of industry working groups, learning opportunities, hands-on product showcases and interactive engagements, such as the Innovation Circuit Product Showcase and GPC High-Altitude Hands-On Workshop.
The event is divided into various task groups, presentations and sessions that cover numerous topics, including vacuum insulating glass (VIG) in skylights, sloped glazing, aluminum, failures and misconceptions in the residential market, curtainwalls, vinyl recycling and more.
VMC Environmental Stewardship Committee
The VMC Environmental Stewardship Committee focuses on the vinyl fenestration industry’s use of resources and protection of the environment. Throughout the session, Matt Dobson, senior vice president of the Polymeric Exterior Products Association, provided updates on the Revinylize Recycling Collaboration. He notes that:
- The recycling collaboration aims to increase the amount of post-consumer rigid vinyl material recycled in the United States to help reduce carbon emissions. To reach that goal, more companies and recyclers must participate. Members are listed in the Revinylize Member Directory and can access various webinars and industry events.
- The program started in 2021. In the first year, 41,000 pounds of rigid vinyl material were recycled. By 2024, the program helped recycle 3.2 million pounds. Five million pounds have already been recycled in 2025, with an expectation of around 15 million recycled by the end of the year. Dobson says there are approximately 300 million pounds of post-consumer vinyl siding ready for recycling each year, with the majority (262 million pounds) coming from remodeling.
- Most of the vinyl window recycling is occurring in the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic and the Southeast.
- Technical challenges include engaging recyclers, determining whether there should be a documented rigid vinyl extruded process or protocol, identifying other written resources that could be cited, and others.
Mitigating Supply Chain Disruptions
Yglesias and panelists from across the industry discussed concepts and philosophies for managing unpredictable supply chain disruptions.
José E. Colón, director of sales (North America) for Intertek’s Building and Construction Products division, explains that companies must work with accredited organizations to lessen uncertainty. It is also important to explore and work with different partners instead of sticking with the same one, Colon says. It is all about speed to market and starting the logistics plan early.
Chip Gentry, chief legal officer for Quaker Window Products, says that contracts are important, and many companies do not really think about them. Companies need contractual protection to safeguard against supply chain disruptions, as it is not a matter of if, but when, Gentry says. Contractual protection can include protection against tariffs, duties, risk of loss, force majeure, delivery delays and indemnification.
Gentry notes companies have to understand who they are dealing with. Are they the kind of people who will stand by your side when issues arise? Be sure to be proactive, not reactive, he suggests. The key to supply chain management is to look at it as an investment, not a cost.
Mark Imfeld, vice president (Reseller Partners) at the Association for Supply Chain Management, sees an uncertain economic strategy, which drives reactive responses, breaking away from stabilization. He notes that organizations must weigh preparation against efficiency, investment against exposure and strategic resilience against tactical cost savings.
Imfeld says supply chain solutions include order, plan, source, fulfill, return and transform. The main key is to develop standard operating procedures that define the solutions. He says solutions are unique to each company, as it ultimately comes down to identifying the problems that need to be solved.
Aluminum Material Forum
The aluminum material session featured updates from the Aluminum Extrusion Council (AEC), including the AEC’s carbon calculation tool, as well as revisions to standards. AEC is the industry association for North American extruders, focusing on end-market education, workforce development and fair trade.
Brent Slaton of Keymark says key AEC initiatives include developing an effective Environmental Product Declaration (EPD)/Product Carbon Footprint tool, characterizing the end-of-life of buildings, documenting carbon emissions for buildings and protecting fair trade to ensure a robust North American supply chain. The U.S. has only four smelters in the country, down from 30 in 1980, which is the primary reason for the ongoing aluminum tariffs: to bring aluminum manufacturing back to the U.S.
Sustainability is also key to AEC, says Shane Tredup of Custom Aluminum Products (AEC Sustainability Team), as carbon footprint tracking is crucial in the aluminum industry to minimize extrusion footprint and reduce emissions. He notes that the sustainability of a product depends on material choices.
AEC has worked with a partner to develop methods and tools, such as the carbon calculation tool, which can be used to input products, suppliers and processes to calculate carbon intensity. According to AEC, material, assembly and product data include EPDs, Health Product Declarations and other certifications, such as Cradle to Cradle. These data points provide detailed information about the environmental impact of materials and products throughout their lifecycle, from extraction and manufacturing to use and disposal.
FGIA’s conference runs through Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025.