Is PVC safe?

Posted on March 30, 2011 by abe

…Is PVC safe?
That is a question that extreme environmental groups have been using to try to scare the public away from PVC for about 15 years. Before you read any more of this article bear in mind that I am not unbiased on this issue.  My family has been in the uPVC window business since 1985.  We have purchased, fabricated, welded, sawed and processed this material since that time. We have handled the parts and been immersed in this material for 25 years and have been extruding the material since 1999.  I’ll be the first to tell you that it’s not worth any amount of money to offer a product for the market if it is hazardous to my health, or my brothers health, or the health of our employees or is hazardous to the ultimate consumer. I’ve researched the health side and read countless articles about PVC as regards to health since 1985. I’m not a Chemist nor a Doctor, and I did not stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night. Continue reading →

Posted in PolyVinyl Chloride (PVC), Vinyl Windows | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

The Tax Code Is Upside-Down

Posted on March 21, 2011 by abe

The capital gain rate of 15% is BAD for the long term strategy of America. Here’s why: a Wall Street financial investment concern can buy a company and hold it for a year and then sell it one year later and only pay 15% in taxes. I’m going to paint with a wide brush, but here goes: typically these financial concerns will not plan on investments that require a long term vision.  Most will strip down companies and boost up the EBITA of the company so that they can look for an “exit strategy”, which means that they are looking for a quick way to cash out.  They are looking for ways to “bundle it up and package it” for resell. Like they did with all the junk real estate packages and derivatives that got us into this economic mess. Continue reading →

Posted in Construction, Window Manufacturing | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Update on: The Power of Social Media

Posted on March 18, 2011 by abe

I updated the “power of social media” page. Below is the result

Updated March 18, 2011
At the tail end of 2010 we sent out a company email blast to our customers introducing our 8017 to our customer base. Flippantly I decided to use the headline: “Is it Andersen* or is it MGM”. I thought nothing of it until I came back from Christmas break and was anointed a nice new years packet from Andersen’s legal department. I’ve documented that drama on this blog so I do not want to rehash it in yet another entry. (Or visit the original post: The Power of Social Media)

I have another story to write this morning. The story itself is interesting to me, but it spurs my thinking about the changing world and the impact that the Internet and social media have on it. Back in January I wrote how the event with Andersen really had my wheels turning. I wondered and pondered statistical theory about nodal points. I was wondering just how powerful a blog could be and might be. I mentioned my fascination by the interaction of it all. That was before the impact of Facebook and Twitter on events in the Middle East. It’s now about three months after the Andersen legal department sent their nicety. About two weeks after I started my defense through social media, I had a conversation with the person that was instructed to send me the letter to MGM. At that time he told me that Andersen planned no further legal action on the matter, and considered it closed. To me it shows the power of social media. The old days of griding a company into legal submission have been altered by the Internet. The legal tool still exists, but it can now back fire in ways to hurt the company using such Draconian methods. Now the true story can be disseminated in moments via social media. That’s absolutely astounding. And it can lead to tremendous leaps in the World’s quest for a better place. Right now the Middle East is another example of the power of social media. Social media is at its infancy and there is a lot of noise that is created by this media that only complicates communication, but there is a powerful tool being forged that can make a huge impact on the world in an extremely positive way. It gives one hope for the future, notwithstanding the recent tragedy in Japan and the continued economic struggles of the American peoples.

*Andersen™ is a registered trademark of Andersen Corporation. MGM is not affiliated with Andersen in any way.

Posted in The Business of Manufacturing | 1 Comment

Future Windows

Posted on March 17, 2011 by abe

 

6010 Series                        Figure 1                        1.500 OA Glass

Figure 1, above has been generated by our CAD software. The sash an the right only exists virtually in my computer. On the left is a rendering of our 6010 series Single hung. The one on the right has a 1.500 overall (OA) glass package, and on the left, that unit has a 3/4 OA glass package.  We have real test data for 6010 series and the window is capable of U-value of 0.31 (R-value 3.22) with Cardinal 270 Low-E on the 2nd or 3rd surface. This is pretty much the standard available in the market today.  With Low-E on both the 2nd and 3rd surfaces we will achieve roughly a U-value of 0.20 (R-value 5).  That’s a bit of a stretch, but it is achievable. (To find out, all we will need to do is pay some fees to the testing laboratories and the can confirm the numbers.) Really though, we don’t need that because we have enough experience and know that the window will test around these numbers.  We also know that 99.99% of the windows sold in the USA will pass these numbers if the glass package is 3/4 OA.  If we are trying to evaluate a future window suffice it to say that it does not matter what the window frame is made out of, they are all going to resist heat transfer about the same. The only exception is an aluminum frame which is not nearly as energy efficient as wood, fiberglass or vinyl (even if thermally broken). Continue reading →

Posted in Painted Vinyl Windows, Vinyl Windows | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Tax Policy, American Business and the Japan Earthquake

Posted on March 16, 2011 by abe

We are living in some very interesting times right now. In the last week, one of the largest earthquakes ever recorded in modern history hit Japan. Thousands perished and many more are likely to have difficult times.  My heart and prayers go out to the people of Japan.  It makes the last three years of economic strife pale in comparison.  We may have lost much of our economic wealth and livelihood, but at least we have our lives.

The Japanese are a brilliant,  proud and resilient people and they will prevail. I am confident of that. They rebuilt after WWII and I am confident they will rebuild again. The same fortitude that will enable Japan to recover is also  needed for our own economic recovery. Continue reading →

Posted in The Business of Manufacturing, Window Manufacturing | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The White House’s race to be Green

Posted on March 10, 2011 by abe

With all the use of the same ol’ tripe about “being Green”, it’s enough to make one barf.   At least that’s the way I feel.  So many companies have marketed being Green that can’t even spell the word.  It’s gotten to the point that if you can’t claim to be “Green” then your just not in the game. At least marketers would have you think that way.   But having said that,  don’t let your/my jaded eyes not allow you to see the forest for the trees.   Continue reading →

Posted in Construction, Green Technology, Painted Vinyl Windows | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Please Explain Solar Heat Gain (SHGC)

Posted on February 28, 2011 by abe

Maybe you have seen the dreaded acronym SHGC. Even people in the window business get confused with this Egyptian hieroglyphic. SHGC stands for Solar Heat Gain Coefficient, but what does that mean?

(For you old timers SC* =SHGC*0.87)
*SC–Shading coefficient

Basically SHGC represents the ability of the insulated glass unit to resist or reflect the sun’s solar radiation. It is a number that is between 0 and 1. The lower the number the more solar radiation is resisted by the insulated glass unit. Clear as mud isn’t it. Unless you study it you really need real life examples to get your head wrapped around the concept. So in short you can use this to remember which way is up: Continue reading →

Posted in Construction, Green Technology, Window Technology | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Albert Einstein talks about MGM brand swing doors and vinyl windows

Posted on February 10, 2011 by abe

I have recently been introduced to the website www.xtranormal.com, with this tool it is possible to produce cheap, quick and informative videos for your marketing needs.  All you have to do is pick out a basic scene and select your actors and then type in a script.  The user then selects from a list of voice styles such as “American male” or “Spanish female”. Simple body movements and gestures can be dragged into the script to give wanted affects. You have control of the camera angle and camera position.  The software then synthesizes and renders the scene. Overall the software is very easy to use. The video produced should be less than two minutes, should be informative, and ideally it would have some humor in it, so that people just might share it with their friends.  The risk is that the humor might offend some people, so some judgement is in order.

Our “Albert Einstein discusses windows” video is an example of the rapidly evolving internet. In order for this type of marketing to be effective, one has to be an “early adopter” of technology.  This type of video tool will probably become stale in a few months and people will not be enamored with it.  Right now, it can capture the viewer just by the novelty of the service.  This service has only been out for about a year and  it still can be considered fresh.  As people and companies adopt this technology the novelty will wear off and it will lose it’s effective luster.

MGM Industries has made a lot of effort towards Internet marketing. The above video represents our commitment to stay on the fore front of the internet. Hopefully we will create an awareness for our customers end users and the value of our product line will become more self evident.

ETNZAER6GJEH

Posted in The Business of Manufacturing | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Melting Vinyl Siding

Posted on February 8, 2011 by abe

In the past several years there has been a rather unique situation arise and that is melting siding as a result of the sun’s energy reflecting off of high performance Low-e glass windows.  If you read my post on how low-e glass works it might not be intuitive on why this phenomenon has happened. Continue reading →

Posted in Painted Vinyl Doors, PolyVinyl Chloride (PVC) | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Low-E Glass Explained

Posted on February 1, 2011 by abe
What is Low-E glass?
From Wikipedia:
The emissivity of a material (usually written ϵ or e) is the relative ability of its surface to emit energy by radiation. It is the ratio of energy radiated by a particular material to energy radiated by a black body at the same temperature. A true black body would have an ϵ = 1 while any real object would have ϵ < 1. Emissivity is a dimensionless quantity. In general, the duller and blacker a material is, the closer its emissivity is to 1. The more reflective a material is, the lower its emissivity. Highly polished silver has an emissivity of about 0.02
Theory  (Sorry about this)
Low-E glass is an acronym for “low emissivity” glass.  Emissivity is a heat transfer concept that is taught and studied in thermodynamics classes in Physics and Engineering.  The skinny is that it is a coefficient within this equation:
Radiant heat loss= ϵ . σ . A  . ΔT4
Where:
  • ϵ = Emissivity
  • A =  Surface area of the part radiating heat
  • ΔT = The difference of the temperature from inside and outside (“delta T”)
  • σ = Stefan-Boltzmann constant (Don’t worry about it)

The only thing you need to know about the above equation is the emissivity (ϵ) variable.  What this means in a nutshell is that the lower the ϵ the lower the heat loss due to radiation. Continue reading →

Posted in Construction, Green Technology, PolyVinyl Chloride (PVC) | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments