The 4 Challenges to Sourcing Specialty Glass Every Fabricator Must Address

To help your customer achieve their vision, there’s likely nowhere you won’t go to get the right glass product. But there are times when this journey may put an unnecessary strain on your resources—or your customer’s budget.

Consider: fabricators fulfilling projects requiring various types of specialty glass find themselves investing a substantial amount of time and effort to source from multiple manufacturers to gather all the materials they need. And even then, fabricators are pushed to either purchase a full truckload or container of a specific glass type, saddling them with unneeded inventory.

Often the best and most cost-effective solution to this problem is to find a reliable overseas source that can meet a range of specialty glass needs in one shipment. After all, many of the products that put the most pizzazz on a project, or that support life-safety requirements—think patterned glass or fire-rated glazing solutions—may only be produced outside the United States.

Yet, this solution comes with its own challenges:

1.     Identifying quality sources. 

Not every overseas supplier meets the exacting manufacturing standards of U.S. regulatory agencies. It’s important to work with suppliers that have proven they can meet the specific ASTM regulations to which your glass products will be subject. This process may involve costs for traveling to meet, inspect and layout terms with the glass manufacturer with which you’ll be doing business.

2.     Payment terms. 

Unless you are looking to purchase a large volume of specialty product, many overseas suppliers are likely to require upfront payment for new buyers. You’re not likely getting the same courtesy from your customer, making this a major obstacle for small fabricators.

While there may be room for negotiation, negotiating with overseas partners becomes more difficult due to differences ranging from communications styles to cultural norms to unfamiliar trade laws.

3.     Lead times. 

There’s no getting around the fact that the lead time to import product is going to be significantly longer. It can take up to 90 days or longer for your specialty product to get to port, and then it still must be transported to your warehouse. And for many overseas manufacturers, the date of delivery is more of a general guideline rather than a firm commitment.

4.     Delivery. 

For smaller glass fabricators and OEM’s, how you receive glass may be an obstacle as well when purchasing full containers from a global source. Do you have an overhead crane? Do you have a loading dock? What special requirements, handling or truck types are required to safely and efficiently unload glass into your building. GGI has its own truck fleet with a range of truck types, cranes and booms designed to effectively meet the needs of any customer.

Your Competitive Edge

While it may seem attractive to work directly with a global manufacturer, a U.S.-based wholesale distributor can be a powerful ally when it comes to sourcing specialty glass products. These distributors’ business depends upon building relationships with trusted suppliers from around the world. For example, GGI buys from more than 20 suppliers from 15 countries and serves as an approved distributor for companies like Schott, which sells its PYRAN® fire-protective glass ceramic only through a select group of distributors and AGC Europe that sells its PYROBEL® fire-resistive intumescent through GGI.

The leading benefit to fabricators in working with a wholesale glass distributor is that fabricators can get exactly the product they need, without storing additional inventory or tying up financial resources best used elsewhere. Avoid the unnecessary pitfalls of sourcing specialty glass solutions by partnering with a reliable distributor who has all the right connections, expertise and purchasing power to negotiate the best deals for you.

For example, GGI buys full containers of patterned, satin-etched, antique mirror, fire-rated glass, and more.

“We typically have more than 300 container loads in inventory at any given time, allowing U.S. glass fabricators the freedom to buy a mixed truckload, getting only what they need of each product type.” says, Richard Balik, GGI Executive Vice President.

And for those projects where you only need a case or two of specialty product, GGI makes it easy to round out the truckload with basic float glass and other fast moving “standard” glass types. Moreover, GGI provides these products with minimal lead time versus an import time frame of 2 to 3 months. Of course, sourcing from a boutique domestic manufacturer can be just as challenging as import.

Selecting a wholesale distributor demands its own legwork. Ultimately, this may depend on the type of product(s) you require. But if quality is your priority, then it pays in the long run to partner with an experienced importer that knows the glass business well. Fabricators can benefit by building a relationship with a distributor like GGI because we have long term supplier relationships, whereas their needs for specific specialty glasses are not as constant, making it difficult for them to establish and maintain these relationships.

“GGI has been in business for more than 100 years and has been building relationships with high-quality global manufacturers since 1950. We have both the expertise and the resources at our disposal to purchase in volume and negotiate the best deals for our customers, saving them both time and money.” adds Balik.

Working with a distributor like GGI puts you in a position to offer your customer a more complete range of glass solutions and the ability to secure more specialty project work in the future. To learn more about sourcing specialty glass solutions from GGI contact us at sales@generalglass.com or visit us online at www.generalglass.com.

About GGI

For five generations, the Balik family has responded to the changing needs of the flat glass industry. From architectural and decorative glass, to picture frame glass and specialty glass. GGI sources globally, fabricates locally and distributes nationally. Offering an unmatched selection of quality glass options, we aim to deliver what the market wants in patterned, fire-rated, anti-reflective, antique mirror, custom-color back-painted glass and Alice®—the digital printing on glass process we pioneered in North America. Continuous investment in precision fabrication technology keeps us at the forefront of the most complex execution of ideas in glass. You can count on GGI not only for contemporary ideas and creative solutions, but also for the integrity, reliability and intimacy that comes from working with a family business. When we say we know glass from the ground up, we mean it. To learn more visit www.generalglass.com or email us at info@generalglass.com.