A few weeks ago, we were invited to attend a program at SageGlass headquarters: their recently-implemented “Installer Program.” Along with one of the estimators on my Giroux Glass High-End Design team, Jess Carreon, we traveled to Fairbault, Minnesota to attend this event. About 20 other glaziers from all over the country joined us to hear more about SageGlass products and technology.
We have worked with SageGlass, a subsidiary of Saint-Gobain, previously and are already very familiar with their dynamic, electronically-tintable product. Almost two years ago, we installed it at the top of the US Bank building in downtown Los Angeles; they’re the windows that provide the panoramic, high-altitude view at the new landmark restaurant “71Above“.
The on-site program was co-led by Derek Malmquist, director of customer experience, and Brian Hansen, director of sales. It began with a visit to the Mall of America (MOA), the country’s largest shopping center, to check out the SageGlass skylight installed in their new north entrance atrium addition three years ago. It was impressive to look up and see approximately 300 panes of SageGlass cover several thousand square feet of skylight space at the MOA’s new entrance.
After a presentation in a meeting room at the MOA, our visit brought us to the SageGlass plant. The Operations team toured us through the facility in Faribault, which we all found very interesting. It was incredibly impressive to see their plant’s automated processes, as well as to recognize the time, effort, and research and development that goes into each of their products. Knowing that they manually and physically test every piece before it’s shipped to each job site is just one indicator of how SageGlass stands behind their product. Walking all of us through the whole process is yet another; from engineering, to sale, to installation, to customer turnover, they’re right there for us.
Over the course of the two-day event, we met with quite a few members of the management team, including chief executive officer Alan McLenaghan, and discussed such topics as benefits and features of the products,. glass strength and load, framing and integration, automation features, and received additional hands-on installation training. They wrapped up the event by awarding us with “certificates” to bring home with us, proudly on display now in our Los Angeles office.
