Speaker 1 00:00:05 Welcome to the clear impact podcast brought to you by P G T I university. Thanks for joining us today. My name is Sherry Connor and I am your host.
Speaker 2 00:00:20 Yeah. In case we have no new ideas, we can just reserve the
Speaker 1 00:00:22 Ones we didn't talk about for today. Exactly. I doubt very much that there won't be new ideas. We are going back to the future. As we continue in our innovation series with Dean roar and Kenny Vanderband on today's episode, we chat about some trendy, new looks that are truly innovative, zero sight lines, smart lock technologies, and how we truly stay ahead of the competition. We hope you enjoy this conversation. So we are here on the clear impact podcast today, and we are gonna talk about future in the innovation series. So we are talking with Dean RO and Kenny Vanderband. Thanks guys for joining me today. Hello.
Speaker 2 00:00:56 Thrilled to be
Speaker 1 00:00:57 Here. So our last episode, our last conversation, we talked about how glass is changing, and now we wanna talk about some other innovations around window and door products. And so there are some really cool things happening with, oh, I don't know all of it basically because you guys are so genius at what you do. You are always on the front edges and trying to discover new things. Let's talk about like smart locks. You can just hit your thumb pad and then you get into your house. And that's it. Is that one of the things that we're gonna talk about?
Speaker 3 00:01:24 Yeah, for sure. I think it's one of the key technologies that is hitting the market now. Um, and just this idea that you leave the house. I know I have, and you forget whether or not you lock the house and it's ideas that we've had for a while, but to really see the market, accept them and want it is kind of an interesting place to be. So a lot of our new trends are gonna be towards smart locks and home integration. The trend that everybody is seeing nowadays mm-hmm
Speaker 1 00:01:47 <affirmative>. So you can just control it through an app.
Speaker 2 00:01:49 There's some unique challenges in the impacts based cuz you have these very specialty locks that have to be incredibly secure to resist missile impacts and hurricane wind loads. And so it results in some specialty applications for how you'd integrate a smart lock into that technology. And so though you can go to home Depot and buy a myriad of smart locks, you know, through ring or nest or you know, whoever else. And there are many others coming up with them. Kibo's probably one of the market leaders. You, you can't just put that onto an impact product and generate, you know, the torque and specialty throw mechanisms necessary to automate that system. Hmm. But the consumer trend is the same. People don't wanna carry keys and people don't want your individual app. They have a connected home, you know, whether it's through Alexa or Google smart home or apple home, there's a myriad of 'em out there. And we want to be able to seamlessly connect our impact resistant products into that suite of connected things and be able to seamlessly integrate and offer that same benefit even if you have very specialty product.
Speaker 1 00:02:54 Mm nice.
Speaker 3 00:02:56 Yeah. So a lot of our technical work has been integrating and designing systems that will use the standard off the shelf hardware mm-hmm <affirmative>, but will drive multi-point locks that are required for impact resistance. Mm
Speaker 1 00:03:06 Nice. Any ideas on timelines for stuff like that?
Speaker 2 00:03:11 Yeah. It's all innovation <laugh> yeah. So we have some out there right now. So we put that onto our, our wind or estate entrances as well as our iLab products. Our pivot doors are all available and outfitted with smart locks as an option to the homeowner. So, uh, we have some use cases out there we're working on, uh, and continue to work with different hardware manufacturers on integrated series of smart locks and smart home connectivity to do some proprietary and different things than just lock a front door. And that work continues to go on. It's not the number one priority of things we're working on and through supply chain challenges with COVID a lot of these hardware manufacturers, specifically some of the partners we were working with have really kind of shifted focus. George, how do I just meet demand with what I have and have moved some of their innovation more to the back burner mm-hmm <affirmative> so I just had a conversation with that hardware supplier recently at the builders show. Uh, and we're gonna pick some of that work back up, so can't give you quite timing. Right. But yeah, I can tell you that certain products, uh, and specialty products are already outfitted with that technology from PGT innovation.
Speaker 1 00:04:16 Wow. Awesome. Um, so what else is trending? What else is happening in the iLab space?
Speaker 3 00:04:23 I think it's obvious to see in a lot of the architect driven homes, the new ones that are going up where they're knocking down a lot of the old Florida, three, two ranches. I know in my neighborhood they're going with more modern contemporary and the construction just concrete slab on top of slab, architects are looking for more glass than ever. It's pretty typical to see on the beach floor to ceiling glass. And with that, it's an amazing view and amazing design, but there's a lot of limitations with glass using it around the whole house. So I think a lot of the technologies that we're working on now is to get more glass view. And then with that use glass in a smarter way. So a lot of technologies we talked about that create dynamic glass instead of just static glass are, are what architects are starting to see. And we're given architects a lot more options than what they ever have before to use more glass, but do it in a way that's smarter with the dynamic glass and some of the thin glass technologies. And then with the other ways that we're controlling it with the switchable glass. Mm. So it's just, it's opening up architects designs a lot more than I think it ever has been before.
Speaker 2 00:05:21 Right. Mike, now one of our senior designers with just a tremendous amount of experience on, on door and window design here, he always says it best. And succinctly of people wanna look through their windows and doors, not at them. And so with this trend and floor, ceiling glass, we are working to get our framing members and structure. Remember we make, we make impact resistant strong products, but we want everything out of the way. So you can just see through and enjoy your view. Mm-hmm <affirmative> and there's some tremendous technical challenges to do that. However, uh, this team has some tremendous ideas to really revolutionize this minimal sight line to no sight line frameless design that's taking shape all across the world in the non-impact space. Mm-hmm <affirmative> I, but to do that in the impact resistant space where they actually have to meet strong wind water, uh, and impact loads. Mm.
Speaker 1 00:06:14 Like frameless glass.
Speaker 2 00:06:16 So yeah. So one of the next systems coming out of the iLab, and I can give you timing on that. We're gonna be launching that on a pilot scale at the end of Q2 of 2022. So coming right up. Oh, just, we're just off of our garage door launch and we're hot and heavy toward the next launch. And that is, uh, what we call our seamless glaze system. It is all glass wall that can go four foot by 10 foot. And there's no intermediate framing sections whatsoever comes unitized to the dealer. It solves a lot of things on just ease of install. But for the end homeowner, they'll be looking at think of a storefront or a ribbon window system of just glass, glass, glass, as many as you want to stack up to four foot by 10 foot sizes, unlimited widths. And you'll just be seeing through a giant glass wall,
Speaker 3 00:07:03 No Mo
Speaker 2 00:07:04 No Mo at all, no frame, just glass.
Speaker 1 00:07:07 How do you install it? Be sure to tune in for upcoming episodes to help you understand the Fest industry, what you need to know when buying windows and doors and other related topics, you can find out more about
[email protected]. You can also find us on Facebook and LinkedIn. How do you install it?
Speaker 2 00:07:29 We're doing a lot of work on that right now. And it's kind of the beauty of iLab. We've done some pilot installs with a couple of key customers, and we've gotten feedback on exactly how that install went and continued to make improvements to it. So it comes assembled to the customer with some parts that you actually remove for install. So it comes top and bottom glazed with some, some pieces that straddle the side of the glass and they're gonna install it very similar to a framed window system. Mm-hmm <affirmative> and then remove those intermediate vertical framing members. And then it just apply some sealant up the joint. That's kind of very specifically designed, uh, system component. We're gonna give some tools and aids to do that. And so it should be a pretty smooth install compared to what's out there in the market today. Wow.
Speaker 3 00:08:15 Just looking at windows, it's one of the ones that in almost any home that has the non-impact version, you see the shutter in front of this bay window. So now we'll be able to go to the market. And if you had one window, that couldn't be impact because there was a, a bay window looking over your pool or your breakfast nook. You can take that one out and replace it with an impact rated buck glaze window. That will do the same thing with the same aesthetic.
Speaker 2 00:08:36 Yep. Wow. Yeah. So we're excited about that. Uh, that's nearly ready to go and that's the next launch coming outta iLab. And then from there, we just continue to capitalize on that trend and think of that big glass wall, but let's make it movable and operable.
Speaker 1 00:08:49 That's so cool. It's nice to have nature in view. Yeah,
Speaker 2 00:08:52 Absolutely.
Speaker 1 00:08:53 That's amazing. So Q2, wow. That's just around the corner
Speaker 2 00:08:57 Close.
Speaker 1 00:08:58 So any other things that we wanna talk about around new technologies?
Speaker 3 00:09:02 I think we have it covered. Did we cover everything that we can say today? I mean, I got a lot of 'em that aren't ready, uh, for, I think for every three that we have, there's probably 10 that aren't good enough to get to that phase, but I'm trying to think if we've missed any,
Speaker 2 00:09:15 I think that covers, you know, enough to just kind of wet everyone's appetite. Right. And to still have plenty to talk about, should we, should we want to introduce more next or next year, right. Something
Speaker 1 00:09:25 Like that. We can, we can have an annual innovations chat and uh, keep everybody abreast of what's happening in the iLab.
Speaker 3 00:09:33 It's always changing for sure. We
Speaker 2 00:09:35 Have. Yeah. Yeah. In case we have no new ideas, we can just reserve the ones we didn't talk about
Speaker 1 00:09:38 For today. Exactly. I doubt very much that there won't be new ideas. So I have a question. Dean, did you ever get a chance to listen to the podcast episode I did with, uh, Jack Redin?
Speaker 2 00:09:48 I did. Yes.
Speaker 1 00:09:49 And Kenny, did you hear about this?
Speaker 3 00:09:51 I did not.
Speaker 1 00:09:52 Okay. So Jack Redden and I had a conversation and we talked about Dean's podcast and Jack shared his favorite nickname for Dean
Speaker 3 00:10:02 What's that
Speaker 1 00:10:03 Q you know, from the James, from the James Bond movies.
Speaker 2 00:10:06 See, see, when I cue has
Speaker 3 00:10:07 A different connotation.
Speaker 2 00:10:08 When I, when I first heard that, you know, Q amongst the millennial generation, which I, uh, happen to be a part of, it has a different connotation than Q from James SP it's like Q like, like Q,
Speaker 3 00:10:21 Like what, like Q
Speaker 2 00:10:23 Why am I that like, am I that like mystical? And then so, so I, I literally was like, what are their queues? And then, so I did, you have to Google it. I typed in Q in, uh, Google and, you know, QAN on was I think the number one first, and then James Bond queue was number two. And I looked at it and then its like, then it clicked. It was like, okay, that makes a lot more sense. Right. But, but anyway, it was kind of funny. My, my first thought was not that cute. That's
Speaker 1 00:10:50 Funny. Yeah. Well Jack and I are both in a different generation, so, you know, I knew exactly what he was talking about when he said it, but
Speaker 3 00:10:55 It's just on the verge of being a millennial. I was just like, he's in the middle of it, but he is like on the very last
Speaker 2 00:11:00 I'm on. Yeah. Yeah. I, I, I barely relate to millennials. It's it's a broad generation I'm technically in
Speaker 3 00:11:06 <laugh> I'm technically out
Speaker 1 00:11:08 <laugh>, I'm definitely out. But yeah, I think that's kind of a nice way to think about things like, you know, when an executive comes over, when you know, a fabulous new customer comes over and like, what are you guys working on? Like, Ooh, let me show you what I've got like, oh, I'm still testing on this. I'm still working on this, but here you can try this new pen that, you know, will allow you to jump from one skyscraper to the other or whatever. I mean, obviously that's not it, but
Speaker 3 00:11:32 Next year.
Speaker 2 00:11:33 Yeah. I gotta pitch that.
Speaker 3 00:11:35 <laugh> yeah.
Speaker 2 00:11:35 That's Jack Redin Hey, jump off this building and try to jump to the other iLab building. I got this pen. Has you?
Speaker 3 00:11:43 Yeah. Right. <laugh>
Speaker 1 00:11:45 We'll see. We'll see if he buys it. Yeah. I have a feeling he won't but anyway, well I think that what you guys are doing here makes all of us look great. And uh, I love being part of a company that has innovations in its name and then actually backs it up with real life engineers who are tinkering and creating and inventing and building and delivering. So thank you so much for your time. It's been a great conversation and uh, look forward to the next one. Yeah.
Speaker 2 00:12:10 Awesome. We really enjoy your time too. Thanks Jerry. Yeah.
Speaker 1 00:12:12 Thank you very much. Thanks Kenny. Have a good day. Thanks team. Thanks. PG C I university is the customer education team for an entire family of brands. We began with the original easy breeze porch and closure line then became P G T America's leading brand of impact resistant windows and doors. We then added CGI C G I C window, Western windows, new south windows, echo windows and doors and our latest acquisition and Lynn windows and doors. We create products built to withstand major storms, keeping people safe, secure, and prepared. Our exceptional brands give you the protection you need without compromising design or functionality. P G T I university is here to educate you our listener so that you can be more informed about window and door products.
