GlassTalk

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Apr 2026

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About the show

GlassTalk is Canada’s discussion channel for the architectural glass industry. If it has to do with glass building facades, you’ll find expert commentary and industry insight right here. Join Glass Canada editor Patrick Flannery for in-depth conversations with influential executives, top experts and entertaining opinion leaders.

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60 recent

April 27, 202645 min

Episode #85: The Alignment Problem - Paul Amato, Tallinn Advisory

Paul Amato of Tallinn Advisory brings 20 years' of professional experience advising construction companies to the question of how to get the different parts of your organization working better together. He joins The Hammer to talk about what he means by “alignment”; the elements of a good mindset; the barriers to great customer service and quality; and how to build a culture that succeeds. Take some time with Paul to think about how you do business!

March 16, 202644 min

Episode #84: You Can Make an App – Amanda Spann

Amanda Spann is the author of I Have an App Idea – The Essential Guide to Building an App Without Tech Skills and she has good news for all of us. You don’t need to spend in the five figures or burn hundreds of hours of staff time to develop an app any more, thanks to new AI-powered tools and reasonably priced professional services. The even better news is, as experts in touch with the needs of their businesses, building trades professionals are in a position to make more useful and targeted apps than anything coming out of Silicone Valley. Whether developing something to help your team internally or making a product you hope to post on the App Store, there’s an opportunity here to help your efficiency and potentially add a revenue stream to your business.

February 24, 202637 min

Episode #83: All the Glass That's Fit to Print: Lon Riley, DPI Lab

As the president and founder of DPI Lab, an industrial printer manufacturer, Lon Riley knows a lot about the chemistry and technology that makes it possible to produce remarkable images on glass. He joins GlassTalk for a deep dive into the technology and what makes glass printing a special challenge. He addresses the considerations we need to have when seeking the highest productivity and uptime for our printing process, and reviews how things have advanced in the last few years. It's a great overview for experienced fabricators and those looking to get into the process for the first time.

January 16, 202657 min

Episode #82: One Number and More: Adrian Lowenstein, All Things Facades

With his degrees in engineering and business, and his fascinating LinkedIn posts discussing everything about glazing and facade engineering, Adrian Lowenstein is most accurately described as a building engineering influencer. He joins Glass Canada editor Pat Flannery for a wide-ranging discussion of Flannery's One Number hobby horse; the differences between the Canadian and American glass markets; economic conditions; emerging technology and just about anything else that came to mind.

December 16, 20251 hr 3 min

Episode #81: A Way Up Instead of a Way Out - Eddy Atausi, Noble

We're all looking for top engineering talent and the fenestration and glass industry has a lot to offer any technical person who enjoys innovation and experimentation. But our companies just aren't on most engineers' radar screens, making it important for us to be proactive in attracting and retaining talent. Eddy Atausi has made the unusual choice to learn as much as he can about fenestration and glass so he can bring his talent recruitment and development skills to us. He joins Pat Flannery to talk about what works in our market when it comes to getting the best people to make our products and processes.

December 15, 202558 min

Episode #80: The Future of Sustainable Glazing - Joe Menchefski, Better Buildings for Humans

On his podcast Better Buildings for Humans, Joe Menchefski explores ways to make our built spaces healthier and more liveable with top building science experts from around the world. As part of the team at Advanced Glazings, a Nova Scotia fabricator specializing in aerogel products, Menchefski has deep knowledge of innovative energy-efficient technologies. Who better to ask about the state of sustainable building today and what to expect in the years ahead? Tune in to hear two professional talkers go at it in this episode of GlassTalk.

September 23, 202539 min

Episode #79: A Sure Thing – Steve Ness, president and COO, Surety Association of Canada

Across the world of construction and trades, failure to secure payment for work done and materials purchased is probably the biggest and most common threat to any company’s survival. The system of bonds, liens and sureties we rely on to safeguard contractors and subcontractors can be so arcane that many of us simply don’t bother – and take on massive risk in doing so. Steve Ness of SAC says the system can be made to work for you and joins GlassTalk to explain how. He also addresses the persistent myth that the Ontario court’s Earth Boring decision has undermined surety bonds.

August 25, 20251 hr 15 min

Episode #78: Two Numbers – Chris Magwood, RMI

Chris Magwood of the <a href="https://rmi.org/">Rocky Mountain Institute</a> joins the podcast to discuss the One Number approach to sustainable building regulation…and he has some objections. While a performance-based approach aimed at regulating the whole-life carbon impact of a construction project should be our ultimate goal, Magwood feels the upfront impact of embodied carbon needs to be evaluated separately, but adjacent to, the long-term impact of operational carbon. Listen now to find out why, and for Magwood’s assessment of where we are in being able to do the carbon impact modelling we will need to meet the future sustainable building regulations under discussion today.One Number <em>Glass Canada</em> <a href="https://www.glasscanadamag.com/one-number/">magazine article</a>.

July 29, 202548 min

Episode #77: Principles of Marketing – Alison Simpson, Canadian Marketing Association

Our business is making things, not talking about them. So it’s no surprise that many of us struggle with the demands of promoting our businesses to potential clients and customers. Alison Simpson, president and CEO of the CMA, has been helping major corporations do just that throughout her career and she joins Pat Flannery for a lively conversation chock full of good advice. She also has details of an exciting program enabling small businesses to obtain government funds to hire digital marketing experts and to upskill their existing IT staff.

July 8, 202531 min

Episode #76: Elbows Down – Blake Sanders, OGMA

The Ontario government’s award of a $140 million hospital façade project to American contractor Permasteelisa/Benson is making waves in Ontario’s glass community. After receiving multiple angry comments and calls from members, the Ontario Glass and Metal Association has taken the unusual step of going public with an open letter to the Ford government, complaining about the lack of support for our industry at a time when tariffs and a general commercial building slowdown threaten our businesses. Sanders joins GlassTalk to make his case for why Ontario should do a better job of looking after its own.See the letter to Queen’s Park