View From The Trenches

Ever see a medical show where there is a terminal patient who is only kept alive to have their organs harvested?  Sad to say, it appears, we in the auto glass industry could be seeing the same drama being played out in the case of Pittsburgh Glass Works.  This company, once a pioneering and dominant force in auto glass, has in the past few years lost its way since being set adrift by economic circumstances and currently has ownership seems to me to be more interested in short-term division than long term existence.

 It’s been a few years since the red-headed stepchild of PPG’s auto glass division found a home of sorts.  Once the decision was made to separate and sell the AG division, all sorts of speculation arose throughout the industry how the final disposition would take place.

After all, any business school freshman could see that PPG’s assets were divided into four separate areas: manufacturing, distribution and sale of auto glass on the wholesale level, some retail sales under a franchise system and also an insurance claims administration arm.  The sum of the parts was far greater than the whole and that formula was the basis of many a Wall Street acquisition and subsequent disposition.

Let me share with you what the CEO of PGW Jim Wiggins, says on his company’s web page about the “new and improved” spin-off.  “PGW improved its cost structure and enhanced its flexibility to serve customers through a streamlined organization based on Lean value streams, transformation of our manufacturing footprint from nine plants to six, and through aggressive implementation of lean/six sigma throughout operations.”

In corporate speak that means: “We’ve gone cheap.”  Indeed Jim, and it looks and feels like you have to me.

Never in my 30 years of being in the auto glass business has my opinion of this company and its products been so low.  It is like watching a thoroughbred horse transform itself over time into a candidate for the glue factory.

 I have been a long-time PPG customer.  It was a brand I respected and preferred to buy. I cannot say that anymore. I have been burned too many times with an inferior product that has brought too many complaints from my customers or from my own experience as a technician trying to install and warranting a part that may not fit or stay installed.

 Let’s talk about product quality first.  When does “lean Sigma six” mean mirror brackets or bonded hardware that fall off upon installation? How many of us have had issues in these areas?  

What about fit and finish of a product? I have had far too many negative incidents since the name change

  Does “lean Sigma six” mean closing your Canadian plants, those who made some of the very best product in your inventory, in exchange for DOT 904 or 563 origination? To me, there is no comparison in quality. Obviously a bean counter instead of a Q/C person had a hand in that decision.

 In that factoid alone was the germination of this week’s column. I have made it a quest to find  PPG Canadian made FW2437 and 2182 windshields for Acura MDXs.  It becomes an easy sale over anything else even dealer purchased glass since PPG was the sole OE vendor. I have just exhausted my regional sources for that product and now had the opportunity to use the new DOT 904 .  I sold my customer on using a  PGW Soundmaster glass over buying OE for her Acura .  First of all, I found the glass and molding came separate (which it never did before). Second, one had to trim the excess laminate so that the molding would fit securely.  A third reason, after setting perhaps 500 of the old ones, this windshield seemed lighter or perhaps I was just feeling my oats that morning. However what has finished me off as a fan and perhaps a customer of PGW is after a long day of work I had to drive back 45 miles to re-bond a mirror bracket when my very distressed customer came out of work and found the rear view mirror dangling inside her MDX’s cabin, the bracket firmly attached to the mirror.

I’ve had to cut out several broken DOT 904 and 563 windshields and have had the experience of having cold knives come through the glass while cutting them out.  The windshields seem to splinter and spall far easier than ever before.  I am not a scientist or reformer but one wonders if production corners are being cut  to unintentionally create such an effect.

 If the decline of quality hasn’t phased many retailers, perhaps the rise in wholesale prices will. Something has taken place where for many parts, the pricing is simply not remotely competitive anymore.  I am not talking about a few dollars difference, I am talking factors of double or triple. Yes, there is an acknowledged glass shortage; however, the disparity simply does not seem warranted.  The new pricing model seems to say, “we don’t want to sell.”   As a customer, I may very well take that to heart.

 Finally, the new owners of PGW have gutted the company of its most important asset- its people.  From sales to support to production, getting lean has meant cutting staffing and the aforementioned closing whole factories.  There are waits in everything.  Call centers are merged.  Support staffs have been cut to the bone.  Salesmen have been let go, creating large territories that the remaining survivors can’t adequately cover.  In fact, that has been a mantra overall.  The morale of the people I have contact with seem to possess the tired shell shocked attitude of those who suffered through the London Blitz of WWII.  They seemed to be overworked and I’d guess underpaid for what they are expected to produce under circumstances that they know could end or be altered at any time.

 I have supported an American based auto glass industry since starting this column.  However at least up to now, for me, PGW has done absolutely nothing to enhance its current reputation or past legacy in this industry to me.  To this commentator, PGW has chosen the low road at every step since its inception as a stand alone company. I can’t determine if their management thinks they are being successful ala “The Emperor’s new Clothes” or they are just waiting to find suitable recipients to sell off various divisions.  Whatever the outcome, it is very painful to watch this comatose company survive under present conditions.