Masonry Magazine March 1972 Page. 28
Article 1
My company bet on metal curtain wall by being the first to use it in a privately held tall building about 20 years ago. We were also among the first to use Sarabond, in an investment building in Cleveland only two years ago. Our 75-year-old track record speaks for itself and we think Sarabond is a winner.
Article 2
Where is the opportunity? The opportunity is in all markets, but particularly in the high, middle, and low rise multifamily residential market....in the industrial market....and in the school....hospital...hotel and other markets where the custom look and variety is not as important as in the office or monumental sky-scraper, and because the metal producers have generally neglected these markets. They can't yet cope with the $4 per sq. ft. budget. You should move aggressively in these markets first.
Article 3
This does not mean that high-bond mortar brick panels cannot be designed to give a special look. This is one of the features of such panels. Now one can do almost anything in masonry one can do in precast concrete. However, where one is willing to pay a higher price-for aesthetic individuality, as in tall commercial buildings the opportunity is more difficult to pursue. Just do the more difficult second.
Article 4
Notwithstanding this, my company has used brick in a prestigious award-winning tall office building. It was our first use in a generation. Sarabond made it possible. That's real progress. We do not plan to build all our office buildings with the brick look, but we intend to use it again.
Article 5
Why is the mason so important to Sarabond? Why won't this high-bond mortar brick panel market grow without full support of the mason?
Article 6
I have heard some mason contractors say we will build whatever is specified. In the final analysis, it is the contractor who must demonstrate, by price and performance, that what is stated by the building product producer or the architect is correct. If the mason contractor will not dispel the fears, real and imagined, stated or unsaid, of a potential customer, the gestation process of brick panels will take so long that it will lose its momentum.
Article 7
It is the mason contractor who must demonstrate in his pricing that Sarabond brick panels are produced with high levels of productivity, that they can help cut the total construction cycle, that they produce better quality products. The customer's confidence will be in direct proportion to your enthusiasm and the viability of your contract documents.
Article 8
Once you do several jobs, you will see this for yourself. But what about the first few projects where you too are learning, where you may be experiencing the normal difficulties that come with no experience? You have no alternative. You will not be given another opportunity like this on a silver platter. If this is not obvious to you, you are blind to reality.
Article 9
Invest in the learning process with Dow, with mason contractors who have already learned the game, and by trial and error. It's not that complicated. One can learn from the metal curtain wall contractors; for, in effect, you become curtain wall or exterior wall contractors if you promote and sell Sarabond brick panels.
Article 10
They decided fairly early in the game that when a customer was in the market, they would get to him very early and provide him with alternate designs sufficiently detailed and with accurate budget estimates. They could justify this service to gain the confidence of the potential customer because they understood the value of winning the confidence and loyalty of the customer and the frailty of most architects and engineers.
Article 11
Honest observers of the building scene will tell you that most design trends that were popular really emanated from, or were strongly influenced by, these curtain wall contractors. However, they had the good sense to let the professionals take the credit. Also, they were able to get the metal companies, the aluminum people in particular, to aggressively promote its use institutionally and act as a catalyst to see that full-range services were provided effectively to owners and architects.
Article 12
If I were you, I would send a delegation to the most influential brick manufacturers and their friends and persuade them, politely but firmly, to allocate a high percentage of their budget to promoting high-bond mortar applications on a priority basis if necessary-to the exclusion of other projects.
Article 13
One of your objectives must be to remove the fears and image created by the few irresponsible poor performers in your industry and by your general reluctance to take total meaningful responsibility for design, fabrication, installation, and performance at least until you rebuild your image.
Article 14
Another key to success and growth is a willingness to sell brick panels for only a part of a wall. More and more architects like to mix use of different materials. This means selling a competitor's product or system for part of the exterior wall where it makes sense, as is the key to the sale. This means knowing as much about your competition as they know about their own system. This takes courage but half a loaf is better than none. It will win you more customers and friends in the long run.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mr. Newman is Vice President of Tishman Research Corp. headquartered in New York City. This article is adapted from an address he presented at the Hi-Bond Mortar Seminar held immediately following the '72 MCAA Annual Convention in Bal Harbour, Florida. Tishman Realty & Construction Co., Inc., which has been doing business for 75 years, is one of the nation's leading owner-builders of high-rise office buildings as well as builder and consultant for numerous developers, major corporations and governmental agencies involving projects from coast-to-coast.