Article 92

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Remote Name: 65.88.106.1
Date: 01 Mar 2004
Time: 17:11:54

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Self Cleaning Glass and It’s Effect on the Window Cleaning Industry, By Lance Winslow. March 1, 2004 ----- Self-Cleaning Glass will have a slight effect on the Window Cleaning Independent Small Businesses and Franchise Companies. Self-cleaning glass has been talked about quite a bit lately in the Window Manufacturing and Construction Trade Journals, with such a catchy name it hit the headlines of not only the trade journals, but also the mass media. Does self-cleaning glass mean that all the window cleaners and small businesses across this country are doomed? No, not yet. First of all, self-cleaning glass is not really self-cleaning at all, so many in the Industry call it low maintenance glass, but either way the idea is intriguing and appeals to consumers as well as contractors, spec builders and architects and has cross over believers in industries like ship building, railroad, Industrial Military Complex and even amusement parks such as Six Flags and Sea World. In a recent article in Window and Door magazine, in March of 2003 the industry was asked what they thought of self-cleaning glass many of those interviewed were among the building industry, interior designers, architects, glass manufacturers, new homebuilders, tenant improvements retrofitters and window cleaning service companies. The window wash guys have been watching the developments of self-cleaning windows for quite some time, we see a time when the big mirrored glass buildings will no longer need the same frequency of services. What does this mean for companies like; The Window Genie; http://www.WindowGenie.com ; The Window Gang; http://www.WindowGang.com , The Window Butler; http://www.WindowButler.com ; Fish Window Cleaning; http://www.FishWindowCleaning.com ; The Window Wash Guys; http://www.WindowWashGuys.com ; Our company led by Tim Bloom, Founder and President of the Window Wash Guys Inc. has been watching these changes since the introduction of commercial self-cleaning glass as he knew it would eventually effect some aspect of the window cleaning industry. Should we be concerned that this new innovation will upset the market sector causing an irreversible micro-industry sector rotation and downward trend in the window washing and cleaning industry? Will these factors cut into the profits of janitorial companies such as; Jani-King, ServiceMaster, Merry Maids, etc. Will this new self-cleaning glass put tens of thousands of small time businesses and entrepreneurs engaged in the cleaning of windows out of business? Well, not exactly, however in the future we will see a change in the industry and that change will likely come through a combination of self-cleaning glass and new Nano-technology. For now PPG industries, Pilkington and at least 30 other large glass manufacturers in the United States and Europe are riding the wave in this newest trend. However, as we watch the industry we have seen surveys that claim over 71 percent of consumers given the choice would be more likely to choose self-cleaning windows over the regular windows even with the increased cost. A company in Pittsburgh called SunClean self-cleaning glass products introduced their version of self-cleaning glass at the end of 2001, while their sales have increased and have met company expectations, we have seen the industry as a whole lag behind the original hype of the innovation. So if 71% of consumers given the choice would be more likely to choose self-cleaning windows, then how come we have not seen the promised Boon? Well there are a couple reasons, the first being that often consumers do not choose what kind of glass goes into their homes as the builders choose 70 percent of what goes into all new housing. In custom homes and renovations the numbers are quite promising and rising. What we've seen in new home construction is a move to lower-cost, to standardize, and to move quickly. When new home shoppers go to new models and discuss the purchase of a new home those sales offices indicated that they had approximately 43.5 (according to surveys) minutes with the clients and at that time they either made the sale, made of favorable impression for a return visit or had lost the customer completely to another cute sales girl and set of model homes, possibly in a different section of town. The option of self-cleaning glass, it’s value and benefits gets lost in the decision making process and sales presentation. Therefore the option may not be offered, installed or even discussed. Issues of quality schools, nearby parks, shopping, city ordinances for RV Storage, garage space, pool, cul-de-sack spots, recreation rooms, kitchens, master bedroom to Jacuzzi, soccer fields and of course consumer financing seem to top the list. Self-cleaning glass benefits or options come with a host of new questions for instance; what is it? With no time to explain to the weekend buyer who has several housing tracts to consider, the sales teams of new homes rarely get into the subject matter of self cleaning glass at all and since the general public is not up on the term “self-cleaning glass” it is a rarity that they might ask, although as the word gets out and the industry gets more proficient, this will also change. With the typical new home buyers of this current home buying bonanza, new customers many of which are buying on 1 to 3 percent down and most customers and consumers barely squeak by. The increased costs of self-cleaning windows throughout a home could be as much as $2200. This increase could result in a lost client or home sale and the sales people know it. Remodeling and replacement type glass showed that steady increase in sales and will probably continue into the future, this is because end users are actively involved with architects and contractors during the process of design and picking out materials. Does this mean the residential market for window cleaning could be substantially hampered given the custom home and remodeling customer? The answer is yes and no. Yes, because consumers may feel that there is no need to clean the glass now, because it is supposed to be cleaned itself. No, because those people who might buy self-cleaning glass are overly concerned with clean Windows, as it is a high priority in their life. A clean outlook, if you will? And those with tract homes have already bought and they most likely do not have the new self-cleaning glass anyway. The fact is that self-cleaning glass is really lower maintenance glass, and it is easier to clean, thus a window cleaning company; like ours or the ones mentioned above could actually make more money per hour worked, thus become more efficient and have more money to market and get more business. The customer maybe wanting less frequency of service in some cases, from what we have seen and read in studies. Also with windows easier to clean, the finished job will look better and therefore more referrals of people who both do and do not have self-cleaning glass themselves. We feel that it is a tossup as to the decreased sales due to people believing that the glasses to clean itself completely into those who still desire the service. We see parallels as we study the automotive industry since our company also operates within it’s broad boundaries; The Oil Change Guys; www.OilChangeGuys.com The Car Wash Guys; www.CarWashGuys.com Detail Guys; www.DetailGuys.com . Many years back when Cadillac came out with a car that went 100,000 miles between services, many automotive aftermarket service companies such a Jiffy Lube, Penske automotive and Midas muffler believed that this could affect their business, especially if this trend caught on to other high-end auto manufacturers such as: Mercedes, BMW, Lexus, Infinity, Acura and Jaguar. It did not, for several reasons. Now there were some people who it bought the Cadillac’s who believed the salesman at the dealership and assumed the car did not need oil changes per 100,000 miles. These consumers he did not understand what they were getting with the 100K between services guarantee, often drove the car for 25 to 30,000 miles and a few cases 45,000 to 50,000 miles without any problems and then went a dealership when they heard a noise or a light went on, no kidding. One dealership in Nashville, TN told us of five such customers, one of which blew their engine. In self-cleaning glass it would not be this critical, as eventually they would call the manufacturer to complain or call a company like ours, The Window Wash Guys to clean and wash the filthy windows. Many owners bought the GM Cadillac because of its incredible warranty and 100,000 miles between services. They did so because they felt that a car that ran extremely well played a major part in their decision to buy that automobile, so this is why they bought it in the first place. Likewise large income property owners of glass office buildings, high-rise condominiums, office parks and custom rental properties are in a similar category as their Custom home-buyers, Cadillac owners and the remodeling crowd friends. Many times these are in fact the same customer, thus the same customer buying habits. The Cadillac buyers who care about the reliability and maintenance of their vehicle who bought these cars, turned out to still be great customers to the automotive service companies that they would normally patronize. As a matter fact they continued to go to the auto service companies at the same intervals and often used it as a way to brag about what a wonderful car they had bought, and how smart they were for buying it. Of course all the auto service company technicians would never argue with a customer over their love of the American Automobile as it is an extension of their personality and the Cadillac STS is a very nice car. We have had customers with self-cleaning glass show us the windows in their home in rooms, which they have remodeled or replaced windows in and pointed to the glass that they had bought for their kitchens, living rooms or master bedrooms and said “these windows are self-cleaning glass. They still asked us to bid on the entire house and we still get the job and we did not have to reduce the price, but rather do feel obligated to confirm to the consumer that indeed they had made an excellent choice. Because they had, after all self-cleaning glass is better, it is much better, and we know it's true. Many customers who are do-it-yourselfers may clean their glass themselves and eventually over time realize that their self-cleaning glass, does need an occasional touchup. And therefore these consumers would eventually call us to do the whole thing or bid on the entire house. Most people who have self-cleaning glass are happy with their decision and see its value and are pleased with its performance over the long haul. The biggest problem that the Glass Manufacturing Industry sees is that self-cleaning glass can be over-sold, over hyped by a salesman and therefore can cause issues between consumer watch groups and tax payer funded bureaucracies and agencies such as the FTC. So the name, self-cleaning glass is really the issue not that its performance is substandard or that current innovations due to increased money flow in increase sales are not pushing for more research and development in the glass manufacturing sector to make it even better. This new technology inertia is clearly happening and self-cleaning glass is twice as good as it was in 2000 and perhaps in 2-3 more years even bettering these efforts by a 100%, at least this is what appears to be in store for Industry. Today self-cleaning glass with certain coatings is absolutely incredible. And it is getting better all the time, but manufacturers are still skeptical and are working to make it better, while trying to figure out a way to bring the cost down using advanced versions of the finite capacity scheduling manufacturing models and the latest computer and robotic manufacturing techniques. Self-cleaning glass for the most part did not in all these new homes, which were just built during this incredible run in new housing market, however you can expect to see self-cleaning glass amongst the specs for custom homes, high-rise office buildings and most commercial buildings due to its maintenance savings cost and ability to stay clean. There will be some reluctance of large building property managers to wish to increase frequency of services and their costs for window cleaning services, especially in periods of commercial real estate down cycles. Luckily today we are seeing an upward trend as the commercial office buildings are filling back up slowly in most parts of the United States, which means increased sales in the commercial building window cleaning segment. One major leader in glass manufacturing, Peachtree, has a product called “EasyCare” and the pitch is; “low maintenance” and not self-cleaning glass, which is the proper terminology. After all the glass does not grow arms all of a sudden and grab a squeegee and clean itself and the surrounding neighboring windows. Peachtree and other reputable manufacturers believe that low maintenance makes a good statement and is much better than zero maintenance or self-cleaning. We use a hydrophobic Coating, which works under different principle but works very well and seems to make the windows we clean much easier and very low maintenance which is great because our time to clean on route customers and steady clientele drops in half. However there is a cost to the customer for the hydrophobic window coating, but it certainly makes a great add on and the customers are very happy with it. SunClean self-cleaning windows works on a different principle, there is a transparent coating of titanium dioxide which is applied during the manufacturing process, the coating helps breakdown and loosen the dirt and any other organic material such as bird droppings when the water hits the glass and the droplets spread out and rinse away the loosened dirt as it combines and falls down. This means it works perfectly with medium force (1500-2200 PSI) using a pressure washer. This coating is completed in the application process and makes the coating an integral part of the manufacturing process. http://www.PPGSunClean.com . Cardinal Glass Inc. also has their own unique self-cleaning glass technology, which uses a thin layer of silicon dioxide that is applied to the surface and therefore it is best described as a glass on glass coating. This of course provides an enhanced resistance to dirt and other residue and the coating lowers the glass contact angle allowing water to disburse across the surface and evaporate quickly. A temporary zinc oxide overcoat, removable with vinegar and water protects the coating from suction cup marks, labels and rollers and here to the glass prior to installation. The neat thing about this process is that the glass also retains the high energy efficiency characteristics of the company’s other glass types and can also be used in conjunction with laminated glass and custom sizes and shapes for any window, even a port hole of a ship. These new processes would work good on ocean going ships and water front properties. http://www.Cardinalcorp.com . ACTIV – Pilkington Activ self-cleaning glass uses the sun as it raises and lowers the temperature and lighting to gradually and continually breakdown organic dirt by using a photocatalytic effect. At the same time the glass reduces the surface tension of water causing it to sheet down the surface and wash the dirt away rather than sit on the surface and form droplets, this is called a “hydrophilic effect.” This is done with a coating that is applied during manufacturing process using a pyrolytic method. It becomes a permanent part of the glass on its surface; http://www.activglass.com . As the competition heats up for the best self-cleaning glass on market, there may be some companies that are willing to allow the over hyped in order to sell more product, this could affect the sales of services from small window cleaning companies, although we are confident that the professional commercial window cleaning companies will have the ability to help educate the consumer so that they understand exactly what they've bought and how it works. We do not feel that self-cleaning glass will adversely effect the window cleaning industry in forth coming next five years. And even when self-cleaning glass actually does clean it's self which we expect another decade or two there will still be all those buildings which have the old glass, and a return on investment for the increased price of let’s say a large office building may be more than the corporation or owners wish to spend to upgrade. The ROI based on the minor savings in window cleaning services they might achieve in dismissing their commercial window washing contractor would not pencil out. At the Window Wash Guys we do not pretend to be invincible, we understand that disruptive technology does affect low technology businesses just as much as it affects high-tech businesses, we are therefore keeping our eye on a self-cleaning glass revolution. We know that every innovation in the market place effects something else. We also realize there is opportunity in chaos and therefore we say “Bring it On!”. ----------- Any comments on this pre-white paper study, email me at; Lance@carwashguys.com

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