published on May 15, 2012 http://roadtoglassbuildamerica.wordpress.com/
The Road Q&A – Getting insights from all angles of the show!
In this edition we catch up with Carrie Jeske, Marketing & Project Development at JEI Structural Engineering.
Right off the top, what are some of the services that JEI Structural Engineering offers?
We specialize in providing design calculations specific to the glass and glazing industry. Our expertise is storefronts, curtain walls, skylights, glass entry, aluminum composite panels, glass floors, handrails, blast design and other structures containing glass.
Structural engineers tend to focus on steel and concrete design so working with aluminum is less familiar. Most people don’t realize the 2010 Aluminum Design Manual has 469 pages and is much more complex than steel design. It’s not taught in typical structural engineering degree programs so finding an engineer (like us) with glazing industry experience can add a lot of value.
You have been in business since 2001. What do you think are the biggest changes in the way business (either in our industry or out) is done?
The information available online is amazing and the emergence of social networks has made it easier for us to build relationships with clients and add value through webinars and educational blogs. There are some big changes with regard to updated codes that can have a negative impact on glazing contractors and manufactures, if not understood. We’re using technology to help our clients stay in front of the learning curve.
An important issue along those lines is the manufactures storefront charts. Most don’t account for lateral buckling according to new code requirement and standards. We’ve written several articles and blogs to educate glazing contractors and we’re working with leading manufactures to update their storefront charts.
On your website, you offer an amazing array of governmental jobs that are up for bid. What is your strategy behind giving away such great intel for free?
We’re a small, veteran owned company that is in high growth mode. We want to attract clients that are aggressively looking for projects, paying their bills on time and interested in providing quality installations. Government projects require a higher level of expertise so it seemed a natural value added service for us to provide. (Plus, we found a high quality; low cost way to gather the data, but shhh… we can’t share that secret!)
From your view and research, how do you see the economy playing out for the rest of 2012 and beyond?
We (Stewart Jeske, P.E., founder and I) watch a lot of news and read all the trade journals. The outlook is gloomy on many fronts, but smart companies can thrive. We’ve chosen to stay positive; working longer and harder. Connecting at a higher level of service with good clients has been a key for us. We’re available to our clients and they’re rewarding us with repeat business. That’s good advice for any business no matter the economic conditions.
It is great that you’ll be showing your services and abilities this fall at GlassBuild America. Thank you for that! Speaking of the show, why do you think it’s important that people attend a national event like this?
This is our fourth year at GlassBuild America and we really enjoy it. It’s a great opportunity to connect face to face with our existing clients and build new relationships. We’re bringing our entire engineering staff this year as a training opportunity and company perk. Stop by and see us at booth 1070 or find us at www.JEIstructural.com.
See you in BOOTH 1070
